Photo: Courtesy of Dubai Design Week
It’s that time of the year again, when Dubai Design District (D3) comes alive with unique installations by regional and international artists. Taking place from November 7-12, Dubai Design Week is returning for its ninth edition, with the participation of over 500 designers, architects, and creative practitioners from over 40 countries.
Held under the patronage of HH Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and member of the Dubai Council in partnership with D3, the six-day event is long-awaited in the city’s social calendar. On the schedule are several free-to-attend programs including exhibitions, pop-up events, discussions, hands-on workshops, and more. As always, the anchor event of Dubai Design Week, Downtown Design is also back, and opens on November 8 bringing together international and regional designers, architects, and design enthusiasts to discuss the latest trends and innovations in the design world.
Whether you are a seasoned attendee of Dubai Design Week or will be visiting the fair for the first time, check out Vogue Arabia’s guide below for all the unmissable highlights.
Downtown Design
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Known as the leading fair for contemporary and quality design in the Middle East, Downtown Design’s 10th edition will feature a curated selection of established and emerging brands, designers, and design studios from November 8-11. Guests can expect to learn and explore design trends via a series of talks and masterclasses, while a dedicated program known as Trade/Connect offers plenty of networking opportunities. Check out the full schedule of talks taking place at The Forum at Downtown Design below.
November 8, Wednesday
3pm: Opening Keynote: Lidewij Edelkoort
5pm: Power Panel
Speakers: Sebastian Herkner, Nina Magon, Ross Lovegrove, Ozwald Boateng, Giulio Cappellini
Hosted by: Nada Debs
November 9, Thursday
12:30pm: Accreditation & Certification towards the implementation of the UNSDGS
Led by: Prof. Albert Fakhoury
2pm: Accessibility, Opportunity, Perception
Speakers: Pilar Zeta, Femke Furnée, Alex Estévez, Theis Johnson
Hosted by: Rue Kothari
3pm: Future Cultures & Collectibles
Speakers: Massimo Adario, David Raffoul, Nicolas Moussalem, Tamara El Tanani
Moderated by: Catalina Ruiz-Urquiola
4pm: Nomadic and Historic Building Process
Speakers: Mark Kyffin, Peter Jackson, Johnathan Ashmore, Mohammed Adib
Moderated by: Sandra Woodall
5pm: Fostering Identities: Matter, Culture, Technology
Speakers: Federica Minozzi, Lidewij Edelkoort, Sumaya Dabbagh
Moderated by: Massimo Imparato
6pm: Architecture & Materiality: Yesterday / Tomorrow
Speakers: Arthur Mamou-mani, Abdalla Almulla, Arianna Bavuso, Riyad Joucka, Diane Thorsen
Moderated by: Farah Andrews
November 10, Friday
12:30pm: Artificial Intelligence For Responsive Architecture & Design
Led by: Prof. Imad Hanna
2pm: Contemporary Living: What does it mean?
Speakers: Omar Al Gurg, Christiane Nasr Margriet Vollenberg, Daniel Bismut
Moderated by: Holly Byrne
3pm: Quiet luxury!
Speakers: Jacob Riiber, Anna Deflorian, Monica Arango, Ahmed Bayashout, Roberto Palomba
Moderated by: Miriam Llano
4pm: Current Response for Future Generations
Speakers: Farah Naz, Ahmed Bukhash, Alia Beyg, Jeff Risom
Moderated by: Maya Cochrane
5pm: Crafting Cultures & Designing Identity
Speakers: Fadi Sarieddine, Basma Bouzo, Meshary Alnassar, Chrissa Amuah, Lisa Ball-Lechgar
Moderated by: Fatma Al Mahmoud
6pm: Designing Solutions for Communities
Speakers: Wael Al Awar, Kerry Curtis, Nathalie Harb
Moderated by: Tadeu Baldani Caravieri
November 11, Saturday
12:30pm: The Architecture of Sound and The Sound of architecture
Led by: Joseph Ammar
2pm: Storytelling Through Craftsmanship and Responsible Design
Speakers: Afsal Mohamed, Ahmad Alkattan, Laura Bielecki, Asian Paints Berger Rep
Moderated by: Suha Sabith
3pm: Sustainability, Resilience, Longevity!
Speakers: Dr.Hamid Haqparwar, Robert Shakespeare, Rami Shishan
Moderated by: Ahmed Bukhash
4pm: Current Response for Future Generations
Speakers: Brendan Mcgetrick, Edward McIntosh, Dr. Constantin-Victor Spiridonidis, Alina Valcarce, Ila Colombo
Moderated by: Andy Shaw
Outdoor installations and Abwab
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Design Week visitors have the opportunity to view over 25 large-scale outdoor installations up close. All of them have been created by local, regional, and international designers and design studios, using unconventional materials like palm leaves, loofah, sugar, paper pulp, and cement alternatives. Each of the immersive public artworks aims to underscore the synergy between design, science, and technology while offering options for responsible, circular processes and sustainable practices.
A key element of Dubai Design Week’s outdoor program is the Abwab commission, as part of which Emirati architect Abdalla Almulla has created an extraordinary pavilion, titled ‘Of Palm’. As the name suggests, the colorful artwork uses palm trees as a testament to sustainable resources in architecture.
