Dubai Design Week is back | Here’s what to look out for

Dubai Design Week is coming back for an eighth season honoring sustainability, with the theme DESIGN WITH IMPACT.  From the 8th to the 12th of November, Middle East’s largest creative festival will take place at Dubai Design District, displaying innovative and forward thinking installations, exhibitions and cultural experiences, while grasping the impact of the ever-changing design landscape. An exciting program to look forward to!

By Emma Breidi

Once Upon a Forest

With 30 large scale installations curated for the fair, the use of innovative materials sparks the possibility of positive design impact on the environment. Amongst them we find under the shelter of the pavilion’s floating canopy, the installation “Once Upon a Forest” by OBMI. Inspired by the United Arab Emirates’s mangroves and the indigenous forest ecosystem, this immersive installation explores the relation between the urban landscape and nature, celebrating it as a place of refuge and inspiration.

Suhail Design

The Suhail star embodies an important symbol in the Arab world as it represents the weather’s descent into cooler conditions. Reem al Bustani took inspiration in this figure of prosperity and abundance to conceive a fascinating and captivating design. Capturing the rhythmic sounds of waves rising and falling after Suhail appears, “Suhail Design” conveys the changing of seasons through the varying heights of the creation’s heads.

How Much Does Your Debris Weigh?

Quartz Architects designed an ‘inverted wave’ of waste with demolished raw state materials. The installation “How Much Does Your Debris Weigh?” points out our current waste practices and its potential to overpower human life. The experiential space reflects on our surroundings and asks the question “what if this was our world?”.

Design in the Metaverse : Pushing the boundaries of design

“Design in the Metaverse” offers an immersive adventure to physically and mentally experience Metaverse technology. With this exhibition, Dubai-based Metaverse development specialist MetaDecrypt pushes the boundaries of design showing the innovative role of metaverse in diverse industries such as architecture, fashion, and real estate.

Dewan Metaverse Talks

Complementing the Metaverse Exhibition, the Design in the Metaverse talk led by Dewan Architects will present key industry leaders to discuss the role of metaverse technology and the expansion of design’s limits.

Downtown Design

Take a walk in the fair’s market on the waterfront terrace of d3 from the 9th to the 12th of November, to find over 200 new brands and designers. From local producers and designers, to regional and international studios, galleries and collectives, the market offers a range of contemporary design. Ethical fashion pieces, jewelry, hand-carved pottery, artisanal products ; you will find your happiness amongst those creative and sustainable pieces !

Creative Workshops

Dubai Design Week will propose up to 50 collaborative hands-on workshops to learn amazing special skills : making leather from Kombucha, learning traditional embroidery method of punch needle, building sustainable solar-powered lamps … and many more workshops offering you creative, ethical and fun skills.

You can also find us for a special workshop on creative writing, co-hosted by Wrichitects. In this workshop, we will guide you in your writing process and provide tips to improve your skills on capturing the latest stories on art, design and fashion in the Middle East.

The workshop will take place Friday 11th november from 4pm to 6pm. See you there!

\Discover more about the week’s programming on Dubai Design Week’s website, right here!