Rabih Hage



Rabih Hage is a RIBA chartered architect and interior designer who divides his time between London, New York and the South of France.



His work has been recognised with numerous awards from the design industry, including the Andrew Martin Interior Designer of the Year Award, 2011, the Homes & Gardens Award for Interior Design, 2012, and consistent nomination by House & Garden and Architectural Digest (France) as one of the top 100 leading designers since 2002.

He has been knighted by the French Republic as a Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite for his services to design.

Rabih designs on a human scale, from the inside out, taking inspiration from his clients and their personalities to create deceptively effortless spaces that are suffused with warmth, a subtle wit, and an exquisite feeling for volume, structure, light and colour.

Rabih’s continually evolving creative approach encompasses everything; from designing interiors to creating bespoke furniture for private clients; from designing new buildings to creating design concepts for developers. He sees little distinction between his practice as an architect and as an interior designer. “There should not be any separation between the disciplines,” he argues; “it’s about bringing out what’s best for a building that’s important, respecting what’s happened before, that makes a building special.”

Rabih has been a pioneer in many areas. He was a forerunner of the limited edition design movement, and has been working with artists and designer-makers since the early 2000s to create unusual one off or limited edition furniture and artworks for clients and collectors. His online design think-tank, DeTnk, continues to identify new talent while publishing the Collectable Design Market Report, a highly anticipated annual analysis of auction house data on this growing market.

His experience of working on existing structures, whether medieval châteaux in France or listed buildings with complex planning regulations in Britain, coupled with his acute awareness of the short life spans of contemporary architecture (many modern buildings are only built to last a few decades), has made Rabih a passionate advocate of what he calls, “Quiet Architecture,” where instead of razing and rebuilding, architects should repurpose existing structures where possible with intelligence, subtlety and wit.

Key dates:

1991        Graduates from the Ecole des Beaux Arts (Paris La-Seine.) Prior to graduation begins career in various architectural practices and engineering firms, such as Viguier et Jodry. Wins numerous architectural competitions individually and in association with various partners, such as the Textile Museum of Lyon in 1988. The following year, Rabih joins Arcora Group in Paris and works on hi-tech commercial projects including the landmark works of the TGV train stations of Paris Montparnasse and Nantes.



1992       Establishes architectural studio in Paris, in partnership with multidisciplinary specialists to allow project execution from concept to delivery, including cost consulting services in collaboration with American firm Marshall & Swift. Leads practice working on urban planning projects in Portugal as well as numerous historic buildings and châteaux in France. Clients range from family estates to institutions such as Dresdner Kleinwort Bank and Avip Allianz Group. Develops a particular focus during this period on, “turning a ruin into something interesting.”

2001        Establishes studio in London, with a shift in focus to interiors, renovation and new build architectural projects. Aesthetic evolves as a result of working on buildings, “from the inside out”, bringing architecture to a human scale. Becomes pioneer in the limited edition design movement by commissioning young and established artists and designers to create one-off items that are both furniture and artwork, which he incorporates into his interior schemes.

2007        Designs the Rough Luxe Hotel in London in addition to creating the concept and brand behind it, for a family-owned business based in Switzerland. The hotel triggers a worldwide design movement and numerous emulations. As a result, Rabih becomes a reference in new hotel concepts and developments and wins commissions for projects such as the restaurants, bars and front of house of the Radisson Edwardian Guildford Hotel in 2012.

2008        Sets up DeTnk, an online design think-tank dedicated to collectable design. From

2012        publishes the annual Collectable Design Market Report featuring a ranking of the top 100 designers based on auction-house statistics.

2016        Sets up New York office to better respond to growing demand from clients based in the USA.

Rabih Hage



Rabih Hage is a RIBA chartered architect and interior designer who divides his time between London, New York and the South of France.



His work has been recognised with numerous awards from the design industry, including the Andrew Martin Interior Designer of the Year Award, 2011, the Homes & Gardens Award for Interior Design, 2012, and consistent nomination by House & Garden and Architectural Digest (France) as one of the top 100 leading designers since 2002.

He has been knighted by the French Republic as a Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite for his services to design.

Rabih designs on a human scale, from the inside out, taking inspiration from his clients and their personalities to create deceptively effortless spaces that are suffused with warmth, a subtle wit, and an exquisite feeling for volume, structure, light and colour.

Rabih’s continually evolving creative approach encompasses everything; from designing interiors to creating bespoke furniture for private clients; from designing new buildings to creating design concepts for developers. He sees little distinction between his practice as an architect and as an interior designer. “There should not be any separation between the disciplines,” he argues; “it’s about bringing out what’s best for a building that’s important, respecting what’s happened before, that makes a building special.”

Rabih has been a pioneer in many areas. He was a forerunner of the limited edition design movement, and has been working with designer-makers since the early 2000s to create unusual one off or limited edition furniture for clients and collectors. His online design think-tank, DeTnk, continues to identify new talent while publishing the Collectable Design Market Report, a highly anticipated annual analysis of auction house data on this growing market.

His experience of working on existing structures, whether medieval châteaux in France or listed buildings with complex planning regulations in Britain, coupled with his acute awareness of the short life spans of contemporary architecture (many modern buildings are only built to last a few decades), has made Rabih a passionate advocate of what he calls, “Quiet Architecture,” where instead of razing and rebuilding, architects should repurpose existing structures where possible with intelligence, subtlety and wit.

Key dates:

1991        Graduates from the Ecole des Beaux Arts (Paris La-Seine.) Prior to graduation begins career in various architectural practices and engineering firms, such as Viguier et Jodry. Wins numerous architectural competitions individually and in association with various partners, such as the Textile Museum of Lyon in 1988. The following year, Rabih joins Arcora Group in Paris and works on hi-tech commercial projects including the landmark works of the TGV train stations of Paris Montparnasse and Nantes.



1992       Establishes architectural studio in Paris, in partnership with multidisciplinary specialists to allow project execution from concept to delivery, including cost consulting services in collaboration with American firm Marshall & Swift. Leads practice working on urban planning projects in Portugal as well as numerous historic buildings and châteaux in France. Clients range from family estates to institutions such as Dresdner Kleinwort Bank and Avip Allianz Group. Develops a particular focus during this period on, “turning a ruin into something interesting.”

2001        Establishes studio in London, with a shift in focus to interiors, renovation and new build architectural projects. Aesthetic evolves as a result of working on buildings, “from the inside out”, bringing architecture to a human scale. Becomes pioneer in the limited edition design movement by commissioning young and established artists and designers to create one-off items that are both furniture and artwork, which he incorporates into his interior schemes.

2007        Designs the Rough Luxe Hotel in London in addition to creating the concept and brand behind it, for a family-owned business based in Switzerland. The hotel triggers a worldwide design movement and numerous emulations. As a result, Rabih becomes a reference in new hotel concepts and developments and wins commissions for projects such as the restaurants, bars and front of house of the Radisson Edwardian Guildford Hotel in 2012.

2008        Sets up DeTnk, an online design think-tank dedicated to collectable design. From

2012        publishes the annual Collectable Design Market Report featuring a ranking of the top 100 designers based on auction-house statistics.

2016        Sets up New York office to better respond to growing demand from clients based in the USA.