Space makers

In today's high stress corporate environment, it is natural that a person stakes claim to his or her cubicle or workstation in office by personalising it so that it is in effect a home away from home. Ranjani Ramesh checks out working environments of a few people in Dubai

An exuberant, dynamic and expressive personality, Nazek Al-Sabbagh has an office on the top floor of a building she designed in Jafza, Jebel Ali.

As head of engineering in this bustling office, she has been partly responsible for providing impetus to the construction boom that has come to define Dubai.

To deal with the billions of dirhams worth of property construction and design of projects, she has to have instant connectivity and be extremely organised.

Her office is well equipped to handle this, with white boards covering an entire wall space, maps of ongoing projects on them and eight different phone lines for all her communication needs.

The paper-free desk catches the eye.

"I have a record of ensuring that my 'in tray' is empty at the end of the day," she explains.

Nazek has won many laurels, including Best Female Employee award and the Best Technical Employee award in 2000 and 2002 respectively.

She prefers light Italian leather furniture for her office with a conference table as an extension for her main desk.

"It helps to create an informal environment for the meeting," she explains.

An imposing image of Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, taken by her father, dominates one wall while another reflects personal achievements.

A framed certificate given by Harvard University in 2004, for having completed the Program for Management Development - the first UAE woman to have been selected for the programme - adorns the wall.

Family pictures and personal mementos sprinkled all over the workspace make it warm and homely.

Anything that she would like to get rid of?

A bowl of colourful candy that a visitor had placed on her desk on the day I went to meet her.

"I don't have time for any frippery," she explains.

When was the last time you walked into someone's office and wished your own work area resembled his/hers?

The office cubicle, to many their second home, reflects the personality of the person who inhabits it.

Some have the stereotypical desk, workstation and telephone, while others experiment with the decor and attempt to give it a personalised look using interesting bric-a-brac.

Friday checks out office spaces of a few high-profile people.

Fritz Bayle's office area has an extraordinary homeliness.

On one side are comfy sofas in beige. Facing them is a wall cabinet with a TV, a music system, books and other knick-knacks.

In another side is a section with a conference table attached to a main desk, a laptop and papers in a clutter-free environment.

The rather tall and affable man who occupies this office is quick to correct impressions of homeliness.

While agreeing that the office has an intimate look, he shows the purpose of the TV and music system - to demonstrate the advertising projects created by his team for various clients.

While he admits that the sink-onto-sofas are too informal for an office, he says he prefers simple and clean lines in furniture, pointing out to the red 'Miller' chairs that are placed around the conference table as an example of his taste.

His wife's interest in feng shui has been accommodated in the large plants placed in two corners of his large office.

The Holland plants are also there because they remind him of his country, he claims, although he is quick to add he does not believe in keeping any personal memorabilia or photographs in his office.

He likes a strict divide between his personal and professional lives.

The only pictures that occupy space on the walls are the various advertising campaigns that he has overseen.

Mounted on similar frames, and hung next to each other, they seem to suggest an obsession for symmetry.

"I'm a Virgo, you see," he says with a laugh, "and I can't help straightening the frames every time the room is cleaned."

With a sweeping view of the concourse at Dubai airport, Ismail Ali Albanna's office speaks of the immense responsibilities he has of heading DNATA.

Floor-to-ceiling windows which stretch across two wide walls of his office bring in plenty of sunshine, which, in turn, lights up the greenery in the corners and bounces off the large collection of shiny model planes that sit on the shelves of his office.

Apart from the customary IT office equipment, he has a large plasma TV at one end of his room, which provides him with updates on the news and of course, the latest happenings in the airline industry.

Sports trophies (Albanna was a keen footballer and is one of the founding members of the Al Ahli Club) hold pride of place in the room and are a testimony to the fact that under his leadership, his office team has excelled not only in the boardroom but outside it too - in the football field.

Explaining the lack of paper on his squeaky clean desk which houses an almost empty 'in tray' and a neat stack of books, he says.

"I have had a fetish for a paper-free work desk ever since I started as a junior employee. In fact, cluttered desks of my co-workers would also bother me."

Albanna doesn't believe in keeping pictures of his family in his office and the only personal memento on his desk is a small crystal paperweight with the zodiac sign of Libra.

Albanna's office appears functional, masculine and traditional but interestingly non-threatening, as the door opens immediately into the workspace, without the formality of an outer office.

The fact that Nicholson has worked for 20 years in a largely male-dominated profession seems to have rubbed off on her.

Not for her are the 'girlie' stuff.

Her office has a stark functionality, with bare walls, neon lighting, a heavy wooden desk and black leather chairs.

"I cannot afford to be 'girlie' in my line of business as I have to match up to the men who work with me," she says.

So you will not find the bowl of candy or little dolls on the desk or, in fact, anything pink.

The only pink she allows is on her person, for she loves the colour.

Having modelled herself on Margaret Thatcher, she says she has always been high on functionality and professionalism - the 'Iron Lady' kind.

Her laptop and thinkpad are the important items in her office.

A self-proclaimed workaholic, she has a duplicate laptop at home as well.

You also will not find family portraits on her desk.