RAK Ceramics partners with American University in Dubai

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, 6^th Jun 2017 – RAK Ceramics PJSC, one of the largest ceramics’ brands in the world, today announced that it is participating in an exciting design project with the School of Architecture, Art and Design at The American University in Dubai. Founded in 1995, The American University in Dubai (AUD) is a private, non-sectarian institution of higher learning and now has over one hundred nationalities represented in the AUD student body.  

This exciting collaboration will see each student design a collection of porcelain tiles for RAK Ceramics inspired by RAK Ceramics’ 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 charming 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. 

Mr Abdallah Massaad, Group CEO, RAK Ceramics 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.”

The judging panel will include Mr Ohannes Tomassian, Vice President of UAE Sales Operations, Ms Carol Mansour, Manager of Dubai Showroom and Mr Andrea Mensitieri, Vice President of Marketing and Product Development. The student whose design is selected by the judging panel as the winning design will receive an Apple Store gift voucher, their design will be on display in the new RAK Ceramics showroom, included in the RAK Ceramics annex collection and will also be featured in a brochure along with the name of the student, giving them some excellent exposure.

Professor Chadi Al Tabbah, the Interior Design Professor leading the competition at the AUD School of Architecture, Arts and Design said: “The Interior Design department at the AUD School of Architecture, Arts and Design is proud to partner with RAK Ceramics, an industry leader in ceramics worldwide for the “Create Icons. Build Marvels” design competition.”

“Students were immediately drawn to the competition, where they are required to create tiling patterns inspired from Mediterranean and Arab influences, for use in contemporary interiors. Such competitions provide very important learning experiences for students who must combine their creativity with specific guidelines set out by the company or client. We always encourage our students to partake in competitions as they are an exercise in getting them real-world work ready as they produce very detailed work under tight deadlines” Professor Al Tabbah went on to say.