Dubai Design Week is an annual festival celebrating creativity with an extensive program of exhibitions, installations, engaging activities, pop-ups, talks, and workshops. For Dubai Design Week 2020, Generous collaborated with Iraqi designer Hozan Zangana and Woodcast Designs to create the installation and products of “Fata Morgana”.
Fata Morgana stands for universal and intrinsic human curiosity, which brings people together for reflection and interaction. Combining elements of design, architecture, craftsmanship, and cultural heritage, the project succeeds in naturally demanding conversation between visitors and (re)connecting culture, history, and people in a public space - a great achievement in the context of modern cities, which estrange us from our heritage.
Responsible and sustainable design is key not only to the philosophy of Fata Morgana, but also to the visual result.
Collaboration is key to Generous studio, whether it is in between our studios in Amsterdam and Lisbon, or with designers outside our own. For projects like Fata Morgana, our design team works hand in hand with other creatives to realize and improve projects with our expertise in visual design.
Fata Morgana was entirely created during quarantine and adapts to today’s requirement for physical distancing while offering strong research on regionally contextual materials and production processes. Despite being separated by Covid-19 or cultural differences, the installation encourages connections in a public space.
The name of the project is inspired by mirages on the horizon of the desert or the sea - a phenomenon traditionally associated with witchcraft. The Fata Morgana installation creates a similar effect with shiny copper and rammed earth, using a modern equivalent of the ancient Atuba building technique and sand inspired by locally available materials. Each structure represents a province and is built by re-using the landscape.
