Herman Miller Middle East & Africa (Herman Miller MEA), a regional leader in innovative design and furnishing solutions, will present new perspectives on the future of work at Expo 2020 Dubai (hereafter Expo 2020), as part of a partnership with AUS, IIT Institute of Design (IIT ID) in Chicago and the USA Pavilion.
Running from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, Expo 2020 Dubai welcomes 192 countries and millions of visitors, alongside businesses, multilateral organizations and educational establishments. This will be the first time that a World Expo has ever been held in the Middle East.
“We see it as a once-in-a-lifetime celebration,” said Stacy Stewart, Regional Director, Herman Miller MEA. “It’s the largest event to ever take place in the Arab world. Herman Miller has been established in the region for 40 years now, so this was an opportunity we couldn’t miss.”
Herman Miller MEA’s participation will involve a series of events happening at both Herman Miller Regional Design Centre and at the USA Pavilion, opening with an exclusive event with regional thought leaders sharing insights on the future of work. The programme will feature an exhibition of people-centric innovations for the office, plus future-of-work projects from Herman Miller. It will also feature explorations of the future of work and education from students and faculty of CAAD at AUS and IIT ID.
“We are delighted to have Herman Miller as an official partner of the USA Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai,” said Commissioner General of the USA Pavilion Robert Clark. “Through their focus on the future of work and by connecting students across the world, they are demonstrating their commitment to creating a better future for the next generation of leaders – in the workplace and beyond.”
The collaboration with AUS and IIT ID paves the future of research in the fields of design management, interior design, and architecture through an interdisciplinary set of activities, providing glimpses of a concrete and tangible future for education and work environments.
“The projects will be exhibited at Expo 2020 Dubai through an innovative virtual portal between the Herman Miller showrooms in Dubai and Chicago. Such long-distance collaboration is unprecedented in the world of design education. We hope it will lead to some amazing ideas and insights for design and innovation in both regions,” said Dr. Anijo Punnen Mathew, Associate Professor at IIT ID.
“It is only through collaborative efforts that we can envision the future of work and education. We all have faced challenges in these areas, and I cannot think of a better partner than Herman Miller to launch this initiative between two hubs of creativity worldwide: IIT in Chicago and AUS in Sharjah. A dialogue between two academic institutions and linking it to the professional world”, added Juan Roldan, Associate Professor, College of Architecture, Art and Design at American University of Sharjah.
