APID gets ready to host next month’s IFI Design 2050 in Dubai

Dubai will again play a key role in the interior design world from 25 to 28 February when it hosts IFI Design 2050, the prestigious bi-annual congress and general assembly of the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI). The event, supported by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), will be focused on the key themes of Technology, Design and Education.

Organised in collaboration with the UAE’s Association of Professional Interior Designers (APID), the congress will welcome hundreds of leading international and regional designers from 65 countries.

Attendees will include IFI members and supporters, interior architects/designers, educators, policymakers, industry representatives and international stakeholders. Delegates will have the chance to network, share ideas and visions for the future of interior design and listen to a prestigious line-up of speakers, including international keynote speakers:

• Ashley Hall, Professor of Design Innovation, Royal College of Art London, UK
• Arturo Dell’Acqua Bellavitis, Professor and Dean, Milan Polytechnic, Italy
• Rosanne Somerson, President, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island, USA
• Dr Ibrahim Karim, Egyptian architect and co-founder of Bio Geometry, an energy science that blends science with spiritual insight to ensure more positive environments.

An IFI Interiors Education Policy Development workshop will also be held.

Taking place at the Park Hyatt Resort, on the banks of Dubai Creek, the event will also be the setting for the launch of a major new international design competition: the IFI Global Awards Programme – GAP Prize.

The GAP Prize is awarded to an individual or collective who has made an outstanding international contribution to the field of interior architecture/design.

President of APID, HE Mrs. Farida Abdullah Kamber Al Awadhi, said: “Dubai has always had a forward-looking vision… It is therefore relevant that during the IFI event the global industry’s thinking and planning about [its] importance, influence and how we will be designing spaces 30 years from now will be revealed. This is a unique opportunity for designers in this region to experience this vision first-hand.”