RIYADH: Middle East design fair Downtown Design began on Tuesday at Riyadh’s creative hub, JAX District. The fair, a showcase of contemporary design, has been a fixture on the calendar in Dubai since 2013 and has now expanded to the Kingdom for the first time, in partnership with the Saudi Architecture and Design Commission.

The four-day event gives visitors the chance to get a close look at collectible works and ultra-high-end collections presented by international galleries, independent designers and manufacturers.

“What we’re seeing here is obviously a very fast-changing landscape, very dynamic market and growing demand for access to quality and contemporary design, which is what we more or less live and breathe for,” Mette Degn-Christensen, the director of Downtown Design told Arab News.

“Our hope is to basically start by creating that kind of fundamental platform here, while thinking about the context, thinking about the local talent as well and the growth of the wider community.

“I think a lot of eyes are on this region and on Saudi Arabia. And what’s happening here is there’s a lot of new projects that are rising; whether it’s residential or commercial or hospitality, we see a massive shift in aesthetics and longevity. There’s a shift in looking at materials and for that, we need access.

“All of the different companies, developers, designers that are creating new projects here need access to what it is that we have access to worldwide, and can’t necessarily travel all the time to source.”

Organizers said they took a grassroots approach to the curation process when selecting the right exhibitors and speakers for the event.

“I think there’s a major push to look at what design can actually do for society, for the economy, for all the different components that are all going into the direction of realizing Vision 2030 for the Kingdom,” Sumayah Al-Solaiman, CEO of the Architecture and Design Commission, told Arab News, referring to the national plan for development and economic diversification.

The role of sustainability in design was another important factor.

“Everything we look at might be visually beautiful, but also we have to understand, you know, how these pieces go into production, how are the materials procured?” Al-Solaiman added.

“How do we think about sustainability and what is the afterlife of these products? All of that brings awareness to not just the importance of design, but also the importance of making the right consumer decisions.”

Downtown Design continues in Riyadh until May 23. The next Dubai event will take place in November.

JEDDAH: A group of British adventurers are taking part in an extraordinary sailboat journey from the UK to Makkah to perform Hajj.

The group of five from London, aged between 27 and 47, set off on the inspiring 7,400 km adventure from the English Channel on April 1 and expect to reach Saudi Arabia later this week.

Sailors Abdul Wahid, Tauseef Ahmed, Jody McIntyre, Dobbir Uddin and Taher Akhtar have made several stops across Europe and North Africa, sharing the highs and lows of sea life with their growing community of followers on social media.

Experiencing moments of faith, joy and frustration, and facing winds and storms in their sails, the 55-day adventure is also raising funds for orphan care charity Global Helping Hands.

The group recently docked in Ismailia city in northeastern Egypt, and plan on making their way to towards the sacred lands of Saudi Arabia later this week.

Speaking to Arab News from Ismailia, 38-year-old Wahid said the inspiration for the journey came from the mixed influences of his Muslim faith and the maritime history of the UK.

“It is kind of merging our religion Islam with the country we are residing, and reviving this long-forgotten way to Hajj,” he said.

According to Wahid, none of the group’s members had sailing experience before the trip.

“We undertook this journey with no prior experience, therefore, we went through a very intensive training for 6 months,” he said.

“We had to go into the sea for a week in order to get the training we needed and we managed to get to a very completive level internationally.”

The adventure route led the group to go through the English Channel; the Port of Marseille in France; the Mediterranean islands Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Crete; the Strait of Messina; the Suez Canal in Egypt and finally the Red Sea leading to Jeddah.

The group has spent almost two months being completely disconnected, off-grid and facing storms on the 1978 Westerly 33 Ketch.

“One of the weirdest highlights is the fact that we are here in the sea because we dreamed of a journey at sea — and made it a reality,” said Wahid.

“Imagine, this time last year we had no sailing experience just a rough plan and here we are about to end our journey.”

He added: “It was terrifying challenge for us but at the end of the day, alhamdulillah, we had a great reward and we are safe.”

Ahmed said: “One of the challenges we faced was in the French Canal where there was a blockage of 24 km and we had to lift the boat to the truck despite our delay which took about four days.”

He added: “Another serious challenge we faced, when we woke up in the morning and we were sinking because of a leak in the boat. Alhamdulillah, we were able to fix it and went on as per our schedule.”

Surrounded by blue water, picturesque scenes, and the sporadic sight of marine life, Wahid described the most unforgettable moments of their journey: “We encountered dolphins three times during our journey. 

“We caught a glimpse of unusual shapes in the water. Soon, we realized that what we were seeing was a small pod of dolphins, playing and swimming in front of us. That was really an amazing scene.”

Through the journey, the group aims to raise funds to support orphans in various countries, including Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, Uganda, and for Syrian refugees, offering much-needed assistance to the most vulnerable.

The group has received more than £200,000 ($266,000) so far.

“This amount will support orphans in many places,” Wahid said. “The second goal of this journey is for Da’wah purposes.

“We want to showcase to the world the beauty of pilgrimage in Islam in its original essence, in ancient ways it was performed weather it was walking, horse-riding or in this case sailing.”

The expedition is set to complete its final sea passage, lasting up to a week, from Port Suez, Egypt to Jeddah in coordination with BWA Yachting Club KSA, the Red Sea Authority and with the support of JYC facilities.