Design Middle East

Welcome to INDEX 2013

rima.alsammarae — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:46:23 +0000

Dubai’s international design exhibition INDEX has finally gone underway, and opening the doors was His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid al Maktoum.

Walking along the red carpet toward the golden scissors waiting for him on a royal styled pillow near the black and white crossed ribbons, His Highness appeared from the front entrance and sliced the ribbon in half, allowing access for the masses to the event that’s been long awaited.

Organised by DMG Vice President Mike Allsopp and Event Director Frederique Maurell, this year’s INDEX is certainly one of the biggest with hundreds of exhibitors displaying their latest collections of furniture, office products, home accessories and more for visitors and potential partners to see.

In addition to the big opening ceremony, Sheikh Saeed Hall presented the Office Exhibition, with its own special ceremony where the Minister of Education His Excellency Humaid Mohammad Al Qatami cut the welcoming ribbon.

The Office Exhibition boasts a number of exhibitors from around the world like Italdeco and Diemme.

From modern office chairs, to new workplace modules that allow you to customize office space, the office exhibition is a sight to see.

Exhibition by artists with special needs

Zeinab.Saiwalla — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:28:45 +0000

Mawaheb, an art studio for young adults with special needs, launched an exhibition featuring the work of its artists yesterday.

A total of 18 art works by 17 artists are on display at Art Couture at Al Badia Golf Club, Dubai Festival City.

Titled ‘I’m special..you’re special’, the exhibition aims to create awareness about talent from people with special needs.

14 of the art pieces were sold during the opening event last evening. The ceremony was attended by close to 100 people including family members of the artists, volunteers, corporate partners and well-wishers.

“It is important these art works are displayed in proper galleries like this and not tucked away in corners or at school exhibitions,” said Mawaheb’s founder Wemmy de Maaker. “The quality of the art work is of high standards and it is important that people with special needs get the opportunity to be treated like everybody else.”

The concept behind Mawaheb is to bridge the gap between society and individuals with special needs who can often lack direction once they finish school.

At Mawaheb, artists are taught principles of art using a variety of media under the direction of an art teacher and a team of volunteers.

The exhibition runs till June 2.

Ad office gets striking redesign

Staff Writer — Sun, 19 May 2013 08:00:35 +0000

FINE Design Group has recently completed their new office design by Boora Architects, unveiling a fresh and lively new workspace in Portland, Oregon.

The office’s layout includes three core zones including the “Barn”, a sizable kitchen and a lounge area, in addition to private and open workstations.

Located on the west end, the Barn is a three-pronged room which maintains two offices and a conference room. Its unconventional shape allows for interesting space usage of its immediate exterior space, like the billiard table that is cornered off, providing a private leisure area.

The kitchen makes for a great gathering spot, with its spacious design and custom wooden island. Tiles from Health Ceramics are glossed in matte and glass and make for a harmonious connection between floor and wall.

Floating shelves line the interior of the kitchen, offering modern storage solutions for dishes and snacks.

On the east end, a walnut-clad bookcase lines a lounge area, which faces the print and copy zone. Complete with comfortable couches and curtains, the lounge area is a nice environment change for those who use laptops, or simply need a quick time-out.

Baku office building proposal wins award

Staff Writer — Sun, 19 May 2013 05:29:44 +0000

The Baku White City office building received awards for Office Architecture and Office Development at the Asia Pacific Property Awards, last week.

A total of 429 awards were presented to 260 companies from 23 countries. Lord Bates from the House of Lords in British Parliament presented the winning companies with special plaques during awards presentations.

The Baku project features offices, as well as commercial areas, with a striking plaza planned for the front of the building where the foundation stone of Baku White City is situated.

It provides an installation of high-speed elevators and uses double-façade sound and thermo-insulation.

Along with landscaping, installation of solar as an alternative energy solution indicates the project’s environmental sustainability.

Baku White City Office building became well-known among architects as it was repeatedly nominated as “The Best Project of the Future’ at international exhibitions as well as being the winner of the MIPIM Asia Awards in 2011 for “Best Project of the future of Central and West Asia.” It also received an award for “Best Project” at Cityscape Global in 2011.

