Mirkaz Series: Chair, Table, Stool

The Mirkaz Series' by Lujaine Rezk is inspired by a lost tradition – the now abandoned social custom of transporting worn-out, indoor couches to the outdoors to create impromptu, temporary places for conversation. This tradition is deeply rooted in the region and reflects the natural tendency to create spaces for intimate, social gathering in public places. With the creation of three furniture pieces – a table, chair and a stool, made from teak wood, metal, woven camel leather and terrazzo – a new act of social placemaking is instigated. Designed for the outdoors, the camel leather is able to endure the UAE desert climate. Woven for durability, the seat can tolerate fluctuations in climate. The metal joints are directly derived from the modularity Lujaine encountered in her Sha'bi (public) housing research. Simple and practical, the joints allow multifarious iterations of furniture types, with simple modifications in configuration and wood lengths offering the potential for a bench, shelving unit or stool – invoking the endless social potential that inhabits now dormant in-between spaces. (Conceived and created during the Tanween design programme at Tashkeel)