Utilizing one of the most abundantly found natural materials in the UAE — sand, IOTA is a grand open-air installation showcasing over 150 modular spheres of sand, designed to welcome guests into Dubai’s Downtown Design 2022 fair.

The project has been supported by House Of Today, a non-profit design platform that identifies, showcases, nurtures, and connects emerging Lebanese designers to create a relationship with design experts globally.

Sand has existed timelessly and, in many ways, paints a meaningful picture of the city's history, culture and identity. Instinctively, the design duo saw this as an opportunity worth embracing while asking themselves — how can the most abundantly found local material be used as an ecological ode to Dubai?

The work preserves the age-old method of hand-pressing earth layer above layer, now cast in modern-made moulds. The reimagines the method through form, showcasing a perceptibly heavy material as contemporary, soft and seemingly weightless. Each tactile sphere is unique in composition, naturally pigmented in an array of colors.