Work begins on OMA’s Bryghusprojektet in Copenhagen

Staff Writer — Sun, 19 May 2013 05:26:44 +0000

Work at OMA-designed headquarters of Denmark’s national centre for architecture in Copenhagen has begun and is scheduled for completion in 2017.

The 27,000-square-metre Bryghusprojektet is a mixed-use development on the site of an old brewery, which will include residential units, community spaces and a playground.

In the middle of the development will be the new offices for the Danish Architecture Centre, an organisation set up to spread knowledge about architecture and the built environment.

The centre will be surrounded by its own subjects of study and research, explains Ellen van Loon, who is OMA’s partner-in-charge on the project along with the firm’s co-founder Rem Koolhaas.

“Instead of stacking a mixed-use programme in a traditional way, we positioned the Danish Architecture Centre in the centre of the volume, surrounded by and embedded within its objects of study: housing, offices and parking,” said van Loon.

The centre will include exhibition areas, research facilities, conference rooms, an auditorium, a bookshop and a cafe.

OMA’s design for Bryghusprojektet, which is being funded by the philanthropic Realdania Foundation, was first revealed in 2006.

Warsaw architect unveils plan for indoor skydiving center

Staff Writer — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:08:56 +0000

Warsaw studio Moko Architects has unveiled plans to build a diving and indoor skydiving centre outside Warsaw by surrounding a pair of abandoned cement silos with a tower of shipping containers.

The facility is proposed for the industrial district of Zeran, where a series of channels transport water between the city and Zegrze Reservoir, and a number of abandoned factories and warehouses.

The design by Moko Architects is for a ten-storey structure where diving and skydiving activities can take place inside the cylinders of the converted silos. The first will be filled entirely with water to allow divers to plunge to depths of 25 metres, while the second will contain an underwater “cave” at its base and a skydiving tunnel at its top.

Construction is due to start in 2015.

Winners of Kosovo design competition revealed

Staff Writer — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:51:30 +0000

Recently, the Islamic Community of the Republic of Kosovo organised a competition that required designers and architects to devise a plan for the city’s new Central Mosque.

And the results are in! While the judge panel didn’t designate a first prize, two designs tied for second place and one was rewarded with third place.

Though the names of the winners haven’t been announced, the jury is giving them one last chance to win first place.

If the designers accept the jury’s suggestions, and improve their design proposals within one month the judge panel will re-evaluate the design plans and choose a competition winner.

In pictures: Objects of Desire Volume III

Staff Writer — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:53:45 +0000

This year’s Objects of Desire III was held at the Al Mussawir Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai.

To view all the pictures from the event, clickhere to look at the Facebook album.

Big turnout at Objects of Desire Volume III

aidan.imanova — Thu, 16 May 2013 07:21:43 +0000

Commercial Interior Design celebrated the launch of its Objects of Desire Volume III at a party in Al Mussawir Gallery in Al Quoz last night.

The event was a success, hosting a big turnout of industry professionals including interior designers, architects and suppliers.

The large coffee table book promotes products the editorial team had picked out from the year, from trade shows including Salone del Mobile in Milan and Middle East’s only design fair, Design Days Dubai, displayed in a glossy hard-back.

“The launch of Objects of Desire was a wonderful success. It was great to have so many creative and artistic people in one place, having a good time and enjoying the coffee table book,” said Rima Alsammarae, editor of Commercial Interior Design.

“Also, the gallery itself was noteworthy as it had a number of inspiring objects adding life to the space,” she added.

Platinum sponsors, Voglia, exhibited a quality stand including a video installation. The sponsor also hosted a raffle draw, where the winner from Bishop Design received a Voglia Danish design dining chair.

The event’s other sponsors included Preciosa, Roca, Baccarat, Christofle, Nakkash Gallery, Libratone and Crystal Arc.

Foster + Partners plans two skyscrapers for London

Staff Writer — Thu, 16 May 2013 05:51:46 +0000

Foster + Partners has revealed plans to design two residential towers as part of a mixed-use development in northern London, UK.

The towers are set to become part of a cluster of residential towers proposed for the City Road area in Islington, in addition to UnStudio’s Canaletto building and another proposal by architects SOM.

Foster’s proposal includes 800 homes across two towers with additional buildings containing shops, cafes, restaurants and a community space, arranged around a central public park and courtyard garden.

The tower will be significantly taller than any other building in the surrounding area.