Sharjah-based studio Fikra has announced the theme of its inaugural Fikra Graphic Design Biennale – the first of its kind in the Middle East- titled Fikra Graphic Design Biennial 2018: Ministry of Graphic Design, which is set to explore the influence of graphic design in shaping the present and imagining the future.

Anchored in Sharjah, the biennial will open on 9 November 2018 and will run until the end of the month, aiming to reach out to the wider region and offering a global platform on the role of graphic design in the 21st century.

The theme’s concept is inspired by “innovative governmental structures  the UAE, such as the Ministry of State for Happiness and the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. The fictional yet familiar format of a “Ministry of State” will facilitate innovative and nuanced thinking about graphic design and its influences on public opinion, entrepreneurship, culture, and society at large”, a release stated.

The ‘Ministry’ will feature several departments, each curating a distinct analytical focus within graphic design. These departments include the Department of Graphic Optimism, Department of Dematerializing Language, Department of Non-Binaries, Department of Flying Saucers, and Department of Mapping Margins.

Each department has been chosen to help catalog and exhibit existing graphic design works; to respond to theoretical questions; and to create “speculative” designs that address “future scenarios and solutions for the discipline”.

“We are excited to launch this first-of-its-kind, international graphic design biennial in the region. We envisaged creating a graphic design biennial for both professionals and the general public alike,” said Salem Al-Qassimi, founder and principal of Fikra, and director of the Fikra Graphic Design Biennial.

“The event aims to communicate the importance of graphic design as a practice and help designers understand it better. More importantly, I think that it is crucial to have a representation of this region in the discourse related to graphic design practice across the globe. It is equally important for us to carry forward our ideas, culture, and narrative.”

During this year’s Beirut Design Week, French-Lebanese designer Carla Baz unveiled a furniture collection featuring lighting and furniture items using marble and resin.

The collection, entitled Stratagems, was debuted at Beirut-based Joy Mardini Gallery, and includes 13 different pieces including lights, tables, and shelving units – all of which were manufactured in Beirut and made from 15 different types of marble.

Stratagems showcases the designer’s material exploration including experiments with marble, highlighting its fragile and delicate attributes by creating lighting pieces that utilise thin waterjet-cut slabs.

“By decontextualizing the material, we have managed to create a collection of pieces that are gracious while having character, bold while being valuable,” concluded Baz.”The pieces are an invitation to revisit what we know about marble and to allow ourselves to be more experimental and open, all the while respecting the integrity of the subject.”

Baz also created a series of six low tables made from various types of marble, carving away 2mm of the surface to create colourful pools of colorfuul resin at its centre.

The centre of the tables are slightly dipped due to the carving and contrast of tones, with the natural marble tone showing through the colourful resin.

“Through our experiments we have sometimes chosen specific natural colours, sometimes decided to use a simple white marble as a canvas for a more audacious approach, tainting it with bolder colors with resin,” said Baz.

“Whether in its pure form or as a result of this series of tests, marble never ceases to offer different possibilities and outcomes, making it a very exciting journey.”

The Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation has announced a three-day workshop called Living on Mars that will teach participants how to develop concepts of habitation on Mars.

With the Emirates Mars Mission revealing details of the Mars 2117 plan that aims to create the first human settlement on the Red Planet, the workshop will focus on envisioning sustainable settlement proposals to enable humans to live in space.

The workshop, starting on July 17, will be led by industrial aerospace designer, researcher, and DIDI faculty member, Dr. Raffi Tchakerian.

“There is a desperate need for creative minds to design and tackle the interactions between humans, the tools and technologies they will use, and the environments in which they will live, especially in outer space,” said Dr. Tchakerian.

“Very few institutions around the world offer courses in this subject matter, and design, until now, has been foreign to aerospace. DIDI is here to fill this gap, and will be the first institution in the world to formally and academically address this need from a design perspective. DIDI will prepare the much-needed UAE talent for Entrepreneurial Space.”

Photo by Marco Pinarelli for A-Magazine

The interactive workshop will be hosted at DIDI’s d3 campus, integrating science, architecture, and art, among other disciplines, to tackle design concepts, as well as promoting research and analytical skills.

Sass Brown, Dean of Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI) added: “At DIDI, we prepare students to be able to effectively respond to a rapidly changing world and beyond. Nothing is off limits and our Living on Mars workshop proves just this. This type of thinking will help us to nurture the next generation of change makers, who will be able to conceive and create sustainable design solutions for today’s problems, for the benefit of tomorrow’s society.”

Last year, it was announced that Emirati scientists, engineers and designers from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre will work in collaboration with Danish architecture studio Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to design the Mars Science City project that will simulate life on the Red Planet.

Main image: Moon Capital, Architecture and Vision

British architect Will Alsop – who recently passed away – is set to have his first – and only – project in the continent of Africa, realised in Nairobi, Kenya.

The shopping mall, called The Beacon, has all the elements of a signature Alsop project: colourful, playful, and inclusive of whimsical details such as a jellybean-inspired monorail and a piano staircase.

All Design has won the planning permission to realise the project, which is the first project revealed by Alsop’s firm since his passing.

The open-air shopping centre will be located in central Nairobi, containing 24,300m2 of retail and food & beverage space, in addition to a rooftop garden and bar.

Designed around the theme of a sweet factory, it coincides with the architect’s principle that architecture should always be fun.

A monochrome facade is contrasted by a large accordion-shaped red box while the inside of the complex features fairground rides; with walkways shaded using fabric canopies. The design also includes a thatched roof.

