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RMJM Dubai’s Interior Design team talks about the importance of the Commercial Interior Design awards, alongside industry challenges and what RMJM is doing to tackle them
The Commercial Interior Design Awards (or CID, as they’re otherwise known) are a calendar highlight for everyone involved in the industry. They’re a chance to see how interior design is evolving and adapting to ever-changing consumer demands, network and gather inspiration for future projects.
”This is where the most creative projects in the industry are showcased and recognised.
Similar to last year, the awards were held in the Madinat Jumeirah hotel in Dubai. RMJM Dubai Senior Designers Tania Hoppe and Rochelle Mojica-Beligon and long-standing Interior Designer Ibrahim El Sharif were all in attendance, so we spoke to all three to discuss just what the awards mean to them, alongside challenges in the interior design industry and what RMJM Dubai is doing to combat them.
Both Tania and Rochelle are no strangers to the awards, with Tania having attended every ceremony since 2013. “This is where the most creative projects in the industry are showcased and recognised. I had the pleasure of having one of my own projects being nominated for Public Sector Design of the Year in 2016, so the awards mean a lot to me.”
For Ibrahim, these awards were his first, although he’s just as enthusiastic about them. “These awards are a great way to show recognition to designers in the UAE”, he says. “This is our Oscars — it’s the best way to meet new people who live and breathe design.”
”Interior designers should go with the flow and continue challenging to produce new creative avenues.
The morning after the ceremony, the team are already looking ahead to next year’s awards, with Ibrahim tipping the Best Hospitality Project as a potential accolade for RMJM Dubai. “This year’s awards featured some great innovative designs and outside-of-the-box thinking — we need more of that in the industry”, Ibrahim tells us. “RMJM is always changing and adapting and we give new up-and-coming designers the chance they need to brainstorm and map out creative interiors.”
“The industry is constantly changing”, Tania agrees. “Interior designers should go with the flow and continue challenging to produce new creative avenues — great new ideas have to be nurtured and then implemented.” These are all key factors in the judging of the awards, with criteria based on original thinking, creative breadth and a willingness to stray from tried and tested formulas.
When asked about challenges facing the industry, Rochelle looked externally, saying “one of the most common problems in interior design is the value of engineering. This plays a big role in the outcome of the project, as the quality of design and materials need to fit into an allowable budget. Designers need to take the value of engineering into consideration during the creative process, otherwise they risk compromising the quality and unique value of a design.”
With exciting interior design projects like the Souq Extra development to put to their name, RMJM Dubai’s in-house team certainly has the knowledge and expertise needed to bring home an award this time next year — here’s to 2019!