Just a month after successfully completing Dubai-based villa project Victory Heights, Diar Consult has already occupied 771 of the homes

In response to the drastic increase of foreign workers in the UAE since 2006 – reaching a total of 8.26 million, representing 88.5% of the population – Diar Consult took responsibility for the master planning and design of
Victory Heights, a 961 unit, cosmopolitan villa community project spread over 25 million square feet, in Dubai.

With 771 of the Mediterranean, European and Andalucian (Spanish) style villas already sold, the architectural, engineering and interior design consultants are continuing to target middle and upper income families to occupy the remaining 192 homes.

“We believe Victory Heights has been a success because of the quality of the end product,” affirms chairman and design principal for Diar Consult, Samir Daoud, continuing: “There have been many issues with regards to the end product
in Dubai for various reasons; either a mismatch with budget expectations, or quality of performance and capabilities.”

“We were talking about a budget of AED 1.5 billion or thereabouts and we have kept to that, so there has been a lot of effort with regards to cost control but not at the expense of quality,” he adds.

The units comprise a selection of 270 to 650 square metre detached, semi-detached and terraced villas, built across seven villages and around an 18 hole golf course designed by world renowned South African golfer Ernie Els.

The project is a reflection of the cosmopolitan spectrum of Dubai’s Arabian, European, Indian and sub-continent residents.

The units offer a choice of open-plan styles, with the kitchens open to the living room and a media or ‘grand room’ extension leading to the dining room and beyond in the larger villas.

However, the consultants have also catered for cultures requiring enclosed kitchens for their type of cooking.

“Because there is a cosmopolitan mix in Dubai and each cultural background has its own requirements for how they use their homes, the planning of the villas has been flexible,” says Daoud.

“With regards to living rooms, various cultures use living rooms differently; Indians different to Arabs and Arabs different to Europeans. So we have offered some living rooms which are private for cultures where the family zone needs to be separated from the formal guest zone, whereas other cultures do not require that strict-degree level of privacy and separation,” he says.

For clients wishing to “go all the way” with built-in technology, the SMART home concept is also offered, giving residents control of their villa’s appliances from central or laptop control stations; including installations such as air-conditioning, lighting, external security systems, garage doors and irrigation systems.

The project also offers numerous amenities and recreational facilities including swimming pools, gymnasiums, retail outlets, community centres and children’s play areas.

“I think the end result has taken care of the social and cultural requirements of Dubai’s demographics. The various cultures and backgrounds represented each have requirements met and satisfied in a variety of combinations in
the models offered.

“We are offering a housing project that suits many cultural requirements, ways of life and lifestyles, and has raised the bar in Dubai for community living,” Daoud concludes.

Victory Height facts

Total site area : 2,278,000 M2
Total number of villas: 961
Number of villas sold: 771
Villas pending construction: 173
Total golf course area : 863,000 M2
Total build up area of villas and
community buildings: 463,800 M2
Other green space : 425,000 M2
Road : 141,000 M2