Spanish sustainable design showcased at Expo Dubai

Dubai, Jan 31 (EFE).- Spanish architect Patricia Urquiola brought sustainable Spanish design to the Dubai Expo on Monday, during an event co-organized at the Spanish pavilion by the company Andreu World centering on women’s role in the sector and the “glass ceiling” under which they compete.

Urquiola, who lives in Milan, told Efe that Spanish design is currently part of a global movement to which it provides “identity, language and will.”

She said she believed that it was necessary to move from an anthropocentric approach to a biocentric one, seeking “cooperation with nature” in her sector, in which she has distinguished herself internationally.

If the term sustainability “is overused, it loses its meaning,” she said at the event at the EXPO 2020 pavilion dedicated entirely to women and their contribution to humanity.

Urquiola noted that “a lot of work is still needed” to overcome the differences between men and women, but “we should not be discouraged because of this.”

Meanwhile, Juan Roldán, professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Art and Design of the American University in the Emirate of Sharjah, said that “it is necessary to break the glass ceilings in the world of design,” highlighting that most of his students are women.

Samer Yamani, one of those responsible for the Expo’s Design and Crafts program, stressed the importance of integrating local materials and techniques into design, as he is doing in a project with Emirati women over 60 years old from the rural areas that produce handicrafts for export.