AYA M E S K AW I ARCHITECTURAL PORTFOLIO | B.ARCH 2018-2021
EDUCATION: Feb 2016 - May 2021
+ American University of Beirut | Beirut, Lebanon Bachelor of Architecture Minor in Art History
Jan - May 2020
+ Architectural Association | London, UK Spring Exchange Program
Jun - Jul 2018
+ Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona | Barcelona, Spain Summer Study Abroad
EXPERIENCE: Oct 2021- Jan 2022
+ Bits to Atoms Apprenticeship | Beirut, Lebanon Architectural Apprentice - Full Time Research 3D printing caly in all of its steps using grasshopper G-Codes.
May - Sep 2021
+ VcaRe: Virtual Reality Experience for Patient Care | Beirut, Lebanon Co-Founder Manage overall operations and resources. Design and research virtual reality environments.
Aug - Sep 2020
+ Nusaned | Beirut, Lebanon Architectural Volunteer On-ground volunteer to assess building damages post Beirut’s explosion.
Jun - Jul 2020
+ Snono Studio | Beirut, Lebanon Architectural Intern Produced design drawings and 3D models for architecture competitions.
Sep - Nov 2019
+ Red Room MSFEA, American University of Beirut | Beirut, Lebanon Advanced Fabrication and Technology Assistant, Part-Time Job Gave workshops and assisted several students with 3D printing and softwares.
Sep - Nov 2019
+ Built by Associative Data x Nabil Gholam Architects | Beirut, Lebanon Architectural Intern Produced physical, digital, and AR models for Beriut Design Week.
PUBLICATION / EXHIBITION: Sep 2019
+ Inhabiting Invisible Plots Design Studio | Seoul, Korea Exhibited Design Studio Work at Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism.
Aug 2019
+ Memory in Folded Paper | Beirut, Lebanon Exhibited Work at Beirut Design Week 2019
AWARDS / ACHIEVEMENTS: May 2021
American University of Beirut: MSFEA Student Startup Competition Fourth Place
Jul 2020
Bee Breeders: Abu Dhabi Flamingo Visitor Center Competition Shortlisted
Apr 2018
American University of Beirut: Academic Achievement Mamdouha El Sayed Bobst Scholarship
SKILLS: Software Fabrication Languages
AutoCAD, Rhinoceros, Grasshopper, VRay, 3Ds Max, Lumion, Adobe Suite, Unity, Unreal Engine, Agisoft, Cloud Compare. CNC Milling, 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, Wood Working, Metal Working, Model Making. English, Arabic, Elementary French.
ARCHITECTURE
VIRTUAL / AUGMENTED REALITY DESIGN
DIGITAL FABRICATION
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EVICTING BOUNDARIES
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An Urban Park Activating Utrecht
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VERTICAL LIVING
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Inhabiting Invisible Plot 2961
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PLAYNET
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Inhabiting the Voids of Bourj Hammoud
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THE FLOCK
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Abu Dhabi Flamingo Visitor Center
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UN[REAL]
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A Virtual Reality Therapeutic Retreat for Patients
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MEMORY IN FOLDED PAPER
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A Beirut Design Week Exhibition
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NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS
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A Digital Diorama
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ON THE WAY, TO 3D PRINTING CLAY
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Digital Clay Harvesting and Kiln Design
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BENDING MINIMAL SURFACE A Form Finding Strategy
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EVICTING BOUNDARIES An Urban Park Activating Utrecht
Work: Course:
Individual AA Exchange Design Studio
Instructors:
Alise Argal, Katya Larina, Marie Monseignat and Naira Vegara
Semester: Year: Institution: Site Project:
Spring 2020 Fourth Architectural Association Utrecht, Netherlands
Utrecht, being a central city in the Netherlands, is an important transport hub for both rail and road transport. Such that its train station “Utrecht Centraal” is the busiest station in the Netherlands. Utrecht Centraal and its railroad tracks became a thick edge in the city that created a physical boundary between East (old district) and West (new district) with a few permeable and active accesses such as the station itself and Moreelse bridge. Moreover, the whole periphery of the station is publicly inactive. Through mapping the several voids present around the railroad tracks, a site was chosen having several edges and conditions playing as physical boundaries therefore creating an inactive site. The following urban project is an intervention to activate the area surrounding the station and the tracks to reconnect the city.
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Isonometric bird eye view showing the playful urban project on site surrounded by several non-permeable edges and boudaries.
