To further enrich the educational experiences and career prospects of its alumni, the School of Architecture and Design (SArD), through its Institute for Environmental Studies and Research (IESR), invited architecture graduates from the classes of 2022 and 2023 to participate in a six-month exchange workshop in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, from January to June 2024.

Organized by the Diriyah Architecture Lab (DAL) and the Diriyah Foundation in Riyadh, the workshop titled Learning from The Past, Shaping the Future: Interventions in Wadi Hanifa Cultural Landscape brought together recent graduates from international universities to research and design solutions for developing the Wadi and Al Turaif UNESCO site while preserving its historical integrity.

Eight LAUers were selected by the IESR and DAL to take part in this collaborative initiative. Guided by David Aouad, director of LAU’s IESR, and Roula Khoury, associate professor of architecture at SArD, they worked with students from Saudi and Spanish universities on various projects related to the critical field of architecture and cultural landscape interventions within sensitive heritage sites.

The multi-lens approach to the subject matter enriched the workshop and dialogue, securing a design vision rooted in the context while incorporating international design innovation and research.

“Besides examining environmental issues and their impact on the region’s long-term sustainability,” said Aouad, “the IESR connects SArD faculty, students and alumni with event organizing committees and high-caliber industry leaders, providing valuable exposure and networking opportunities.”

The workshop, added Aouad, allowed the graduate students “to develop competitive ideas and Research-by-Design proposals for various landscapes within the Kingdom and reveal them to the public.”

In preparation for the kick-off symposium in Riyadh, the IESR conducted a series of lectures, readings and working sessions for the participants. After three visits to Riyadh from January to June 2024, the LAU team presented their final design to a panel of six jurors on June 7 in Diriyah in the presence of executives, students and guests.

Four LAUers were among the winners announced during a public projects’ exhibition marking the final phase of the workshop.

Zayna Youssef (BArch ’23) and Carole El-Farraji (BArch ’23), along with their Spanish and Saudi team members, won in the Best Research category. Similarly, alumni Pascale El-Maalouf (BArch ’23) and Alec Jil Hagopian (BArch ’23) also claimed the Best Design project for their individual work. Winners have been offered internship positions at Norman Foster and Ricardo Bofill, two globally leading architecture firms.

Reflecting on her experience, El-Farraji wrote, “…we visited and studied several sites along Wadi Hanifa, and this experience gave us a new understanding of the intricate connections between societies, heritage and landscape.”

“We also met and collaborated with like-minded architects and designers from different backgrounds and architectural schools in Riyadh and Barcelona, who became great connections but most importantly, friends,” she added.

The initiative also featured prominent experts in conservation, landscape architecture and sustainability as jurors and lecturers, including Dr. Zaher Othman, head of the Center for Local Governance in Riyadh, Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design Martha Schwartz, Paulette Wallace and Paola Pesaresi from the Diriyah Gate Development Authority and Prince Fahed Bin Naif Al Saud.