Set to be DIDI’s biggest Project Design Space to date, this year’s challenge has been opened up to students from grades 5-12, giving them the rare opportunity to come up with innovative design solutions for Dubai-based clients.

Off the back of the overwhelming success of last year’s challenge, where 1,200 students from 50 schools competed in the initiative, Project Design Space is excited to have secured four new collaborating organisations – Dubai Holding, Emirates Marine Environmental Group, Landmark Group and The Dubai Mall – all of which will provide real design briefs to participating students.

Throughout the 16-week challenge, each participating school will receive specialized training and program materials. The participating PDS students will be mentored by their school teachers during after-school club meetings to design solutions for the client’s design briefs.  Finalists will then attend a design ‘boot camp’ hosted by DIDI, where they will receive expert feedback and coaching from the University’s faculty and staff.

Mohammad Abdullah, President of DIDI said: ‘Aiming to nurture and mentor the next generation of designers in the UAE, Project Design Space will seek to provide invaluable experience in solving real world challenges and igniting a passion for design’.

The real-world PDS design challenges include; designing the retail pop-up store of the future, crafting an omni-channel customer experience, designing a habitat for turtles, and energizing a brand through story-telling.

Following successful application, schools will then work on their ideas and designs before submitting their prototypes to DIDI by 24 February, 2019. Finalists will be invited to a special event on 23 March, 2019 at DIDI’s university campus in Dubai Design District (d3), where teams will pitch design prototypes to their clients and attend an award ceremony.

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It’s one of the most anticipated moments of universal exchange and creativity in Dubai and the world: Dubai Design Week (12-17 November).  Thousands of design luminaries, thought-leaders, artists, brands, industry voices, journalists and design-lovers come together from around the globe to celebrate UAE talent and partake in conversations that could – and will- change the lives of everyone in the world. The free-to-attend programme will feature more than 230 events throughout Dubai Design District (d3) and across the city with +120 institutions, as well as Downtown Dubai and the new Downtown Editions.

Every day this week, id will be posting information about special events, programming, exhibitions, installations and product launches that have chosen to use DXBDW as their platform.  But we’ve listed just a few highlights to get you motivated for the week!  So let’s start:

Step 1

Just tap for the app and you can create your own person Design Week programme! Just head to the Dubai Design Week website and download the app!

Use the Dubai Design Week app to create your DXBDW plan!

Step 2

Open a new door! Head to Abwab. Acting as a snapshot of design activity in the region, Abwab is re-modeled annually, responding to new blends of designers and an evolving creative landscape. For the fourth edition, located at the centre of Dubai Design District (d3), Abwab will host a collection of design experiences drawn from five communities in the Middle East; Amman, Beirut, Dubai (supported by Tashkeel), Eastern Provinces of Saudi Arabia (supported by Ithra) and Kuwait City. Two designers are invited from each place to collaborate and produce works situated in dedicated pavilions related to the theme: ‘Between the Lines’. These lines are physical and metaphorical, lines of territory, topography, the implied, and those in drawings or text. Visitors will experience storytelling as an instrument to reveal and conceal a communities’ record by navigating through five pavilions hosting regional exhibits. The 2018 Abwab pavilions are designed by Architecture + Other Things, made by Research & Development. The twigs have been offered by Bee’ah, and newspaper pulp provided by The National.

A preview of the Abwab concept for 2018.

Step 3

It’s time to get schooled. Head to the Global Grad Show to see what the future of design looks like. An exhibition of life changing inventions designed by graduates from the world’s best design and technology schools, Global Grad Show values innovation that transcends technology and exists independent of wealth; equality without hierarchy amongst universities, regions and designers; universal design open to all types of projects; and impact on the world at large through solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. With more than 1000 submissions, double the number received last year, Global Grad Show 2018 will showcase 150 selected projects from 100 of world’s top universities and emerging programmes.

AQUAIR is a portable fog-harvesting device that pulls potable water out of the air.

Step 4

Now that you’ve opened new doors and seen how the next generation is going to design a future world that looks like today’s science fiction, it’s time to think about a little something for yourself…. It’s time to head to Downtown Design and the new Downtown Editions. Taking place in its custom-built exhibition space on the d3 Waterfront again this year, in partnership with Dubai Design District (d3), the 2018 edition will present a selection of established and emerging exhibitors, comprising over 175 brands, including 40 regional designers. New this year is Downtown Editions; a curated section within the fair, dedicated to bespoke and limited-edition design from all over the world, with a spotlight on the region.