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Train rails Vehicular roads Pedestrian roads Canal non-permeable bldg Anchor points semi-permeable bldg permeable bldg
Hardscape - Active Hardscape - Neutral Hardscape - Calm Promenade High Forest Low Forest Waterscape - Active Waterscape - Neutral Waterscape - Calm
Permeability map showing the non permeable edges and boundaries in Utrecht that created several inactive voids zooming into an interven as the intervention is created as a reaction to the existing surrounding conditions.
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ntion. Such
West Utrecht Extending the pathway while creating several entry points Train Rail Existing Pathway
Hardscape
Adding trees as buffer zone Creating skatepark along the train rail as a buffer zone
Residential Area
Creating an open air theatre next to the residential buildings
Existing Pathway
Creating soccer field next to residential area Canal
Creating calm promenade along the canal
Train Rail
Waterscape
Adding trees as buffer zone
Creating Ponds Creating club house Existing Expansion of the Canal
Creating Tanning areas and promenade Train Rail
Creating picnic areas within the Forest Extending Entrance onto the Promenade
Softscape
Keeping trees as buffer zone and extending the forest Existing Entrance to the Forest
Create promedane and viewing decks within the forest
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Existing Forest
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Section within the Urban Park showing the three main zones (Hardscape, Waterscape, Softscape).
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Oblique Pan of the Urban Park
Rendered view from the entry point showing the hardscape zone (soccer field, skate park, and the cafe in the back)
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Rendered view from the canal (club house and t
showing the waterscape zone tanning staircase)
Rendered view showing the softscpe zone (picnic areas and promenade)
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VERTICAL LIVING Inhabiting Invisible Plot 2961
Work: Course:
Individual Arch 305 C - Vertical Studio
Instructors:
Christos Marcopoulos and Rana Samara
Semester: Year: Institution: Site Project: Exhibitions:
Spring 2019 Third American University of Beirut Ras Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2019.
Publications:
Inhabiting Invisible Plots https://tiny.cc/eg6wrz
Inhabiting Invisible Plots is a design studio that tackled the need to unlock domestic access to Ras Beirut. The studio challenged the uneven zoning law that created legally unbuildable plots in Ras Beirut that range between 45 to 150 sqm. From a free market perspective, those small lots are invisible as they do not conform to the standard developer formula. Vertical Living activates the narrow and invisible plot 2961 that lay dormant and deemed worthless by its owner. The aim of this project is not only to advocate a new domestic typology for a diverse set of dwellers but also to enhance public life and the social inclusivity of the city by creating adaptive public opportunities vertically.
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A collage mapping the Invisible Plots in Ras Beirut while demonstrating for each plot the allowable building envelope according to the Lebanese building code #646 646/ /2004 2004.. Highlighted in red is plot 2961 that is the specific chosen site that was studied technically by revising laws, context and programs.
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Plot 2961 sits aroun
The structural core was pla present bet
The structure is raised sev levels for public space, to l
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nd three meters infront of two residential buildings.
aced infront of the gap that is tween the buildings behind it.
veral stories,allowing multiple let both the structure and the building behind it to breathe.
Massing model showing the transition of programs of the structure from public to semi-public to private.
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Internal view of the rooftop bar area overlooking Ras Beirut.
Internal view of residential unit 1 overlooking Ras Beirut.
Internal view of the food market.
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Elevational view of the rooftop.
Elevational view of the transition from common spaces to the private residential units.
Elevational view of the market and a partial view of the vertical public playground.
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PLAYNET Inhabiting the Voids of Bourj Hammoud
Work: Course: Instructors:
Individual Arch 203 - Architecture Design III Anastasia El Rouss, Carla Aramouny and Tarek Sinno
Semester: Year: Institution: Site Project:
Spring 2018 Second American University of Beirut Bourj Hammoud, Metn District, Lebanon
PlayNet is an urban intervention inhabiting the voids of one of the most socially challenged neighborhoods of Lebanon. The role of this project is to provide a feeling of security and belonging to the culturally and ethnically diversed people of Bourj Hammoud through creating public, leisure and meeting spaces especially after the dramatic demographic changes that occured in the area; refugees seeking shelter from the Armenian Genocide in 1915 and the Syrian war in 2011 The project explores the many functions and forms the abundance of nets and wires in the narrow streets of the neighborhood can be used to create a socially active and stable public realm, focusing later on one specific void (void 3) in the area.
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Concept model: form-finding strategy using diverse weights on diverse kinds of nets at the allocated void (void 3) that resulted with an interplay of movements on the nets between the heavy and light structures.
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Rendered view of Playnet from the streets.
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Internal rendered
d view of Playnet.
Rendered view of playnet from a nearby balcony.
