- 2026 Silver Prize
- From Cultural and Creative Product
‘Al Hajar’ Water Set – Earthen Vessels for Sharing Water in the Digital Age
Project Description
Rooted in the ancient ceramic heritage of the Hijaz region, the Al Hajar Water Set merges tradition with innovation, celebrating the precious value of water in the Arabian Desert as a signifier of hospitality and human connection. Each carafe and drinking vessel are crafted from a unique blend of clay and crushed rock, sustainably sourced from the Hijaz region, reinforcing a deep relationship between material and place.
The design draws inspiration from the natural erosion of sedimentary rock, shaped over time by wind, moisture and heat. Subtle hues, ribbed textures, and gradating tones evoke the timeless formations of the desert landscape, that are internationally recognised and iconographic of this area.
The asymmetric contours are ergonomically designed for intuitive handling, inviting the user to hold, grip, pour, and sip. The tactile, fired-clay exteriors contrast with smooth, clear-glazed interiors, enhancing both sensory and functional qualities.
Alongside its materiality and form, the Al Hajar Water Set reflects the broader cultural and environmental value of water. In desert environments, water represents life, purity, and shared responsibility. By elevating the presentation and offering of water into a considered ritual, the design honours water’s cultural and environmental significance.
A bespoke digital 3D-printing method was developed to deliver the ceramic-rock mix material, generating high precision clay forms by modulating the clay filament’s thickness as it is deposited, layer by layer, in a sedimentary-like process. Every vessel is one-of-a-kind, with unique colour and tonal variations, embodying a seamless dialogue between tradition and contemporary craftsmanship.
This bespoke making process have been conceived as scalable socio-economic initiative, founded on the idea that high quality products with distinctive material and authentic cultural provenance, can stimulate world class cultural production within remote areas. The project was developed in partnership with Rukun, a Saudi creative platform, engaged in integrating local traditional craft and contemporary innovation creative practice.
Harry Dobbs Design [HDD], are a multi-disciplinary team of Architects, Urban Designers and Product Designers. They excel in projects that address spatial identity and the embedding of shared memory within the material culture and narratives of contemporary life. Working across scales –from strategic national branding and cultural development, to bespoke artefacts and architectural installations– HDD bring together a uniquely integrated design perspective that challenges the traditional hierarchies between cultural strategy, advanced technology, and sustainable practice.
HDD have had the privilege of applying their pioneering ‘Culturally Smart’ approach across national, regional and community contexts, crafting international award-winning material expression for regions, destinations and districts within Europe, Middle East, North America and Asia.
The Al Hajar ceramics project presented here exemplifies this wider thinking at the scale of an everyday product, designed ostensibly to celebrate the sharing water as an ancient and universal gesture of hospitality. The bespoke advanced 3D printing ceramic making process, developed specifically for the project, belies a deeper desert based culturally focused development strategy, where regional supply chain, links to ancient ceramic heritage and local skill development bring both a powerful sense of provenance to the product, and economic opportunity to the region.
HDD was founded by Harry Dobbs, informed by his post-graduate research to the Royal College of Art, London. His work regularly brings together academic and commercial research, cultural and community engagement and socio-economic analysis. He has advised both UK Government and governments internationally on contemporary urban design, participative practice and the role of creative Industries in cultural and economic development. The practice’s design work has been installed at international cultural and design institutions across the world, including the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, The National Gallery in London, and the Red Dot museums in Europe and Asia. He has been invited to speak at international Design, Culture and Technology conferences in Middle East, Asia and Europe.
