Leila Sobek Featured in the Grant Thornton Discovery Series 2026

Twenty years ago, a woman who wanted to take a building from first sketch to finished construction had more to prove than the men around her. Today, clients come to BMA Studio with a design already in hand and ask the studio to make it happen.

That shift is at the centre of Leila Sobek’s interview in the 2026 Discovery Series by Grant Thornton UAE, produced in collaboration with Heriot-Watt University Dubai. Now in its third edition, the report looks at how women are reshaping value, resilience and innovation in the built environment.

From concept to construction

Leila, Founder and Director of BMA Studio, sees the architect as “a master orchestrator, creating a symphony to make a beautiful building.” That is why the studio does not stop at the concept. “I believe that, if you have a vision for a project, stay with it and your client to make it happen,” she says. When she set up BMA 11 years ago, people would ask, “OK, you do the design and then what?” Now clients arrive with a design and want BMA to deliver it.

A tool, not a replacement

The studio now uses AI for communications, research, brainstorming and testing ideas, and has a team working solely on it. Leila is just as clear about its limits: “There’s progress in AI every day and you cannot miss out on that. But I do believe AI is just a tool. I hope it never replaces human minds and creativity.” Robotics can already manufacture portions of buildings, she adds, but across most of construction “we still have a way to go.”

Sustainability from the first sketch

Dubai planned Expo 2020, where BMA worked on the Czech Republic and Slovakia pavilions, as a long-term project rather than a six-month event, with the option to become a permanent neighbourhood. Sustainability has moved on in a similar way, from ticking boxes to shaping design strategy from a very early stage.

The shift Leila is watching most closely is mobility: greener ways to commute, with more cycling routes, shaded areas and trees. Projects such as ARM Holding’s The Park Dubai are building those ideas into the master plan itself. “It’s going to be very interesting to see how they shape it into a reality.”

With thanks

Thank you to Grant Thornton UAE and Heriot-Watt University Dubai for the invitation and for bringing these perspectives together.

Read the full article here: 'Discovery Series 2026: Building the UAE’s next chapter'.

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