Dubai Design Week returns to d3 from 3 to 8 November 2026 for its 12th edition.
Downtown Design showcases international brands, regional talent and immersive pop-ups.
Workshops, talks and exhibitions run across the festival, with the weekend Marketplace taking place on 7 and 8 November.
Explore installations, exhibitions, talks and workshops at Dubai Design District.
Calling all design lovers. It’s time to paint the town. Dubai Design Week 2026 returns to Dubai Design District (d3) from 3 to 8 November for its 12th edition, with six days of exhibitions, installations, talks, workshops and creative encounters. From experimental architecture to objects shaped by Emirati heritage, the programme offers plenty of reasons to spend a day exploring the district.
Held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, the festival programme examines how design can strengthen connections through the spaces we share, the languages we use and the objects that shape daily life.
Downtown Design
Downtown Design returns from 4 to 8 November 2026, pairing international brands with regional designers and immersive pop-ups. Gaggenau, Venini and Ethimo are among the exhibitors, while Kohler will present a collaboration with Dubai-based architect and designer Agata Kurzela.
Regional highlights include Tashkeel’s Tanween Design Programme and furniture prototypes from the Athath Fellowship’s 2026 cohort. Iwan Maktabi will showcase new works by Nadine Kanso and Omar Al Gurg, drawing on Arabic calligraphy, UAE symbols and memories of the traditional majlis.
There is plenty to explore beyond the exhibitor stands, too. Buccellati’s pop-up, created with British designer Luke Edward Hall, takes inspiration from water mythology and symbolism. Meanwhile, British-Nigerian artist and designer Yinka Ilori will create the Veuve Clicquot Lounge, and a dedicated Memphis Milano exhibition will celebrate the movement’s graphic patterns and unconventional forms.
Outdoor installations
The district’s public spaces will host installations that invite visitors to play, explore and rethink familiar materials. Japan’s Nikken Sekkei and SOBOKUYA will unveil CHATAI 2.0, a timber structure combining traditional craftsmanship with spaces for gathering and communal making.
Indian practice ALTER will turn Ludo into an interactive installation titled Playing Field, while Palestinian-Turkish aestudio will transform reclaimed concrete rubble into architectural forms. Emirati architect Rasha Saffarini’s Taqleem will reinterpret palm-tree trimming as a contemporary communal space rooted in local craft and cultural memory.
Exhibitions and activations
The UAE Designer Exhibition returns under the theme Inherited Futures, with architect and designer AlZaina Lootah as its 2026 Design Collaborator. UAE-based designers will explore how inherited materials, rituals and ways of making can inform contemporary work.
Elsewhere, Woods Bagot will reflect on 25 years of design in the Middle East. L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, will present archaeological research into lost goldsmithing techniques from the Second Iron Age. Pinterest also makes its festival debut, working with designers and artists to turn digital inspiration into physical experiences.
Urban commissions
This year’s Urban Commissions competition takes the theme Atmospheres, examining how light, sound, temperature and materials influence our experience of public spaces.
The winning project, Three Gardens and a Room, comes from NAO Architects, the Dubai practice founded by Reem Nassour. Three interconnected gardens use foliage, shade, colour and filtered light to create distinct environments, with a shared room offering space to gather, pause and connect.
Adwab
Abwab, which means “doors” in Arabic, takes a new form for 2026, evolving from individual pavilions into a group exhibition. The commissioning programme supports practitioners from West, Southeast and East Asia, as well as Africa.
Under the theme In Other Words, the exhibition explores language beyond speech and writing. Signage, gestures, symbols and oral histories will inform works that consider how meaning is communicated, translated and remembered through visual, spatial and sonic design.
Workshops, talks and the marketplace
Feeling inspired? Head to the Maker Space for hands-on workshops open to different ages and experience levels. Contributors include the University of the Arts London, SAE University College, HKS Architects and Leica Camera.
The Forum at Downtown Design will host talks and keynotes, including a keynote by interior architect and designer Tristan Auer, in a space under the creative direction of architecture and interior studio BONE.
For a weekend visit, the Marketplace runs on 7 and 8 November. Browse homeware, jewellery, fashion and handmade goods from independent makers, alongside culinary experiences, children’s activities and live performances.
Creativity awaits.
Where: Dubai Design Week, Dubai Design District (d3), Dubai
When: 3 to 8 November 2026
Contact: dubaidesignweek.ae