Download the Sustainability Guide to turn your Plan to Action

Join our Mangrove clean-up and planting events across the UAE

Download the Sustainability Guide to turn your Plan to Action

Join our Mangrove clean-up and planting events across the UAE

Download the Sustainability Guide to turn your Plan to Action

Join our Mangrove clean-up and planting events across the UAE

BECOME A CHAMPION

ENG العربية

BECOME A CHAMPION

ENG العربية

2026

Year of Family

Year of Community

2025

Year of Community

Year of Sustainability

2024

Year of Sustainability

Year of Sustainability

2023

Year of Sustainability

Sustainable Production

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Sustainable Production

Sustainable Production

Sustainable Production

Materials Lab

Materials Lab

The Material Lab Fellowship Program engages UAE-based designers, innovators, and creatives to rethink production and design through a research-intensive programme focused on experimentation, learning, and cross-collaboration. Led by Mohamed Rowaizak, a fellow from the 2023 edition of Material Lab, the fellows utilise local and accessible resources to pioneer new methods of material innovation to strengthen the UAE’s model of circular economy through their efforts and thought leadership.

Sustainable Production

Mohamed Rowaizak

Architecture

Mohamed Rowaizak

An alumnus of the 2023 Material Lab, Mohamed is a UAE-based architect whose passion lies in blending heritage, materiality, and technology. His project with Year of Sustainability processes discarded materials through high-temperature melting, breathing new life into overlooked materials. He is leading the 2024 Material Lab fellows.

Artists showcase their work in COP28

Mixed Arts

Artists showcase their work in COP28

Fifteen designers showcased their innovative, sustainable work at COP28 held in December 2023. Reflecting the deep-rooted connection in the UAE between people and nature, they subvert the expectations of design. Instead of common materials, they used unique sustainable materials to exhibit how creativity and innovation can contribute to sustainable living.

Interior Architecture

Nadine Ghazal

A graduate of Interior Architecture who’s passionate about reflecting the world's beauty through sustainable practices, driven by compassion. Her goal is to inspire others to embrace sustainable design for future generations' well-being. She’s working with kombucha and bioskins during the 2024 Material Lab Fellowship Programme.

Design

Lina Ghalib

A product and furniture designer with a bachelor's and master's degrees in Interior Architecture, aspiring to transition into Interior Design. As a Tanween alumnus, she developed PlyPalm, creating the Yereed bench. Her goal is to continue developing products with this material. She’s working with palm tree mid ribs for the duration of the 2024 Material Lab Fellowship Programme.

Design

Munira AlMulla

A designer whose work has been showcased at exhibitions like Global Grad Show and Dubai Design Week. Her design studio focuses on furniture and product designs with vibrant materials and an emphasis on functionality, sustainability, and cultural relevance. Munira is working with plastics, bioresin, and sea shells throughout the 2024 Material Lab Fellowship Programme.

Architecture

AlZaina Lootah

An architect who designs at Gensler Middle East, blending tradition with modernity in her work and focusing on architecture as a reflection of culture and context. As part of the 2024 Material Lab Fellowship Programme, AlZaina is working with wood shavings, sand, and frankincense.

Architecture

Basil Al-Taher

An architect with a strong foundation for design exploration and collaboration. Seeking to deepen his expertise, he pursued a professional certificate in User Experience Design alongside his interests in filmmaking and industrial design. Basil is working with scavenged, repurposed, and assembled found materials during the 2024 Material Lab Fellowship Programme.

Zainab AlBlooki

Design

Zainab AlBlooki

A designer who blends contemporary, sustainable designs with cultural references in her practice, Square016. She has exhibited her work at various prestigious venues, including Downtown Design and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. She creates high-quality furniture and is working with teakwood and scavenged dhows for the duration of the 2024 Material Lab Fellowship Programme.

Mariam Almuheiri

Visual Communication

Mariam Almuheiri

A 22-year-old Visual Communication graduate in Sharjah who blends traditional crafting, digital design, and sustainability for impactful outcomes that benefit children and caregivers. She’s working with fabrics she upcycles throughout the 2024 Material Lab Fellowship Programme.

Design

Reem Jeghel

A UAE-based product designer who gained acclaim for her Palm Veneer showcased at Dutch Design Week and Dubai Design Week 2022. Her sustainable designs highlight the creative use of upcycled material. Reem is working with palm tree veneers during the 2024 Material Lab Fellowship Programme.

Design

Nour Kays

A design director at the Farm Branding and Creative Lab and the founder of NK by Nour Kays, she holds a bachelor’s in Graphic Design and a master’s in Communication Design. She actively promotes conscious consumption and low-impact living through her work and lectures. She’s working with repurposed toys and plastic for the duration of the 2024 Material Lab Fellowship Programme.