Downtown Design, the Middle East’s platform for contemporary, quality design, witnessed a 40 per cent jump in the number of visitors at this year's event compared to the last year.

Announcing a successful second edition, the organisers said there had been an increase of 20 per cent in the number of exhibitors at Downtown Design 2014.

Organized by the Art Dubai Group and themed “Original Design”, the event showcased a multi-faceted programme that linked historical design with the future, global with home-grown, and innovation with imagination.

The fair attracted a record number of international, regional and local visitors who had the chance to learn about the latest trends in design, whilst enjoying a packed programme of collection launches by the world’s trendsetting brands, installations by regional designers and innovations never before seen, said the organisers.

Alongside the exhibition, the fair held a talks programme with a stellar line-up that included Mario Bellini, multiple award-winning architect and global design icon; Aric Chen Curator of Design and Architecture at the upcoming M+ Museum in Hong Kong; Giovanna. Castiglioni, the vice president of the Achille Castiglioni Foundation; Claudio Luti, the president and owner of Kartell and former president of the Salone del Mobile and Ab Rogers and the head of programme for the interior design course at the Royal College of Art, London.

The attending international designers and exhibitors all praised the quality of Downtown Design and noted the potential for the local design industry to grow.

"Dubai is a candidate to become a design centre and hub in this region and Downtown Design is giving the city a very good opportunity to put itself firmly under the design umbrella as well," stated Mario Bellini.

One of the most important included a presentation by Philippe Zuber, the COO of Emaar Hospitality Group, who gave a fascinating talk on the importance of design in developing new concepts for the foodie generation and what to expect the hospitality industry to look like in the future.

Stefania Lazzaroni, the secretary-general, Altagamma Foundation said: "In a market that is growing and looking forward to 2020, we believe design can really play a major role – we believe [Downtown Design] can be a platform for new brands, new talent and for Italian design which makes up 80 per cent of the luxury market."

Exhibitors confirmed an increase in new business opportunities generated at the fair, resulting in over 60 per cent of exhibitors booking their stand for next year.

Giancarlo Valerio, the director of sales at De Vecchi, returning for the second year said, “We doubled the number of new business contacts this year. We believe that Downtown Design provides an important hub for global design brands such as ours to connect with the region’s trade professionals and build successful business partnerships.”

Exhibiting for the first time, Vadim Horna Sales co-director, Lasvit said: “We debuted at Downtown Design this year and are very impressed, not only with the turnout of key decision makers from the industry, but also of high net worth consumers who have visited our stand.”

Innovation was at the forefront of Downtown Design and a key highlight of the fair was three projects from the world’s most influential postgraduate design college, the Royal College of Art, London: Stay Plastic, a 3D printing mechanism using recycled plastic to build homes; Silk Leaf, an artificial leaf emulating photosynthesis; and Gravity Sketch, a tool for creatives to sketch their ideas using augmented reality.

Julien Melchiorri, the inventor behind the artificial leaf, said: "Clearly there is a huge appetite in Dubai for innovation and the interest and investments in sustainability in the region are very exciting for anyone in my field. Downtown Design has been a remarkable experience to showcase my project and during the fair the level of interest in my project from Dubai based potential investors was way beyond what I experienced elsewhere."

Benedict Floyd, the CEO of the Art Dubai Group said: "Innovation is now playing a prominent role in all our initiatives and we were delighted to form partnerships with leading global entities such as the Royal College of Art that can help bring their expertise to Dubai."

"By showcasing some of the world’s most exciting new projects, we hope to inspire our audience and we will soon be announcing new initiatives that will help support the region’s creative entrepreneurs," added Floyd.-TradeArabia News Service