2 students win office design contest

Two interior design students from Abu Dhabi University (ADU) won the Celebrity Designer Competition in the 2011 Office Exhibition held at Dubai International Exhibition Centre recently. "This is the second time ADU wins the Celebrity Designer Competition which has been running for three years," Prof Saddika Abdul Shakkour at ADU, Architecture and Design told Gulf News. "It is a fruitful experience for our students where they directly apply important components of their study, have opportunities to work with international top designers and suppliers and benefit from their knowledge and expertise." Prof Shakkour said. Participants had the opportunity to craft office furniture to compete in one of three categories: simplest design, most functional design and most creative one. Article continues below Mariam Tolba, an Egyptian national, won first place in the Reception Desks category for the Simplest Design category. Ala'a Osama, a Jordanian national, grabbed second place in the Workstation category for the Most Functional Design category. The Celebrity Design Competition gave young designers the opportunity to present their creative ideas. The competition was open to all UAE university students. Participating universities included the American University in Dubai and the British University in Dubai. One of the four finalists will have his/her design manufactured by Bafco. The selected design will also be featured among the supplier's portfolio of office furniture. The designer will be entitled to a 10 per cent royalty fee on each unit produced, as well as naming his new ‘designer product range'.