Roca One Day Design Challenge Celebrates a Successful Edition in the UAE
Roca’s international express design competition challenged 120 young talents from across the country to redesign the shower column
LINIA designed by Noor Al Kattan was the first prize winner. On Saturday November 12, Roca One Day Design Challenge held its 6th edition in Dubai, UAE. Over 100 participants were challenged to come up with innovative ideas for the bathroom space following a brief given at the start of the day.
The participants were asked to redesign the shower column. Within a given stipulated time of 7-hours, they had to prepare a proposal that matched these requirements, before uploading it to the competition’s website. The winners were announced at Etihad Museum, Jumeirah 1 – Al Mina Road, Dubai.
The proposals were evaluated by a jury comprising of renowned professionals from the world of design and architecture, including, Kristina Zanic, CEO & Founder of Kristina Zanic Consultants, Dunial Khaleel, Vice President of Interior Design for Aldar Properties, Mennah Darwish, Design Manager of Select Group, Joe Tabet, Founder & Managing Director of J&T partners, and Luc Siezenis, Country Manager of Roca Representation Office Middle East.
After reviewing all entries, the jury selected LINIA as the winner of Roca One Day Design Challenge 2022, awarding it with the first prize of AED 6000. Conceptualized and presented by Noor Al Kattan, LINIA was praised by the jury and has been selected because of its unique design which combines the most crucial elements needed in a shower experience, highlight functionality, aesthetics, and the future of showers. Noor is a residence and works in the UAE. She has an academic training in Graphic and Product Design, she is currently a junior graphic designer at Chalhoub Group.
The second prize, worth AED 4000, was awarded to MODRIS by Sarfaraz Mohammed Ashraf and Safad Nadathalakkal. Sarfaraz Mohammed Ashraf is a Architect who completed his bachelor’s degree in Architecture year 2019 from the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, India. He is currently working at Shape Architecture Practice and Research, a company in Sharjah as Design Architect. Safad nadathalakkal is an Architect who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Architecture from the University of Calicut, India, with 3 years of experience handling various projects. Safad is currently working for Shape Architecture Practice + Research in Sharjah UAE for the past 10 months. The jury selected this project as they really appreciate the design for its modular modern approach, it is perfect aesthetics for projects which are industrial in look and feel and the item has a real commercial viability. The jury highlighted the storage component with some of storage was hidden and most of it was easily accessible for daily use.
The project Tree Shower, created by Baidaa Elfrieh & Ameer Hajjat, an architect from AAR Interiors was awarded with the third prize of AED 2000. Baidaa is an architect and working as a project coordinator on her current job. She is interested in cultural and social aspects of architecture and seeks to offer sustainable designs that serves humanity and the environment. Ameer is an architect working in a consultancy firm in Dubai, he recently developed his skills in parametric design where he found himself passionate in creating organic shapes and offering human friendly designs. The jury chose it as its project design fulfilled the brief properly it is easy to install without taking much from space, storage properly integrated taking into consideration the hygiene and the adjustable shower, the shape and form is proportionally, organically, carefully developed, and well done.
Organised by Roca, a leading company in the production, design and distribution of products for the bathroom space, Roca One Day Design Challenge invites students and professional designers and architects under 30 to design, in just one day, new solutions for the bathroom space that can contribute towards a more sustainable and conscious future. The competition is aligned with United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, that is crucial to any design project today.
The competition reflects Roca’s commitment to talent, innovation and sustainability, aiming to promote the role of design in the efforts to tackle our world’s current challenges, such as the climate emergency and the new social realities around the globe. Its goal is to give visibility to young talents, promoting access to professional opportunities and renowned judges.
Roca One Day Design Challenge was born in Spain in 2012 and has since rapidly expanded worldwide. In 2022, competitions have already been confirmed in 8 countries: Portugal, Morocco, Poland, Malaysia, Oman, UAE, Singapore and Spain. In the countries where it is not possible to do a live event, the contest will be held virtually.
About Roca Roca is a company dedicated to the design, manufacturing and sale of bathroom products for architecture, construction and interior design. Founded in 1917, it combines tradition and knowledge with a passion for innovation and respect for the environment, in order to meet the demands of customers and contribute to improving the well-being of society.