Elevating the Mobility Quotient in Design

Doha Design District has opened doors to an internationally acclaimed mobility design store, TheArsenale Mobility Lab that will exalt the design quotient in Doha.

It is not a garage, though the space carries elements of a sportscar garage. It is not a museum though the products within are museum-worthy. It is also not a club, though the attention-grabbing visual board contains elements of a guild. It is a space that celebrates a cult of mobility designers, a marketplace for machines that transcend space and time through innovation in mobility.

The space is the newly opened TheArsenale Mobility Lab within Doha Design District in Msheireb Downtown, a global leader in avant-garde mobility design. Its first Middle East store was inaugurated  a month back  in Doha. This is its fifth physical store for the brand after stores in Miami, Macau, Soho, and New York.

TheArsenale Mobility Lab works with cutting-edge designers and independent builders to create the world’s most diverse technology and design advancements in mobility.

Launched in 2017 by French businessman Patrice Meignan, TheArsenale stands as an international reference in the world of design and mobility. The digital platform www.thearsenale.com showcases the latest innovations and trends in the world of mobility, with a particular focus on sustainable and eco-friendly solutions. With his wife Marcela, the mobility couple have found success in creating a marketplace for mobility innovation.

 “We were invited by Msheireb and Sheikha Al Sulaiti to set up this project. Middle East was an important location for us, after our first store in France then in Macau. Middle East was the next in phase in terms of development. We had many options open before us, but Doha had a strong pull because of the extremely friendly relationship between the two countries; France and Doha. But the highlight for us was the location; Msheireb Downtown Doha, which houses the Doha Design District, which has transformed the heart of Qatar’s capital city into a model for sustainable urban living, innovation, and cultural heritage preservation,” says Patrice Meignan who is in Doha to oversee their new business hub.

The district is a catalyst for economic growth, attracting local and international businesses to establish their presence in this thriving community, and continues to serve as a model for cities worldwide. The Doha Design District is a dynamic and innovative community, where anyone interested in art and design can meet and be mutually inspired and is also a catalyst for economic growth.

“The Doha Design District and TheArsenale teams are united by a shared mission: to foster collaboration, creativity, and innovation within the design community. Together, we aspire to inspire a new generation of innovators and forward-thinkers,” said Shaikha Al Sulaiti, Interior Design Manager, Msheireb Properties during the opening of the new store.

And hence according to Meignan, the setting paved way for their arrival, with similar ethos in design and sustainability shared.

Bold and Elegant

The wow factor is inherent within the store with the mobility features ingrained through the dynamic mood board presented throughout the interiors, be it the bold black, the white and yellow or orange colours or the arrows and stripes that indicate movement.

“We like our spaces to look raw, the quality is in the space and the graphics that indicate a club atmosphere to show the strong community that binds this designer space,” he says,” Yet, the focus is on the machines; bold and elegant are our key takeaways from this space.”

Dynamic in Design

We ask Meignan, the man behind this design-company to tell us about the Mobility concept.

“We are a company focused on design,” starts Meignan, a businessman or entrepreneur who likes to be known as the Art Director/Creative Director, due to his passion for design, “I have been passionate about design since my childhood and I decided to focus my energy into the mobility industry because it is a fascinating subject. There is something very dynamic about this subject as a tool of mobility is also your first whiff of freedom that gives you an immense sense of adventure, taking one on a path to your future.”

“Since Marco Paulo, we have been designing objects that makes us travel faster, longer and after 200 years we are in phase of a new era where we are flying across the globe through innovations in mobility.”

Meignan comes with a portfolio immersed in design; he was the publisher of a design magazine in France for 20 years who also owned a design firm.

“When we started TheArsenale five years ago, design was the centre point. We are more than this physical concept store that you see here, we are a market place for over 100 products in the mobility market. We represent young designers, who make up the DNA of our company. Its these passionate designers who come up with ideas that seem impossible that make TheArsenale what it is,” he says.

TheArsenale Mobility Lab in the Doha Design District will not only showcase cutting-edge and groundbreaking designs but will also serve as an advocate for the importance of innovative mobility solutions in securing a prosperous future for generations to come. In a rapidly changing global landscape, where urbanisation, sustainability, and technological advancements are at the forefront of challenges facing society, the innovative designs showcased by TheArsenale are set to revolutionise the notion of transportation. TheArsenale location in the Doha Design District will display incredible feats of mobility, from flying cars and motorcycles to electric snow bikes, and sailboats with foldable designs, art, gear, apparel, and books.

The Machines

Choosing the superlative machines in TheArsenale’ s portfolio is something Meignan just cannot bring himself to engage in as “all of the machines are my babies” with whom he has had a special relationship, in the process of making and the interaction with their builders.

“I do not consider this just as a platform for selling, the relationship in the making of a machine is more complex and interactive,” he explains.

Yet he picks a few to showcase what TheArsenale’s core mobility mantra is all about.

“The Flying Motorcycle by a Miami designer is called INSKY and is the first flying motorcycle. The machine has a ducted fan that generates up to two times the thrust for the same amount of power. The shrouded design greatly reduces risk of propeller strike in space constrained operations and the technology reduced noise by 10x compared to open propellers,” he says.

The next in the line up is a supercar designed in Dubai and hence very dear to Meignan.

“The 5007 HP Devel Sixteen production version launched at Dubai International Motor Show 2017 is pioneer a new era that never has been achieved before. It showcases extreme performance and unimaginable outstanding power of ten super cars, to pioneer a new era that never have been achieved before. A distinctive design of this new generation brings you the ultimate breakthrough feeling of a jet fighter with a power surpassing any car in the world,” he says.

The third product that he is very excited about is the Carbogatto, a fully electric lightweight L1e-B class motorbike that is all about modern technology in retro-futuristic design and of supreme quality.

“We pay a lot of attention to details, to customers, to technology because these are machines like none other and hence, everything we do is personal, so it is like a family of like-minded people who have invested in a one-of-a-kind relationship with super machines. We are a cult of machine lovers and we take everything we do a little more personal.”