D ec em be r 2 01 9 V ol. 15 Is su e 1 2 The essential guide for Middle East interior design professionals COMMERCIAL In te rior de si g n A n IT P M ed ia G ro up P ub lic atio n An ITP Media Group Publication Vol. 15 Issue 12 | December 2019 MEET THE MIDDLE EAST’S MOST INFLUENTIAL DESIGNERSCONTENTS www.commercialinteriordesign.com 4 DECEMBER 2019 | Commercial Interior Design December 2019 8 DESIGN NEWS Two UAE teams win Expo 2020 Dubai and Art Jameel’s water fountain design competition Sabeel 2020. POWER 50 LIST 2019 Commercial Interior Design unveils the Power 50 List 2019 – as Isabel Pintado returns to the top for the fi rst time since 2017. SAUDI DESIGN WEEK Saudi Design Week 2019 review and seven things our editor, Oscar Rousseau, learned from the eye-opening trip. SPECIAL REPORT Could alternative façade materials see sustainable wooden architecture take off in the Middle East? ULTIMATE SUPPLIERS Commercial Interior Design rounds up the ultimate suppliers of 2019 that you really need to know about as the next decade begins. VOLUME 15 ISSUE 12 658 10 50 10 65 50 57hudalighting.com Bloomingdale’s - Kuwait City, Kuwait The complete lighting solution provider in the Middle East and North Africa EDITOR'S LETTER www.commercialinteriordesign.com 6 DECEMBER 2019 | Commercial Interior Design Optimism among Saudi designers is booming as the kingdom’s creative economy begins to get the recognition it deserves. We all need to play our part in supporting it. As you may have come to realise if you read this letter (normally written out at a furious pace minutes before we send the magazine to press) you will notice that I often lament the state of affairs. There are deep-rooted issues around fees, payment delays, deliveries and timelines that need to be discussed. But what I often don’t talk about – and indeed I ought to – is how exciting the Middle East design industry is. Look at Saudi Arabia. For years it was closed to tourists; now visitors can get an online visa in 10 minutes. Women can drive. Cinema construction is booming. Billions of dollars are being pumped into high-end hospitality. Its reform is real and transformative. At Saudi Design Week, locals spoke about an “explosion of creativity and optimism” as the Ministry of Culture, MiSK and the Saudi Art Council create more opportunities for home-grown talent. A Saudi interior designer called Faisal Binsabbar told me local creatives have found a voice to promote the kingdom’s design “power”. Young designers are working harder and faster to create work that competes on a global level. All they need is a little time and experience, Binsabbar said. Time and experience are assets people on the Power 50 List 2019 have to thank for their success. Many of these individuals have demonstrated the drive, determination, talent and zeal that has established Dubai as the Middle East’s design hub. As the former editor of Commercial Interior Design, Shweta Parida, put it: the people on the Power 50 List are “the real infl uencers”. As Saudi Arabia opens its doors to the world, the leaders on our list might want to think about exporting their infl uence to the biggest economy in the Middle East. By supporting the kingdom’s explosion of creativity and optimism, they can infl uence the future of design and be a catalyst of change. Receive CID every month. To subscribe, please visit: www.itp.com/subscriptions or download the free CID app and be the fi rst to read the latest issue on your mobile device. PO Box 500024, Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 444 3000 www.itp.com Offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London & Mumbai ITP MEDIA GROUP CEO Ali Akawi Managing Director Alex Reeve Publishing Director Martin Chambers EDITORIAL Editor Oscar Rousseau Tel: +971 4 444 3358 email: oscar.rousseau@itp.com ADVERTISING Sales Manager Laura Collinder Tel: +971 4 444 3576 email: Laura.Collinder@itp.com DIGITAL ADVERTISING Advertising Director Riad Raad Tel: +971 4 444 3319 email: riad.raad@itp.com ITP LIVE General Manager Ahmad Bashour Tel: +971 4 444 3549 email: ahmad.bashour@itp.com PHOTOGRAPHY Senior Photographers Efraim Evidor, Adel Rashid Staff Photographers Aasiya Jagadeesh, Fritz Asuro, Ajith Narendra, Yuliya Petrovich, Jessica Samson PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION Group Production & Distribution Director Kyle Smith Distribution & Warehouse Manager Praveen Nair Production Manager Basel Al Kassem Production Coordinator Manoj Mahadevan CIRCULATION Head of Circulation Vanessa D'Souza Circulation Executive Loreta Regencia MARKETING Director of Awards & Marketing Daniel Fewtrell Events Manager Teri Dunstan ITP GROUP CEO: Ali Akawi CFO: Toby Jay Spencer-Davies Subscribe online at www.itp.com/subscriptions The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review. Published by and © 2019 ITP MEDIA GROUP FZ-LLC. Cover design: Rita Ghantous ITP Media Group Publication Infl uencing a kingdom: the future of design Oscar Rousseau oscar.rousseau@itp.comWalls (and now with) Floors & Fabrics. WALLS RESIDENTIAL | KIDS | PANORAMICS | COMMERCIAL FLOORS WALL TO WALL | CARPET TILES | VINYL FLOORING FABRICS RESIDENTIAL | CONTRACT NGC nafees Walls Floors Fabrics Tel: +971 4 269 7272 Email: projects@ngcmiddleeast.com www.ngcmiddleeast.comDESIGN NEWS 8 DECEMBER 2019 | Commercial Interior Design www.commercialinteriordesign.comDESIGN NEWS Commercial Interior Design | DECEMBER 2019 9 www.commercialinteriordesign.comNext >