Local designers are putting their best foot forward at Downtown Design, showcasing several works that make use of unexpected and sustainable materials, from a dresser made of papyrus to a cabinet inspired by the Emirati burqa.
One standout display is the returning UAE Designer Exhibition. The exhibition highlights works by more than 30 independent designers and studios. While the works are disparate in form and function, the exhibition brings them together with a harmonious curation, alluding to a living space that is as modern as it is environmentally conscious.
The designers all live and work in the UAE, but as they hail from various backgrounds, they bring a medley of inspirations that blend together with cosmopolitan grace.
“The exhibition is inspired by comfort and functionality,” Omar Al Gurg, founder of Modu Method and curator of the exhibition, tells The National. “Not necessarily comfortable to the touch, it doesn’t have to be that, but more of an emotional comfort, mental comfort.”
This dedication to comfort was part of the design call. Al Gurg says: “I wanted everybody's design to work with each other, so I gave them a little brief beforehand. Some of the pieces existed previously and just fit into the brief of the exhibit, and then there were other pieces that were specifically developed for this exhibition.”
Several designs take cues directly from Emirati traditions and cultural motifs. Hessa Alghandi’s Shibriya, for instance, is a bench that draws inspiration from the furniture pieces of her grandmother’s home in Shindagha. The bench features traditional rope weavings with loose strings repurposed from unfinished carpets. Anwaar Abdulla Alhosani’s Mudkhar, meanwhile, rethinks the Emirati incense receptacle, the medkhana.
“We usually connect smell with memories,” Alhosani says. “I wanted to connect nostalgic sentiments of that into this contemporary incense burner.” The two vertical pieces feature an undulating design. Drawers are fitted at the bottom, where the incense burns, whereas holes have been designed on its sloped surfaces, from where the smoke is emitted. Different incense can be placed in each of the burners, allowing users to mix scents.
Aya Moug, meanwhile, is showcasing a material she has developed with her dresser. The material, she has dubbed Byblos, utilises papyrus plants from the banks of the Nile, fashioning them into a durable biomaterial. “It is an alternative to marble and stone, and is a 100 per cent natural material,” she says. Byblos, she says, can be used in myriad ways, from furniture designs to architectural elements. “It's as strong as concrete and marble, and it's very durable,” she says. “You can actually shape it in whatever form you want.”
Displayed beside Moug’s dresser are coat hangers that have also been fashioned from an unexpected material. Lina Ghalib’s Karab is a contemporary take on the coat hanger, designed with the region in mind. It features brass accents, but its core material is plywood made from palm. “The branches are actually thick to the core,” Ghalib says. “Sometimes they're as thick as 3cm. We cut them at different intervals, then we shave them off and we glue them together to make a hardwood material.
“The whole concept is that usually homes and villas, entryways and receptions are missing a coat hanger, because it's not in our culture in the Middle East, and usually it’s not the prettiest piece of furniture. I wanted to design something that is functional and aesthetically pleasing if it’s not in use.”
There are several other highlights in the exhibition, from a carpet that fuses the sensibilities of Emirati and Amazigh creatives, to visually stunning and stackable plant pots made from hemp fibre and recycled plastic.
Jamal Hamsho, meanwhile, is displaying a unique furniture set crafted from waste concrete. “I'm an architect, and when I used to go to sites, I’d see there was a lot of waste material, so I decided to take it and make artistic pieces of furniture,” Hamsho says. The furniture pieces take several weeks to craft and often bear delightful inconsistencies. Hamsho leans towards these particularities with a brutalist aesthetic. His table, for instance, features exposed rebars.
Tanween by Tashkeel is also returning for this year’s Downtown Design. Since its inception in 2013, the programme has been pivotal in offering emerging designers a platform to share their work. Often, the works are on the cutting edge of trends and reimagine familiar cultural elements. Majid Al Bastaki, for instance, is presenting a cabinet and dresser that is made from reclaimed materials. The cabinet’s doors are painted in striking hues, and draw on the star designs often seen on the steel doors of old homes around the UAE.
One Third Studio, comprised of designers Amna bin Bishr, Duna Ajlan and Dania Ajlan, draws from the Emirati burqa to create a contemporary cabinet. “Our product is called Taleed, which means old and inherited,” Bin Bishr says. “Our idea started by using a locally sourced material. Palm tree fronds are being wasted a lot in our local farms in many different areas.”
The dresser was fashioned by a technique the trio dubbed "khous marquetry". Khous is the traditional weaving technique in the UAE that utilises palm leaves to make roofs and floor mats. Marquetry, meanwhile, applies patterns and designs in the form of a veneer.
The design of the burqa is evident in the face of the cabinet, as well as its colour. “Our grandmothers would usually wear the face covering,” Bin Bishr says. “When we greet them, or when we get close to them, the face covering would mark on our faces with the indigo powder. We came up with the idea of extracting it from the fabric to get this deep blue colour.”
Then there are designs that merge cultural elements such as Rimsha Kidwai’s Kashi. The stackable stool design draws from the claymaking traditions of the UAE and Pakistan, while also incorporating patterns found in Al Sadu weaves.
“My inspiration was to use a material that was common in two regions,” Kidwai says. “I used two colour hues and clay tile techniques, one coming from the UAE and the other from Pakistan. The techniques come together in a contemporary way in the design.”
Downtown Design is taking place at d3 until November 9
The years Ramadan fell in May
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
THE SPECS
Aston Martin Rapide AMR
Engine: 6.0-litre V12
Transmission: Touchtronic III eight-speed automatic
Power: 595bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh999,563
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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CREW
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
SPECS
Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Mini John Cooper Works Countryman
Engine: two-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 306hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: JCW Clubman, Dh220,500; JCW Countryman, Dh225,500
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
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Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
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Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
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PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
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Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The five pillars of Islam
Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
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