Ultra Design: Local, modern lighting and furniture since 1988

If you’re a Zamalek dweller you’ve definitely stopped at this intriguing-looking store window on Michel Lutfallah Street by All Saint's Cathedral, or at least brushed it with the corner of your eye. Its minimalist display and retro-futuristic logo give little away, but promise a lot.

The store’s name is Ultra Design, and it’s a lighting and furniture showroom. A few steps below street level, a haven of contemporary "objets d'art" awaits.

Locally made pieces mixing industrial with classic are Ultra Design's signature, though the business started way back in 1988, when contemporary furniture was still foreign to the market.

Architect Khaled El Chiati, the store’s owner and the designer of all the objects in it, says that change came two decades later, and now Egypt is saturated with imported goods.

A graduate of Cairo University's Faculty of Engineering, Chiati previously worked as an art director for an advertizing agency, and had also experimented with graphic and product design. Now in his 50s, he still works on building and designing homes, although Ultra Design takes up most of his time.

He first started it to celebrate and extend his interest in product design, seeking to introduce novel designs to the Egyptian market. His references often seem to be aeronautical, and the showroom still emanates progressiveness.

All the items — mainly light fixtures, tables and shelving units — are manufactured and assembled in Ultra Design's factory in 6th of October City, which employs around 25 workers. While some materials are imported, such as stainless steel sheets, many others are locally sourced. 

“Egypt is saturated with imported goods,” Chiati says as we embark on a tour of the spacious showroom. “So we strive to present a local product with enhanced finish.”

While prices are expensive for local products, which tend to have much more ornate designs, they are fairly reasonable compared to most imported furniture. For chandeliers, prices range between LE2,000 and LE4,000, and for lamps, LE500 to LE1,000 is the range. A table with six chairs costs LE9,800.

A collection of pendant lanterns immediately grabs my attention. Displayed neatly next to each other, luminous hand-painted hollow domes are arranged like a radiant bouquet.

"We don’t stick to hard and fast rules,” explains Chiati. “You can mix and match."

A black task light is placed proudly by a staircase, its black-and-white stand descended from Bauhaus design, where practicality and simplicity is key.

"Shabby-chic," says Chiati, pointing at a spotlight made of galvanized metal and glitzy crystals.

A metal wall lamp, labeled “Jet Set” rests smugly on the white wall with its black and gold hues and elongated, slender shape. Although to me it screams African and tribal, for Chaiti it represents the time of jets — the 1960s and 1970s.   

"Alabaster gives a very soft light," he says, looking at a table lamp combining alabaster, wood and stainless steel in one neat, functional piece.

In the middle of the vivacious showroom stands a minimalist modern dining room. A sheet of glass rests on two stainless steel trestles.

"In Arabic it is called donkey," says Chiati jokingly, looking at the transverse slats that support the table's clear frame. The chairs are made of stainless steel and upholstery.

A geometrical room separator made of metal, lamps and small hats catches my eye. The geometrically structured 2-meter piece is made of painted steel.

"I haven't seen anything similar before," I declare in stupefaction. "It’s a beaming paravan."

Usually such screens are made of wood and are used to conceal what's behind them, but Chiati's fun room separator serves mostly as a light source.

From the moment I set foot inside Ultra Design, I had my eye on something. It lurks at the back of the store but I couldn’t miss it: The black chain chandelier, mighty and elegant. It combines the grandeur of an old-school chandelier with the streamlined practical edge of a modern light fixture.

Next to it, a “Many Hats” chandelier glared at me with its adjustable metal arms and colorful chapeaux.

"Some clients ask for a different color for each chapeau,” says Chiati. “So you really go wild with it."

Saving the best for last, Chiati finally lets me in on his favorite piece in the store, hidden at the very end. Hung proudly over a majestic dining table made of one piece of wood are jet-shaped, black and gold gleaming metal tubes stacked next to each other. It’s a chandelier consisting of four separate metal tubes placed asymmetrically, each tube containing a light bulb.

Each Ultra Design light fixture piece combines more than one material and adopts more than one school of design, appealing to a wide clientele base, although every time I visit the showroom it’s empty of people apart from the two salespeople. Clients can request different shapes and colors of the exhibited items.

All items are top-notch, I think, though some of the furniture pieces are too severe for my taste and would work better for offices, not homes.

Another factor that makes Ultra Design different from other furniture and home accessories outlets and concept stores in Zamalek, such as Eklego for instance, is speedy execution. Custom-made orders are usually done withing a week to 14 days for light fixtures. For furniture pieces, it may take longer.  

Ultra Design is on 3 Michel Lutfallah St., Zamalek, Cairo, and is open from 11 am to 8 pm daily. The phone number is +202 2736 4907. Its second showroom is in Designopolis on the Cairo-Alexandria Road.