Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this activity cover?
It covers architectural design consultancy, including building design and drafting, town and city planning, and landscape architecture for buildings and spaces.
Who are the typical clients?
Developers planning towers and communities, businesses fitting out premises, and owners building or renovating homes across the UAE.
What does an architectural project produce?
It produces a full set of drawings: concept and building design, drafting, and construction documentation, ready for permits and construction.
Does this include town planning and landscape design?
Yes. Town and city planning and landscape architecture fall within the scope of this activity, alongside building design and drafting.
Does this include interior decorating?
No. Interior decorating and industrial design fall under separate activities. This activity covers building design, drafting, planning, and landscape architecture.
How to Start an Architectural Design Consultancy Business with Meydan Free Zone
Every tower on the Dubai skyline started as a drawing. Before the cranes arrive, an architect turns a client's brief and a plot of land into plans: where the walls go, how the light falls, how people move through the space. A villa, a mall, or a masterplan all begin the same way, on a screen in a design studio. Planning the design and architecture of a building is what an Architectural design consultancy does best.
Architectural design consultancy in the UAE rides one of the world's busiest construction pipelines. The UAE architecture, engineering, and construction services market is forecast to reach USD 2.26 billion by 2030, growing at about 17.5 percent a year, according to Grand View Research1. It sits within a MENA architectural services market worth USD 21.43 billion in 2026, according to Mordor Intelligence2. For a design consultancy, that is a deep pipeline of work: every tower, villa, masterplan, and fit-out starts with drawings before a single brick is laid.
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How Busy the Pipeline Is
Architectural design consultancy in the UAE serves a construction market that keeps building upward and outward, inside a large regional architectural services market. The headline number is the forecast size of the UAE market.
Sources: Grand View Research (2025); Mordor Intelligence (2026).
An architectural design consultancy designs buildings and spaces and produces the plans to build them. The work spans concept and building design, drafting and technical drawings, town and city planning, and landscape architecture, along with the consulting that guides a project through approvals. The clients are mixed: developers planning towers and communities, businesses fitting out premises, and owners building or renovating homes. It is a design-led service: the consultancy is paid to turn a brief and a site into drawings that are buildable, compliant, and worth building.
Picture a design studio in Dubai working on a live project. An architect refines the floor plans while a draftsman details the drawings for approval. A planner checks the layout against the plot and the building code. The client reviews a 3D model and asks for the lobby to feel taller.
Over the weeks the brief becomes a full set of drawings ready for permits and construction. The consultancy sells design and certainty, charging for plans that pass approval and stand up on site. In a market building this fast, the practices that win are the ones whose designs impress the client and clear the authorities without redrawing.
Whether it is a tower, a villa, or a masterplan, an architectural design consultancy turns a brief and a plot of land into the drawings that get built.
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Who is this for?
- Architectural design firms: Businesses designing buildings and producing plans for UAE developers and owners.
- Town planning and landscape practices: Operators handling masterplanning, city planning, and landscape design.
- Design and drafting consultancies: Firms providing building design, drafting, and approval support.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate an architectural design consultancy business in one of the world's busiest and most ambitious construction markets.
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7110.31 - Architectural Design Consultancy
Under this activity, your business is licensed to provide architectural design consultancy, including building design, drafting, town planning, and landscape architecture.
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The activity is specifically for architectural design consultancy: building design, drafting, planning, and landscape architecture. Interior decorating and industrial design (7410) fall under separate activities, as does technical testing (7120). Engineering design and the construction of the building itself are also separate.
The line is precise. If your business designs buildings and spaces and produces the plans to build them, you are in. If you provide interior decorating, technical testing, engineering design, or the construction work itself, a different activity applies.
Third-Party Approval: Approval from the Building Control and Building Permits Department at Dubai Municipality is required after the trade license is issued.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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Footnotes
1 Grand View Research. UAE Architectural, Engineering, and Construction Services Market Size & Outlook. Grand View Research, 2025.
2 Mordor Intelligence. MENA Architectural Services Market Report. Mordor Intelligence, 2026.
