Who we are
SEM Studio is an architecture and spatial strategy practice operating at the intersection of space, environment, and movement.
We design environments that are not only built — but experienced, navigated, and remembered.
By integrating architecture, urban design, and experience strategy, we create spatial systems that respond to human behavior, contextual identity, and future adaptability. Our work bridges physical design with movement intelligence — shaping how people arrive, explore, interact, and belong.
Our methodology combines research-driven analysis, spatial intelligence, and emerging digital tools to inform design decisions. We leverage data mapping, behavioral flow studies, parametric modeling, and AI-assisted scenario testing to simulate movement patterns, optimize spatial performance, and anticipate user experience before construction begins.
From large-scale masterplans and public realms to cultural destinations and complex mixed-use environments, we develop spatial frameworks, wayfinding ecosystems, and experiential strategies that connect people to place — ensuring clarity, identity, and long-term adaptability.
ABOUT — SEM Studio
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ABOUT — SEM Studio —
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S — Spatial Intelligence
Reading context, patterns, and human flow to inform design decisions.E — Environment Integration
Embedding architecture within landscape, culture, and climate.M — Movement Strategy
Designing circulation, wayfinding, and experiential sequencing.Together, these layers transform space into experience.
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We believe architecture today must go beyond form-making.
It must anticipate behavior, guide movement, and construct meaning.SEM Studio combines:
Architectural and urban-scale design
Human behavior mapping and journey planning
Wayfinding and spatial communication systems
Environmental and contextual integration
Emerging digital and AI-driven analysis tools
This hybrid methodology allows projects to remain legible, inclusive, adaptive, and identity-driven across scales — from buildings to districts.
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We leverage data-informed analysis, simulation, and AI-assisted tools to uncover hidden spatial patterns, test circulation logic, and optimize user experience before form is finalized.
Technology does not replace design intuition — it expands it. -
We translate narrative, materiality, light, landscape, and movement into spatial character.
Every project is structured as a sequence of experiences — shaping perception, orientation, and emotional connection.
Meet the Founder
Sara El Morhabi
Architect, Urban Designer, and Spatial Experience Strategist.
Sara founded SEM Studio to bridge architecture, urban thinking, and movement strategy into one integrated spatial practice. With international experience across the Middle East and Europe, she leads SEM Studio’s design direction and research-driven methodology — shaping environments that are not only built, but experienced, navigated, and remembered.
Her work focuses on spatial clarity, cultural identity, and user-centered systems — blending architecture, urban design, and experiential strategy to create places that guide movement and enrich human interaction. She has contributed to large-scale masterplans, public realm projects, cultural destinations, and complex mixed-use environments, developing spatial frameworks and wayfinding systems that connect people to place.
Today, through SEM Studio, Sara collaborates with developers, architects, and institutions to design environments where space defines form, environment gives meaning, and movement creates experience.
A practice shaped by curiosity, context, and the belief that good design begins with understanding how people move.
What We Deliver
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Architecture & Urban Design
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Experiential Masterplanning
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Wayfinding & Movement Strategy
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Spatial Identity & Wayfinding
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Contextual Integration
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Research & Concept Development
Selected Clients & Collaborators
A selection of institutions, developers, and design studios we have collaborated with across architecture, urban design, and experience strategy projects.
Clients / Institutions
Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU)
Golf Saudi
Qiddiya Investment Company
Red Sea Global
RUA (Ajyad Development Authority)
Miral Abu Dhabi
Aldar Properties
Design & Architecture Collaborators
OMA
PLP Architecture
GHD
Prior + Partners
Buro Happold
X Architects