Dubai Design Week: A Retrospective

In conversation with Karine Obegi and Mauro Nastri

We caught up with Karine Obegi, CEO of OBEGI Home and Mauro Nastri, Global Export Manager of Italian brand Porada, at their collaborative stand in Downtown Design. It was Porada’s debut exhibiting at the fair. The brand – originally from Cabiate, Italy – showcased its modern living philosophy, the Porada House, in an exclusive space alongside OBEGI Home, which is the brand’s local partner and official dealer.

Partitions, screens and a palette of warm colours created a welcoming and refined atmosphere that introduced visitors to the world of the Porada House – a vision of Italian savoir expressed through high-end furniture and modern interior spaces. The OBEGI Home booth itself hosted a multi-brand showcase featuring over 20 leading international brands and artists.

Besides panel discussions at its showroom, OBEGI Home also hosted an event celebrating Porada’s mastery of wood craftsmanship, tracing its evolution since 1968. The week also included dedicated events for the next generation of designers from American University in Dubai (AUD) and Heriot-Watt University, underscoring a commitment to nurturing future talent.

You can watch the interview with Obegi and Nastri on our YouTube channel, @identityae.

An Ideal Standard x Villeroy & Boch panel on shaping hospitality design experiences

We also held a panel at the Ideal Standard x Villeroy & Boch showroom in City Walk, on shaping experiences for hospitality, especially those with a focus on health and wellness. The concept of sustainability as a checklist was discussed by the panel, which included: Constantin von Boch, Head of Sales A&D Europe, Villeroy & Boch Group; Diane Thorsen, Hospitality and Design Director at Gensler; and Henrique Dias, Hospitality Director at DLR Group. 

We also explored how, while materiality, touch, colour and functional performance have always been fundamental, sustainability has now become a leading driver of product development. This shift has also transformed the way products are developed, tested and adapted for different global markets, each of which now has unique certification requirements. One of the strongest themes running through the panel was the need for sustainability to move past ‘box-ticking’ and become a deeply embedded design ethos.

On building to last with GROHE

At our studios, we hosted a panel in collaboration with bathroom brand GROHE under the theme of ‘Building Spaces that Endure’. The session brought together leading voices in architecture and interior design to explore how innovation, sustainability and collaboration shape spaces that stand the test of time. Participants included: Stefan Schmied, Leader of LIXIL International, IMEA region; Bruno Gomes, Design Director at Dewan Architects & Engineers; Adriana Graur, Design Director at dwp; and Hiten Pankhania, Design Leader at Nikken Sekkei. The discussion covered the collaboration between brands and architects and how each can adapt to creating future-ready spaces through interventions in design, technology, innovation and sustainability. 

Conversations with Huda Lighting

At Huda Lighting’s Downtown Design booth, we interviewed the Founder and Managing Director Khaled B. Alami on the founding of the brand and its subsequent success, expansion and future plans. We spoke to visiting product designers Lee Broom and Tom Dixon at the booth, both of which had some of their most exquisite collections on display. We also interviewed Yeghya Mardirossian, Group Head of Showrooms on the secret to delivering a consistent standard of quality to their clients, and to Dubai Showroom Manager, Romy Abi Warde on the curation of the booth beyond products into an experience that integrates sound, light control and lighting elements.

KOHLER Talks

Besides interviewing Marco Maximus – the designer behind Kohler’s immersive and tactile booth at Downtown Design, called ‘Colours of Nature: The Desert Chapter’ – we hosted a panel talk along with Inge Moore, Co-Founder of Muza Lab, and Rakan Jandali, Creative Director of KCA International. ‘Sustainable Futures’ uncovered what it truly means to be sustainable in a space where sustainability is now rapidly becoming mandatory across projects in the region. We also discussed regenerative design principles, as well as how important it is for brands to have regular communications with designers for product research. You can grab snippets of the talks in collaboration with identity on our Instagram feed, or watch the full video on our YouTube channel, @identityae.