I was honored to be invited as a jury member at the American University in Dubai – Architecture Senior Showcase Spring 2017 Exhibition & presentation. I had the chance to meet like minded colleagues and exceptional talents.  The showcase is the culmination of a year’s worth of effort as the students spent one-semester conducting research into a building typology and site, and one semester designing their thesis project.

Below are the list of winners:

First Award:                            Omar Abou Nader (Transience: The Social Pier) 

Second Award:                       Sally Al Jaderi (One Hour) 

 Third Award:                         Siyamak Khodayar (Occult: The Laboratory of Supernatural) 

 Sustainable Design Award:     Reza Mohammadpour Touyserkani (The Circle of Life) 

 Innovative Design Award:       Diba Mohebzadeh (Nefelibata: A Cloud Walker)

Honorable Mentions:               Raya Bechara , Oana Amira Fayyad, Mohamed Tabaja , Omar El Shazly , Jasmine Ayesh , Mahdieh Nasiri

First Award: Omar Abou Nader (Transience: The Social Pier) 

Third Award: Siyamak Khodayar (Occult: The Laboratory of Supernatural) 

Innovative Design Award: Diba Mohebzadeh (Nefelibata: A Cloud Walker)

Honorable Mention: Oana Amira Fayyad (Ephemeral: The Architecture of Social Media) 

Honorable Mention: Omar El Shazly (ACHROMATOPSIA)

Achromatopsia: Noun/ A visual defect that is marked by the total color blindness in which the colors of the spectrum as seen as tones of white, gray, and black, by poor visual acuity, and by extreme sensitivity to bright light.

The plot is situated on the south east corner of Dubai Design District for both maximum sunlight and wind throughout the day. The Achromatopsia used color blinded architecture to emphasis visitors experience on their senses . The use of light & dark materials in the design vary in order to engage people to intensify experiencing these materials on a human scale, which is evident in the use of light voids cutting through the structure slabs to highlight exhibition spaces according to their importance by increasing the sensitivity to light.

Conclusion:

Business collaboration between the academic world and industry is essential due to the rapid evolution of the business environment and the vast transformations throughout the academic realm. Both parties have fundamental points of interest and this is where a win-win situation is achieved for both of them. With students being well educated in new methodologies and the corporate experts transferring these innovations into practical projects which involve the students, we will soon be able to see how the collaboration can bring about mutual advantages. Having said that, Stantec Dubai will continue to extend our efforts and collaborate with regional education institutes such as the American University in Dubai.