With Dubai Design Week and Downtown Design returning this month, Architonic takes a looks at the developing design industry in the city. In a future focused city like Dubai, with its desire to diversify and invest in the creative economy, design has become the city’s new economic driver, and as the commercial gateway to the Middle East, Dubai offers a hospitable business environment for creative opportunities with its dedicated design district (d3) the commercial hub of design.

In October 2015 Dubai held its inaugural design week, which generated an extraordinary response from the city, the region and the global design and business community. 150 designers from 26 countries took part in events across the city, with d3 alone receiving 23,000 visitors. This year Dubai Design Week sees over 150 events spread throughout the city – from Jumeirah to Al Quoz to Ras Al Khor and to d3.

‘Many of this year’s events – the large number of workshops, talks, competitions - really point to a community that has an appetite for learning and is knowledge hungry,” says Cyril Zammit of Dubai Design Week. “It’s a community developing steadily and ready to show what it’s capable of -- during the 6 days of design week and beyond.”

Last year Deloitte and The Future Laboratory published a report commissioned by Dubai Design and Fashion Council on MENA region’s design outlook. It projected astonishing growth for the regional industry, with Dubai as the jewel in its crown – with a market value of $100 billion and a 7.4% annual growth, more than double the pace of the global industry. By 2019 the region is expected to contribute 5.2% to the global design sector. It is estimated that the design sector in Dubai will provide 30,000 jobs in the coming five years.

Dubai’s design scene might well be young but there is no doubt it is developing rapidly. Rue Kothari, Fair Director of Downtown Design adds: “When you consider that only 20% of demand can be satisfied by local production, the lack of any real manufacturing sector, and a relatively shallow pool of brands distributed in the region, there are significant opportunities for new international furniture manufacturers, for example, to find growth here, against their traditional markets which may be stagnant.”

At Downtown Design, the impact that the development of Dubai is having on the rest of the world, is clearly apparent. Now in its fourth edition, the Fair has tripled its footprint and offers a credible show model that is expanding to accommodate surging demand. Balancing iconic international names such as Carl Hansen, Gaggenau, Moroso and Rolf Benz with discovery brands including Jomo Design Furniture (Ethiopia), Apical Reform (India) and ViiCHENDESGIN (Taiwan) along with the UAE’s homegrown brands, such as Bebe Creations, Pallavi Dean and NM Collection, Downtown Design is able to offer interior designers, architects and specifiers a unique opportunity to interact with fresh products they wouldn’t ordinarily find on their annual trip to Milan.

The region is thirsty for choice, and poised as the commercial gateway to the Middle East, Downtown Design has undoubtedly become the first point of call.

For more information on Dubai Design Week (held Oct 24- 29) visit: www.dubaidesignweek.ae/ and to preregister to attend Downtown Design (held Oct 25 -28) visit: https://downtowndesign.eventoregistrations.com/