Dubai 2020: 5 beautiful design stories from Dubai Design Week

Dubai 2020: frugal seats by working-class migrants in the UAE, butterflies-inspired rugs empowering Afghani women and creative tools for kids who suffered during the Syrian war.
Dubai 2020: frugal seats by working-class migrants in the UAE, butterflies-inspired rugs empowering Afghani women and creative tools for kids who suffered during the Syrian war.
DxBDW2020: we have created a Pinterest gallery featuring the highlights on show at Dubai Design Week.
Seven pillars and safely distanced public seatings compose Hozan Zangana’s ‘Fata Morgana’ centripetal installation in the heart of Dubai where people can safely cross each other’s paths according to Middle Eastern construction techniques.
The city’s inaugural architectural festival, convertible benches and a palm tree textile design celebration. We have rounded up 10 highlights on show at Dubai Design Week 2020 kicking off on November 9.
Under the Burj Khalifa, Zaha Hadid Architects’ Opus building explores “the balance between solid and void, opaque and transparent, interior and exterior”. The project is home to the new ME Dubai hotel, the first and last one in which the late architect created both the architecture and the interior design.
Due to COVID-19, the 7bn $ global event expecting to welcome 25 million visitors has been postponed. Looking forward to exploring Expo 2021 Dubai! In the meantime, how such decision will affect the construction site? How much will it impact on budgets, investments and national participations?
A cosmic vibe with an underlying brutalist and underground fight-club aesthetic define the ultimate Dubai Warehouse Gym by VSHD Design.
The British design studio reveals first photographs of three ethereal portals that will welcome visitors of Expo 2020 Dubai which will inaugurate on the 20th of October 2020. The 7 storey tall carbon fibre structures are inspired by ‘mashrabiya’, a latticed design element in traditional Islamic architecture which allows to control light and airflow with see-through intricately geometric patterns.
What if walls dividing communities and countries could playfully bring people together? The ‘porous’ WAL(L)Z installation by T Sakhi Architects at Dubai Design Week “represents the act of resilience in overcoming any obstacle and transforming it for constructive change.”
Palm weaving techniques, traditional Middle East architecture and landscapes of shape-shifting dunes are re-interpreted in contemporary designs at Downtown Design 2019 in Dubai.
Emirati designer Aljoud Lootah launches MUDEEM, a collection of hand-crafted storage boxes inspired by the traditional ‘Mandoos’ chests. The series “keep pace with a changing world”.
Afghani crafts, a pavilion inspired by wind towers of the Gulf and a gateway exploding the patterns of light created by traditional gridded windows in Middle Eastern architecture. We rounded up some of the best installations and exhibitions at Dubai Design Week 2019.
The very best of DubaiDesignWeek2019 is on Archipanic. Explore our dedicated Pinterest board… And check our ongoing report!
A mosque, a church, a synagogue and a secular visitor pavilion welcome visitors of all faiths at The Abrahamic Family House, an inter religious complex designed as a platform for understanding and coexistence between Muslims, Christians and Jews.
The new Jameel Arts Centre by Serie Architects is a cultural hub featuring a white cluster of galleries, 7 desert gardens and an open-air sculpture park overlooking Dubai creek.
Dehydrated cleaning products reducing water waste, autonomous submersible drones mapping the coral reef and a floating device turning street lights into flood-emergency kits. 7 responsible water-related innovations at the Global Grad Show 2018 in Dubai.
Interactive VR installations, a global grad show focusing on Artificial Intelligence and a parametric design installation exploring the emotional states of autism. Dubai Design Week 2018 bridges tradition and cutting edge technologies highlighting the most creative scene of the Middle East.
The Burj Khalifa as a huge sundial arm, a pavilion made from up cycled bed springs and Casablanca creative vibe. Dubai Design Week 2017 showcases the creativity of Middle East and beyond!
Louvre Abu Dhabi by Pritzker-prize winning architect Jean Nouvel mesmerises guests with a huge dome creating a “rain of light” over a floating village of galleries which explores humanity through art.
Aljoud Lootah translates the intricate patterns of Emirati architectural heritage into TEBR porcelain collection of vases and tableware.
Omani-inspired cabinets functional praying consoles and skyscraper-looking tables. Archipanic previews 10 projects and designs by innovative women at Design Days Dubai 2017.
From Abu Dhabi to Dubai in just 12 minutes: BIG and Hyperloop One reveal joint vision for future mobility at airplane speed.
Maison Caran D’Ache and horological laboratory MB&F launch Astrograph bespoke sci-fi pen tuning the skills of Swiss master craftsmen.
From Cairo urban design scene to iridescent patterns projected on the Burj Khalifa but also a Svarovski caleidoscopic installation by Zainab Al Hashimi and bespoke furniture by emerging UAE talents. We selected 7 not-to-be-missed projects and show at Dubai Design Week 2016.
A layered trefoil-shaped building, a garden nested under an upside-down architecture and a bloom of solar-powered towers: BIG, Foster+Partners and Grimshaw Architects unveiled winning designs for major pavilions at Dubai Expo 2020.
Aljoud Lootah abstracts geometrical patterns to create Double Square minimal furniture design collection.
Replicas of Palmira Arch that was nearly destroyed by ISIS in Syria will be 3D-printed in London and New York as symbols of defiance against acts of terrorism and thanks to a broader conservation program by the Institute of Digital Archaeology.
Who challenges the Burj Khalifa? The first vertical city could overshadow the architecture battle to build the ultimate skyscraper and relegate super tall towers as thing from the past.
Yaroof installation by Aljoud Lootah pays homage to traditional fishing techniques and Arabesque patterns in front of Dubai contemporary skyline.
At Milan Expo 2015 international architects designed sustainable and temporary national pavilions in name of the fair motto “Feed the planet”.