Interiors UAE Newsletter #1 - 7th March 2010

Upbeat hotel reports

 Atelier Nini Andrade Silva hotel entrance

The continuing upbeat reports of Abu Dhabi’s active pipeline of hotel rooms and those in construction ensures the constant need for interior inspiration across the capital city.

A recent report* states that 14 new hotels and more than 3,000 extra rooms have been added to the development pipeline for the Middle East and Africa region since December. The latest figures for the capital, Abu Dhabi are that 13,596 rooms are in the total active pipeline and 7200 are in the construction phase.

The continuing increase in available hotel rooms and hotels being constructed in the region signifies the need for complementing designs and interior products. At this year’s Interiors UAE, visitors will find a taster of the Sleepotel which was a central feature at Europe’s leading hotel design event – The Sleep Event. The Sleepotel will present hotel design concepts from the two internationally renowned architects and interior designers -Portuguese firm, Atelier Nini Andrade Silva and Shaun Clarkson, one of the UK’s leader in hospitality design with vast international experience.

Whilst visiting the Sleepotel, professionals can also view the latest in interiors from a selection of the finest products within the industry. Furniture, lighting, accessories, soft furnishings and flooring will be showcased by both local and international suppliers as well as an opportunity to gain an educated insight into some of the successful hotel projects carried out in the region. Shaun Clarkson and Nini Andrade Silva will both offer their experience to visitors, with two seminars covering the key trends in the future of hotel designs and adding glamour to hospitality interiors. The  Rotana Hotel Management Corporation will also present, focusing on Middle East hotel design in particular and the challenges faced.

Interiors UAE takes place from 29-31 March 2010 at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi. Click here  to register for your complimentary ticket or visit www.interiorsuae.com

*January 2010 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report

Future talents of the Middle East

Young design talent in the Middle East will be honoured at Interiors UAE  this year as a brand new student design competition has been launched. The organisers are working with local universities to find the very best of the local talent. Students have been asked to enter their ideas and thoughts to produce a scheme for a space which satisfies the four key elements of residential design – Sleep, Eat, Play and Bathe – embracing the increasing influence of high fashion.

Judges, which include Ben de Lisi, Alan Hughes of The Inchbald Institute, RPW and The Association of Professional Interior Designers (APID), will evaluate the entries with regards to spatial planning, spatial sequence and proportion.

Students from Zayed University will also be showcasing their photographic displays in an area entitled ‘Old Traditions – New Society’, acknowledging the region’s next generation of fine art photographers. This area will be inaugurated by HH Sheikha Salama bint Tahnoon bin Mohamed Al Nahyan.

Other local artistic talent will be celebrated including a showcase of some of the best Emirati artworks from the Ghaf Gallery, the first contemporary art gallery in Abu Dhabi. The gallery has been a springboard for many emerging artists and this exhibition will display the works of Mattar Bin Lahej, Sumayyah Al Suwaidi alongside the co-founders of the gallery, Mohamed Abdul Latif Kanoo and Jalal Luqman.

Interiors UAE will take place from 29-31 March 2010 at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi.  Click here  to register for your complimentary ticket or visit www.interiorsuae.com

Abu Dhabi's 'mega' projects

 Abu Dhabi International Airport

Governments are continuing to commit money to infrastructure and other public projects in a recent report* and detailed the six ‘mega’ projects to keep an eye on, half of which are based in Abu Dhabi, are still active and handing out contracts or are set to begin picking up steam.

Interiors UAE  Business Development Director, Cathy Oates comments, “There are huge plans for the city, enforcing it’s key position in the Emirates with some of the construction projects reaching over $40 billion. Abu Dhabi in particular has weathered the economic downturn which puts it in a great position to compete against other global cities”

Three of these mega projects are:

Abu Dhabi International Airport
Developer: Abu Dhabi Airports Company
Description: The Abu Dhabi International Airport expansion will increase the airport's capacity to 20 million passengers per annum. Work on the expansion of the airport began in 2005 and is scheduled to finish by 2015.

South of Shamkha
Developer: Abu Dhabi Centre for Housing and Service Facilities Development
Description: South Shamkha is an AED 10 billion ‘new town' that will contain around 10,000 villas for nationals as well as parks, retail & entertainment facilities and public services. Spread across a reported 43 km² and located around 50km from Abu Dhabi city, it will house up to 200,000 people.

Abu Dhabi Centre for Housing and Service Facilities Development
Developer: Tourism Development & Investment Company
Description: Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) is overseeing the transformation of Saadiyat, an island off the coast of Abu Dhabi, into an international cultural destination. The development is made up of seven components and includes Guggenheim and Louvre museums, a golf course, a marina and residential areas.

Cathy continues, “This list of projects clearly illustrates the booming construction industry and the need for interior products is more demanding than ever, ensuring Interiors UAE  is perfectly placed to give suppliers the ideal platform to present their products to these responsive buyers. Abu Dhabi in particular has weathered the economic downturn which puts it in a great position to compete against other global cities and the ideal location for Interiors UAE.”

*Source: Construction Week – 8th February 2010

Click here to register for your complimentary ticket to Interiors UAE, 29-31 March 2010, ADNEC, Abu Dhabi

view Newsletter - January 2010

Plans are already in place for two of 2010's must-attend high-end design events.

Decorex International will swap the UK for the UAE in March with a pavilion spot at Abu Dhabi's Interiors UAE. Over 300sqm of top level exclusive and bespoke designers will bring their luxurious products from The Royal Hospital Chelsea to this affluent capital.

