The Rado Star Prize aims at offering the next generation of design talent a unique opportunity to launch their career on the international stage, and the winner has been announced at the 2019 edition as Aya Charife, with her project Takyeef.
The Rado Star Prize is an established competition held annually in various countries around the world, supporting young, unpublished designers and giving them a platform to present their work. Rado aims to attract projects and ideas from numerous design disciplines in order to create projects that can benefit the lives of individuals or communities both now and in the future. As the Master of Materials,
Rado is known for its pioneering use of high-tech materials to create watches designed to look good for a lifetime. These materials – as well as design – are the essence of Rado. This year’s theme focuses on the idea of design as something enduring, long-lasting and versatile. Permanence overcomes obsolescence as we look for designs that will prove their timeless appeal.
The four finalists were selected by a panel of design industry professionals including Rawan Kashkoush, Creative Director of Dubai Design Week, Award-winning furniture designer Suzanne Trocme, and VP of Product Management at Rado, Hakim El Kadiri. The finalists showed during Dubai Design Week 2019, and the winner Aya Charife was announced at a ceremony on Tuesday, November 12. The winner receives AED 20,000 in prize money and a Rado watch.
Takyeef is an outdoor element that functions as an air conditioner and can be fixed in a repetitive formation constructed as high and as wide as the area that requires thermal change. The repetitive composition itself becomes a net of a pattern inspired by design elements of the region.