The Address Dubai Marina was abuzz with designers, manufacturers and the many friends, volunteers and well wishers of the organisation, Surge, who came together in their glittering best to celebrate its 11th year.
Titled Gaia, last night’s Gala hosted works by the 11 design firms, selected for their one of a kind product that embodied the theme of Mother Earth and the deeper values of Surge to build community and aid humanity. After a tough bidding war on lovethatdesign.com, and much deliberation by the judges, the winners were announced amidst much clinking of glasses, entertainment, design talk, good food and general fanfare.
FLOCEAN by Kristina Zanic Consultants
The overall winner, and the winner for the Most Impactful Award, was the very proud team from Kristina Zanic Consultants for their entry, FLOCEAN. This stunning design makes a bold statement about the immediate danger from Covid Waste, ie. the countless single-use masks, gloves and visors that are being discarded into the oceans. Masks contain plastics like polypyrene and take 450 years to biodegrade. And an estimated 1.6 billion disposable masks entered the ocean in 2020 alone! FLOCEAN not only uses this waste as an unconventional construction material, but also highlights it as a design feature in order to raise awareness of the situation.
Designers: Marco Maximus and Amr Abdelaziz
Build Partners: Havelock One
Presented by: SURFACE ELEVEN & Acoulite
Wave by DZ Design
A very excited and beaming DZ Design team walked away with the People’s Award for Wave, a functional piece serving as a seat with plastic bottles that can double as planters. A truly commendable win as this was the result of two weeks of intense public voting on the Love That Design portal. We were at the edge of our seat as the competition was fierce.
Designers: Dina Murali, Mohammed Zain, Jeena Joseph
Build Partner: CARVE
Presented by: Light Link
Parts of Us by Gensler
Gensler won the highly commended award with Parts of Us, a piece that commemorates nature and cultivates conversations of ecological awareness. Parts of Us is a modular set that can be re-arranged according to its users’ needs. The concept comes from biomimicry, natural evolution and kintsugi. Keeping it outdoors will allow it to grow with its environment, becoming a terrarium for natural life.
Designers: Djan Javier, Shantam Sharma, Sarvnaz Amidi and Seima Dandan
Build Partners: Bond Interiors
Presented by: Jaquar Group
Re-purposed Rest by Designsmith
Designsmith’s piece was greatly inspired from the waste generated by different end products on an everyday basis at our own backyard. The installation offers seating and rest modular areas for the public.
Designers: Thiruppathy Ganesh Ram, Lizendra Thomas, Shamil Abdulla and Ena Hero
Build Partner: Excel Engineering & Contracting Co LLC
Presented by: Milliken
(Dis) Appearance by Point Concept Studio
Winning the most innovative award, this installation beautiful captured the fragility and vulnerability of the planet its ecosystems. Elements can be taken and removed from the central piece, symbolising the destruction of nature over time will be represented.
Designers: Marko Runjic, Aleksandra Covic, Nikola Horvat, Samar Sharif, Aishah Mohamed
Build Partner: White Rock & In Out Concepts
Presented by: Interface
R.evolve by Al Tayer Stocks
ATS’ R.evolve with build partner Seekers deserved this award for their beautiful work on creation R-evolve, using curved shaped layers in the outer shell and LED light embedded. The incomplete shape gives way to a seat created from leftover leather pieces
Designer: Peter Esmat Mishreky
Build Partner: Seekers Furnishing
Presented by: Consort
Athar by RAW
This award celebrates the design that most closely embodies Surge’s mission and values, and rightfully went to RAW for their outdoor bench prototype made from recycled dead palm fronds (palm trees) and stain-steel, which can be easily found in our environment. Athar encourages humanity to respect, protect and celebrate their connection to nature.
Designers: Aysha Al Hashmi, Maitha Al Rayssi, Moza Al Mansoori and Shamsa Al Mazrouei
Presented by: Roca
