Sharjah's cultural authorities have unveiled plans for the Sharjah Design Centre, a new facility set to open in 2029 for designers and craftspeople. The centre will house seven specialist labs, each dedicated to a distinct discipline: textiles, rapid prototyping, glass, ceramics, jewellery, metal and wood.

The project's main goal is to help designers move experimental ideas, which often stall at the research stage, into saleable products. Sheikha Hind bint Majid Al Qasimi explained that promising ideas frequently remain unrealised simply because the infrastructure needed to develop them further isn't readily accessible, and the new centre is designed to close exactly that gap.

Beyond the labs, the facility will include private studios for resident designers, shared co-working spaces, exhibition halls to showcase finished work, and a materials library with a digital archive for designers to consult. The building itself is being designed by the Mexican architecture studio Taller de Arquitectura – Mauricio Rocha.

The centre forms part of Sharjah's broader push to strengthen its creative infrastructure and cultural industries, building on earlier investment in museums, art spaces and design education programmes. With completion still years away in 2029, Sharjah officials hope the facility will become a regional hub for young designers and local craftspeople alike.