Dubai Design Week (DXBDW) is pleased to announce the return of Urban Commissions, DXBDW's annual competition that offers the opportunity to develop outdoor infrastructure in the public domain for Dubai Design District.
2025 Theme
This year's Urban Commissions theme, 'Courtyard', explores its role as a communal urban infrastructure across local and global architectural, urban planning and public practices.
Designs should examine the courtyard’s historical function as an inclusive space fostering social interaction and community, emphasising its significance as a central gathering point whilst balancing public and private perspectives. Proposals should consider how courtyards, and by extension urban built environments, can shape communities by blurring the boundaries between public furniture and communal architecture.
Reflecting on the courtyard’s elements through spatial design and modularity, balancing between intimacy and openness, the space should encourage movement, pause, and interaction, fostering a fluid relationship between enclosure and the expansive outdoors. Designs should incorporate materials and strategies that enhance airflow, cooling and shading whilst maintaining an open connection to the sky.
Beyond the physical design, proposals should incorporate opportunities for community-led activities and adaptable programming, drawing from the social and cultural role of the historic courtyard as an urban infrastructure. The selected proposal will have the opportunity to closely collaborate with the Dubai Design Week team to implement these activities.
Production Bursary
The winning proposal will be granted a production budget of AED 120,000 for project development, technical plans, renders, production and installation.
Submission Process
Applicants are required to complete the submission form below by 20 July 2025 which requires providing essential information and the following documents:
Selection Process
The winning design will be selected by a jury panel of experts in the design field. The panelists will grade proposals based on the predefined criteria, originality of the design and relevance to the competition's theme.
Criteria & Conditions
The proposal must:
The applicant must:
For enquiries, please contact [email protected].
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