What do palm trees, concrete rubble, Japanese woodworking and a board game have in common? Not much, you might think. But this November, they will all become part of Dubai Design Week.

The festival is returning to Dubai Design District (d3) from November 3 to 8 for its 12th edition, bringing together designers, architects and artists from the UAE and beyond. Expect large-scale installations, exhibitions, workshops, talks and plenty of things you can actually touch, walk through or take part in.

This year's programme is particularly interested in how design brings people together. Not just through beautiful objects, but through the spaces we share, the materials we use and even the ways we communicate without saying a word.

Dubai-based NAO Architects, founded by architect Reem Nassour, has won this year's Urban Commissions competition with Three Gardens and a Room. The idea is to create three interconnected gardens arranged around a shared central space, each offering a different experience through plants, colours, shade, materials and filtered light.

The project responds to this year's Urban Commissions theme, Atmospheres, which looks at how a place makes us feel. After all, a space can feel completely different depending on how much sunlight enters it, how warm it is or whether there is somewhere comfortable to sit.

Here, visitors will be able to move between different environments before arriving at a central room designed for gathering, resting and spending time together.

Palestinian-Turkish ae studio is presenting InBetween What Was and What Will Be, a project that turns reclaimed concrete rubble into new architectural forms. Instead of treating broken concrete as something to discard, the studio gives it another purpose, exploring what can be built from what is left behind.

Then there is Taqleem by Emirati-Jordanian architect Rasha Saffarini. Her installation draws on the traditional practice of trimming palm trees, using this familiar part of local life as the starting point for a contemporary communal space.

And if you are interested in traditional craftsmanship, look out for CHATAI 2.0 by Japanese practices Nikken Sekkei and SOBOKUYA. The project brings Japanese woodworking techniques into an expanded timber structure designed for people to gather and make things together.

Three very different approaches, but all asking a similar question: what can we do with the materials and knowledge we already have?

One of Dubai Design Week's best-known programmes, Abwab, is also getting a change this year.

Instead of its usual individual pavilions, the 2026 edition will take the form of a group exhibition titled In Other Words.

The subject is language, although not necessarily the kind we speak or write. Think gestures, signs, symbols, oral histories and all the other ways we communicate ideas, memories and emotions.

It is an interesting starting point for a design exhibition, especially in a city like Dubai, where people from so many different backgrounds communicate every day.

Remember Ludo? The board game that can turn an otherwise peaceful family evening into a surprisingly competitive one?

Indian design practice ALTER is bringing its own interpretation to Dubai Design Week with Playing Field, transforming the familiar game into a space for shared play and interaction.

Meanwhile, Bahrain-based Palm and Palazzo will explore the relationship between privacy and social connection through the architecture of the traditional Bahraini home.

Both projects look at how the design of a space can influence what people do inside it — whether that means playing together or deciding when to spend time with others and when to have a little privacy.

The UAE Designer Exhibition returns this year under the theme Inherited Futures, with architect and designer AlZaina Lootah joining as Design Collaborator.

The exhibition brings together UAE-based designers working with materials, traditions, technologies and techniques passed down through generations.

But this isn't simply about preserving the past. It is about taking something familiar and finding a new use for it, whether through furniture, objects or experimental design.

There is also plenty to discover elsewhere in the exhibition programme, including a presentation by L'ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, exploring ancient goldsmithing techniques from the Second Iron Age.

Of course, Dubai Design Week wouldn't be complete without Downtown Design, which returns from November 4 to 8.

The fair brings together international design brands, regional studios and emerging talent, with furniture, lighting, objects and collectible design taking centre stage.

One highlight is an exhibition dedicated to Memphis Milano, the design movement known for its bold colours, geometric patterns and unconventional furniture. If you have ever seen a piece of furniture that looks a little like a cartoon brought to life, there is a good chance Memphis had something to do with it.

British designer Luke Edward Hall is also collaborating with Italian jewellery house Buccellati on an immersive pop-up, while British-Nigerian artist and designer Yinka Ilori will create this year's Veuve Clicquot Lounge.

And beyond the big names, Downtown Design will feature work from regional programmes including Tashkeel's Tanween Design Programme and Abu Dhabi's Athath Fellowship.