Visitors can expect to experience awe-inspiring installations spread across the city this Dubai Design Week. The larger than life sculptural, architectural and experiential public installations have been created by a handpicked selection of renowned international and local designers, and are sure to be popular attractions not to miss.
Visitors can expect to experience awe-inspiring installations spread across the city this Dubai Design Week. The larger than life sculptural, architectural and experiential public installations have been created by a handpicked selection of renowned international and local designers, and are sure to be popular attractions not to miss.
Located across d3, the home of Dubai Design Week, several of the installations take inspiration from the traditions and diversity of Dubai and wider region to emotions of nostalgia and placement overall creating structures that appear larger than life to visitors.
Apical Reforms’ interactive public sculpture ‘DUBAI’ is a visual extension of the brands aesthetic, inspired by the fluid nature of sand dunes formed by the flow of wind. Capturing the vibrant spirit of the Emirate, the sculpture will interact with its surroundings and the people, offering splendid photo-opps.
Aljoud Lootah collaborates with German electroplating company Probas.Plating to present ‘AlAreesh Collection.’ The installation is inspired by AlAreesh walls that are constructed from dried plain fronds of palm leaves. The installation will showcase a set of furniture and lighting products taking nods from the structures that were used as houses and majlises, and are a modern interpretation of traditional local culture.
‘The Skyline’ presented by Egyptian designer Hani Mahfouz from Brandinc reflects a visitor’s view of the cosmopolitan city of Dubai. The artist highlights a geometrically planned structure of the Emirate’s neat skyline while interpreting the city’s diversity through a widely unrealistic yet perfectly coordinated colour scheme.
In an effort to revive the dying crafts in Pakistan, Coalesce will showcase different rotating ‘Lattoo’ stools. The Coalesce team explores structure and the point of convergence between different materials and forms, creating a contrast between the solid shapes and the skeletal framework.
Fusing jewelry design and architecture together, Dubai-based Gafla jewelry and architect Abdalla AlMulla will present ‘Specular’. The Installation, inspired by the traditional Emirati jewelry adorned with gemstones and gold, will showcase Gafla’s exclusive, high end pieces from the Baraag collection within a geometric matrix structure created by AlMulla. The installation will be adorned with mirrored surfaces emphasizing elements of reflection and nostalgia.
Dubai based designer Khalid Shafar, in cooperation with Lasvit present The Silent Call. The installation comprises a chandelier inspired by the crown of Islamic Architecture, the ‘Mosque’ and the beauty of the call to prayer. The installation features 5 iconic mosques in 5 countries, shaping the silhouette of their domes as components of the chandelier. The light installation synchronizes with the 5 daily prayer calls, and moves 5 times a day at certain hours indicating the call to prayer.
Lujaine Rezk and Albert Kolambel present Screen, a freestanding interactive installation that acts as a shelter for visitors. Inspired by a conceptual interpretation of the Masharabiyah, traditional Arabian screens made of lattice woodwork that provide privacy from the outside; an iconic element in conventional Islamic architecture.
NAKKASH explores outdoor living through a nautical experience at this year’s Dubai Design Week with a palette of maritime blues and sailing boats on display, this installation creates a relaxing, coastal feel reminiscent of a charming harbor. The open-air installation invites the design crowd to anchor at “The Dock” and discover their latest collections through panoramic water views and ocean-inspired furniture.
Based off Paula Zucotti’s acclaimed book ‘Everything We Touch’, the design expert will bring the popular project to Dubai. ‘Every Thing We Touch - Dubai Design Week’ will explore the cultures that make up Dubai, using everyday artifacts as the storytellers. Throughout the exhibition, the designer will reflect on the customs, traditions and behaviors of the different people and cultures of Dubai, narrating these interactions through the objects that make up the fabric of our daily lives.
SUPERFUTUREDESIGN* creates a home environment with lush vegetation at its core in this interactive installation. The exhibition creates a tangible metaphor to allow visitors to realize how, through the use of lights, a purified and open-air environment can be enjoyed in the domestic space. Sending visitors on a path, or journey through an archetypical house fit with innovative light fixtures and combining natural elements, such as woods and greenery.
Swarovski returns with another captivating installation this design week, presenting ‘prologue’ a monumental, freestanding sculpture holding 8,000 amber-colored Swarovski Crystals designed by Fredrikson Stallard. The luminous ring mimics the golden sun, representing new beginnings, life and rebirth.
World renowned design studio, Zaha Hadid collaborates with Patrik Schumar to present the Serac Benches during Dubai Design Week. Developed as an urban sculpture for seating and resting, the sculpture invites visitors to rediscover the fluid, continuous nature of Hadid’s work.
Aidah by Boano Prišmontas + Ricardas Blazukas, is an installation made of 50 black balloons, 500m of ropes and 50 bricks. These elements are combined together generating a floating landscape that belongs to and is in dialogue with the desert, the origin of everything. These flimsy structures evoke a sense of transient fragility and at the same time inform Aidah’s bold and distinctive character.
Both Fatima and Shamsa of Ruwaya Jewellery in collaboration with Shamsa Al Dhaheri having the same connection and appreciation towards the palm tree sourced from culture and tradition, translated into different mediums of art present The fronds of our remain, the installation is a synthetic interpretation of a palm tree that feels as much like a sleek building as it does an organic form.