Dubai Design Week kicks off 13 November. Musement takes a look at what to do if you’re in town for the festivities.
The fascinating and awe-inspiring Dubai Design Week takes place from the 13-18 November. Currently in its third edition this year, Dubai Design Week is the biggest design event in the Middle East with approximately 50,000 visitors slated to attend. Designers supported by 150 brands from all over the world will be present for the festival’s 200 events.
Dubai is full of exciting activities and enlightening cultural opportunities. It also happens to be one of the Middle East’s busiest flight centers, and one of the world’s most iconic cities for artistic design. Whether you are on a stopover or on a trip to Dubai itself, Dubai Design Week is certainly worth a visit. From striking interior design to emotionally impactful architecture to intriguing interactive art installations, Dubai Design week will definitely help expand your creative consciousness.
Many of the exhibitions take place in the popular Dubai Design District, where you can also find delicious eats such as the Craft Café that serve yummy artful creations for breakfast and lunch in celebration of its designer location.
Downtown Design
From the 14-17 of November, Downtown Design will exhibit its fifth edition of international contemporary design from 150 brands in 25 countries. The designs will include innovations of interior design and architecture as well as inspire colour trends, spatial experience, product innovation and Dubai’s evolving architectural landscape.
One noteworthy event is the Global Grad Show, students from top design programs at 91 universities in 41 different countries come together and demonstrate their talent for breakthrough design. This year’s event will be 50% larger than last year’s, and will showcase how innovative concepts from the next generation of designers will transform the world according to the the following themes: connect, empower and sustain. Among the designs will be a music-activated visual performance triggered by sensors and codes that amplify the sounds of thunder and lightning, transforming a sensual natural phenomenon into a piece of technological art. Lookout for the Cloud.
Iconic City: Loading…Casa
This year’s city of focus is Casablanca. Its historical transformation from a small ‘shantytown’ to a living urban center and world renowned metropolis complements the festival’s themes, which aim to inspire thoughts of progressive innovation. Commerce and immigration were the vibrant city’s cornerstones of development, and its independence led it reinvent itself once estranged from France. Casablanca’s cultural-renewal and the city’s metamorphosis will be exhibited through films, art installations, poems, sounds and stories. Learn more about the event here.
There is so much to look forward to at this event, including interesting designs such as a pavilion crafted from discarded mattress springs or the sneakers made from algae, although it is the overall focus of the event on sustainable architecture that inspires the creativity of the designers and illuminates a path of hope into the future for everyone. Don’t miss some of enlightening public talks by modern designers such as Sir David Adjaye’s on 13 November. Regarded as one of the world’s most influential architects, Adjaye’s emphasis on the importance of ethical pride and a positive social agenda helped to make him stand out in his field.
If you’re unable to make it to Dubai for Design Week this year, don’t fret! Dubai Expo 2020 has some amazing reveals that are well worth the wait including Dubai Creek Tower designed by the architect Santiago Calatrava. This optimum energy efficient tower has been conceptualized, and will soon be tallest building in the world, surpassing the Burj Khalifa by at least 300 feet!
In the meantime, here’s a look at what Dubai Design Week 2016 had to offer!