Since 2015, Dubai Design Week has welcomed the Middle East’s largest creative festival with over 200 events covering a breadth of creative industries, including architecture, product design, interior design, multimedia and graphic design. Downtown Design, a key event, is now a must-attend to discover inspiring and innovative pieces by emerging designers. We remember some of the most outstanding pieces it has introduced.
BALLERINA FLOWER VASES BY IN DOI
Made with plain medium-density fibreboard and a glass tube, these captivating vases that are finished with a semi-gloss lacquer were designed by Jordan-based creative product design studio In Doi that was inspired by the spinning motion of a ballet dancer. In Doi was founded by husband and wife Laith Al Essi and Tahrid-Alina Al Smairat.
CARABUS MIRROR BY AMMAR KALO
The result of combining traditional craft with advanced robotic fabrication, the tinted Carabus mirror is made of robotically formed copper, camel leather and walnut hardwood. The work of Sharjah-based designer and architect Ammar Kalo of KALO, its form and texture are loosely inspired by beetles.
KAPPA TWISTED TABLE & CHAIR BY RADHWA KABLI DESIGN
These stylish creations embody the beauty of geometric design by creating harmony and the illusion of movement. They are from the KAPPA Collection by Radhwa Kabli, an interior architect with a passion for furniture design, and the first Saudi designer to exhibit her furniture pieces in Salone del Mobile in Italy. Based in Saudi Arabia, she uses natural and recycled materials.
COFFEE TABLE BY JAFAR DAJANI
Made of oak, brass and white marble, this coffee table by Dubai-based interior and furniture designer Jafar Dajani was inspired by the De Stijl movements in the style of Piet Mondrian and Gerrit Rietveld.
SPINDLE LAMPS BY ROUDHA ALSHAMSI
Roudha Alshamsi’s furniture pieces comfortably straddle the line between art and furniture. These pendant lamps pay homage to the eponymous tool Emirati women use for hand-weaving. The robe-like wrapping is a representation of the wool.
TRAMONTO BY MESHARY ALNASSAR
Based in Dubai, architect Meshary AlNassar’s 410 collection comprises a series of sculptural lamps inspired by his childhood memories. Made of stone and embedded LED technology, Tramonto, which means “sunset” in Italian, evokes the sun’s warmth as it sets on the horizon.
A CACIA 11 BY ROUDHA ALSHAMSI
Inspired by Acacia trees, this table is from the Acacia Surface Series of sculptural pieces by Roudha, who studied local Emirati wildlife and landscape. “Just like a painter or a sculptor, the outcome of the design process is a mix of an appropriate idea and refined skills”, says the designer, whose Roudha Alshamsi Design was established in 2017.
STEELSCRAPERS TABLES BY NADA DEBS
Designed by Nada Debs, who was born in Lebanon and raised in Japan, the geometric brass, copper and acid-treated steel Steelscrapers tables were inspired by the Middle East’s rugged urban landscape.
ROUNDED CHAIR ANDFLOOR LAMP BY REJO
This chair in ash wood with steel and the floor lamp in coated ash wood by Rejo are unique pieces indeed from its design studio in Riyadh that was founded in 2014 by Reem Olyan and Jumana Qasem.
ROOM DIVIDER BY YARA HABIB
Thanks to Dubai-based design incubator Tashkeel, Lebanese-Canadian graphic artist and emerging product designer Yara Habib gets a platform to present her Katta three-part room divider that gives traditional Emirati craft a modern spin. Its interactive rotating elements reference al-sadu, the United Arab Emirates traditional geometric weaving practice.
TRIBUTE TABLE BY BINCHY AND BINCHY
Designed by Dubai-based studio Binchy and Binchy, this table was inspired by architecture and explores a design language that is truly Emirati. The tabletop is a reference to mashribiya screens, a typical architectural element in Arabic residences.
CRYSTAL TABLES BY RITA KETTANEH
Inspired by crystal’s transparency, purity, and geometry, this family of side tables by Rita Kettaneh for Lebanon-based KRAY Studio come in a wide range of colours and finishes.
This article was originally published in Home & Decor.
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