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This year’s edition of Downtown Design is set to be the largest and most diverse, with double the number of exhibitors as last year, and a new Destination initiative that brings six different Design Weeks to Dubai. Watch out for brands and designers creating exclusive, never –seen-before pieces including Ediciones Jalapa of Mexico Design Festival who will present a new collection of furniture made from palm leaves – a material specially chosen to resonate with the region and Ben Tovim Design of Melbourne International Design Week who will reveal a unique furniture piece designed exclusively for the local market.

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The Commercial Interior Design Awards 2015, set for September 16 at the JW Marriott Marquis are only a few days away. Here's a look at the nominees for the category:

The Commercial Interior Design Awards 2015, set for September 16 at the JW Marriott Marquis are only a few days away. Here's a look at the nominees for the category:

This week Downtown Design speaks to Ellen Bishop, Managing Partner of Bishop Design who gives us insight on how a successful business is based on maintaining strong client relationships.

Critics and collectors have described Gufram products as alert, subversive pieces that desecrate domestic sculpture and give it a revolutionary Pop Art soul. The brand is known to represent the explosive, unconventional forces of Italian radical design with their unique concepts, aesthetics, code and style.

The Commercial Interior Design Awards 2015, set for September 16 at the JW Marriott Marquis are only a few days away. Here's a look at the nominees for the category:

Finnish textile designer, Johanna Gullichsen was born in Somero, southern Finland and pursued an education in the skill of weaving at Porvoo Crafts School. She started the brand Johanna Gullichsen Textile Craft & Design in 1989 in Helsinki.

For the first time at Downtown Design, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) will present a selection of luxury artisanal brands within a large 700sqm area dedicated to showcasing craft, techniques, materials and products under the ‘Made in Italy’ marque.

LCMX is a design and architecture studio located in the heart of Mexico City. It was founded in 2009 by brothers Ricardo and Otniel Rodríguez Elías, designer and architect respectively.  The brand joins Abierto Mexicano de Diseño (Mexico Design Festival) to exhibit as part of the Destination initiative at this year’s Downtown Design.

The Commercial Interior Design Awards 2015, set for September 16 at the JW Marriott Marquis are only a few days away. Here's a look at the nominees for the category:

In the first of this 4-part series, Steven Charlton, Principal Managing Director of Perkins + Will Dubai reveals how investing and empowering the team fosters great client relationships.

The Commercial Interior Design Awards 2015, set for September 16 at the JW Marriott Marquis are only a few days away. Here's a look at the nominees for the category:

According to Young, designer Hans Wegner was the inspiration behind the new collection:

Escape from Sofa will be exhibiting with Istanbul Design Week, as part of the Destination initiative at this year’s Downtown Design.

Downtown Design exhibitor Muubs has launched a new collection of items for the home under the title “The darker side of design.” The collection was inspired by Wabi Sabi, a Japanese aesthetic that accepts the imperfections of natural beauty.

Downtown Design exhibitor, Ben-Tovim Design was asked to create a one off piece for a new exhibition concept called 1-OK club that will run until the 7th of September at the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia.

ZaoZuo, founded in 2014, is an online furniture design brand that creates affordable furniture to meet the needs of urban Chinese residents. The brand will be exhibiting with Beijing Design Week as part of the Destination initiative at this year’s Downtown Design.

The masterplan for the Burj2020 District in Dubai is set to be revealed next month by starchitect Adrian Smith – who said “the eyes of the world” are on the city and its urban design.

The new collection comes after extensive research and development, and offers home owners a higher level of precision in their colour choices.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last month scrapped the design as too expensive as costs reached an estimated $2bn – but the UK-Iraqi architect’s firm has now put together a fresh entry to the design competition that includes a video (below) and a 91 page report  addressing some of the issues surrounding the decision to reject the proposal.

The Commercial Interior Design Awards 2015, set for September 16 at the JW Marriott Marquis, is just around the corner and the judges have finally shortlisted the best design firms in each category.  So far, the list includes Interior Designer of the Year, Young Interior Designer of the Year, Interior Design Boutique Firm of the Year, Interior Design Firm of the Year and Behind the Scenes.

Dubai South will also be home to the World Expo 2020 venue as well as the Dubai Airshow.

Based in Northern Italy, Lema is world famous for the production and manufacturing of high-end systems furniture. The brand has evolved since the 1970s, under the Meroni family, with their variety in unique product design and by being the first to ever create the custom-built closet. Lema is one of the very few furnishing companies which operate on a full production cycle, “from the cutting of the panels to the preparation of the wood veneers, the lacquering and the personalization of each piece.” This company has a wide collection of modular furniture, ranging from wardrobes, wall units, bookcases, beds & bedroom furniture, contemporary sofas, dining tables & chairs, coffee tables & accessories.

