Held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice Chairman, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority in partnership with Dubai Design District (d3) and supported by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. 

Dubai Design Week is sponsored by Audi, Huawei and Swarovski.

Dubai, UAE, October 19, 2016:  Dubai Design Week announces keynote speaker Santiago Calatrava, in association with Expo 2020 Dubai, and reveals a public programme of over 30 events in 6 days held at Dubai Design District (d3). 

An impressive roster of lectures, workshops, keynotes and panel discussions is aimed at a range of visitors from students to seasoned design professionals, children to design lovers of all ages. On the occasion of 2016 as the UAE Year of Reading, Dubai Design Week hosts a special series of design and literary talks and workshops series; along with a weekend dedicated to family workshops.

Mohammad Saeed Al Shehhi, Chief Operating Officer of d3, host of Dubai Design Week said: 
“We are delighted to welcome some of the global design industry’s most influential thought leaders to Dubai Design District for Dubai Design Week. The varied programme of talks and workshops adds an extra dimension to the week and truly resonates with our goal of being thought-leaders in design, and we’re thrilled that Santiago Calatrava will be taking centre stage”.

The public programme is broadly themed and includes:
Keynotes and panel discussions on Iconic Architecture and Urban Development

Iconic Architecture keynote: Santiago Calatrava
In association with Expo 2020 Dubai, Spanish neo-futuristic architect Santiago Calatrava, recently announced by the National Media Council as the designer of the UAE National Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, will address the audience on Iconic Architecture and its impact on environmental, economic and sociocultural aspects of urban development, as well as on the wider surrounding urban fabric. Calatrava’s cutting edge design at Expo 2020 Dubai marks the latest stage in a 150 year old tradition of architectural vision at World Expos.

Urban Development in the Absence or Presence of Iconic Architecture
The lecture will be followed by a discussion chaired by Sultan Sooud Al Qassimi, on the different set of dynamics and criteria that dictate the various models of the urban development in Arab countries, in the absence or presence of iconic landmarks, with panelists Aziza Chaoni and curator of Cairo Now! City Incomplete, Mohamed Elshahed, joining Calatrava on stage.

Remembering Zaha Hadid
The panel discussion, organised in association with Zaha Hadid Architects entitled Landscape Fields, pays homage to the late Dame Zaha Hadid’s iconic projects in the Middle East: Issam Fares Institute in Beirut, KAPSARC – King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center in Riyadh, and Bee’ah in Sharjah. The panel will examine the challenges, ambitions, achievements, and the wider impact on cities associated with the starchitect, and discusses her ongoing legacy through these projects

 

A celebration of the UAE Year of Reading 2016 through special talks and workshops combining reading and design

Restoring the World’s Oldest Library
Aziza Chaouni, the architect who restored of the world’s oldest library in Fez, Morocco, delivers a keynote address that highlights the intersection between the two creative industries – Design and Literature – introduced through the Qaraweyeen Library that was founded in 859. The Qaraweyeen library, brainchild of a woman and resident of Fez, Fatima El-Fihriya, who wished to make knowledge available to all residents of her city and beyond, houses a collection of 4,000 rare books and ancient Arabic manuscripts including a 9th century version of the Quran. By adapting and restoring the library’s historic buildings to meet the needs of local users, Aziza Chaouni has extended and developed Fatima El-Fihriya’s legacy.

LabLitArch
Dubai Design Week in collaboration with Emirates Literature Foundation presents the Laboratory of Literature Architecture (LabLitArch), a cross-disciplinary exploration of Literature and Architecture adapted for literature and architecture students, and emerging and established writers and architects.
Conceived by architect and writer Professor Matteo Pericoli, the workshop examines how every architectural project consists of a supporting structure, hierarchies of space and function, intertwining narratives, sequences, surprises and suspensions - elements that have clear parallels with the creative writing process.

Professor Pericoli will host the 20 hour workshop held at d3 over five consecutive days, and participants are invited to learn how to design and build an architectural model, based on the structure of a literary piece.

 

A day dedicated to National & Islamic Art, Architecture & Design (Wednesday 26 October)

Curating & Designing an Architectural Exhibition: BEHIND THE SCENES
Led by Yasser Elsheshtawy, curator of Transformations: The Emirati National House, the exhibition hosted in the National Pavilion UAE at this year’s Venice Biennale 2016, this masterclass explores the process of putting together an architectural exhibition looking at the following: theme development; content research; exhibition design; content design. A presentation of these subjects, comprised of images, drawings and video will be followed by a discussion with participants.

Transformations: The Emirati National House
Join Yasser Elsheshtawy, curator of the National Pavilion UAE at the 2016 Venice Biennial and Adina Hempel, Assistant Professor of Architecture, Zayed University, in conversation. Drawing from the book Transformations: The Emirati National House, the discussion will focus on the recent Venice Biennale exhibition, and the research of the transformations of the Emirati national house through the years. 

Islamic Geometric Design
Eric Broug, author of the recently launched Islamic Design Workbook, hosts a master class for designers and architects to learn how to incorporate the simple and scalable patterns of Islamic geometric design in their practices, by doing justice to this design tradition's heritage whilst at the same time exploring further opportunities for innovation.

Reviving Master Craftsmanship
In his keynote speech, Art Historian Abdul Karim Crites discusses his work over the last fifty years on mosques around the world: Masjid al-Haram, Makkah Sharif, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, and the Federal Territory Mosque, Kuala Lumpur, and the impact these buildings have on the revival of the endangered art and craft traditions. Crites, who has worked with more than 2,000 master inlay artisans and carvers to create ornamental and calligraphic panels for his mosque projects, highlights the crucial role these gifted artisans can play in contemporary architectural projects across the Islamic world and beyond.