Fashion designer Ben de Lisi also makes an appearance at Interiors UAE by exhibiting his bathroom range for Abacus Kitchens as well as contributing his experience in his talk at the seminar theatre.

Then Decorex International will be back at it's home in September, where 75% of stands are sold and plenty of new and exciting features are being announced every week.

2010 is set to be a great year for high-end design...

Editor.

Decorex in the UAE

The Decorex pavilion at Interiors UAE will return, taking high-end luxurious products to the burgeoning capital of Abu Dhabi. This is still a rapidly developing capital and the perfect location for buyers to source design-led interiors for the vast amount of developments in the region including hotel, residential and contract spaces. This year, contemporary Italian lighting brand, Estro, will showcase their ranges of table and floor lamps, alongside stunning chandeliers. Also showcasing in the pavilion will be Yarwood Leather, a British firm who specialise in

high quality leather product for seating applications. Although their roots are in furniture, they have also turned their focuses to other sectors including automation, aviation and marine. Abacus Direct Ltd manufacture and distribute innovative and design-led bathrooms. Alongside their wide range of products, Abacus offers a number of valuable services including the technical behind-the-scenes elements to a bathroom, such as Elements wet floor concepts and Easi-plan pre-wall installation frames. The ranges are produced to suit various ranges from budget to the Ben de Lisi designed range alongside tiles, accessories and furniture to complement the bathrooms.

More companies are still signing up for this year’s Interiors UAE, an invaluable opportunity to view an edited gathering of interior products tailored specifically for interior designers, architects, contract buyers/specifiers, retailers, property developers working within the commercial, domestic and retail markets.

To book a stand at the show or to find out more about the plentiful opportunities in the region, please call Cheryl Fraser on +44 (0)207 921 8380 or email cfraser@ubm.com.

To register for a ticket to the event, please visit www.interiorsuae.com 
 

From fashion to interiors

Acclaimed fashion designer Ben de Lisi will be speak at this years Interiors UAE. Embracing the influence of high fashion in the creation of luxury interior projects and the increase of fashion designers turning to interior design, Ben will introduce his own design philosophy and his bathroom range for Abacus Kitchens who will be exhibiting at the show. Ben commented, “Interiors UAE is a prestigious event that reflects the potential of cultural inspiration, not to mention the impact of fashion on modern interior design. I am delighted to be taking part in such an important design-led event in the global calendar and particularly to be a judge for the show’s impressive interior design competition.”

The correlation between fashion and interior design has become very apparent over the last few years, both sectors follow and adapt to each other.  Overall, trends are shaped by the culture at large, so naturally there will be similar themes and elements in the ‘lifestyle’ markets such as fashion and interior design, as well as art.

Collaborations between design disciplines, increasingly shape our interiors, bringing  fresh and challenging approaches that capitalise on the strengths  of  those involved. The UAE already boasts some of the most stunning examples of how this can redefine the art of luxury and comfort with more planned. This  is just one of the reasons to choose this particular theme for the event this year. The Burj Dubai, the tallest tower in the world, has just opened which houses a 160 room hotel designed by fashion designer, Giorgio Armani. The Palazzo Versace hotel chain is also  due to open its Dubai hotel this year,  designed by Gianni Versace’s company, as part of Dubai’s Culture Village area.

Zaha Hadid, who has been a stalwart of the design and architecture community for nearly three decades, is the chosen architect for the Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Centre, a new cultural institution that will occupy Saadiyat Island. In the same way Coco Chanel did for fashion, Zaha’s bold visions create new and unexpected spaces for old and familiar places, even if they are controversial at the time. Indeed the Channel iconic quilted bag was at the heart of Hadid’s clever design for a mobile art pavilion commission by Karl Lagerfield.

Event Director, Cathy Oates commented, “As Interiors UAE aims to be a trend-setting event for the interiors industry it is natural to look at the ways in which our industry is influenced by other sectors and we hope that will be apparent at the show in March”

Interiors UAE 2010 will take place from 29-31 March at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi.

Signed up already

Although we are still eight months away from this year’s Decorex International, plans are already in place for another groundbreaking event. With 75% sold and new features being worked on that will be announced over the next couple of months, the 33rd edition will bring you brand new products, educational seminars and plenty of inspiration! Here’s a sneak preview of a couple of the brand new companies that have already signed up… First-timers, Jacaranda Carpets will present their brand new range of unique Himalayan hand-knotted rugs.

Managing Director, Richard Meager explains, “It is early days to go into detail about our plans for September, but we already have some exciting launches  planned which will be on display on our stand. Our new Rampur range has been so incredibly successful that we have two new ‘sister’ ranges in the pipeline. Both have the same silk-like sheen created by the wool/viscose mix of fibres, but the textures are new and unusual.”

Ebony and Co will make their debut appearance at Decorex in 2010 presenting their hand crafted bespoke floors. Ebony source their wood from carefully preserved forest stock and select it in response to the exact requirements of the client. This produces hugely versatile widths and finishes and uniquely all the floors are suitable for use of under floor heating.

UK Manager, Martin Rowell, insists that they don’t show at exhibitions, “ Until now we have not found an exhibition that we felt operated at our level of quality, both of other exhibitors but also of professional visitors. We have looked at all of the UK and major European interiors exhibitions and not found them to be appropriate or operating at our level of what we want to achieve from a Trade Fair, until Decorex.”

“We have looked at Decorex for a number of years before making the decision to exhibit there in 2010, and are convinced that it will be everything and more than we expect. We are very excited about attending Decorex 2010.”

If you are interested in booking a stand at Decorex 2010, please contact Gemma Strachan or Maria Pahlavan on +44 (0)20 72921 8600 or visit www.decorex.com.

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