Inside the installations at Dubai Design Week: From a drum table to pavilion made of Himalayan salts

The annual fair is returning for its 10th year at Dubai Design District

Iwan, which is only display at Dubai Design Week, takes cues from traditional Islamic architecture to craft a structure made from aluminum sheets. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Innovative design, sustainable practices and ethics of inclusivity are key to the 10th Dubai Design Week. Though the event does not have an official theme this year, the works on display are bound by tenets that have become idiosyncratic of the annual fair.

This eschewing of a theme is perhaps a sign of maturity, a nod to the decade the fair has spent honing its focus and identity.

“When we talk about design, there is a plethora of disciplines, and it doesn't make sense to box into themes,” Natasha Carella, director of Dubai Design Week, says. “But what we do have is a sort of principled approach in the way that we curate our content.”

Representation is one of these pillars. By being one of the region’s leading design festivals, Carella says it is important to highlight that Arab culture is not monolithic.

“There's a nuance between Iraq and Saudi, let alone like Sharjah and Dubai,” Carella says. “Design is a really incredible tool in which we could use for storytelling and representation.”

The winner of this year’s Urban Commission is a prime example. The annual design competition invited participants to rethink the table. Oman design studio Altqadum was named the winner. The studio specialises in architecture as well as interior and object design. It is led by Marwan Albalushi, Najd Albalushi and Abdulrahim Alkendi.

Their winning design TukTuKDum celebrates the musical culture of the Gulf. It features a long and wide table fitted with various traditional drums. The holes in the table allow for the drums to resonate, goading passersby to try their hand at the instrument. Large holes have also been designed in the middle of the table, allowing visitors to literally become part of the musical installation. The element brings to mind the tradition of how communities gather around and accompany musicians as they perform.

The fair is showcasing pieces by 1,000 designers from more than 50 countries, including most of the Arab world, but it is perhaps the collaborative works that offer particularly interesting cases of representation.

Reroot, one of the winners of the Abwab initiative, brings together designers from Lebanese, Palestinian, Jordanian, French and Finnish backgrounds. Another installation, Tbaba, pays tribute to the region’s pearl diving tradition and is the work of Filipino architect Gerald Jason Cruz and Emirati artist Roudhah Al Mazrouei.

“What's really interesting is that you'll find a lot of intersection that you won’t find anywhere else,” Carella says.

Another key tenet is the attention to quality and original design with a special focus on local designers who seek to break the mould. The UAE designer exhibition, for instance, is spotlighting more than 30 designers from the UAE, “who are making all sorts of incredible and innovative products,” Carella says. Tanween by Tashkeel is also returning with its aim of supporting budding local designers.

Dubai Design Week has long showcased works that touch upon design-led solutions to environmental issues. Sustainability was a theme to last year’s fair. This focus has become a benchmark of the event and a central aspect of its identity.

“It's really important to kind of look forward and be innovative with new ways and approaches,” Carella says. “But there are also a lot of methodologies from here that have existed for thousands of years that should be reclaimed again.”

There are many examples. Ola Znad’s An Absent Mudhif, which was also among the winners of the Abwab initiative, highlights the vernacular architecture of the Marsh Arabs. Iwan by Saudi architects Abdulgader Alsuwaidan, Nawaf Alghamdi, Hayat Almousa and Lama Dardas takes cues from traditional Islamic architecture to craft a structure made from aluminium sheets. The project was the winning project from Ithra’s Tanween Foldable Pavilion Challenge.

Then there are structures that make use of traditional materials and techniques in novel ways, such as Therapeutic Pavilion by the University of Sharjah. The structure is made of Himalayan salts that utilise AI to pinpoint optimal material distribution.

The Warp, meanwhile, rethinks the Japanese technique of wood assembly without adhesives. Made by Mitsubishi Jisho Design, it utilises sawdust-based filaments and 3D printing technology to create a Japanese teahouse that is minimal in design but complex in its curved structure. Visitors are invited to take part in a traditional tea ceremony, as they learn more about how the technique can be used to leverage waste materials.

This mission of sustainability, Carella says, extends beyond the environmental sphere and includes social impact as well. “We started building on that last year when we invited UNHCR’s Made51 brand, which features artisanal products made by refugees,” she says.

This year, Made51 products are being presented at the Art Jameel Shop, alongside products by other institutions such as Mawaheb and Artisans of Palestine. The products include limited-edition artworks, textiles, ceramics, children's products and a range of publications.

Dubai Holding Entertainment, on the other hand, is presenting an installation that comes as a gesture of support for people of determination. A spiral structure, Shelter of Inclusivity was developed in collaboration with the Canadian University Dubai and Iminclusive. The structure is made of pressed sawdust and is decked with paintings of purple hands. Testimonies by people of determination line the inner walls in text and braille. An olive tree, meanwhile, is fitted in its centre.

The BMW Group Middle East, along with AB+AC Architects, is presenting a lofty cube-shaped installation made by plant-based materials that was conceived as a space for talks and workshops.

Dubai Design Week is hosting more than 60 workshops across a range of disciplines, including graphic design, ceramics, architecture, printmaking and sustainable material design.

Another highlight of the event is the marketplace. “We have over 75 different homegrown businesses and designers,” Carella says. “We're really excited because about 30 to 35 per cent of those participating are Emirati.”

Dubai Design Week will be running at d3 until Sunday