Al Bayt Stadium (Al Khor Stadium)

While ensuring Downtown Design’s standard of original, high quality design. Of this year’s brands, returning exhibitors include lighting brand Lasvit from Czech Republic, Dubai’s Nakkash Gallery and climate controlled cellar environments from Canadian brand Vin de Garde. While new brands to debut include premium Italian bathroom company Antonio Lupi, Denmark’s premier silver brand Georg Jensen, iconic Italian brands Kartell and Moroso as well as Walter Knoll, Hacker Kitchens and Rolf-Benz UAE.

This year, Downtown Design is more diverse than ever with its ‘Destination’ programme, a showcase of up and coming design brands from six global design weeks – all new to the region. In total over 90 brands will be exhibiting at Downtown Design, making it the region’s largest design fair dedicated to original and quality design.

Visitors will be able to explore the uniquely designed pavilion to discover furniture, lighting, floor and wallcoverings, as well as a diverse range of home accessories from home scent to linens.

The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) is a well-established professional association supporting design professionals worldwide.  IIDA will team up with the professional accrediting organization for the interior design industry in the UK – the Society of British and International Design (SBID) – topresent an in-depth look at the worldwide trends showcased within award-winning projects.

Ginger and Jagger, a high-end furniture brand, launched in Portugal in 2012, creates unique, hand-crafted, contemporary products inspired by sculptural shapes and natural materials.

v2com is the international newswire specializing in the distribution of design, architecture and lifestyle press kits to the media.

TDesign’s innovative approach to Art de Vivre is on display at their Dubai showroom; featuring only exclusive, limited edition pieces curated from collections by Baccarat, Christofle, Lalique, Swarovski, Lladro and Daum.

What are the biggest trends in tableware for 2016?

Moroso debuts this year at Downtown Design, with a bijou showcase of what’s to come.

Connect with nature through Nikari Oy, the unique Finnish brand presented by Helsinki Design Week at this year’s Downtown Design.

Presenting a revolutionary new lighting design at this year’s Downtown Design, San Francisco Design Week showcases Hello Lumio, a versatile and sustainable product that aims to trigger the innate creativity in each of us.

The invite-only event will see Mint Leaf’s designer interview three Restaurant & Bar Design Award winners: Tim Mutton (Founder, Blacksheep), Robert Angell (founder, Robert Angell Design International) and Steve La Bouchardiere (Founder, DesignLSM).

The partnership will deliver exclusive benefits to APID members during Downtown Design and Dubai Design Week.

A year of firsts, 2015 has seen my debut as the fair’s director, coinciding with a new venue at Dubai Design District, d3. Doubling in size from last year, we present over 86 brands: 70% of which will appear for the first time as exhibitors; some of which have never been seen in the region before. Curated from a long list of applicants, the brands you’ll discover have been carefully reviewed to ensure a mix of established and emerging regional and international brands that cover a wide breadth of product categories. This year, we’re more diverse than ever, hosting 6 design weeks from around the world, who bring a total of 18 exciting new brands.

As part of Dubai Design Week’s ‘Destination’, tributo will present its first collection of furniture and objects at Downtown Design 2015: 12 contemporary pieces that highlight the rich heritage of crafts and handmade design in Mexico.

Rolf Benz recently shared some captivating behind-the-scenes images from the development of the Rolf Benz 580 armchair. From the first sketch to the final prototype, it’s clear that Rolf Benz believes in attention to detail.

Hosting a Design Week opens up a world of possibilities for a city: to expose those particular cultural idiosyncrasies that give a place its unique character, to celebrate landmark architectural projects, breathe life into heritage craft, unite creative talents working under the banner of one broad industry and introduce them to a global audience.

The HydroTap is specifically made for drinking water and the latest models now provide sparkling, chilled and boiling water options. The advanced filtration in the newer models are smart enough to keep the beneficial fluoride you need for healthy drinking water and remove chlorine, lead, rust, asbestos fibres and volatile organic compounds at the same time. They are also more sustainable and use up to 55% less power on standby, making it ideal for the workplace or home.

Downtown Design exhibitor Preciosa was recently awarded for best lighting at the 11th Hospitality Design Awards in Las Vegas, June 2015. Their work on Muutos received the award for lighting, while Ray received the Special Judges Award for Sustainability. Both winning pieces were created for the Solitaires collection – a series of exclusive handmade pieces designed by leading Czech designers, Jaroslav Bejvl Jr. and Jakub Bedrych.