ABWAB 2024. ‘A Present: Absent Mudhif’ installation by Ola Saad Znad – All photos are courtesy of Dubai Design Week.
Design. ABWAB, the word for ‘gate’ in Arabic, is the Dubai Design Week‘s platform for design talent from the South West Asian and North African regions. This year, practitioners were invited to propose designs focusing on vernacular architecture and how community-centric architectural methods—rooted in local materials and techniques—can intersect with new environments. The installations are on display at Dubai Design District (d3).
Ola Saad Znad is an Iraqi architect, artist, and urban designer based in Dubai and Manama, Bahrain. Her work draws from Iraqi culture and explores the intricate relationship between contemporary architecture and identity. The installation A Present/Absent Mudhif highlights the architectural heritage of Iraq’s Marsh Arabs, the inhabitants of the once-thriving Mesopotamian marshlands who built their homes from locally sourced reeds and mud.
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“I created a fragmented design symbolising the severe impact of water depletion on the once-vibrant marshlands,” explains Znad. “I reimagined the Mudhif as an open, inclusive space, using sustainable materials and the deep cultural significance of traditional techniques.”
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Miriam Hillawi Abraham is a multidisciplinary designer from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She uses digital media and spatial design to interrogate themes of equitable futurism and intersectionality. Her Material Witnesses and Narrating Lifeforms pavilion is inspired by the “coral stone” found in early settlements on the UAE’s East African coast.
Photo by Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images for Dubai Design Week.
Instead of viewing coral as a static material, Abraham explores its living, dynamic nature to evoke the concepts of temporality and transformation. The installation uses natural materials such as wax, tulle, and Epsom salt. “It reflects the interconnectedness of human and non-human life and explores the themes of decay and planetary existence.”
ReRoot “explores emergency housing solutions through an ecological lens.” Using palm waste and mycelium, a material derived from fungi, the team developed an emergency housing unit that empowers communities to build their own homes sustainably.
“The ReRoot installation revives the idea of community-centric construction, focusing on ecological restoration and cultural adaptation.” Explain Dima Al Srouri, Dalia Hamati, Andy Cartier and Rosa Hamalainen.
‘A Present: Absent Mudhif’ installation by Ola Saad Znad.
2024 ABWAB pavilions: all photos are Courtesy of Dubai Design Week.
‘ReRoot’ installation by Dima Al Srouri, Dalia Hamati, Andy Cartier and Rosa Hamalainen.
