Dubai Design Week Celebrates 10 Years
Since its launch in October 2015, Dubai Design Week is set to celebrate a decade next month with one of its largest editions yet. More than 500 designers from 40 countries will gather in the city, showcasing Dubai as the design capital of the Middle East.
Taking place from 5-10 November 2024, the region’s leading design festival will commemorate its 10th edition under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture. The festival will feature a vibrant program of new commissions, exhibitions, and events, highlighting Dubai’s role in the global design scene.
Held in strategic partnership with Dubai Design District (d3) and supported by Dubai Culture, the 10th edition will bring together over 500 designers, brands, and creatives from 40+ countries. Key objectives include:
- Providing an international platform to promote regional creative talent
- Establishing Dubai as a hub for the global design community
- Promoting sustainable design and innovation.
Here is a review of the main sections of Dubai Design Week.
Abwab
Abwab, meaning "doors" in Arabic, is a signature feature of Dubai Design Week, dedicated to supporting creatives from the South West Asian and North African (SWANA) region. For the 2024 edition, practitioners were invited to propose installations exploring the theme of vernacular architecture and its potential to inspire regenerative design. Vernacular architecture emphasizes local materials, climate-adapted techniques, and community-centered designs deeply tied to their environments and cultures.
Present/Absent Mudhif by Ola Znad, Iraq
The Iraqi architect’s installation highlights the architectural heritage of the Marsh Arabs in Iraq. Made from locally sourced reeds and mud, the installation reinterprets the traditional Mudhif structure as a multisensory experience. The fragmented design symbolises the devastating impact of water depletion on the once-thriving marshlands. The Mudhif is reimagined as an inclusive, open space, welcoming a broader audience while preserving the traditions that have sustained these communities for generations.
Material Witnesses and Narrating Lifeforms by Miriam Hillawi Abraham, Ethiopia
Inspired by coastal sites and ancient trading centres, this installation reflects the rich, layered histories shaped by diverse cultures and geographies. The project explores themes of placelessness and temporality, drawing on coral stone, a material once prevalent in Gulf and East African architecture but now ecologically unsustainable. Using beeswax replicas of coral embedded in a false coral stone wall, the installation emphasises the fragility of these structures. As the wax melts in the sun, it leaves imprints, symbolizing the slow decay of both the material and our ecological ties.
ReRoot by Andy Cartier, Rosa Hämäläinen, Dalia Hamati & Dima Al Srouri
This emergency housing concept reinterprets vernacular architecture with an ecological focus, allowing communities to build homes using local materials. By utilising mycelium grown from local palm waste, the design creates a sustainable material with a reduced environmental footprint. The housing units are customisable based on user needs and context, delivered in compact, flat-pack kits that include all components for easy assembly, ensuring efficient transport and storage.
Installations
Dubai Design Week provides a platform for designers, architects, creatives, and design-focused brands to present large-scale installations or objects for public spaces, which will be displayed throughout Dubai Design District (d3) during the festival.
The design proposals are required to be innovative, challenge the limits of imagination and design possibilities, and incorporate a circular approach. This year, ten installations will be on display in d3:
UAE Designer Exhibition (Downtown Design)
Men’s Ring Exhibition L’ÉCOLE Middle East (Building 10)
Creative Solutions Exhibition | Ithra
Design Next | d3 x Isola Design
DXBDW Future Architects Exhibition in collaboration with RIBA
Student Showcase | Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI)
Graduate Show | American University of Sharjah
Student Showcase | Avani Institute of Design
FiftyFifty Traveling Exhibition | University of Sharjah
Urban Commissions
Urban Commissions is Dubai Design Week’s annual competition that invites architects and designers to create outdoor furniture for public spaces, focusing on a responsible and resilient design approach. The 2024 theme, titled Tawila (meaning "table" in Arabic), explores the table as a lasting symbol of human interaction—a platform for dialogue, creativity, and communal experiences. It delves into the table’s historical and cultural significance, as well as its modern role in bringing people together.
Winner: TukTukDum Table by Altqadum, Oman
Drawing inspiration from the musical traditions of the Gulf, where audiences gather around and interact with musicians, the TukTukDum table encourages user participation, inviting them to become performers. The design reimagines the conventional table by incorporating openings on its surface, allowing individuals to sit within the table, creating a unique, immersive experience. Constructed using traditional techniques and organic materials, the table is versatile and suited for both public outdoor settings and indoor dining spaces.
Jury Members
Ahmad Bukhash: A seasoned architect with a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Wentworth Institute of Technology (Boston, 2002) and a Master’s from Kyoto Institute of Technology (Japan, 2006). He founded his architectural firm, ARCHIDENTITY, in 2009 and is actively involved in architectural education through advisory roles at several UAE universities.
Alamira Reem Al Hashimi: General Manager of M_39 in Abu Dhabi, a dynamic hub for start-ups and creative professionals. As the first Emirati woman to earn a PhD in urban planning, she has made significant contributions to cultural strategy and urban development. Reem is the author of the acclaimed book Planning Abu Dhabi: An Urban History.
Robert Shakespeare: Group Design Director at Cracknell, with 33 years of experience in the Middle East and Asia. He leads the design strategies for large-scale landscape, urban design, and master planning projects globally.
Cyril Zammit: I guess I know who this is…
Workshops & Activations
Picture by Gumbook
Dubai Design Week’s dedicated workshop programme, held in a pop-up Maker Space at Dubai Design District (d3), offers a platform for honing and developing a wide range of skills. Designed for professionals and aspiring creatives of all ages, interests, and experience levels, the programme will include 60 sessions aiming to inspire and enhance abilities across various design disciplines. The workshops feature contributions from design collectives, independent makers, regional and international universities, small businesses, and cultural institutions, all sharing their expertise to facilitate skill-building sessions.
Four activations are also scheduled:
Hind Al Oud | Mohamed Hilal Group
UAE Edition Release | Brownbook
Monocle Shop x FRAME
Art Jameel Shop
Marketplace
The Marketplace at Dubai Design Week is an outdoor retail event returning to Dubai Design District (d3) on 9-10 November 2024. Taking place over the festival weekend, the Marketplace showcases 85 some of the region's top artisans, entrepreneurs and small businesses, offering high-quality, original products.
It celebrates the value of craftsmanship, featuring a diverse array of makers—from chocolatiers to ceramicists—while offering a unique blend of authentic experiences. Visitors can enjoy food pop-ups and family-friendly activities. Most of the represented brands focus on handcrafted, high-quality goods, many of which are sustainably produced using locally or regionally sourced materials.
hero picture: Enfold, Holistic Embrace of Body and Technology, DEON
