Centre stage at ‘The Forum’
Dubai based interior design practice Etherington Mclaughlin & Associates (ema) is pleased to announce it collaboration with Downtown Design. The Dubai studio will serve as the designer of a dynamic, high-tech auditorium to sit at the heart of the iconic Downtown Design event and host the Forum talks programme. The innovative structure is poised to bring the design community together and enrich the dialogue between industry players. Dubai Design Week & Downtown Design will take place from November 8th-12th.
ema. was established by the former managing partners of Wilson Associates and is headed by Ian McLaughlin and Tim Etherington, who, as design principal, states,
“The Forum represents the heartbeat of the event. It’s the platform that represents the sharing of ideas, creates community, and provokes discussion and learning. We will create a visually compelling stand that evolves throughout the event to communicate the characteristics of continuous change that are inherent in design and innovation.”
The Forum will enjoy a prominent position at the exhibition, creating a platform that will provoke ongoing design dialogue throughout the event. Recycled and recyclable materials will be used to build up a blank canvas, creating an amphitheatre-like structure to maximise interactions between the speakers and the audience. During discussions, the interior space will be illuminated using state of the art lighting and visual technology to create an ambience conducive to the exchanging of ideas between guest speakers, panelists, and the audience.
The design team has gone to great creative lengths to ensure that the auditorium will always be visually stimulating.
“We want to design not only a space but also something that encourages visitors to spark their own discussions, based on the visual representations of the Forum and the conversations,”
— say ema Design Directors Maud Capet and Julie Djohan
To bring this installation to life, ema’s design team collaborated with a number of internationally acclaimed partners – Bond Interiors, a leader in interior solutions, delivering high-quality, exceptional interiors and neoalpha global, a light and multimedia content design consultancy firm that brings a wealth of experience to the architectural and entertainment industry. Other partners including Jotun, one of the global leading paint suppliers with over 100 years of experience in the industry, Jab Anstoetz, a worldwide leader for textile furnishings will be providing the primary materials, Total Office, a firm specialising in innovative concepts for workspace wellbeing design, Shaw Contract and Nextspace will be providing the finishing touches for the auditorium to welcome its visitors.
Martin Professional, representing Barco, Elation Professional, SGM Lighting and VYV will provide entertainment lighting and AV equipment during the event. Linea Light and Led Italy will provide architectural light fittings which will be utilized throughout the forum installation.