Iris Ceramica Group will debut the winning work from its global design challenge Local Cultures in Global Settings at Dubai Design Week, after being launched in Milan at Salone del Mobile earlier this year.
The contest fosters the exploration of unique cultural roots in global discourse and includes a series of events across the world including Milan and London. The challenge invited participants to create a geometric or figurative pattern using the natural ceramic surfaces of the Iris Ceramica Group, utilising the group’s patented “Design Your Slabs” printing solution. The contest aimed to preserve cultural roots and bonds with the world we have inherited, ensuring they are passed on to future generations.
The engaging and entertaining interactive installation is entitled “Big Challenge”. The name of the installation is in itself an invitation to take part, as the work becomes a playground: the ceramic slab made with Iris Ceramica Group materials is customised with the geometric decoration that won the “Local Cultures in Global Settings” contest.
With the patented digital printing technology Design Your Slabs, ceramic surfaces become a blank canvas for creating any original illustration or image. The winning design “DRIFT” by Niko Kapa customises the ceramic slabs which, for the occasion, are transformed into an oversized ping-pong table that can host several players at the same time, engaging visitors to Dubai Design Week in exciting matches and tournaments.
Niko Kapa’s “DRIFT” interprets the concept of the international contest “Local Cultures in Global Settings” marvellously: the celebration of individual cultural identities in the globalised world, recalling the style of Burle Marx’s decorations.
The “DRIFT” pattern is inspired by the natural landscape, combining elements of contemporary design and traditional handicrafts and capturing the essence and distinctive identity of the location. The linear motif of the panels recalls the geometric patterns of Islamic culture and the crests of the sand dunes, the waves on the sea and textured fabrics.
The effect is obtained using curved and parabolic lines inspired by the topography of the local landscape. The inspiration for this special design lies in Dubai’s unique geography, where the dunes in the desert and the contours of the land sculpted by the wind bear witness to the interplay of human action and the passing of time.
The lines highlight the common roots and profound connection with the earth, the sea and craftsmanship as a symbol of local cultures, underlining the relationship between the shape and the material they are made of. Craftsmanship thus becomes a visual expression of the creative process, preserving the memory of primordial matter in the design of ceramic slabs.
Dubai Design Week will also host an All-Female Talk between Federica Minozzi, CEO of Iris Ceramica Group, the architect Sumaya Dabbagh founder of Dabbagh Architects and the trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort, on the topic of globalisation and its repercussions on the production processes born from natural raw materials, as well as architectural design. The speakers will also discuss and analyse how creative communities can respond to the growing demand for identifying elements in the expressions of globalised lifestyles.
At the same time, design students will have the chance to take part in a workshop focusing entirely on the phases of the creative process; from the initial idea and inspiration to its elaboration and concrete application to design objects.
The last leg of this project, spanning almost one year, concretely combines design, identity, creativity, research and technological solutions, opening up to multicultural dialogue in an edifying, high-value debate among professionals, students and experts.