Translated as ‘doors’ in Arabic, Abwab is an exhibition acting as a snapshot of design activity in the region and a highlight of Dubai Design Week.

Abwab is re-modelled annually, responding to an evolving creative landscape and new blends of designers. It is the only initiative of its kind to offer a united platform for design talent from across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.

In its fifth edition, Abwab designers are invited to take full creative responsibility for the outer and inner skins of their pavilion structures alongside developing the experiences within. Audiences will engage with the creative ideas of designers from Eastern Provinces of Saudi Arabia supported by Ithra, India and Lebanon who are tasked with redefining the experience of learning.

Representing Saudi Arabia’s heritage, Azaz Architects will design a pavilion celebrating the art of weaving. Exploring the dynamics of our memory, Busride Studio will be creating a neural net celebrating India's stories for the Indian Pavilion. The Lebanese pavilion will see the interactive Wal(l)tz installation by T Sakhi Architects, designed to capture social interaction in the digital age.

Audiences will have the opportunity to play with the pavilions themselves, pull them apart and put them back together again. A celebration of learning, these pavilions are places to associate emotion with knowledge, and leave an everlasting impact.

The objective of the Abwab experience at Dubai Design Week is to celebrate an element of the culture and environment represented by the selected designers using graphic, industrial, product, furniture, spatial design and architecture. Each pavilion will act as a gathering space for people to experience the making of a memory, and to explore the way information is shared and taught in the respective cultures.