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Since it was founded in early 2018, Bone Studio has remained a two-person practice. Coming from complementary frameworks of architecture and interior design, the duo prefers to remain invisible, allowing their work to be recognised for itself. A keen sense of collaboration prevails throughout their projects across the UAE, where clients become family and craftsmen become teachers.

Theatrical heights, sweeping arches, and a colour palette inspired by the desert landscape - the Elixir Bunn coffee shop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, references Islamic architecture in a manner that lends it a sense of place and provenance.

With a keen eye for detail and an innate passion for design, Natelee Cock’s beautiful images have established her as one of the region’s most sought after design photographers. From products and projects to editorial and even personal photography, she has worked with some of the leading names in the business.

Influenced by the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi which is centered on the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete, Mumbai-based designer Ashiesh Shah’s creative approach is the antithesis of the classical Western notions.

With the rapid development in the cultural scene, the academic advancement and the mega projects being launched in Saudi Arabia, recently, the focus on the design profession – from architecture and interior design to infrastructure development and product design – has grown manifold.  There was already a growing interest in pursuing careers in these fields, but the latest developments in the Kingdom and around the Middle East have made these professions even more competitive.

From their humble beginning as a student-driven venture to an award-winning design studio with offices in Kuwait and Madrid, AGi Architects have evolved into one of the Middle East’s most progressive practices.

What was once old often becomes new. The beauty in design’s cyclic nature is implicit in the permission it gives a new generations of creatives to explore concepts past. Updating them with new thinking, applying contemporary context, and eviscerating the most relevant design codes from an iconic period requires a studied-eye and empathy.

Founded in 2003 by architects Ahmed Al-Ali and Farid Esmaeli, Dubai-based X- Architects specialise in creating progressive spaces that seek to reshape the identity of architecture emerging from the Middle East. Connecting the Gulf’s unique identity with a contemporary interpretation, the studio has designed mosques, futuristic desert resorts, and wildlife sanctuaries that, whilst remaining rooted in their geographic and cultural context, offer a new typology for Middle Eastern architecture.

After their report on the future of restaurant design, Dubai-based design studio Roar have published a White Paper examining COVID-19’s impact on educational spaces and the design solutions that could future-proof the education system.

An international cohort of visualisers is creating surreal scenographies that are flooding our Instagram feeds with inspiration, reprieve, and a fantastical escape. With their visuals almost indistinguishable from photos, these creatives are allowing designers, brand, editors and architects to push the boundaries of visual storytelling.

From opulent designs and vibrant colours to exploring traditional crafts and innovative materials, Downtown Design’s selection of carpet brands spotlights both creative and technical collaborations between leading contemporary designers and weaving communities around the world.

Set within a wild Portuguese landscape of cork oaks and umbrella pines, the striking Casa 3000, a home designed by the firm Rebelo de Andrade, is unusual, fantastical and yet, familiar. It is the studio’s marriage of classical shape with an unexpected colour that sits perfectly with the Italian furniture brand’s oeuvre, setting the scene for Pedrali to launch their new collections.

Architecture is a complex system of relationships between programme and function, emotion and practicality, tradition, and experimentation. Nuru Karim, the award-winning architect and founder of Mumbai-based multi-disciplinary studio, Nudes, strikes that elusive balance with his forward-thinking and progressive design solutions.

Drawing from Chinese and Southeast Asian societies, which share the custom of giving gifts in red envelopes, LWK + PARTNERS' journal Red Envelope, is a three-part series that seeks to freely share thought and insight on the industry.

Situated in Saudi Arabia’s Rub’ Al Khali area and spanning 240,000 square meters across the vast desert-terrain, the 60-key resort responds to the site – characterised by 250-meter high orange-red sand dunes and ‘Sabkhas’, the white salt flats – to offer visitors an unspoilt experience of the desert.

The world today is in a state of delicate balance - between sustainability and advancing technology, the natural eco-systems, and the acceleration of urbanisation, all the while trying to maintain our healthy existence on the planet.  The recent Coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated just how delicate this balance is.   COVID-19 has compelled businesses globally to implement work from home strategies to ensure the safety of their employees and continuity of business.

Claude Missir’s work veers toward a zen-like simplicity. The otherwise minimal and often symmetric spaces are revved up by his masterful selection of vibrant art and unexpected sculpture, curated to offset handpicked contemporary and retro furniture. In keeping with the codes of the French Modernist designers from the 1930s, he explores spaces as set designs, marrying flowing profiles with clean lines, monochrome with bursts of colour and bringing disparate eras together with panache.

“Safe spacing will be the most dramatic impact on restaurants – but according to our experts, one that is likely to be short-lived,” says Pallavi Dean, Founder and Creative Director of Roar.

As healthcare providers face a drastic shortage of protective gear and hospitals run out of space, architects and designers are sharing their services, analytical abilities, and technologies to help fight the pandemic. Here we share some examples of how the industry is pivoting to scaffold healthcare services in these trying times.

