Finding a new angle with the creations of Aljoud Lootah

We meet the Emirati designer ahead of the launch of her first complete furniture collection at this year’s Design Days Dubai.

Lootah’s creations include the Oru range. Courtesy Aljoud Lootah

Complex, intricate and alluring, geometric patterns are an inextricable part of the Middle Eastern design vernacular, and have played a key role in the region’s decorative history. In recent years, however, they’ve become the go-to design element for any architect or designer looking to incorporate a touch of “Arabia” into their work. It’s dangerous territory, rife with clichés and motifs that, through overuse, are stripped of their original charm. The challenge now for any designer employing geometric patterning is to create something new and interesting, rather than tired and generic.

Aljoud Lootah believes she’s up to the task. “There is still a lot of scope to experiment with this kind of patterning,” the ­softly spoken Emirati designer assures me over coffee. “It’s a very wide aspect of design and you can always create new elements, or deconstruct it and go back to the origin, or create simplified ­versions.”

Lootah will present her first official furniture collection at Design Days Dubai next month, and while she’s unapologetic for her love for “angles and geometrics”, in this instance her designs were also informed by the Japanese art of origami.

“Origami is very important in Japanese culture, and I wanted to experiment with that and see how I could use the simple patterns and folds of origami in my own designs,” Lootah explains. “I wanted to see if I could transform a simple folded shape into an object with function.”

It all started with a humble Post-it note. Sitting at her desk looking for inspiration one day, Lootah picked up one of the yellow stickers and started folding. She was intrigued by the way that this object could be transformed through such a simple process and decided to use this as the basis of her new furniture collection. The limited-edition range, titled Oru (the Japanese word for “fold”), consists of four pieces: a chair, table lamp, mirror and cabinet/shelving unit.

The collection is defined by its sharp lines, which are given warm and depth through the use of teak wood, felt and bronze accents. There’s a freshness to it – something to do with the unashamed angularity of the pieces, which is at odds with their perceived fragility; in spite of their obvious solidity, they really do look like they might have been constructed from paper. Each piece is available in a limited edition of five, while finishes can be customised for those looking for a more personalised purchase. Prices start from Dh15,000 for the table lamp.

Lootah will also be using Design Days as the launch pad for her eponymous brand, the Aljoud Lootah Design Studio – an official shift in focus for the former graphic designer.

“I ­graduated from the Dubai Women’s College in 2002 and worked in graphic design until 2007. I then created my own brand, Niftee, where I worked on applying my graphic designs onto different mediums, from cashmere scarves to blankets and ­clothing.”

The occasional request from clients who wanted Lootah to apply her designs onto furniture opened up a new area of interest. “And then, in 2012, I enrolled in a programme by Tashkeel, in association with the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, called the Design Road Professional Programme. They took us to London for a week and Barcelona for two weeks, and we did an intensive course on product design. That’s when I had a change of heart and figured out that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” Lootah says.

The idea of creating three-dimensional, rather than two-dimensional, objects particularly appealed to Lootah, as did the challenge of balancing form, function and aesthetics in a single product.

“At the end of the day, this piece has to have a function; it’s not just about creating a chair that people can look at; they have to sit on it and be comfortable, and you have to consider all of those different elements. My graphic design background has served me well, but I prefer to work with three-dimensional forms.”

In 2013, as a result of the Design Road Professional Programme, Lootah presented a one-off piece of furniture at Design Days. The limited-edition stool was inspired by geometric motifs, but given a contemporary feel with the use of ash wood and a brightly coloured lacquer finish. Only five were made – all were sold.

The stool made another appearance last September, as part of Middle East Revealed, an exhibition organised by Dubai Design District and Wallpaper magazine, as part of London Design Week. Twelve designers were invited to present their work, in an event intended to showcase the region's rapidly developing creative industry. "I was so excited," says Lootah, with refreshing enthusiasm.

Moving forward, Lootah is keen to experiment with a range of different materials, but feels that manufacturing capability in the UAE can be restrictive. “I’d really like to see how different materials can be adapted to the designs I create. But since I started, I’ve faced a major problem with manufacturers and a lack of available materials. I’m really excited to work with different materials, such as ceramics or glass, but it’s really tough to find that here and you have to outsource. That’s the main challenge.”

The designer is also eager to incorporate traditional Emirati craftsmanship into her work, although so far her efforts to do so have proven fruitless. “I really like the traditional craft of sadu, because it creates very beautiful patterns. A few months ago, I tried to combine these traditional methods with more modern designs and techniques, but it turned out to be quite hard.

“You’ll have a lady who does the traditional weaving and has been doing it for so long, and she’s used to doing it a certain way. If you’re asking her to do something different, she’s not necessarily very accepting of it. But to keep these traditions and crafts alive, people have to modernise and create products that appeal in the current times.”

Nonetheless, Lootah acknowledges that the UAE’s design landscape is evolving rapidly, spearheaded by both creatives and consumers who are getting more and more exposure to design on an international and local level. “I’m meeting a lot of younger people who are just graduating, and are very interested in product design, so it’s a positive change. Even with interiors and architecture – you’ll see that young couples getting married these days are moving towards more modern architecture instead of classic designs.”

Times are changing, but there’s still a generation gap when it comes to design in the UAE, something that Lootah is all too familiar with. “My parents prefer classical design,” she says. “They are very supportive, but with some of my pieces I have to really explain my thinking and what direction I’ve taken. And they’ll be like: ‘I don’t see it.’ And I’ll say: ‘Look closer.’”

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