Green design takes centre stage in innovative ‘Furnitrash’ competition
DUBAI:
Students created chairs, lamps and loungers out of every day trash in
an innovative environmental scheme launched by the Canadian University
of Dubai.
Fourteen second year
students from the School of Architecture and Interior Design at the
Canadian University of Dubai have been turning second-hand objects and
trash into something altogether more beautiful as part of a competition
called ‘Furnitrash’.
Whereas recycling
involves the manufacture of new products from trash and waste materials,
upcycling involves individuals combining waste material to make
something completely new and bespoke and has sparked a trend among young
people across Europe and North America.
The students’ pieces -
which include a chair made out of old cassette tapes and a portable
lounger made from plastic bottles - were judged by a panel of experts on
their design, function and the creative use of materials.
The winner,
19-year-old Cobra Jahani, designed a visually stunning lightshade from
second-hand plastic spoons. She said: “I almost withdrew from the
competition because I thought I had no chance of winning. People
persuaded me to keep my entry in and when they called my name in first
place, I couldn’t believe. I was delighted.
“The spoons came from
restaurants in Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah. I went round a few places just
asking for the spoons they weren’t going to use. I had to go back a few
times, but my persistence paid off.
“I really enjoyed
doing the project and I now look at everyday objects a little bit
differently. I’ll definitely be doing more upcycling”
Hazem El Khatib, Vice
President of the Association of Professional Interior Designers (APID),
was part of the judging panel and believes upcycling has a big future in
Dubai: “Upcycling and ‘green’ design is becoming more and more
prevalent in the work that we do.
“It is very trendy in
other parts of the world, but Dubai is a very cosmopolitan place and as a
result design trends seem to take a bit more time to take hold, but we
have definitely seen an upturn in environmentally conscious deign here
recently.
“It is great to see
establishments like Canadian University of Dubai encouraging students to
take part in green projects like ‘Furnitrash’. The quality of design
from the students at Canadian University of Dubai is higher than I have
seen at a lot of other places. I think it helps that the people leading
the projects have experience outside of the classroom.”
Dr Serkan Gunay,
Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture and Interior Design at
Canadian University of Dubai, said: “This is the first time we have run
this competition and it has been very successful. The challenge was to
get students thinking about the design everyday objects and how they can
use those objects to create something totally new.
“The competition
encompassed deign and creativity and has a very strong environmental
theme at its core. The plan is to take the idea to high school students
across Dubai next year.”
The winners were
announced at the Canadian University of Dubai’s annual Interior Design
Day, where design students from each year of the course exhibit their
best works.
