Dubai’s First Architectural Festival Launched Last Week
d3 Architecture Festival in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects Gulf Chapter (RIBA Gulf Chapter) kicked off last Wednesday, featuring for the first time architecture, urbanism and development.
This multi-day event, ‘Identity, Context and Placemaking in the Gulf’, was launched by Dubai Design District (d3) to promote a more sustainable future with physical and digital events and highlights how architecture has shaped Dubai’s iconic skyline and the UAE’s vision.
As urbanization increases, the UN estimates the global population will reach 9.7 billion people by 2050 and two thirds of that will live in cities, so architecture is crucial to rethink how cities will be designed.
Khadija Al Bastaki, Executive Director of d3, said: “The growing need to build future-proof cities represents both an existential challenge and an exciting new horizon, which is why we established the d3 Architecture Festival in partnership with RIBA Gulf. Creating a dialogue on identity, context and placemaking will enable us to come together to consider how the built environment can impact the economy, the environment and society at large“.
The festival was curated with Juan Roldan, Associate Professor in the College of Architecture, Art & Design at the American University of Sharjah.
The physical exhibition is located in Building 6, d3 and showcases photographs of key projects such as the Museum of the Future by Killa Design and Sharjah-based waste management company Bee’ah’s new headquarters, designed by d3 business partner Zaha Hadid Architects.
‘Shaping The City – What the Future Holds for Urban Development’ is the first live-streamed panel discussion that investigates the impact of large-scale projects over the last decade and what the next 10 years will look like.
Christos Passas of Zaha Hadid Architects, who designed the Opus in Dubai, said: “Middle Eastern cities have shown tremendous leadership in reinventing what a modern, contemporary metropolis in the Arab world can be, and in that sense Dubai and Abu Dhabi have taken the lead in this rapid evolution.”
For more information, visit d3arch-fest.com
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