UAE student wins big at Roca Master Design Challenge


Ahmad Alkattan, a student of Heriott-Watt University in Dubai, has won big at the World Final of the Roca One Day Design Challenge, the competition organised by Roca, the global leader in bathroom and floor solutions, in Barcelona, Spain.

UAE's architecture student Ahmad Alkattan has won big at the World Final of the Roca One Day Design Challenge, the express design competition organised by Roca, a company engaged in the design, manufacturing of products for the bathroom space, floor and wall tiles for architecture, building and interior design, in Barcelona, Spain.

The winners of the 13 editions of the Roca One Day Design Challenge which were held in 12 countries in 2019, came together last month in Barcelona, a benchmark in design, to celebrate the first edition of the Master Design Challenge, with the support of the BCD (Barcelona Centre de Disseny) and the collaboration of the We Are Water Foundation.

Alkattan from Heriott-Watt University in Dubai, won the award for his 'mobile basin' project that facilitates basic hygiene without having to move. Featuring wheels and two water tanks (fresh and grey), it can be operated with the mobile phone.

The awards ceremony, presided over by Xavier Marcet, Councilor of Tourism and Creative Industries, and Xavier Torras, Roca Brand Communication Director and Director of the We Are Water Foundation was held last month at the Saló de Cent of the Barcelona City Council, after two days of activities carried out by contestants in different spaces of the Spanish city.

Besides Torras, the international jury had members such as João Bessa, designer and founder of Bessa; Josep Congost, Design and Innovation Director at Roca; Kenneth Koh, founder of Quarters Architects; Isabel Pintado, Regional Managing Director at Wilson Associates; Vladimir Pirozhkov, president of the 'Astra Rossa' industrial design and innovation center and Isabel Roig, general director of BCD (Barcelona Centro de Diseño), who have assessed the proposals, as well as the experts who have run the workshops: Nicanor Garcia, architect and photographer specializing in architecture and travel; Robert D. Thompson, engineer and industrial designer, scientific director at MaterFad; Guillem Camprodon, Research Director at Fab Lab Barcelona.

Torras said: "As director of the We Are Water Foundation, I also try to analyze the projects by bearing in mind the Sustainable Development Goals and we are really proud to say that all submitted projects have aligned with some of them, thus showing the awareness these future designers have of global problems."

Marcet said: "Barcelona is especially sensitive to any initiative that drives responsible creativity and this is exactly what Roca's competition does."

"The briefing faced by contestants challenged them to propose a new type of basin with an additional functionality that provided value to the product," he added.

On Alkattan's project, Pintado said: "It changes the static concept of bathroom products, incorporating a moving piece that can be used even outside the bathroom space."

Apart from the global award, during the ceremony other prizes were presented to the best projects carried out during the different activities and workshops attended by contestants in these three days in Barcelona:
*Award to best sketch; Award to best presentation; Award to best concept: Ahmad Alkattan, UAE
*Award to the best render: Desislava Petrova and Liliya Ivanova, Bulgaria.
*Award to the best Materials project: Wioleta Pertyinia, Poland; Aleksei Lukianov, Russia; Rita Yang, Australia and Funi Di, China
*Award to the best architecture photography: Miguel Ángel Fernández, Spain
*Award to the best IOT project: Fellicia Amanda, Indonesia; Aresha Suraya, Malaysia; Alicia Simón, Spain; Miguel Ángel Fernández, Spain

The consuls of some of the participating countries, such as Poland, Argentina, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE, Bulgaria and China have also attended the ceremony to support the young talent of their countries.
 
Roca, leading brand in the production, design and distribution of products for the bathroom space, organizes these initiatives to provide visibility to young talent.

The Design Challenge was first held in 2012 and since then its international expansion has increased over the years. The competition challenges young architecture and design students and professionals to create original and innovative products for the bathroom space in just one day.-TradeArabia News Service