waiwai - Wetland

When: Friday 12 November 2021 @ 00:45 (Eastern US Time)/ @ 09:45 (Dubai time)

Where: Concrete at Alserkal Avenue, 17th St - Al Quoz - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

Speaker

Wael al Awar, founder, waiwai

CES: 1.5 LU/ HSW for AIA Members

Event Description

Wetland, the National Pavilion UAE’s tenth exhibition at La Biennale Architettura was selected by the Biennale jury for being “a bold experiment that encourages us to think about the relationship between waste and production on a local and global scale, and opens us to new construction possibilities between craft and high-technology”

Wetland attempts to create a technological equivalent of portland cement from the crystalized salt and minerals that form from the country’s unique salt flats. The cement industry accounts for 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions, in its production of concrete, which is the world’s second most highly-consumed material – so developing an alternative construction material without this high environmental impact is vital for shaping a sustainable future.

Speaker Bio

Wael al Awar

Wael al Awar, founder, waiwai

Wael Al Awar founded waiwai (formerly ibda design) in 2009 as the principal architect, after moving back to the Middle East from Tokyo. With interests in natural phenomena, landscape and formless diagrams of relations, Wael has a multi-disciplinary approach to design and is always looking to challenge conventional processes to push the boundaries of design. His projects layer his individual design sensibilities into an architecture of natural light, time, structure and landscape. By aligning with natural phenomena, Wael seeks to create an architecture that is more than man-made fabrication, but instead remains open to adaptation and appropriation. The spaces that emerge from his approach are site-specific provocations that encourage unexpected experiences, activities and behaviors. Wael Al Awar is currently a Curator of the National Pavillion of the UAE for the 17th Architecture Bienalle di Venezia 2020 & 2021 and winner of the Golden Lion Award.

waiwai is an award-winning multidisciplinary architecture, landscape, graphic and urban design studio with offices in Dubai and Tokyo. Its Principal Architects are Wael Al Awar and Kazuma Yamao.

Known for addressing the social, environmental, economical and technological aspects of architectural projects, the firm has worked on prominent cultural institutions including, the UAE National Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, Dubai’s Jameel Arts Centre and Jaddaf waterfront sculpture park, Aomori Home, Al Warqa’a mosque, CICOL, Hai d3 and Jeddah’s Hayy Jameel.

Formerly known as ibda design in Dubai and Gingrich in Tokyo, in 2019 the firm was established by the joining of the two principal architects and renamed to waiwai – a Japanese onomatopoeia which refers to the sound of a cheering crowd – to mark its 10-year anniversary.

Dubai and Tokyo each foster multicultural diversity, and the range of cultural backgrounds in the waiwai team inspires communication through a clear, simple and deliberate approach to architecture.

waiwai was named among the top 17 architects and top 50 influential designers of the year by Nikkei Magazine in 2019; recognized by Architectural Record's annual Design Vanguard issue as one of the top 10 emerging firms in the world in 2018; and included in Architectural Digest’s top 50 offices in the Middle East in 2017. In addition, waiwai was a Shortlisted Nominee for the Aga Khan Architecture Award in 2019. Winner of the New York Design Award 2018, Silver Medal. Hong Kong Design Award 2018, Gold Medal. London Design Award 2016, Silver Medal. Winner First Prize for the AIA Middle East Design Awards in 2018. Winner of the Arab Architect Award in 2019. Winner of the 17th Architecture Biennale di Venezia, Golden Lion Award.

SOCIAL HANDLES

Wael instagram:

@wael.al.awar https://www.instagram.com/wael.al.awar/

waiwai instagram:

@waiwaidesign https://www.instagram.com/waiwaidesign/

waiwai website: https://waiwaidesign.com/