The Team
Who We Are
nelita calaça-mcellin
Founding Partner
Nelita brings more than 13 years of experience to her role as Design Director. Born in Namibia and raised between Namibia and South Africa, Nelita went on to graduate with honours in Interior Design from Staffordshire University in the United Kingdom. Her career began in Cape Town, South Africa, moving onto Copenhagen and later London before arriving in Dubai 8 years later.
Nelita has had the privilege to work on a multitude of projects with world-renowned operators such as Marriott, Kempinski, Hilton, Westin, Action, and Equitativa & Emirates Reit. Developing a portfolio of hotels, luxury hotel apartments, F&B outlets, and spa’s across the Middle East and Africa before deciding on a career jump to the luxury residential market. Nelita leads each stage of the design process, working closely with the client and project team to ensure the integrity and path of the project remains intact.
anil mangalat
Founding Partner
Anil is a qualified Architect with a masters degree in Interior Design from Domus Academy in Milan, Italy. Prior to founding MMAC Design Associates over eight years ago and now Atelier by MMAC, he headed the design department for a Geneva-based firm. With close to 2 decades of hands-on experience in Interior Design and Architecture, Anil brings a wealth of knowledge to each project. Throughout the years he has successfully led teams to carry out large scale projects in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
christian merieau
Founding Partner
After an early education in hotel administration, Christian obtained a degree in Interior Design in 1989 and later qualified as Interior Architect in Geneva, Switzerland. He has honed his skills working for a number of prominent architectural, interior, and construction practices in Switzerland, France, United States and United Arab Emirates. Christian has evolved from being the Managing Director at a leading Swiss architectural firm to an entrepreneur having founded MMAC Design Associates.