Abu Dhabi pavilion wins Theme Medal at London Design Biennale

Immersive installation highlights relationship between Emirati crafts and architecture

Abu Dhabi pavilion design team Salama Al Shamsi, left, and Azza Alsharif accept the award in London. Photo: Iona Wolff

The Abu Dhabi pavilion has been named one of three winners at the London Design Biennale, taking the title as the most inspiring interpretation of the event's theme of global collaboration.

Formation of Soof, the immersive installation by House of Artisans, highlights the relationship between Emirati crafts and architecture. Among those featured are the Emirati Bedouin weaving technique sadu, inscribed in 2011 on Unesco's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

House of Artisans also explores the materials and tools used in sadu – shedding light on the soof (wool), maghzal (spinner) and ghazal (spindle), to show how women in the UAE produce their wares. Highlighting the relationship between culture, heritage and creativity, the installation will also draw on the transmission of crafts from one generation to the next.

Building on this, the pavilion explores the flow of movement involved in transforming the soft raw material used in sadu, which was fundamental to the construction of traditional tent structures. It won the Theme Medal at the event, which tasked design teams to create projects under the idea of The Global Game: Remapping Collaborations.

Salama Al Shamsi, director of cultural sites at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, and House of Artisans curator Azza Alsharif accepted the award.

They helped lead the two teams that designed the project and were in London when the winners were announced.

Others awarded include Poland for the installation Poetics of Necessity, which won for the most outstanding overall contribution, and Taiwan’s Visible Show for the most exception design. The Netherlands also received special mention for its pavilion Out of Joint.

Three medals were awarded on Thursday, selected by the international jury and one medal will be awarded on June 21, voted for by the public.

The fourth London Design Biennale runs until June 25. It is artistically directed by the Nieuwe Instituut – the Dutch national museum and institute for architecture, design and digital culture. Taking over Somerset House, including the Edmond J Safra Fountain Court and River Terrace, it is the biggest iteration of the biennale to date with more than 40 pavilions from five continents taking part.