Dubai Design Week will return to Dubai Design District (d3) from 3 to 8 November for its 12th edition. In an announcement on 13 October, the organisers said this year’s festival centres on how design can strengthen connection, with a programme of exhibitions, commissions, installations, talks, workshops and public activations. It runs under the patronage of Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. The festival is presented in strategic partnership with d3, which is part of TECOM Group.
TradeArabia carried the same announcement. For anyone working in design, architecture, interiors or branding in the UAE, the practical draw is the mix of a trade fair, a commissioning showcase and a public programme on one campus.
Downtown Design leads the week
Downtown Design, which the organisers call the headline event, runs 4-8 November. International names include Gaggenau, Kohler (in collaboration with Dubai-based designer Agata Kurzela), Venini and Ethimo. Regional participation includes Tashkeel’s Tanween Design Programme for emerging UAE designers, Abu Dhabi’s Athath Fellowship with market-ready furniture prototypes, and Sharjah’s 1971-Design Space, working with SILA Collective on an interactive spatial experience.
New exhibitors include ceramic studio Slō, sourcing platform Trika Arabia and furniture studio Contemporary Spaces, founded by siblings Alya, Maitha and Obaid Al Suwaidi. The show also features a dedicated Memphis Milano exhibit and a Buccellati pop-up with British designer Luke Edward Hall. The Veuve Clicquot Lounge, designed by Yinka Ilori, returns, and Dubai studio Etereo is designing a new lounge. The Forum, with keynote speaker Tristan Auer, covers talks across design, architecture and the creative industries.
According to a few.ae event listing, the wider festival is free and opens daily from 10am to 10pm. Downtown Design is separately ticketed with different hours: 4 November is for invited press and VIPs, and public access runs 12pm-8pm on 5-7 November and 12pm-6pm on 8 November.
Commissions, installations and exhibitions
The two flagship commissioning programmes both take new directions. Abwab, which supports practitioners from West, Southeast and East Asia and Africa, becomes a group exhibition titled In Other Words instead of individual pavilions. It looks at language as something designed and experienced, from signage and interfaces to gestures and oral histories.
Urban Commissions takes the theme Atmospheres. The winning proposal, Three Gardens and a Room by Dubai practice NAO Architects (founded by Reem Nassour), arranges three gardens around a shared central space. Visitors can move between them or pause in the room they form.
Outdoor installations will fill d3’s public realm. They include Arquitectonica’s participatory play installation, Nikken Sekkei and SOBOKUYA’s timber structure CHATAI 2.0, and Emirati architect Rasha Saffarini’s Taqleem, which reinterprets palm-tree trimming as a communal space. Indoors, highlights include Woods Bagot’s Worlds Ahead retrospective on 25 years in the Middle East, and the UAE Designer Exhibition. The latter runs under the theme Inherited Futures, with AlZaina Lootah as 2026 Design Collaborator.
On the brand side, Pinterest is making its first appearance at the festival. IQOS and Ouchhh Collective debut a platform called CURIOUS STUDIO, Ethr shows a modern take on the khaima, and BMW Middle East, the automotive sponsor, returns with a festival-commissioned activation.
Workshops and the Marketplace
The Maker Space workshops are open to professionals and aspiring creatives of all ages. Professors from the University of the Arts London and SAE University College will lead sessions, alongside HKS Architects and Leica Camera. A weekend Marketplace on 7-8 November sells work by UAE and regional makers, including homeware, jewellery, fashion and sustainably made goods.
Natasha Carella, Director of Dubai Design Week, said the festival brings different perspectives into conversation because “no single discipline or point of view can address these questions alone”. For scale, Modern Arabesque reports that the 2025 edition drew more than 135,000 visitors and over 1,000 designers, architects and creative practitioners from more than 50 countries.
Is Dubai Design Week free to attend?
The few.ae listing says the festival is free and open daily from 10am to 10pm, while Downtown Design is separately ticketed. Check the official Dubai Design Week visitor page for admission details before you go.
Which day should I visit Downtown Design?
The few.ae listing says 4 November is reserved for invited press and VIP guests. Public days are 5-8 November, with shorter hours on Sunday.
How do I get to d3?
A Wego guide says organisers pointed 2025 visitors to Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa Metro station, with an RTA bus to d3 and free parking in the district. We recommend checking the 2026 visitor page for this year’s transport plan.
