Architect Arvin Quides is the Managing Partner of SketchLife Design in Dubai. JONATHAN YBERA/EXPAT MEDIA

When Arvin Quides boarded a plane to Dubai in 2007, he wasn’t chasing a paycheck—he was chasing love. What began as a leap of the heart would become the foundation of a life sketched with purpose, perseverance, and quiet brilliance. Today, Arvin stands as the Managing Partner of SketchLife Design, a thriving Dubai-based architecture and interiors firm that’s breaking molds—not just with bold, human-centered spaces but with the way it redefines what a workplace, and a career, can be. SketchLife is no ordinary design studio. Step into its doors and you're just as likely to see a designer sketching in a beanbag chair as you are to hear the clack of foosball in the background. The energy is creative, spontaneous, even playful—and that’s entirely by design. “I wanted to create a space that makes people smile the moment they walk in,” Arvin tells Expat Media. “Architecture should inspire. Work should uplift.” The studio is a reflection of the man who built it: resilient, empathetic, and quietly bold. Arvin’s path to success wasn’t linear. His design philosophy wasn’t born in boardrooms—it was shaped by real struggles, late nights, and the unshakable belief that spaces, like people, thrive when they’re seen, heard, and understood. From drafting tables in Antipolo to managing multimillion-dirham projects in Dubai, he’s never lost sight of that core principle. SketchLife’s portfolio ranges from luxury villas to retail spaces, government projects, and offices, but every blueprint begins the same way: with a story. “We don’t start with budgets,” Arvin emphasizes. “We start with people—their needs, their dreams, their way of life.” That ethos has won over clients and collaborators alike. What sets SketchLife apart is not just its elegant designs—it’s the emotion behind the spaces. Arvin calls it “passion with a purpose,” and it resonates in every corner of his work. “Design should make you feel something,” he says. “Whether it’s comfort, joy, pride, or peace—architecture should always speak to the soul.”

A dream not chosen but discovered

Arvin didn’t grow up wanting to be an architect. That dream belonged, quite unexpectedly, to his uncle—at least in the stories the older man told after a drink or two. “He’d always say, ‘My boss is an architect. One signature and he earns a million!’ He told me this every day,” Arvin recalls, laughing. Armed with a talent for drawing and a wildly imaginative mind, Arvin enrolled in architecture at Adamson University. But the long commutes from Antipolo to Manila wore him down, forcing him to transfer to the Technological Institute of the Philippines. There, fate reunited him with Ghina, his classmate and best friend from Adamson—and the woman who would become his life partner in every sense. After graduation, the pair worked together at a small architecture firm, laying not just technical foundations but emotional ones. “We realized we really loved each other,” Arvin says. But in 2006, Ghina made a difficult decision: to move to Dubai to support her younger siblings. Left behind, Arvin struggled with the thought of following her. He had promised himself he would never work abroad—his own father had done so, leaving when Arvin was just four years old. “But that’s the power of love,” he reflects. “You give up everything without hesitation.” When Arvin arrived in Dubai in 2007, the city was still growing—no Metro, few taxis, and cranes crawling across the skyline. He found his first job as a junior architect for SS Lootah Group’s Interior Design Home Gallery, designing bespoke luxury villas dripping with gold, platinum, and Swarovski crystal. “There was no limit. Every detail had to be custom,” he remembers. Soon, he transitioned to ZAS Architects, where Ghina also worked. Arvin took on more ambitious projects, from hospital complexes to a 65-storey mixed-use tower for a client in Saudi Arabia. “I knew the design was going to be iconic,” he says. The skyscraper never made it past the drawing board. The 2008 global recession hit and put everything to a stop. The company slashed staff from 150 to 15. Arvin and Ghina were among the few kept on. It was a sobering moment—but also a turning point. They married soon after, ready to face uncertainty together.

Turning setbacks into blueprints

In 2009, just as they welcomed their first child Von, Arvin was laid off. “We called him our ‘recession blessing,’” Arvin smiles. Determined to push forward, he secured his own visa, freelanced, and even brought baby Von to meetings and job sites. “There were sleepless nights, overwhelming pressure, and moments of doubt—but giving up was never an option,”he recalls. In 2016, Arvin joined a leading interior design firm where he quickly rose to Head of Design. The opportunity came from a former colleague who believed in his talent. Leading a multicultural team reignited his passion and gave him the clarity to chase something bigger. A few years later, Arvin co-founded Sanita General Contracting with an Indian business partner. They started small—just Arvin, his partner, and a foreman—but big projects came through Arvin’s strong industry network and his former leadership role in the United Architects of the Philippines – Dubai Chapter. Still, he felt the urge to grow beyond construction. That chance came during a majlis renovation project for a member of the Lootah family. Arvin poured his soul into the design. “I aimed to create a space that felt like home.” The client, impressed by his work, offered to become his business partner.

Birth of SketchLife

In 2021, SketchLife Design was launched. Backed by his new partner Abdullah Lootah, Arvin was finally free to build the firm he always dreamed of—where creativity and culture could flourish without corporate red tape. “SketchLife is more than a company,” Arvin explains. “It’s a creative movement. A family. A way to use design to uplift people’s lives.” From luxury homes to retail spaces and government contracts, the firm has earned a reputation for delivering soulful, thoughtful architecture. “Clients feel the heart and purity in our work. That’s why they trust us.” But not all of Arvin’s journey has been upward. In 2021, he and Ghina lost their newborn, Koa, due to complications from a high-risk pregnancy. “It was the most painful experience of our lives,” he says softly. “My wife spent four months on bed rest, in and out of the hospital. We were broken—financially, emotionally.” Their children, Von and Mia, became their source of strength. “They reminded us that we still had love and purpose.” Today, Arvin’s legacy extends beyond blueprints. As a mentor and advocate for financial literacy, he dedicates time to The Frich Revolution—a community teaching overseas Filipinos how to build wealth with purpose. “There’s no such thing as impossible. I’ve lived it,” he says. “I’m not just building SketchLife—I’m building a life sketched from hope. From impossible to ‘I’m possible.’” MAM/Expat Media This story also appears in the Expat Media Special Edition magazine
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