“The Beacon is intended to bring delight to locals and tourists,” said a release from the architects. “The vivid colours and striking patterns of the facade will hint at the amusements and leisure facilities inside.”

The project is developed by London-and Nairobi-based firm Kiloran – and will also include a seven-storey office tower alongside the retail development.

“We were intrigued by Kiloran’s ideas for this mall in Nairobi and were pleased to be able create an open-air mall with a focus on sustainability, fun and family which we believe to be key drivers on future international mall design,” said Marcos Rosello, co-founder of All Design.

Multipurpose venue Yas Bay Arena, designed by global architecture firm HOK, has receieved the Sustainable Building of the Year accolade at the MENA Green Building Awads 2018, whicb is endorsed by the Green Building Councils network.

The project is an integral part of Yas Bay’s waterfront destination, which is part of an upcoming 14 million square feet mixed-use area located on the southern end of Yas Island.

HOK designed the project in a way that integrates sustainable and cultural features, such as shading – which is integral to the region hot climate – in a manner that saves on energy consumption.

Yas Arena Bay’s shading features provide adequate daylight while simultaneously insulating heat, which assists in reducing the energy consumption of the building.

The project also integrates energy and water efficient building systems and architectural treatment which has lead to a 22.4% in energy savings and 28% in water savings.

Developed by Miral, the overall Yas Bay project is planned for completion in 2019, and is part of the overall transformation of the southern part of Yas Island. It will include a waterfront promenade with restaurants and retail spaces, in addition to two hotels; a Hilton family resort and a beach club.

HOK’s design also features a “lantern facade” which is intended to both complement and animate the expanding waterfront promenade at Yas Bay.

A new video showcasing Zaha Hadid Architects’ King Abdullah Petroleum Studies & Research Centre (KAPSARC) has been released by German photographer Hans Georg Esch.

The seven-minute video highlights the Riyadh-based project’s crystalline forms as the camera sweeps over its rugged terrain and takes viewers inside the building, revealing monochromatic interiors.

KAPSARC has recently been shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival Awards in the Completed Higher Education and Research category, among other projects based in the Middle East.

Completed in October 2017, it is ZHA’s first LEED-certified building, designed in response to the environment of the Riyadh Plateau to minimise energy consumption.

The modular structure, which features hexagonal prismatic honeycomb shapes, creates a composition of crystalline forms that seemingly emerge from the desert landscape.

It features a white latticed crystalline facade that acts as a solid protecting shell against the harsh, southern sunlight.

Read more about the project here. 

Swiss Bureau has completed the design of the common areas for the new Tecom Knowledge Park in Dubai, using the concept of the ‘tree of knowledge’, that appears across various elements of the interiors.

Having already completed the auditorium, management offices, and food court, the interior design firm focused its attention on the common areas including the entrances and hallways which are located across three atriums.

Using the metaphor of the tree of knowledge, Swiss Bureau used a real tree, located in the central atrium and set under a skylight. The tree is encircled with a bench, allowing it to play both a conceptual and functional role.

The metaphor of the tree continues in other parts of the interiors, such as the back-wall of the reception area which is constructed out of GRG and coated in textured concrete paint.

The design also includes a tree bark mural which is a custom-designed wallpaper, as well as ringed lights above the bench that mimic growth rings of a tree.

“The foremost criteria in designing a public space like this, used predominantly by teenage college goers and young professionals, was to use materials that were durable and not easily stained or damaged,” the designers said.

The firm used locally-sourced porcelain tiles which possess a “realistic texture, making it appear almost like a raw concrete surface”. This is complemented by a warmer travertine texture in the atrium areas, while a wood effect porcelain tile is used in the corridors.

“To keep project costs within budget and keeping in mind that this design would be rolled out to 18 other buildings, different paint textures are used to create interesting variations in the walls,” the designer explained.

“Planning the space well was critical to the design, as thousands of people walk through this space on any given day. Previously the atrium space was largely empty with some dated furniture and was only used as a transit space. To bring about a cultural change, a centralized seating was introduced. In the main atrium this seating is located around the tree and is a key design feature; in the other atriums, this is a customized seating unit.

“Clustered lounge seating has been added into either side of the atrium and this encourages people to spend time in this space. To bring in colour to space where most of the finishes are neutral, the lounge seating has accent colors of a soft green that is in tandem with the green tree in the centre.”

designMENA has teamed up with UAE-based furniture and flooring firm OFIS to create a video series called #OFISTalks.

The monthly series involves visiting Dubai-based interior design firms to speak to key team members about new projects and gain insights about various areas of design.

Our fifth #OFISTalks introduces Bishop Design, headed by Paul Bishop.

The designers involved in the interview are  Paul Bishop, owner & founder at Bishop Design; Anita Bir, interior designer; Mnuara Zubaidildayeva, interior designer; Fernanda Amaral, interior designer; and
Charmaine Chua, interior designer.

Our first  #OFISTalks kicked off with Wilson Associates, led by Isabel Pintado, who have recently moved to their new self-designed office space in Dubai Design District. Our second video presented the team at  Allen Architecture Interiors Design (AAID), while the third video introduced Perkins+Will. We also met with the team at Blauehaus Group for the fourth #OFISTalks edition.

About OFIS: Since its establishment 33 year ago, OFIS has been working in close collaboration with architects and interior designers in the UAE, providing furniture and flooring solutions across corporate, educational, healthcare and hospitality sectors.