Contemporary Practices of Islamic Design
Following his keynote speech, Abdul Karim Crites will join panellists Manal Ataya, Director General of the Sharjah Museums Department, Dr Farouk Yaghmour, Principal of Dr. Yaghmour Consulting Architects & Engineers, and Eric Broug, Author, to discuss Contemporary Practices of Islamic Design, from the preserved traditional to the reinvented modern. The panel discussion will be moderated by Dr Woodman Taylor, chair of American University in Dubai’s department of visual communication.

 

A series of discussions focusing on the Design Industry and its Engagement with Creativity 

Designers as Cultural Leaders
The public programme will open with an introduction to Dubai Design Week’s initiatives including Abwab, Iconic City, Destination and Installations, followed by a panel discussion, Designers as Cultural Leaders, in which panelists depict the many cultural contexts of design through their practices and programmes. Beyond the policies and strategies, the management and entrepreneurship, the social impact and economy, they discuss the products and projects that represent their methods of thinking, experimenting and advocating culture through design. 

Growing design communities
Design journalist David Michon chairs a Q&A with directors of visiting international design weeks whose city’s emerging design brands are exhibiting at Downtown Design. The session focuses on spotting new talent, developing skills and initiatives and promoting young designers on a global platform.

Beauty Matters
New Zealand designer David Trubridge hosts a keynote address taking the audience on a journey that begins with the origin and migration of early man, making stops along the way to show how beauty has evolved but always been a part of art and survival. The designer and thinker offers a new take on the creative process, showing how failure to follow the pursuit of beauty has led to today’s emphasis on novelty and gimmicks at the expense of genuine originality.

Sustainable Creativity
David Trubridge is then joined by Dutch designer Edward van Vliet of Moroso and Alex Alorda, Vice President of Spanish design brand Kettal, two exhibiting brands at Downtown Design, for a panel discussion on how established design brands can champion creativity through different approaches -- be it in-house, via collaborations with guest designers and programmes involving emerging talent and recent graduates -- whilst remaining true to their brand DNA.

 

Further Professional Workshops for students and working designers to develop their skills set

The Royal College of Art workshops (off-site, held at Rove Hotel-Downtown Dubai)
The Royal College of Art, voted the world’s leading art and design university, hosts three one-day workshops for design professionals, students and enthusiasts. The workshops will cover an array of design disciplines, and are subsidized at AED500 for the creative community by Dubai Design Week, in partnership with d3. Advance registration essential.

The future of design: 3D design and printing
Autodesk host two workshops during Dubai Design Week, on its ReMake and Fusion 360 software, presenting the latest in 3D design and printing technology. Learn how to 3D model literally anything, to re-create or improve existing products whilst listening to the fascinating backstory of how 3D design and print technologies have been used to re-create models of long-gone historical monuments.

HUAWEI Graphic Workshops
A series of workshops led by Huawei explores how graphic design, infographics and motion graphics can be powerful storytelling tools in social, political and cultural contexts and how critical they are for designers to position themselves in this digital era, where image is one of the most powerful tools of communication. The workshops are conducted by Paris-based Naji El Mir, an award winning French Lebanese graphic designer and creative director, and co-founder of the Parisian studio Ne—Po.

Dematerialisation 
D-Town Enterprises, the company behind the first materials library in Dubai, invites materials consultant Richard Lombard to conduct a workshop on Dematerialisation in which participants are invited to build their own design pieces with a very limited palette of materials without compromising on the product’s functionality.

 

Fun for the Family with community-lead activities over Dubai Design Week’s weekend (28-29 October)

Fables Alive!, by Vinny Dolls
This series of doll making workshops exclusively developed for this year’s Dubai Design Week by Dubai-based textile artist Vinny takes its inspiration from Kalila Wa Dimna fables. Kalila wa Dimna is an enchanting collection of animal fables that carry morals that promote justice, friendship, wisdom and prudence. The tales are told through animals such as jackals, crows, owls, rabbits, lions and bulls.
Children and teens, aged between 7 and 18, will be introduced to the magical world of doll making through these fun workshops. The characters from the fables were carefully selected to appeal to kids and teenagers, and to ignite their imagination and creativity. During the workshops, they’ll learn how to stuff and decorate large doll heads, which can be used as both cushions and playful masks.

Faces and Masks
A second humourous workshop by Vinny Dolls invites design enthusiasts to create a doll head that looks like a world-famous designer. Prepare for much laughter as makers of all skills create dolls of designers such as Philippe Starck or Le Corbusier!

Comic Speech Bubble, by LConcept
Interior architect Lama Ghalayini, founder of Beirut-based LConcept, leads a workshop in which her speech bubble-shaped wall hook will be developed and customized by children to create their own comic storyboard. This fun hands-on workshop for aged 7 plus introduces working with wood from preparation to completion, and helps them complete their comic piece to take home and hang in their bedroom.

Recipe for a Giant, by Milimbo
Milimbo, the leading design studio from Valencia, Spain brings to Dubai Design Week its oversized game and installation Recipe for a Giant (Ricetta per un Gigante). This will be a full day activity over the weekend where children from the age of 4 upwards can build and play with their own gigantic cardboard creatures.

Glassblowing with Anjali Srinivasan
Come and learn how to blow glass with Anjali Srinivasan of the UAE’s only artist-run, hand-crafted hot glass resource, ChoChoMa Studios, in Dubai. Srinivasan’s background in creative practice is the collaboration with traditional craft artisans in India on design initiatives aimed at socio-economic empowerment. Over the weekend at d3 she’ll demonstrate glassblowing practice with visitors welcome to take part.