Abwab translates as ‘doors’ in Arabic, and is a headline feature, uniquely experienced at Dubai Design Week, that is dedicated to commissioning work from across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.

Serving as a platform to highlight creative talent and stimulate cultural exchange, Abwab is thematically remodelled each year to reflect and respond to timely global and regional contexts.

To date, 187 designers from across the region have participated in Abwab, representing a range of countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and the UAE.

The 2023 commission is ‘Of Palm’ by Emirati architect and founder of MULA design studio, Abdalla Almulla.

Find out more here.

About Abdalla Almulla

Abdalla Almulla is an Emirati Architect based in Dubai, and founder of design studio MULA.

Abdalla’s practice is driven by creative energy, constantly in flux and leading into the unknown; where methodologies are perceived as a sequence of theoretical and visual design explorations within a focused subject, using patterns and geometry as regulators in setting design guidelines. Abdalla studies a subject’s attributes to develop them through a preliminary study of concepts and prototyping, creating a feedback loop to learn, repeat and advance.

Abdalla has participated in numerous design exhibitions regionally and internationally, including Paris Design Week, Milan Design Week and London Design Biennale. He is also the recipient of the Institut du Monde Arabe’s inaugural 2023 Emerging Talent Design Award.