Dubai Design Week 2021 started off bright and early with a Spanish Breakfast event, wonderfully put together by ICEX in partnership with Cosentino. It marked day one of Dubai Design Week and Downtown Design.
The Spanish Pavillion at Downtown Design has always been an important presence at the fair for exhibitors and visitors. The space, titled Interior Makers, was arranged by the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) and its platform Interiors From Spain at Downtown Design, and designed and curated by none other than our favourite Spanish design celeb, Juan Roldan.
A skilled architect, Juan graduated from the Bartlett school of architecture in 2003, and is currently an Associate Professor at the American University of Sharjah, as well as a RIBA Gulf Chapter representative. Juan has also been the Chair at the International Charles Correa Foundation at the Goa College of Architecture from 2019 to 2020.
With a full turnout of some A&D indivuduals both regional and international, and a hefty quotient of global manufacturers that included: Boln, Cosentino, Kriskadecor, Lladró, nanimarquina, Nomon, RS Barcelona and Sol&Luna, under the ‘Interiors from Spain’ umbrella and with Juan Roldan as curator of the space., the morning commenced with an address by Íñigo de Palacio, Ambassador of Spain in the UAE, followed by introductions from Santiago Alfonso, Vice-President of Communication and Corporate Reputation at Cosentino Group.
Lena Marcuccilli, Head of Content at Love That Design, then opened the dialogue with Juan about his inspiration behind the design and curation of the fair, and his choice of the eight manufacturers that participated.
Following this deeply inspiring discussion, was a superb breakfast spread by Chef Mariano Andrés. Check out the pics at Cosentino City in Dubai Design District to see who was there.
