Ultimate Design guide for Middle East in 2018 – the best events to celebrate design this year, a district dedicated to art and emotions and a list of interior designers you should not loose sight on.
26/03/2018
INDEX is the Middle East and North Africa’s largest gathering for the design community.
Launched in 1990, INDEX connects architects, interior designers, developers and procurement professionals with new brands, trend setting start-ups and the biggest international names in the interior furnishings and fit-out scene across all industries.
26/03/2018 to 29/03/2018
WORKSPACE, part of INDEX Design Series, is the Middle East and North Africa’s largest gathering for the commercial design community.
WORKSPACE connects architects, interior designers, developers and procurement professionals with new brands, trend setting start-ups and the biggest international names in the commercial interior furnishings and fit-out scene across all industries.
26/03/2018 to 29/03/2018
Surface Design, part of INDEX Design Series, is MENA’s dedicated event to contract business interior and exterior flooring and wall covering design.
Surface Design Exhibition (formerly known as Middle East Covering) is the MENA’s dedicated platform for contract business professionals seeking out the best materials for wall covering, surface interior and contract flooring projects.
Dubai Design Week is the region’s largest creative festival, reflecting Dubai’s position as design capital of the Middle East. The six-day programme is made up of over 200 events covering design across a range of disciplines including architecture, product, furniture, interior and graphic design.
An accessible meeting point for the global design community, Dubai Design Week, staged in partnership with Dubai Design District (d3), is a platform for regional design as well as a catalyst for the growth of the creative scene in Dubai. In 2017, the annual event attracted 60,000 visitors to Dubai Design District alone who attended and engaged with the varied programme of design-related events, exhibitions, performances, awards, talks and workshops and experiences.
The fourth edition of Dubai Design Week takes place 12-17 November 2018. Key events include the region’s leading design fair, Downtown Design and Downtown Editions; the Global Grad Show that brings together works from 100 of the most innovative universities across the world; and Abwab, the curated and interactive project containing original design from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
Dubai Design Week is owned and managed by the Art Dubai Group and is held under the dedicated patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice Chairman, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.
Dubai Design District (d3) has been developed through careful consultation with the design community to provide a creative ecosystem that surpasses the expectations of a typical creative neighbourhood. d3 forges the inspiring, authentic, and relevant ideas shaping Dubai’s future as a leading destination of design, art, and culture. It has its own beating heart, its own spirit and its own very personal style.
d3 is home to the region’s growing community of creative thinkers. It is being built as part of the Dubai Plan 2021 using the Smart City principles which offer digital connectivity to create an innovation-led economy.
From establishing the interior design department at GAJ, to leading LW Design before she joined Wilson Associates MEA as its senior vice president and managing director, Isabel Pintado has been at the forefront of the region’s interior design scene for years.
Leading the creative design direction and managing the design process at Perkins + Will, Diane Thorsen remains the creative force behind the studio’s Dubai office, which she established in 2010 together with Steven Charlton.
Jesper Godsk founded LW Design with Lars Waldenstrom and Morten Hansen back in 1999. The company has since established itself as one of the leading interior design firms in the Middle East, with a focus on hotel, restaurant, and bar design. With offices in Dubai, Hong Kong, São Paulo, and London, the firm now employs more than 140 staff worldwide.
Celebrating 15 years of operation in April 2017, Ben Corrigan’s company, Bluehaus Group, has grown steadily from three to 50 people.
Kevin McLachlan has 26 years of experience in designing destinations in Europe and the Middle East, developing successful concepts for the hospitality, residential, and corporate sectors.
With more than 26 years’ experience, Carol Finnie, dwp’s portfolio director, leads the interior design team in the Middle East, ensuring that clients’ design visions are delivered on time and on budget.
Pallavi Dean is the founder and creative force behind Pallavi Dean Interiors, which picked up the prize for Interior Boutique Design Firm of the Year at the 2017 CID Awards.
With 21 years of experience working in the region, Paul Bishop needs little introduction. His recently completed projects include BOA Lounge, which was named the Best Club at the 2017 CID Awards; Bazxar; Cubano Lito; Little Black Door; and Waka. However, Bishop is most excited about the upcoming restaurants he has designed for chefs Jerome Lagarde and Hide Yamamoto in the new Dolce Sky venue, and Torno Subito – the eagerly awaited venue for Massimo Bottura
With more than a decade of hospitality design experience, David T’Kint worked in Los Angeles, Paris, Shanghai, and Singapore before he settled in Dubai three and a half years ago, when he was appointed to spearhead HBA’s multi-brand offering of interior design, lighting, graphics, and art across the region.
Justin Wells is a registered architect with in excess of 20 years of experience in award-winning projects across all sectors of architecture and interior design in the Middle East, South-East Asia, and Australia.
