Dubai Design Week runs 3 to 8 November at d3 with architecture and craft focus

Dubai Design Week takes place from 3 to 8 November 2026 at Dubai Design District (d3), and The National set out its programme on 13 October. Downtown Design, the contemporary design fair, opens on 4 November and closes on 8 November. An outdoor Marketplace runs on 7 and 8 November.

This year's Urban Commissions competition had the theme Atmospheres. Dubai studio Nao Architects, set up by architect Reem Nassour, won with Three Gardens and a Room, which uses planting, colour, shade and filtered light to frame three gardens around a shared space. Among the other installations, Emirati architect Rasha Saffarini's Taqleem draws on the custom of trimming palm trees to make a place to gather. The studio aestudio shapes new forms out of reclaimed concrete rubble. Japan's Nikken Sekkei and Sobokuya return with a larger timber structure, Chatai 2.0. Indian practice Alter turns the game of Ludo into a play space, and Bahrain's Palm and Palazzo looks at how the traditional Bahraini home balances privacy and social contact.

The Abwab commissions move from separate pavilions to one group show, In Other Words, about gestures, signs, symbols and spoken language. The UAE Designer Exhibition returns as Inherited Futures, supported by Dubai Culture. L'Ecole, School of Jewelry Arts, presents research into lost goldsmithing techniques.

At Downtown Design, visitors will see work from the Tanween and Athath programmes, new pieces by Nadine Kanso and Omar Al Gurg for the carpet and textile house Iwan Maktabi, and an exhibition on Memphis Milano. Designer Tristan Auer gives the keynote. A Maker Space hosts workshops for all ages and skill levels, and the Marketplace adds independent makers, children's activities and live performances.

Tickets for Downtown Design are sold through the festival's official website.

The National reported the programme, and the dates are confirmed on the official Dubai Design Week website.