Dubai Design Week returns to Dubai Design District, known as d3, from November 3 to 8. It is the festival’s 12th edition. Over six days, d3 hosts exhibitions, outdoor installations, workshops, talks and a fair. The program places particular emphasis on human connection. In other words, it asks how spaces, objects and inherited traditions shape the way people relate to each other.
Urban Commissions: Three Outdoor Highlights
The outdoor installations fill d3’s public spaces. Dubai-based NAO Architects, founded by Reem Nassour, won this year’s Urban Commissions competition. Their installation, Three Gardens and a Room, responds to the theme Atmospheres. Three connected gardens surround a communal area. Foliage, shade, color and filtered sunlight create different moods in each space.
Another installation carries a more serious message. Palestinian-Turkish practice ae studio presents InBetween What Was and What Will Be. The team turns reclaimed concrete rubble into new architectural forms. As a result, a material linked to permanence becomes a way to explore memory and displacement.
Meanwhile, Emirati-Jordanian architect Rasha Saffarini revisits palm-tree trimming in Taqleem. The installation turns the agricultural ritual into a communal space. It also invites visitors to rethink the materials that shaped the UAE’s built environment before glass towers appeared.
Abwab: In Other Words
Abwab, which means “doors” in Arabic, has long been the festival’s commissioning program. In previous years, it took the form of individual pavilions. This year, it becomes a group exhibition titled In Other Words. It brings creative practitioners together to explore how humans communicate. Gestures, symbols, signage, oral histories and written language all feature.
Inherited Futures: The UAE Designer Exhibition
The UAE Designer Exhibition returns with Inherited Futures. Supported by Dubai Culture, it explores how the country’s designers engage with inherited materials, rituals, technologies and craftsmanship. Architect and designer AlZaina Lootah serves as Design Collaborator. She brings together UAE-based talents who reinterpret inherited knowledge through contemporary objects.
Downtown Design: The Anchor Fair
Downtown Design runs from November 4 to 8. It is the Middle East’s leading fair for contemporary design. This year, participants include Italian glassmaker Venini, outdoor furniture specialist Ethimo, and Gaggenau. In addition, Kohler is collaborating with Dubai-based architect and designer Agata Kurzela.
Regional talent gets a strong platform. Tashkeel’s Tanween Design Program and the Athath Fellowship showcase emerging designers. Iwan Maktabi presents new creations by Nadine Kanso and Omar Al Gurg. Their work draws on Arabic calligraphy, Emirati symbols and memories of the traditional majlis.
Several special projects stand out. A dedicated exhibit explores Memphis Milano, the Italian design movement known for bold colors and playful shapes. Jewelry house Buccellati teams up with British designer Luke Edward Hall for a pop-up inspired by water mythology. Meanwhile, British-Nigerian artist Yinka Ilori adds his colorful touch to the Veuve Clicquot Lounge.
More Installations and Exhibitions
Two other installations lean on heritage. The Desert Dweller by Ethr makes its Dubai debut. Architect Omar Darwish designed it, and Shaheer Akbar curated it. It reimagines the khaima, or traditional tent, as a place for hospitality and gathering. Elsewhere, Japan’s Nikken Sekkei and SOBOKUYA present CHATAI 2.0. The installation expands their study of traditional timber craftsmanship.
Jewelry lovers also have a reason to visit. L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, shows research into lost goldsmithing techniques of the Second Iron Age. Pinterest also makes its debut with its first physical activation in the region.
Talks, Workshops and the Marketplace
The Maker Space hosts hands-on workshops. Independent makers, creative organisations and educators lead them, including teams from the University of the Arts London and Leica Camera. The Forum at Downtown Design hosts talks with leading figures in architecture and interiors. Studio BONE designed the space, and French interior architect Tristan Auer is among the announced keynote speakers.
On the weekend of November 7 and 8, the Marketplace brings together independent designers and artisans. Expect ceramics, homeware, jewelry, fashion and sustainably made objects. Food, live performances and children’s activities round out the weekend.
