A four-day exhibition exploring design energy and anti-form where attitude becomes the form and defines the space itself. A spatial concept that weaved body, space and material through the principles of fluidity, openness, and dynamism.

The exhibition addressed the concept of formlessness in design, closely drawing inspiration from works of Steven K. Peterson, Richard Morris and Zaha Hadid, delving into themes of formlessness made up of unconventional and recycled materials. Anti-Space in the Anti-Form is continuous, dynamic, flowing, uniform and unformed, promising a sense of freedom and a new design idiom. Like matter and anti-matter, space and anti-space are articulated by recovering the concept of negative space, the “void in-between,” the perceived spaces.

The concept encouraged young Architecture design students to explore the principle that form and the resultant space can be derived from the inherent qualities of the material. This was a post-minimalism approach that differed from those of earlier design minimalists, who imposed order on their materials through fixation on geometrical shapes, structures and spaces. The aim was to yield a space that is open-ended and non-estheticized.

The students addressed their immediate surroundings in new ways, drawing attention to the architecture of the setting within a cuboid volume of 5mx5mx5m. It encouraged students to challenge the conventional idea of what constitutes the physical form of spatial formation by expressing itself through new meanings, forms, materials and function.

Image Credit: Dr. Harpreet Seth (HWUDC)

About Heriot Watt University Dubai Campus

Heriot-Watt University Dubai Campus was established in 2005 as the first campus of an overseas university to open in Dubai International Academic City. Pioneering British education in Dubai through highly acclaimed degree programmes, it meets the specific demands of local business and industry.

About Harpreet Seth

Harpreet Seth, (PhD, FHEA, M.Arch, B.Arch) is a senior academician at Heriot Watt University, Architecture Department since 2013, with a teaching experience of more than 18 years in UAE. She was instrumental in establishing the new Architecture program at the Dubai campus, teaching architectural design studios, organizing design competitions and juries with industry partners. She also supervises PhD and Msc. students with a keen interest in the built environment. She has been awarded the Fellowship (FHEA) Higher Education Academy from UK. Well known for her studio project based teaching and learning approaches and her innovative teaching in Architecture has won her many accolades including EIGS Graduate Award and Learning and Teaching Oscars from Heriot Watt University. She completed the Post Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) from Heriot Watt University, UK. She is a member of the Council of Architecture in India and Association of Professional Interior Designers (APID) in UAE. She has been an avid sketcher and founder member of Urban Sketchers Dubai (USD), the Dubai chapter of the international Urban Sketchers.