Held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and member of Dubai Council, registrations are now open for Downtown Design, the region’s leading fair for high-end and quality design. The fair returns from 8-12 November, 2021 and will take place in its purpose-built venue on the waterfront terrace in Dubai Design District (d3).

Over the past decade, Dubai has established itself as the design capital of the region, with Downtown Design as a key meeting point bringing together the region’s interior designers and architects who this year are enjoying a post-pandemic boom, fuelled by some of Dubai’s highest property sales in 12 years.

The fair will showcase more than 150 international and regional exhibiting brands and designers, complemented by extensive collateral activations that include an interactive talks programme featuring global industry experts, conceptual exhibitions by leading designers and interactive installations.

A key feature of Dubai Design Week, the fair will host brands from over 20 countries as well as major national representations from European countries including Austria, France, Hungary, Italy and Spain. Downtown Editions, the fair’s boutique section dedicated to limited-edition and bespoke design, will once again uncover the latest in design by individual designers, studios and creative collaborations, with a spotlight on the region.

David Ross, Director, Downtown Design, comments: “With the return to a live, in-person edition of the fair this November, coinciding with demand for interior design and architecture services at levels not seen across the region for many years, Downtown Design will provide a perfectly timed, exciting and purposeful platform to reconnect the industry and celebrate original and high-quality design.”

Entry to the fair is free by registering at downtowndesign.com or through the Dubai Design Week app. Trade and public days are from 9 to 12 November.

Downtown Design 2021 Highlights

Downtown Design will showcase the latest global interior design trends, ideas and inspirations featuring over 150 leading international and regional brands, with highlights including furniture from LEMA, Minotti, Giorgetti and Vitra; textiles from Illulian, Kvadrat and Verdi; major kitchen and bathrooms brands including Grohe, Villeroy&Boch, LaboratorioMattoni and RAK Ceramics as well as lighting brands including Lasvit from the Czech Republic, Baranska Design from Poland and Shakúff from the USA.

The Italian national presentation, ‘Luxury Interiors – The Art of Italian Design’ from ICE, will be the largest in the fair’s history, featuring over 40 Italian companies showcasing their latest work whilst the French presentation by Business France will bring fine examples of the ‘Art de Vivre’ – with over 15 companies that combine traditional savoir-faire with avant-garde innovation. Spain’s design sector will present a united installation from ICEX with eight leading brands curated by Dubai-based Spanish architect Juan Roldán; WKO, Austria Economic Chamber will showcase seven leading homegrown furniture, lighting and accessories manufacturers and the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency will present the work of emerging national designers under their ‘Budapest Select’ umbrella brand.

Downtown Editions will present a boutique showcase of limited-edition and bespoke pieces from designers and brands including Aline Hazarian, The Line Concept, Nakkash Gallery and Zieta Studio alongside emerging regional creative talents. These individual exhibits will be complemented by a range of showcases uncovering the latest in design from the region, including The Beirut Concept Store, which will feature works by 50 established designers and emerging creatives based in Lebanon, while the UAE Designer Exhibition 2.0 is set to unveil works by 25 emerging and undiscovered creative talents based and producing locally. The works of four designers selected by Tashkeel for the 2021 TanweenProgramme will also be unveiled at the showcase.

The Forum

The Forum at Downtown Design will host a series of compelling live interviews and discussions between leading regional and international architects, interior and product designers on each afternoon of the fair.

Staged in a dynamic amphitheatre specially designed by ema to promote interaction and engagement, The Forum is a space where professionals can engage in energising and candid design dialogue, with topics ranging from changing industry dynamics, behaviours and opportunities to how architecture and design can truly embody authenticity and place, and from implementing sustainability in the real world with real clients to placemaking and the future development of Middle Eastern cities.

International speakers contributing to the Forum include design studio founders Sebastian Herkner, Elliott Barnes, Gregory Gatserelia, Massimo IosaGhini and Adrien Gardère. In addition, Micael Calatrava, CEO of Calatrava International LLC, will discuss the current flow of their global projects with particular emphasis on their creation of the UAE Pavilion and the Qatar Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

More than a dozen areas of key importance to the broad spectrum of visitors to Downtown Design will be addressed in panel discussions, with contributions from leading lights of the regional architecture and interior design community including Jonathan Ashmore, Founder & Principal Architect, ANARCHITECT; Laura Bielecki, Group Design Director, Ellington; Pallavi Dean, Founder & Creative Director, Roar; Andy Shaw, Managing Partner, AMA and Chair, RIBA Gulf Chapter; Diane Thorsen, Design Director, Gensler and Isabel Pintado, SVP Design & Innovation, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Installations and special features

Visitors will be immersed in an interactive installation at the entrance to the upcoming fair, which will bring together contemporary design and technology in a unique multisensory experience. Designed by award-winning Dubai-based studio NIU, the highlight of this year’s entrance will be an oversized mosaic clad caricature by artist Antonello Blandi, which will be decorated by FantiniMosaici, one of Italy’s leading brands of hand-cut mosaics found in luxury boutiques, homes, hotels, and palaces. The installation will also be strategically illuminated with sustainable, innovative lighting from Artemide.

Dubai-based Broadway Interiors has designed The Lounge Bar for Downtown Design 2021, creating an eclectic, stimulating environment inspired by the Dubai landscape and vista. Situated in the main exhibition area, The Lounge Bar will provide another important yet informal meeting space for brands and buyers to connect, and comprises two distinct sections including an outdoor water-facing terrace.

Downtown Design will also give visitors the opportunity to comfortably network and foster contacts in TheLighthouse Café created by prominent Dubai-based practice Lulie Fisher Design Studio and inspired by Virginia Woolf and her Bloomsbury Set contemporaries. Featuring a large, boldly patterned and richly coloured mosaic feature wall by Trend Middle East, the café will include a custom-built bar counter clad in matching mosaics and topped by a timber canopy that will sit beneath the tented exhibition roof.