Urban Commissions
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The annual Dubai Design Week design competition was won by Syrian concept designer and architect Ahmad Alkattan. His project, named Designest, is described as “a series of intimate gathering spaces that look to nurture micro-communities and foster the exchange of ideas, offering
‘nooks’ and shelter as a bio-inclusive space for both humans and non-humans.”
UAE Designer Exhibition
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For its fourth year, the UAE Designer Exhibition, curated by Fatma Al Mahmoud, is themed around the future of living spaces. It is expected to host over 30 exceptional talents, showcasing their design products with a focus on eco-conscious material and social impact.
‘Sustainability – Past, Present and Future’, the d3 Architecture Exhibition
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Organized by Dubai Design District in partnership with Riba Gulf Chapter, the exhibition makes its return to the Dubai Design Week calendar this year. Alongside charting the evolution of sustainable architecture in the Gulf region, it will also promote the critical role of architects in this journey, while featuring work by students and emerging architects as well as leading architectural firms such as Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, and UN Studio. A series of talks and workshops will also take place as part of the exhibition.
The Maker Space
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Dubai Design Week’s dedicated workshops program, powered by Ikea, invites people of all ages and skill levels to participate and learn from a range of experts. If you ever wanted to try your hand at tufting, sustainable packaging design, recycling, reforming, and glass fusing, now is your chance. Check out the full schedule below.
November 7, Tuesday
12pm-1pm: Dry Flower Pairing – The Flower Society
12pm-2pm: Make My Space Your Space – Ikea
1:30pm-4:30pm: Glass Fusing – Hadia Roushdy
2:30pm-4:30pm: Contemporary Weaving – Loreta Bilinskaite – Monie
5pm-6:30pm: Typologies – University of Arts London
7pm-9pm: Mini Rug – Areen Hassan
November 8, Wednesday
11am-12:30pm: Fiction Writing – Wrichitects
11am-1pm: Patterns on Textile – Areen Hassan
1:30pm-3pm: Mate Reality of Textiles – Material Library of India
2:30pm-5:30pm: Sustainable Packaging Design – King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture – Ithra
3:30pm – 5:30pm: Now What? – Dina Faour – American University in Dubai
November 9, Thursday
11am-1pm: Botanical Hammering – Ikea
11am-1:30pm: The Fundamentals of Strategic Design – Brand Lounge
2pm-4pm: Art from Earth – Atoms Studio
2:30pm-5:30pm: Design Your Own Textile with Natural Dyes – King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture – Ithra
5pm-7:30pm: Casting Stories onto Spaces – Sarah T. Shannon
6pm-9pm: Inflatable Art and Architecture – King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture – Ithra
8pm-10pm: Tufting Workshop – Handmayk
November 10, Friday
10:30am-12pm: Re-use, Re-purpose, Collage making – IKEA
10:30am-1:30pm: Meta Reality of Plastics – Material Library of India
12:30pm-2:30pm: Portfolio 101 – Hameed Elmaghraby
2pm-4pm: Ink your prints – Shagaf Group
3pm-5pm: Plate Philosophy – Amaliya Karren Handicraft est.
4:30pm-7:30pm: Natural Plasters: A Hands-on Workshop – Made in Earth
5:30pm-7pm: The Art of Play – Mary Claire Kirwan
7:30pm-9:30pm: Palestinian Motifs – Areen Hassan
8pm-10pm: Recycling + Reforming – Precious Plastic Dubai
November 11, Saturday
10am-11am: Architecture for Kids – Sneha Divias Atelier
10am-12pm: Art of Diorama – IKEA
11:30am-12:30pm: Clay Pot Painting – Eezeedoodles
12:30pm-2pm: Art of Looking – Kapil Bhimekar
1-2pm: Art from the Sun: Cyanotype Magic – Mansion Bavishi
2:30pm-3:30pm: Clay Pot Painting – Eezeedoodles
2:30pm-4pm: Natural Dyeing Workshop – Material Library of India
4pm-5:30pm: Making with Kombucha – Shaza Khalil
4:30pm-6pm: Print Design Packaging – Jasmin Mampilli
6-9pm: Intro to Resin Casting & Mould Making – Joseph McKeever
6:30pm-8:30pm: Tufting Workshop – Handmayk
November 12, Sunday
10am-10:45am: Liquid Rainbows – woo-hoo!
10am-12pm: Soap Stone Carving – Studiyolab
11:15am-12pm: Recycled Robots – woo-hoo!
12:30pm-2pm: Catapult Woodworking – Studiyolab
12:30pm-2pm: Explore ECO Printing with Turmeric – Loretta Bilinskaite – Monie
2:30pm-4pm: Puppet Palooza – Shadow Puppets – Lina Younes
2:30pm-4:30pm: Plate Philosophy – Amaliya Karren Handicraft est.
4:30pm-5:30pm: Discovering the Loofah: Cultivating Sustainability from Home – Noor Taan
5pm-7pm: Clay Ceremony – Maryam Elattar
6pm-8pm: Recycling + Reforming – Precious Plastic Dubai
7:30pm-9:30pm: Tufting Workshop – Handmayk
Other workshops and exhibits
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The D3-based Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI) is also hosting a series of design workshops, student and designer exhibits, and campus tours from November 8 to 10. In5 Dubai, which is an enabling platform for entrepreneurs and start-ups by Tecom Group, will present The North Star, the region’s largest 3D printed exhibition.
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