The Design Museum in London announced the nominees for the most innovative and thought-provoking designs of the past 12 months today, across six categories: architecture, digital, fashion, product, graphics and transport.
Four of the 87 top picks are from the Middle East and Gulf region, including the UAE's very own Louvre Abu Dhabi, Fatima Bint Mohammed Initiative's collaboration with Lebanese designer Nada Debs, Stone Matters from Palestine and the Qatar National Library.
Louvre Abu Dhabi is being nominated for its iconic architecture, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel. The museum that opened in November 2017, with the building inspired by traditional Arabian architecture. The cluster of buildings is covered by a sprawling latticed dome that provides shade while casting intricate shadows on the ground.
Also nominated is the You & I rug collection, a collaboration between Lebanese designer Nada Debs and the Fatima Bint Mohammed Initiative, a carpet-weaving project that provides fair employment for more than 3,000 Afghani weavers. Inspired by a line from the Sufi poet Jalal al-Din Rumi – "Apparently two, but one in soul" – the collection intricately overlays contemporary carpet patterns on traditional ones, using natural dye and locally hand-spun wool.
Stone Matters is a pavilion in Jericho, Palestine, built of 300 interlocking, structural stone components. Showcasing new possibilities for a building material with deep traditions in the area, but now used almost exclusively for superficial cladding. The project combines digital design with stereotomy stone-cutting techniques that rely on local know-how. The aim is to spur a revival of masonry that will prevent knowledge from being lost.
A specially selected jury will choose a winner for each category and an overall winner – to be announced in November 2018.
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Read more:
UAE memorial artist Idris Khan on the 'overwhelming' nature of making award-winning Wahat Al Karama
Interactive: Inside Louvre Abu Dhabi
Making a masterpiece: How Louvre Abu Dhabi was built
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