The Saudi Pavilion has chosen the game known as UM TSE’ (??? ???? / pronounced in the Saudi dialect as ??? ????Um Tis‘. Um Tis‘ is embedded in the local culture and was first [...]

Pavilion Title: UM TS3

The Saudi Pavilion has chosen the game known as UM TSE’ (??? ???? / pronounced in the Saudi dialect as ??? ????Um Tis‘. Um Tis‘ is embedded in the local culture and was first played using local elements of sand and stone. The elements used to play this game have developed into wood, plastic, and digital form.

Choosing to spell the game’s name as UM TS3, the designers evoke gaming and the digital world. The emphasis of the pavilion is texture, interaction, lighting, and sound. Today’s gaming world is limited to joysticks and a screen restricting real-world interaction. The concept of the Saudi Pavilion is to reconnect the designers and their audience to their tactile historic culture to propose new ways forward.

Curators: Basma and Noura Bouzo

Basma and Noura Bouzo, owners and co-founders of Oasis Magazine and Saudi Design Week, have been directly involved in the progress of the art and design scene in Saudi Arabia.

Designers:

Ayah Al Bitar is a product and furniture designer, who merges tradition and modernity to create products that are a combination of the East and the West.

Abdulaziz Al-Azem, the Paris-born architectural lighting design expert, is a leading figure in his field, with a list of iconic projects to his name that includes expos, businesses, private residences and mosques.

Khaled S. AlTassan is principal of FORMA Design Architects + Engineers, an International Associate Member of the American Institute of Architects, (Middle East Chapter), and a certified Professional Engineer.

Alaa Alghufaili, an architect and industrial designer, serves as a lecturer of architecture at King Saud University and is inspired by the integration of Islamic patterns and modern architecture.

Supported by Saudi Aramco / King Abdulaziz Cultural Center, Cities (Riyadh, Dubai) and Haya Design (Branding Sponsor)

A major Dubai Design Week initiative, Abwab is a series of six pavilions built to celebrate and showcase the work of the most exciting designers, studios and curators from six different countries in the MENASA region.

Abwab, which means ‘doors’ in Arabic, acts as a direct portal to the region’s local design talent. A curator from each participating country leads the designers to generate never before-seen design content under one unifying theme, this year being - Games: The Element of Play in Culture.

Abwab will be taking place from 26 - 31 October, located in the open areas of Dubai Design District (d3). Open to public from 9am - 9pm (6pm on Saturday 31).