Dubai By Design

Three is the magic number: in November, Dubai Design Week had its third year at d3, Dubai Design District, and by all accounts it was the best yet, with some 60,000 people visiting the event. An Art Dubai offering, the programme presented the best of design from the Middle East and beyond through 200 events including exhibitions and installations to panel discussions, keynote speeches, workshops and more. Perspective attended to report on the highlights

- Tamsin Bradshaw

Dima Srouji

Palestinian architect and artist Dima Srouji was responsible for Hollow Forms, a set of bulbous, whimsical glass pieces on show at the Abwab pavilion. Each one is like a character in its own right; each a living, breathing creature dreamt up by Srouji and hand-blown to life by craftsmen from the West Bank using techniques that date back seven centuries. The Yale graduate is definitely one to watch.

Rawan Kashkoush

The head of programming for Dubai Design Week, Rawan Kashkoush is an interior designer who grew up in Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon and Europe. She is a passionate proponent of Middle Eastern design, and channels some of that zeal as creative director of Abwab (doors in Arabic), a platform for designers from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia to showcase their work. The Abwab exhibition was held in a temporary pavilion designed by Fahed + Architects and made out of materials sourced by a waste-management company. The works were all chosen through a pay-it forward peer-to-peer system called ‘designer dominoes’ and edited by a strong editorial board, of which Kashkoush was part.

Ahmad Bazazo

Dubai Design Week was the international debut of Beirut-based designer Ahmad Bazazo’s Black and Gold collection for his company Studio A. The furniture collection has already experienced considerable success in Bazazo’s native Lebanon. Bazazo worked with local craftsmen using innovative techniques to create a range that blends curve and line to striking effect: the resulting pieces in wood, marble and brass are a seamless blend of art deco and modernity. The Charles bar is a standout piece from the collection.

Pallavi Dean