In public spaces around the world, there are various monuments and installations that have grabbed my attention. I would often wonder what the story was behind them. With this idea in mind, I was inspired to create something that was not just beautiful, but also conveyed a message.

The Dubai Institute for Design and Innovation (DIDI) posed a challenge to “Design and construct a model of a monument for Global Village, Dubai.” I teamed up with a few other product design students, and we began by brainstorming different types of monuments and various materials.

We ended up submitting a design comprised of eight umbrella-like structures – the umbrella symbolizing protection and shelter. Each “umbrella” would represent a continent. The size of the “umbrella” and the color and shape of the glass used in each one differed to reflect each individual continent. The eighth monument was a combination of the colors and shapes of the seven individual ones. These monuments would be distributed around the Global Village.

Aside from being aesthetically pleasing and offering functionality — providing shade in a sunny environment — our monuments represented diversity and multiculturalism, unity, interconnectedness, and protection.