Dubai: For more than a decade, Dubai Design Week has brought together designers, architects, creative practitioners, and the public from across the region and the world. In its 12th edition, launching on November 3, the event highlights the role that design can play in fostering communication at a time when ways of interacting, working, and communicating are undergoing rapid transformations.
The projects participating throughout the programme will explore the experiences, encounters, and relationships that are formed around design, from the spaces where individuals meet and the languages they use, to the objects, materials, and systems that shape everyday life. This approach is embodied through the exhibition's multiple sections, diverse program, commissions, art installations, talks, workshops, and public events, covering architecture, design, crafts, technology, and materials exploration.
Innovative designs
Downtown Design, the flagship event of Dubai Design Week, returns with a collection of sophisticated and innovative designs.
Exhibition Director Mette Degen Christensen shared what you can expect from this year's edition: "Every year we try to present the exhibition in a different way. We like to break expectations and the familiar, as well as present contemporary, high-quality, and innovative designs. In recent years, designs have tended towards beige tones and simplicity, and this year I wanted to bring more vibrancy and colour as a symbol of recovery and a return to life."
She noted that perhaps the most striking aspect of this edition is the temporary space presented by the Memphis Group, a design movement that emerged in the 1980s. She explained that the exhibition features 156 exhibiting designers and brands, and will have the largest number of participants in the accompanying program, including various activities and experiences.
Christensen emphasised the strong presence of local designers and projects based in the UAE, which will be highlighted in the Emirati Designers Exhibition, as well as Tanween, in which Tashkeel is participating. She stressed that organising the exhibition is not limited to the five days it takes place in November - they are the culmination of years of work and communication with global brands.
She explained that the exhibition plays an important role in connecting designers with suppliers and brands, and facilitating access to global design products, in parallel with supporting local production and developing creative talents in the region. She saw that the goal is to achieve a balance between attracting global brands and building a strong local design industry, capable of innovating, growing, competing and expanding into international markets in the future.
One letter to move you
Artist Dalia Rafeh is participating in the ‘Doors’ exhibition at Dubai Design Week with an installation.
She said of her work: "My piece consists of a single letter, the Arabic letter 'Sheen,' extending seven metres and drawn with light. As the letter extends, it transforms into something resembling the sound of silence and noise, the sound of protest, and the calming of the soul and heart. We fall silent not because we have nothing to say, but because we lack the words to express it."
Regarding the materials she used, she added: "I worked primarily with light, drawing inspiration from traffic lights, especially in large cities. I utilised this visual perspective and incorporated my own language within it."
Rafeh considered the main challenge in the work to be "how to give voice to something that has no sound, in addition to the challenges of execution and measurement, and whether the work would be understood or require translation."
Regarding her choice of Arabic script, Rafeh indicated that she is committed to the Arabic language because it is the language through which she feels, grieves, and rejoices. Furthermore, her homeland is Arabia, and it cannot be erased; it carries an identity. “It is important to use our language wherever possible.”
As it is her first time in Design Week, Rafeh noted that she was lucky to be present at this global exhibition.
Feelings and spaces
This year’s ‘Civil Works’ competition explores the theme of ‘Climatology of Place,’ reflecting on how spaces are felt before they are consciously perceived. Light, temperature, sound, materials, and the sequence of spaces shape our experience of place and influence our feelings, movement, social interactions, and relationships with others.
The winning proposal is ‘Three Gardens and a Grave’ by NE Architects. The studio’s founder, architect Reem Nassour, spoke about the project, saying: “The project we submitted was a direct response to the competition’s theme, related to climate and how to create different spatial experiences and atmospheres. We started by thinking about how colours, smells, and heat affect a person’s sense of place, and how these elements can create distinctive atmospheres within an architectural space.”
She pointed out that the project is being implemented in the Dubai Design District, an area surrounded by buildings, glass, and solid materials, and where we spend most of our time in places that rely on air conditioning and artificial climate control systems. She explained that this space aims to create a space that reconnects people with nature.
Nassour noted that they were keen to construct an architectural pavilion that would harmonise with the surrounding trees. They utilised native tree species from the UAE and carefully considered how to integrate them into the design, rather than relying on imported elements. She explained their efforts to maximise the sun's effects from sunrise to sunset, as well as their selection of colours and materials inspired by traditional mashrabiya screens and building blocks, all aimed at controlling heat and providing shade.
Nassour pointed out that the project comprises three pavilions and architectural spaces, with the core concept lying in the spaces between them and the relationship that develops between these pavilions, nature, and humankind.
She emphasised that architecture is a means of providing shelter; humans have sought shade and shelter for thousands of years, and architecture has provided protection from varying climatic conditions through walls and roofs. She explained that the main challenge in the project was its execution and delivery within a record time, and expressed her pride in being recognised in this competition.
A market like no other
The Dubai Design Week Market takes place over the weekend of November 7 and 8. This curated outdoor shopping experience within Dubai Design District (d3) provides a platform for local businesses and independent makers from the UAE and the region, with a focus on handcrafted products and artisanal goods.
Visitors can explore a range of products, from homeware, jewellery, fashion, and lifestyle items to sustainably made goods. This year, the market once again combines design, culinary experiences, children's activities, and live performances, creating a vibrant community space that celebrates creativity and craftsmanship and connects audiences of all ages.