RAK Ceramics, one of the largest ceramics brands in the world, said it has partnered with the School of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University in Dubai (AUD) for an exciting design project.

A specialist in ceramic and gres porcelain wall and floor tiles, tableware, sanitary ware and faucets, RAK Ceramics boasts a capacity to produce 110 million sq m of tiles, five million pieces of sanitary ware, 24 million pieces of porcelain tableware and 600,000 pieces of faucets per year at its 17 state-of-the-art plants across the UAE, India, Bangladesh and Iran.

Founded in 1995, AUD is a private, non-sectarian institution of higher learning and now has over 100 nationalities represented in the student body.  

This collaboration will see each student design a collection of porcelain tiles for RAK Ceramics inspired by the company's new brand proposition ‘Room for Imagination’.

The design project is titled ‘Create Icons. Build Marvels’ and students have been given a brief to develop a collection of porcelain tiles for floors and wall cladding.

The collection is to be inspired by the Mediterranean region blended with Arabian influences to furnish contemporary-styled interiors. The porcelain tiles will express the essence of Middle Eastern countries and offer a range of wall and floor solutions for residential and commercial projects. A winning design will be selected by an expert judging panel from RAK Ceramics.

On the tie-up, group CEO Abdallah Massaad said: "We are excited to be partnering with AUD on this fantastic project and look forward to seeing the different types of designs the students will create. Innovation is at the heart of our philosophy and we have continuously led the way in terms of product development, using a wide range of technologies at our state-of-the-art manufacturing plants."

"At RAK Ceramics, we seek to promote creativity and innovation by working with schools and educational institutions to empower the next generation of designers, and as an industry expert we believe in nurturing, supporting and celebrating talent. We hope the students find this partnership beneficial and look forward to choosing the winning design," he stated.

The judging panel will include Ohannes Tomassian, vice-president of UAE sales operations, Carol Mansour, the manager of Dubai showroom and Andrea Mensitieri, vice-president of marketing and product development.-TradeArabia News Service