| House of Today is proud to unveil the grand-scale installation by multidisciplinary design duo Karim Tamerji and Elias El Hage, at Downtown Design, the Middle East’s leading annual design fair in Dubai. Utilizing one of the most abundantly found natural materials in the UAE — sand, IOTA is a grand open-air installation which will showcase over 150 modular spheres of sand, designed to welcome guests into the fair. Sand has existed timelessly and, in many ways, paints a meaningful picture of the city’s history, culture and identity. Instinctively, the design duo saw this as an opportunity worth embracing while asking themselves — |
| How can the most abundantly found local material be used as an ecological ode to Dubai? Their work preserves the age-old method of hand-pressing earth layer by layer, and casting them in modern-made moulds. The duo have reimagined the method through form, showcasing a perceptibly heavy material as contemporary, soft and seemingly weightless. Each tactile sphere is unique in texture and composition, naturally pigmented in an array of colors. |
| House of Today, a non-profit organization, committed to cultivating a sustainable design culture in Lebanon that transcends borders, is proud to support Karim + Elias. Since 2012, the organization’s overarching aim is to strengthen the dialogue in the design world, shedding light on contemporary Lebanese designers and their creative processes, as part of a grander thriving ecosystem. Explore Lebanon’s inspiring design culture, with House of Today. |