Dubai Design Week is pleased to announce the return of Urban Commissions for the eighth edition.

Urban Commissions presents the opportunity for designers, architects and collectives to develop outdoor ‘furniture’ in the public domain and can consist of anything from innovative street furniture, to shading or producing places where people can gather.

The design must be made of sustainable material which should be able to be used throughout the year.

The winning design will be unveiled at Dubai Design Week 2023 taking place 7-12 November and will remain in the Dubai Design District (d3).

About Urban Commissions

Urban Commissions is a design competition launched by Dubai Design Week, Dubai Design District (d3) and Dubai Culture & Arts Authority in 2014 to celebrate the UAE’s growing design-conscious urban development and engage with the local design community and product.

Applications are now closed for Urban Commissions. For any further information please contact [email protected].

This year's winning design will be selected by a jury panel of experts in the design field, consisting of;

Cyril Zammit is a Paris-born and Dubai-based design consultant and advisor with over 30 years of experience in the cultural sector. He has worked with various cultural organizations, including the French Embassy, HSBC Private Bank and Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) in Abu Dhabi. He is the founder of Design Days Dubai, the first fair dedicated to collectible and limited edition design in the Middle East and South Asia, and the creator of Dubai Design Week. Cyril has also worked as an expert for the Vice Chairman Board of Directors Office and the International Relations Office at Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, as well as for the Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy at the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation. Currently, Cyril is a strategic consultant for the Uzbekistan Art & Culture Foundation and an invited instructor for the Ithra Academy in Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

Ahmad Bukhash is an experienced architect who received a Bachelor of Architecture from the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston in 2002 and a Master's degree in Architecture from the Kyoto Institute of Technology in Japan in 2006, where he also interned with Nikken Sekkei, a leading design and build development corporation. He then worked at Dubai Properties Group as Director of Urban Planning and Design from 2007 to 2014 before joining the Dubai Development Authority, where he is currently responsible for regulating and reviewing strategic master plans for prominent private developers such as Dubai Holding, MERAAS, SHAMAL, and EMAAR. Bukhash also established his own architectural design firm, ARCHIDENTITY, in 2009 and has completed several projects across Dubai. He is also heavily engaged in the field of Architectural Education as a member of various advisory committees for the Architectural Program Development at American University of Dubai, Ajman University, Zayed University, and the University of Sharjah

Robert Shakespeare is Cracknell's Group Design Director with 33 years of experience as a design professional in the Middle East and Asia. As a Group Design Director, he has a leading role in inspiring and guiding Cracknell’s design strategies and overseeing the design and management of large scale landscape, urban design and masterplanning projects across Cracknell’s global portfolio. Robert is passionate about the creation of site responsive public and private realm landscapes, and sees the role of Landscape Architects as the key to shaping modern cities, and creating high quality integrated sustainable urban spaces that improve the live-ability of our built environment.