Dubai Culture announces winners of Made in Al Quoz competition

Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) reveals the winner of the ‘Made in Al Quoz’ competition, a city-wide search for creative and innovative designs for large-scale seating installations to be installed in Al Quoz. The city-wide competition asked for proposals that effectively assessed the community’s needs and addressed them with seamless and cohesive aesthetics. ‘Made in Al Quoz’ was launched in November 2019. 

Eight solid proposals were shortlisted from all the entries, which were then put forward into the public voting stage of the competition that took place during Quoz Arts Fest at Alserkal Avenue on January 24th and 25th 2020. The general public were asked to vote for their favourite designs on iPads at the arts and cultural festival and more than 2000 votes were cast. The final results were based 50% on public votes and 50% on the jury vote. 

The winning design hails from Limah Design Studio, with a conceptual design titled ‘Connection’ that refers to the industrial history, identity and culture of Al Quoz. The bench-style seating offers lighting and Wi-Fi access to users and is made from concrete, wood, metal, and lights to echo Al Quoz’s industrial environment. 

Dubai Culture also announced two runners-up: Aleksandrs Zigalovs with ‘The Modern Majlis’ and a design duo, Ayesha Al Moosa and Yasmin Noureldin whose piece is titled ‘The Hub’.

‘The Modern Majlis’ is inspired by the traditional shape of majlis seating offering a bench in a curved ergonomic form. The seat itself is made from electroluminescent wires, which light up the bench and transform it from a simple piece of furniture into an eye-catching art piece.

‘The Hub’ is based upon ideas of connection and craftsmanship. It takes a square-shape with places for seating, bicycle parking and shade. Made from wood, stone and metal, the design can seat up to 10 people and meets the needs of this active and social community.

Three pieces of the winning design, Connection, will be manufactured and unveiled during Dubai Art Season in April 2020.

Shaima Rashed Al Suwaidi, Director of Marketing and corporate communication at Dubai Culture, said: “To witness such successful interaction with the inaugural edition of the Made in Al Quoz competition heralds the initiative as a great success. We had many strong entries to this design competition and the short-listed entries were varied and diverse – a true reflection of the city from which they came.

“Working closely with the makers’ community and establishing the Emirate as a hub for regional creativity is a key component in the mandate of Dubai Culture. This competition has allowed us direct access to society and has given creative people the chance to actively participate in the way their community is developing. In that respect, it will be an important initiative that paves the way for a collaborative and successful future.”

Limha’s Founder & CEO “Jason Lewis” said: “Our design firm is founded on the principal of creating positive human experiences and so, we design products that have a lasting impact on people’s lives. The seating design, ‘Connection’, is a simple yet sleek piece that will physically bring people together as well as offering connections to the online world through Wi-Fi access. We are very proud to have been chosen as winners for the ‘Made in Al Quoz’ competition because we are members of the Al Quoz community and have a long-term commitment to working and producing in the area. It brings us pride to have practically contributed to the community that we love.”