A major shift is underway across the global leisure and hospitality industry. Consumers are increasingly prioritising experiences over products, fuelling the rise of immersive leisure destinations where entertainment, dining, and social interaction come together under one roof.
This trend is accelerating at a remarkable speed across the Middle East, especially at a time when the regional situation is understandably creating ripple effects across industries, including tourism, hospitality, and real estate. During moments like these, the role of leisure spaces becomes even more important.
At Connector, we explored what makes leisure spaces truly special, not just the food and fun they offer, but how design brings these experiences to life.
SOCO at City Centre Mirdif is a perfect example. Dubai’s brand-new social gaming and dining destination, SOCO brings together play, flavour, and good vibes, making it a family-friendly attraction.
Developed for Majid Al Futtaim Entertainment, the space spans more than 23,000 square feet and introduces a bold new concept built around competitive play, interactive gaming, and vibrant communal dining.
Dubai-based Prospect Design International, one of the region’s leading specialists in experience-driven entertainment design, is the brain behind SOCO’s stunning interior concept and design.
The visual elements inside SOCO are distributed evenly across the space, so families are not overwhelmed by one large open space. The design breaks the experience into readable zones, helping different age groups feel comfortable moving through it.
Fady Chams, Founder of Prospect Design International, said, “Today’s guests are looking for shared experiences, not just activities. Spaces like SOCO represent a new generation of venues where gaming, dining, and social connection work together as one.”
From the entrance itself, SOCO feels welcoming. Guests can enter through two paths, one leading to the restaurant and another into the gaming area. This flexibility makes the venue inviting to everyone, from parents to teens to younger kids. Even passersby are encouraged to step in, thanks to a soft and open façade that feels approachable.
“We’re designing how people move through the space, how they discover different zones, and how the energy shifts from one experience to another. Our layout was crafted to be intuitive and exploratory. From the moment guests see the façade, the goal is to spark curiosity and encourage them to explore inside. Every design decision was made with guest engagement and commercial performance in mind,” Fady Chams added.
Inside, the design unfolds like a story. A standout feature is the ‘social jungle’, a space filled with tree-inspired structures, animal characters, and bold colours. It sets a playful tone that immediately draws families in. Around the restaurant zone, sculptural trees and interactive buttons add moments of fun and surprise, turning the environment into part of the experience itself.
Every design choice serves a purpose, guiding people naturally through the space, balancing excitement with comfort, and creating areas for both energy and relaxation. For families, that means everyone, from children to grandparents, can enjoy at their own pace.
A family-friendly venue also needs to balance stimulation with comfort, and that is another quality the design tries to achieve. While SOCO is visually bold and full of movement, its interiors maintain an inviting atmosphere, inviting people to gather, pause, and reconnect between different parts of the experience. That makes the environment more inclusive for mixed-age groups, where some visitors want excitement while others want a more relaxed pace.
As Fady Chams puts it, “Entertainment venues succeed when they balance excitement with comfort. Guests want to have fun, but they also need places where they can gather and connect between games.”
Ultimately, what makes SOCO’s design family-friendly is not one specific feature, but a combination of a lot of elements. The space effortlessly brings together openness, visual storytelling, intuitive flow, and multi-sensory detail. This design invites exploration, encourages togetherness, and makes the space itself part of the attraction, which is why SOCO reads as a destination built for shared time as much as for entertainment.
“At the end of the day, we’re entering an era where the boundaries between hospitality, gaming, and live entertainment will continue to blur. The most successful venues will be places where people feel part of something larger than the activity itself,” Fady Chams signs off.