City’s

2015 – Dubai, UAE

Meet d3 was a three-day event organized by Dubai Design District (d3). It’s intention was to harness the talents and abilities of the community to celebrate creativity in the region and to share a sneak preview of what it will be like to be part of Dubai’s home of design. For the occasion Khalid Shafar collaborated with the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) on a site specific seating installations called CITY’s.
CITY’s bench, which is almost 5 meters (4.68m) long and 40cm wide, was designed to cater for the widest demographic possible with different heights across the bench allowing for children, adults, the elderly, even babies to be comfortably seated. Shafar intentionally designed the large-scale functional bench to stand out amongst the other pieces and serve as public setting, allowing more people to share the space and connect.
The d3 project site has a public demographic as varied as any place on earth and has the Dubai skyline as its backdrop. These are both reflected in the CITY’s Bench design concept. From form to function, there is a place for every individual on the bench regardless of age, size, or ability. The outer frame of the bench is made of thermally-modified American ash, while the inner part is filled with building blocks in three standard sizes – reflecting the location of d3 and the ongoing construction around it. The blocks also give a raw industrial look to the bench in contrast with the clean neat outer wooden frame.