Dubai Design Week puts architecture, sustainability in focus

Dubai Design Week recently concluded its 12th edition at Dubai Design District (d3), bringing together more than 1,000 designers, architects and creative practitioners from over 50 countries for six days of exhibitions, installations, commissions, talks and workshops. Held under the patronage of Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the festival explored the theme of human connection, examining how design shapes relationships between people, places and cultures.

The wider programme also provided a platform for conversations around the evolving relationship between architecture, material innovation, functionality and sustainability.

One such collaboration was presented by Kludi, which partnered with renowned architect Joe Tabet to introduce a collection of bathroom solutions developed around architectural thinking, material efficiency and contemporary sanitary design. The collaboration formed part of a broader discussion on how architectural principles can inform the design of everyday products, particularly in spaces where form and functionality must work together.

Speaking to Gulf Today on the sidelines of Downtown Design 2026, held as part of Dubai Design Week, Abdullah Massad, Group CEO of RAK Ceramics, said investment in technology, manufacturing capabilities and research and development remained central to the company’s approach to product development.

“RAK Ceramics Group has always invested in advanced machinery, technology and R&D to develop solutions for our customers. Our recent collaboration with renowned architect Joe Tabet aligns with our approach to creating products that balance aesthetic expression with everyday use, while considering form, proportion, materiality, functionality and sustainability,” he said.

Massad said the collaboration also reflected an interest in working with designers who understand the regional context and the requirements of its users. He pointed to Kludi’s German manufacturing heritage, alongside its association with RAK Ceramics, as part of the broader framework behind the partnership. “It was interesting because it allowed us to combine engineering with architecture to create a line of sanitary products,” Joe Tabet told Gulf Today. For Tabet, the project represented an extension of his existing architectural practice rather than a departure from it. He described product design as another way of considering how objects, people and spaces interact, with the aim of developing pieces that respond to practical needs while retaining a distinct design identity.

Tabet said the intention was to create products with a stronger visual character while using less raw material, bringing questions of resource consumption into the design process.

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