Running until Nov. 13, Dubai Design Week's MENA Grad Show presents graduate students’ forward-looking proposals, where design meets purpose, that respond to some of the environmental and social concerns we face today. Here are a few of the projects on show at Dubai Design District.
Beyond Bread
Emirati student Hind Rais’s love of baking led her to design circular bread packaging made of flour, sugar, and water for bakeries, in an attempt to reduce plastic usage.The Reach
Originally from Greece, Joelle Kassapoglou spent time as a volunteer helping food delivery drivers in Dubai. She proposes building “The Reach,” a green rest-stop for drivers with well-being amenities, such as a clinic, therapy rooms and a cafe.The Anychair
It takes no tools whatsoever to assemble design student Cyrus Kheshwalla’s collapsible chair, made of wood. It looks simple and can be transported quickly. He aims for this affordable creation to be used by the underprivileged in remote or crisis areas, rural schools and refugee camps.A’seedbot
Mazyar Etehadi, from the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, brings to the show a small, almost pet-like, robot that is equipped with electricity-inducing solar panels. Its job is to navigate the desert for cultivation, dropping seeds in fertile zones.Al-Madda
The sustainability-conscious American University in Cairo student Amanda Ioannou has come up with DIY recipes that upcycle common household waste material – such as tomato, banana and watermelon peels – into organic bowls and molds.Repurpose 607
This architectural project, conceived by the Lebanese American University in Dubai student Sultan El-Halabi, suggests transforming the blast-hit Port of Beirut site into an accessible, job-creating area that accommodates a memorial museum, an amphitheater and a sound healing therapy building