With social-distancing and separation, people in the UAE and around the world have been faced with drastically altered working conditions. Whilst these restrictions are slowly being eased, going back to work, for most people, is going to feel a lot different than when they left.

As a multidisciplinary design-led practice, we at SHH have always challenged ourselves on both what we do and how we generate our design solutions to ensure that we create places for people to enjoy and use within the built environment.  Although a considerable part of our urban design work and building designs within our portfolio are traditional assets, such as residential buildings, commercial offices, malls, and hotels, we always try to collaborate with our clients to produce designs that aim to surpass the traditional functional use.  Moving forward, however, we believe this approach will become even more essential.

“The current scenario has presented a huge shift in studio culture which will lead to new ways of working and in some areas, more efficient models will emerge,” says Rabih Geha, Founder of the Beirut-based, award-winning boutique practice Rabih Geha Architects. “Whilst it is hard to digitally replicate the entire human aspect of our profession, exploring digital tools can not only help keep clients engaged and projects on track, but also equip design businesses for the future.”

After many years in the design industry, what I have found is that no matter how great a design solution may be – be it a building, an urban plan or a product – there is only so much it can do on its own. To address the real issues people are facing mandates the engagement of all the industry stakeholders and the communities. People need to work together more often and more productively, and that is the most commendable quality we have been witnessing over the last few weeks.

For A&D professionals, their chosen career includes lifelong learning and diversifying. Now than ever before it becomes even more necessary to evolve and develop both technical and soft skills. As the region's leading design studio, Gensler believes that the current scenario presents designers with an opportunity to stay abreast with design trends and technology and hone their capabilities.

A constant fixture on international industry power lists, Kelly Hoppen has built a global brand that encompasses luxury homes for the A-list, hand-crafted furniture collections, coffee table books, a stint on BBC’s Dragon’s Den and an MBE for her services to interior design.

An open call took place April 2-4, which invited stakeholders across different industries to work collectively to respond to the immediate challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and ideate possible solutions to support the region's cultural industries. Followed by the Dubai IDEATHON taking place April 7-8, this initiative was launched by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, in collaboration with the Art Dubai Group, that for the past 14 years has launched some of the region's most successful cultural events and programmes including Art Dubai, Dubai Design Week and the Global Grad Show.

Pierre Yovanovitch │ @pierre.yovanovitch

Be it interior designers considering bespoke and custom pieces to tailor their projects, or home-owners that are after one-of-a-kind works, these brands offer the region’s design consumers innovative solutions that are not only stylish but by being available locally, positively impact the carbon footprint of our design choices and uplift the region’s design economy.

The rapid escalation of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on various sectors including medical, economic and social, consequently resulting in a series of collateral issues in need of solutions and betterment.

Momentarily stepping back from the bustle of modern living, our home becomes even more important sanctuaries as we seek calm and serenity. Warmth and tactility. context and locality become key as we seek refuge and the energy to recharge.

Following up from Downtown Design 2019’s panel discussion ‘Shifting Focus: The Evolving Market of Hotel Design’ where leading hospitality designers explored how investing in the beliefs of their future clients can render longevity to properties, the international designers featured here offer very distinct views on the hotel experience of tomorrow.

A place of exceptional prehistoric and geological significance, the Jebel Buhais archaeological site is located within the Al Madam plain 30 miles south-east of the UAE Emirate of Sharjah. The former prehistoric sea bed offers an abundance of marine fossils from over 65 million years ago and ancient burial sites from the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages.

The woven portals are part of the four miles of public space Khan’s studio has designed for the Expo. At the end of the 20-meter high gateways, two 10.5-metre-wide doors open on to a tree-filled courtyard.

A FOCUS ON EXPERIENCE

“With each Downtown Editions, Tanween by Tashkeel strengthens its network of design professionals and private buyers,” says Lisa Ball-Lechgar, Deputy Director of Tashkeel. “The Fair is a fitting platform for the Tanween designers to debut their collections inspired, designed and made in the UAE.”

With a view on the real estate markets and by studying a number of key growth indicators including socio-economic and commercial property metrics, the Index identifies 130 established and emerging cities that have the strongest positive momentum in their economies over the short to medium term.

Active in the Middle East’s design industry for twelve years and having developed the market presence of leading design and lifestyle brands including Poltrona Frau, Technogym and Herman Miller in the region,  Ruggero Ottogalli brings a wealth of market knowledge and expertise to support the next phase of the fair’s growth.

Coinciding with Expo2020 Dubai, the fair will offer exhibiting brands a unique platform to connect with design professionals not only from the MENA region, but also international designers and potential clients visiting the city for the Expo.

Four acclaimed designers – all from different parts of the world and with varied means of creative expression – spoke about a shared belief in design’s ability to impact communities and how they are using their platform to advocate for conscious design.