When you think of Dubai, you may think of its iconic skyline and breathtaking architecture. Now, a group of architects and designers are embracing sustainable innovation to create an installation that is a fraction of the size of Dubai’s towering towers, but no less inspiring.
Among them, Dubai-based Syrian Ahmad Al-Qattan has created an intimate outdoor social space, a cocoon where designers can “incubate” their ideas. It provides shade and seating for humans as well as a haven for pigeons.
The space, named “Designest,” was inspired by the historical significance of pigeon towers on the Arabian Peninsula, often with beautiful arches and detailed carvings to protect pigeons in harsh weather, to collect pigeon droppings for use as fertilizer, and to show off the wealth of the tower owners who It was built to show off the wealth of the tower’s owners.
Designest features a pigeon nest at the top of the rectangular structure and three arched entrances at the bottom to welcome human visitors. Sections for humans and pigeons are separated, and bird droppings collected from the topmost section are used as fertilizer for plants in Dubai’s Design District.
Al Qattan’s design won first place in the Urban Commission Competition, part of the annual Dubai Design Week, which invites designers and architects to develop innovative outdoor furniture. Al Qattan said the idea for Designest came about after analyzing the potential users of Dubai’s outdoor structures – not only humans, but also the widespread population of pigeons.
‘The competition asked me to design a shading device, a gathering place, and seating. I tried to do all of that together, but I was always interested in non-human designs and always wondered, ‘Why does everything have to be human-centric?'”
Now in its ninth year, Dubai Design Week (DDW), which runs from November 7-12, is the largest event of its kind in the region, comprising workshops, installations, exhibitions, and lectures. This year, more than 30 installation designs submitted to DDW were constructed in the city’s Design District.
In anticipation of the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai, the theme of this year’s Design Week focused on sustainable practices and materials, and DDW’s flagship design fair, Downtown Design director and former DDW director Mette Degn- Christensen, said that over the past six years, sustainability has been introduced into the event’s design criteria.
Arcattan’s Designest structure was originally designed to be 3D printed using recycled fiberglass reinforced concrete (GFRC), but due to time, cost, and weight constraints, the prototype built for DDW was modified to use alternative plant-based plastics mixed with wood flour and sand for 3D The prototypes created for DDW use a combination of environmentally friendly methods and materials, such as mixing plant-based alternative plastics with wood flour and 3D printing with sand.
Says Arkattan, a freelance concept designer and architect, “Being environmentally conscious from the earliest stages of design is no longer a niche, it’s a necessity.” ‘That’s why I got my master’s degree in renewable energy engineering. It has nothing to do with architecture, but I wanted to be aware of sustainability from an early stage, instead of putting design on the back burner.”
Other sustainability-themed design installations include “Of Palm,” a pavilion by Emirati architect Abdallah Almulla; “Pulp Fractions” by Dubai-based architecture and interior design firm TEE VEE EFF; and an installation of pressed, dried, and molded waste cardboard and paper pulp. and molded installations of waste cardboard and paper pulp.
Of the designs selected for DDW, Degn Christensen said, “We are looking for practical designs that are sustainable and scalable throughout the UAE region. The competition] is a project that is very relevant not only for what will be staged at Dubai Design Week, but also for how it will develop in the future.”
Designest is Al-Qattan’s third attempt to win the Urban Commission category. Says Arkattan, “The competition is the best place to express your ideas without being influenced by the client’s opinion, cost, or feasibility.” It helps push the boundaries of what is truly possible.”
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