Local design collective DRAK puts the Ras Al Khor industrial area on the map with a series of talks, films, exhibitions and dining experiences throughout Dubai Design Week.
Design Ras Al Khor (DRAK) is a collective led by local designers Khalid Shafar, Khulood Thani, Nadine Kanso and Tarik al Zaharna. Their mission is to promote the Ras Al Khor Industrial Area, one of Dubai’s oldest, as a new creative district, centred on design research, innovation and material exploration.
Under the title Celebrating Wood, the collective has partnered with Paris-based digital platform Eyes on Talent and has commissioned four projects in the field of interactive design (Hind Bin Demaithan), textile design (Hala Kaiksow), film (Lina Younes) and graphic design (Tulip Hazbar).
DRAK16 will also showcase for the first time an ‘International Projects Selection’; this year bringing to Dubai Design Week award winning projects ‘Aleni’ seat by David Trubridge and Surfaces Sonores by Pierre Charrie.
In collaboration with Ghaf Kitchen they will host six 3-course pop-up dining experiences in their space, and offsite, two talks and panel discussions.
The first talk, A conversation with Pierre Charrie, will be held on Thursday 27 October in association with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC)’. The award-winning designer will discuss Surfaces Sonores, a maple plywood invention that amplifies sounds without speakers thanks to a buzzer on the back. The second talk, Wood…Beyond Convention, will be a panel discussion covering topics such as current consumption in the Middle East, design trends, typology, traditional crafts, technology and issues around sustainability. (Timings to be confirmed).