• The Mangrove Café was awarded as it boldly reimagines the school canteen
  • The German Design Awards recognizes exceptional design achievements from across the world

Dubai, UAE:  Kidzink, a world-leading educational design and manufacturing firm dedicated to creating innovative learning environments has been awarded a prestigious German Design Award. The firm won in the Excellent Architecture,  Interior Architecture category for its groundbreaking project, The Mangrove Café, designed for leading educational provider Taaleem.

Headquartered in Dubai and with over 250 projects across 23 countries, Kidzink collaborates with leading educational providers in designing innovative spaces that inspire young minds. The company was engaged by Taaleem, one of the MENA region’s leading educational providers to transform the cafeterias of five Taaleem schools. The award-winning result is The Mangrove Café, a sustainable and serene café space that fosters community, learning and environmental stewardship.

Since 2012, the German Design Awards has recognized exceptional design achievements from across the world. The premium prize of the German Design Council has a global scope and international appeal and is one of the most prestigious awards in the design sector across all industries. The Awards identify key design trends, honoring them and presenting them to a broad public audience. The annual awards attract submissions globally across product design, communication design and architecture categories.

This 2025 award marks the second shared distinction for Kidzink and Taaleem in the past twelve months following a highly commended honor for the architectural design of Taaleem’s Dubai British School Jumiera at the recent Identity Awards in Dubai. The project was undertaken by Kidzink’s dedicated architectural practice, KODA.

“All Taaleem schools are centers of community. In engaging Kidzink, we wanted to further enhance this sense of community while also providing an opportunity to foster learning and conversations about sustainability and social impact.  While the award is an honor, the true win for us is seeing the impact of The Mangrove Café in engaging students, teachers, parents and the wider school community,” said Sam Truman, Chief Operating Officer of Taaleem.

“At Kidzink, we are dedicated to making schools better places to learn, grow, and thrive. We are able to do this through strong partnerships with forward-thinking clients like Taaleem who trust in this vision. This honor doesn’t just highlight our work but further cements the UAE’s position as a global hub of design and innovation,” said Charlotte Borghesi, Founder and General Manager of Kidzink.

Located in five Taaleem schools, including the new Dubai British School Jumeira, The Mangrove Café reimagines the traditional school canteen. Working with Taaleem, Kidzink first developed a strong brand that pays homage to the UAE’s mangrove eco-systems as it emphasises tranquillity and sustainability. With an eco-friendly theme and built with natural and low-impact materials, The Mangrove Café concept also included collaboration with the Taaleem group’s preferred food supplier to create a unified fresh and healthy food offering for students across the different schools.  Other schools featuring The Mangrove Cafe include Jebel Ali School,  Jumeira Baccalaureate School, Uptown International School and Greenfield International School.

“The German Design Awards is more than just a recognition; it's a validation of our mission to revolutionize educational spaces. This award affirms our belief that design can effect social cohesion and change, making learning spaces more inspiring, sustainable, and responsive to the evolving needs of students and educators,” added Borghesi.

Kidzink was founded in 2017 in Dubai by Charlotte and Paolo Borghesi and since that time, has expanded to a team of over 200 professionals across three global offices and one UAE-based manufacturing facility.  Offering comprehensive services from educational consultancy and design, bespoke furniture design and manufacturing, through to full architectural design services through the newly launched KODA, Kidzink office of Design and Architecture, the firm is shaping the future of education through design and innovation. 

Kidzink will receive their German Design Award at a ceremony that will take place on 7 February 2025 at Kap Europa, Messe Frankfurt's congress center, bringing together approximately 1,600 international design professionals, winners, and industry leaders.

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For more information on Kidzink, visit https://www.kidzinkdesign.com/
For more information on KODA, visit https://www.designbykoda.com/

For more information, please contact:
Dawn Barnable
The B Collective for Kidzink
Dawnb@thebcollectiveme.com