The popular exhibit will return this year with UAE based designers contributing to the UAE pavilion as well as the pavilion-clusters design.
The popular exhibit ‘Abwab’, meaning doors in Arabic, bridges designers from six countries under a central theme, the countries being housed by a specially designed pavilion-cluster. This year, UAE-based designers take centre stage designing the pavilion structure as well as joining designers from Algeria, Bahrain, India, Iraq and Palestine to produce work inspired by the theme 'The Human Senses'.
Located within the walkways of d3, this years' Abwab pavilion structure was designed by UAE based design trio Meitha Al Mazrooi, Hatem Hatem and Fortuné Penniman of architectural practice A Hypothetical Office. The trio create a playful nod to Arab neighborhood nostalgia with the design of a ‘Housh’ or courtyard at the heart of the structure. In an attempt to incorporate sustainable design, the designers combine a re-appropriated greenhouse structure with reclaimed rubber flooring provided by the Sharjah Environment Company, Bee’ah. The result is an open space with intimate enclosures, paths of filtered light and shady canopied public spaces.
Curator and multidisciplinary designer’s Salem Al-Qassimi and Maryam Al Qassimi take on the theme of the human senses at the UAE pavilion drawing inspiration from the ubiquitous cafeteria’s that have become an integral element of the Emirati cultural experience. The cafeteria is a mélange of disparate tastes, visuals, and ideas coming together to form a multicultural singularity. The UAE pavilion at Abwab draws inspiration from the cafeteria in an attempt to highlight the many layers of this cultural phenomenon.