Downtown Design has added a new curated feature, Downtown Editions.

Step 5

Find something amazing? Go out, relax and take a spin through some of the amazing exhibitions (stay tuned for id’s upcoming selections this week!). But here is a sneak preview from one of Dubai’s most recognised studios: SUPERFUTUREDESIGN*. In partnership with Wood-Skin®and Alkanoids – both distributed by H&H Studio – the studio will unveil ‘Parametric Surfaces’. The Instagrammable project explores the domains of futuristic aspects in the world of design, like augmented reality with multi-faceted surfaces of Wood-skin from sound-absorbing materials.  With its origami like characteristics the material evolves into endless shapes and functions. The composite panel has a visible layer which adds the final finish to the surface, which will possess a number of colors and textures.

SUPERFUTUREDESIGN* will be presenting its installation ‘Parametric Surfaces’.

Step 6

Need a break? Head to one of our suggested cafes or restaurants and then sit down, relax and get ready to take notes. This year, the much-anticipated  Dubai Design Week keynote speaker is none other than the spirited Paola Navone.  (16 November from 4.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. the Main Stage (Building 4, Atrium).

Paola Navone, photo by Giovanni Gastel

Step 7

What’s next? It’s up to you ….download the app and stay tuned to identity.ae for suggestions throughout the week.  See you there!

Read more features here.

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Dansk Møbelkunst Gallery is collaborating with Michael Anastassiades + Claus Bjerre at The Salon Art + Design.

Those heading to The Salon: Art + Design in NYC (8-12 November) will encounter the bold new collaboration between by Michael Anastassiades and Claus Bjerre that’s part of a new initiative launched by gallery owner Ole Høstbo, who has teamed up with a select group of contemporary designers to further cultivate the gallery’s work within the field of 20th  century Nordic design.

Michael Anastassiades for Dansk Møbelkunst Contemporary

Dansk Møbelkunst Gallery specializes in rare, original works of Danish furniture that were created during 1920-70, when a circle of craftsmen, architects and designers erased the distinction between works of art and functional equipment for everyday life. Established by Ole Høstbo in 1992, Dansk Møbelkunst takes its name from the Danish word for Furniture Art, a term that is rooted in the handicraft tradition and signifies a synthesis of aesthetics, utility and craftsmanship.

During the twentieth century, møbelkunst evolved from the reproduction of historical styles to the creation of truly modern furniture that relied on beautiful materials, rather than applied decoration, and finely-crafted details for its aesthetic value. Thegallery’s expertise encompasses both handcrafted masterpieces and iconic works of industrial design.

Exclusively for Dansk Møbelkunst, Michael Anastassiades has designed a group of furniture, consisting of a table, a stool and a screen, collectively titled Halfway Round. The three elements are all made in Oregon Pine and share an idiom, characterized by refined simplicity and beautiful contrasting interplays between soft, rounded curves and sharp, disciplined lines.

‘Michael’s design is both simple and sophisticated and combined with his devotion to quality this relates very well to the Danish cabinetmaking tradition of timeless design and superb craftsmanship’, Ole Høstbo explains.

Anastassiades liked the idea from the beginning:  ‘I share a lot of values
with Dansk Møbelkunst Gallery. It has been an incredible challenge to work within the context of their historical pieces. I’m normally a lighting designer – that is what people know me for. But I think my approach is very similar, not only in terms of the aesthetics but also in terms of the qualities and the values that I look for when designing a piece’, he says.

http://www.dmk.dk

https://www.thesalonny.com

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Inspired by traditional Chinese puzzle balls, Orb by Zaha Hadid Design contains four concentric spheres orbiting around a solid globe. Resembling the complex connections of the brain, the four layers rotate to create opening alignments. The cube bisects the spheres to expose concentric puzzle inside while a mirror placed behind the piece reveals its hidden angles.

Cure Cubed 2018 will include over 80 leading artists and architects including Zaha Hadid Design, Ron Arad, Anish Kapoor, Phillip King, Foster+Partners, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Edmund de Waal.

Prices for these collectable art works will range from under £1,000 to over £20,000 and are now available for purchase online until Sunday 11 November here.

https://cure3.co.uk/

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The fourth edition of the acclaimed annual exhibition of life-changing inventions from graduates of the world’s leading design and technology universities returns to Dubai this November, in partnership with Investment Corporation of Dubai.

