Emirati wins prize at Gardening World Cup for Islamic design

Kamelia Zaal, the first Emirati to exhibit at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show last year, has won a 'silver gilt' for her exhibit at the 'Gardening World Cup' in Japan. Her exhibit "The Seal of The Prophets" is on display till November 3 at Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki.

The former creative director at Al Barari, Kamelia bin Zaal, who formed her own landscape design studio, Kamelia, in Dubai this year, said: "To be surrounded by the world's best designers was a great honour, and also to have been recognised among them. The Gardening World Cup is a celebration of international designers and I felt it was my responsibility to design a contemporary Islamic garden."

Kamelia's exhibit is a geometrical design commonly used in Islamic art across the world. "The design is based on the Khatim, the Islamic eight-pointed star, which literally means The Seal of the Prophets. So the design is geometric in nature," said Kamelia. "I designed mashrabiya decorative screens to enclose the garden, a central water feature and seating. The garden was meant to be a sanctuary within an urban setting. She used contemporary materials such as concrete, crystal inlay, stainless steel and aluminum for the masrabiyas. The garden's hard geometric patterns and architectural features were then softened through the use of plants (salvia, lavender, various grasses) that gave texture and fragrance". Her palette was grey-white-blue-purple.

Kamelia said she maintained Islamic garden design principles; the use of light and shade, water as a central element, fragrance, edible plants, a sanctuary from the harsh outside environment.

Kamelia was one among the seven designers asked to participate and showcase a Middle Eastern contemporary garden. "It was hard work building a garden overseas and although I had an amazing contracting team, we were building and planting the garden in typhoon conditions. All the designers had a tough time but we all knuckled down and came out on top."

There was no prize money. Zaal is headed next to Sicily in March for her third major international flower show. She told Khaleej Times, "I am so far the only Emirati to be in this field competing on an international level. I would like to try and change that and encourage as many Emiratis to get into garden design, adding, "I have a lot more to learn to achieve a gold one day."

nivriti@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai

Nivriti Butalia

nivriti@khaleejtimes.com