Having received over 1000 entries – double that of last year – 150 projects from exceptional graduates will be exhibited, selected from 100 universities including Harvard, MIT and RCA, as well as those from emerging nations.

New to the programme this year is the inaugural innovation conference titled ‘Belief in AI’ that will take place on 12 November, and the Dubai Evolution Challenge, overseen by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).

The 2018 edition will showcase 150 of the inventions from students of shaping our tomorrow from 100 universities. Visitors can expect to see solutions ranging from the physical to the virtual, high-tech and complex to small and conceptually simple. Technology for doctors that can identify cancer cells using a pen, solutions to combat declining bee populations, a ring that helps the visually impaired to retain their independence, affordable ways to tackle climate change and much more.

www.globalgradshow.com

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Selected as seating for the Spring/Summer 2019 Prada Men’s and Women’s fashion shows, the stool created by the renowned Danish designer wears a unique VERPAN for PRADA inscription. Light and transparent, it allows great mobility, flexibility and creativity in design and adapts to suit different circumstances and spaces.

With the Inflatable Stool, Panton created an unpretentious piece that despite its unassuming presence offers an extraordinary visual quality to the seating experience, which can be described as ‘floating on air’. It also displays his unique flair for thinking in systems, as the cubes were designed to be used either individually or in multiples to create a lounge or daybed.

Dimensions (without air):  L: 50 cm x W: 50 cm x H: 45 cm

A pre-order is now available on www.prada.com

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The new Fashion for Good Experience –the world’s first interactive, technology-driven museum dedicated to sustainable and circular fashion innovation created by experience design studio, Local Projects- is now open in Amsterdam.

Supported by founding partner C&A Foundation and corporate partners Adidas, C&A and PVH Corp, the museum aims to change the hearts and minds of visitors by helping them discover the stories behind their clothes, learn how they can take action and explore how they can have an impact on both an industry and international level.

Through a personalized journey towards transformation, visitors will learn about the history of good fashion, discover more sustainable products and explore future fashion innovations.

Designed by Local Projects, the space incorporates a personalised digital journey with an RFID-bracelet you can learn about the history of good fashion, discover sustainable products and explore fashion innovations of the future.

Exhibition and Experience Highlights

● Good Fashion Journey. At the centre of the Fashion for Good Experience is a digitally-enabled Good Fashion Journey, designed with an eye toward gamification and informed by behavioral insights on influencing consumer change. When visitors enter the Experience, they are invited to take a bracelet that invites them to shop for both goods
and behaviors, creating a custom action plan for how they create a life that’s both more sustainable and more beautiful.

● Custom Action Plan. Fashion For Good is committed to real impact from everyday lives, and invites all visitors to commit to a range of actions that can create a sustainable future for everyone. This simple guide is sent digitally and then followed up by joining the Fashion For Good community and movement, amplifying impact far beyond the walls of the Museum.

● Infinity Mirrors Entrance Installation. As visitors approach the building, a striking radial installation of yarns encloses the entry vestibule, drawing them into the space with a direct call-to-action. The yarn is ECONYL® regenerated nylon from Italian manufacturer Aquafil and is made out of nylon waste collected from landfills and oceans around the world.

● Impact Cascade. The Impact Cascade is an artistic visualisation of the collective impact generated by the Fashion for Good community. On a central video screen, visitors can view the commitments of visitors who came before them, as well as innovators and influencers who have joined the Good Fashion Movement.

● Design Studio. In our Design Studio, visitors can customise their own Good Fashion T-shirt design, using projection-mapping technology that visualises their design in real-time on a life-size mannequin.

● Good GIF Booth. Through an interactive photo booth, visitors are invited to take a personalised Good GIF and send it to our Impact Cascade installation and front windows to demonstrate their commitment to the Good Fashion Movement.

● The Good Shop. The Good Shop is a next-generation shopping experience that allows visitors to consider — within a retail store context— how they might go about asking questions and incorporating social and environmental considerations in the way they shop for clothes and accessories.

● History of Good Fashion Exhibition. This graphic timeline outlines the history of the fashion industry from the 1700s to the present, highlighting pivotal moments in labour rights, environmental sustainability and innovation.

● The Journey of a T-shirt Exhibition. This exhibit explores the complex process that goes into making one of fashion’s most iconic staples: the T-shirt. Through bold text, illustrations and tactile elements, the exhibit takes visitors through the eight steps involved in designing, making and selling a cotton-polyester T-shirt, bringing to life some of the social and environmental issues that exist in the modern-day apparel supply chai

fashionforgood.com

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