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THE FLOCK Abu Dhabi Flamingo Visitor Center
Designer: Team: Job Title: Tasks: Site Project: Date: Award:
Snono Studio Ahmad Nouraldeen, Luca Fraccalvieri, Haya Safadi Architectural Intern Research, 3D Modeling, Technical and Diagram Drawings Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi, UAE 06.2020 - 08.2020 Top 20 - BeeBreeders
Nestled in the heart of Abu Dhabi, the Al-Wathba wetland reserve is home to a vibrance of wildlife - over 250 species of birds - the most famous of which are its magnificent waves of pink flock: the flamingo population. The project aims to gradually introduce the visitors to the wildlife and the vegetation with minimum disruption to the flamingos sensitive natural habitat: the salty bodies of water they call home. Built out of sustainable material: wood, the structure raises gently over the sand providing scenic panoramic views of the reserve, with minimum impact on the existing topography and barely any excavation works. Sitting on the sand, the structure allows wildlife to roam and traverse freely underneath the structure to reach an oasis of animal and plant life.
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Top view render showing the project and the site conditions.
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Courtyard
Loop typology oasis of animal and plant life
Shading exposure
Optimized louvred system covering all glazing
Passive cooling
Light Weight Construction and Sustainable Material: Wood
Universal accessibility
Single Floor Deck
Concept and Sustainability Diagrams
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Cut Plan
Perspective Structural Detail
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Skin
Outer Framer Beam Joints Connecting Louvres to the Frame
Louvred Roof System
Aluminum Framing Insulated Ceiling
Metal Plate Combining Two Columns and the Balustrade
Connecting Frames & Ribs
Wooden Decking of the Casted Corrugated Floor Lower Framing Beam Bracing Support Stud
Framing Ring System
Framing Footing Beam Flat Foundation Footing
Continuous Floor Flow
The Flock Exploded diagram showing the different elements that constitutes the flock.
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External view of the flock from the road
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Internal view of the flock
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UN [REAL] A Virtual Reality Therapeutic Retreat for Patients
Work: Course:
Individual Arch 509 - Advanced Studio Thesis II
Instructors: Semester: Year: Institution: Site Project:
Raafat Majzoub Spring 2021 Fifth American University of Beirut Metaverse
Un[REAL] is a virtual reality immersive therapeutic retreat for covid patients that can improve their quality of life. By designing virtual spaces for meditation, entertainment, information and socializing, Un[REAL] changes the patients perspective of hospital patients and breaks their isolation. The spaces were designed based on the needs of the patients and through consultations with several healthcare providers. Such that the research engaged with virtual experience platforms, science fiction scenarios, existing technologies, gamification tools and advanced technological software to test the experience of healthcare design in virtual reality.
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Concept collage from advanced studio thesis I showing the lobby/main space that hosts a possibility of worlds that the patient can enter an interact with.
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MEMORY IN FOLDED PAPER A Beirut Design Week Exhibition
Designer:
Built by Associative Data and Nabil Gholam Architects.
Team:
Ismail Hutet, Joumana Arida, Karim Rifai, Lama Barhoumi.
Job Title: Tasks:
Architectural Intern Research, Presentation Prep, 3D Modeling, Model Making, Exhibition Prep. 05.14.2019 - 07.14.2019 Beirut Design Week 2019 - Nostalgia
Duration: Exhibition:
In a country with a well-developed ability to ‘fold away’ things it would rather forget, our proposal is to unfold some of our city’s recent urban memory via a playful and tactile invitation to remember, think and act. Memory in folded paper is an attempt to capture quick snapshots of Beirut’s transformation over the last century through a series of synoptic folding paper cut-outs. The memory of the past and a glimpse of the future are thus revealed through the fragility of what is there, what isn’t, and what only just remains. In our fast-moving digital world, these cut-out abstractions are a candid reflection on the essential paradox of memory versus the future, which is represented through augmented reality models of the buildings that pushes the idea further towards a more hybrid digital future.
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Snapshots of the preparation and the exhibition displayed at the rooftop of Nabil Gholam Architects.
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Kirigami Paper C
Projected Screen
The exhibition is a collection of buildings displayed in three forms. The first form is foldable paper cut outs, a kirigami technique. The second form is a screen view of each buiding using a projector. The third form is an augmented reality experience of each building using a QR code. 8 buildings were picked in accordance to their nostalgic importance: Carlton, Concorde, Corm House, Gefinor, Holiday Inn, Maison de L’artisan, Rivoli Cinema, Saint George Hotel, City Center Complex.
Augmented Realit
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Cut-out of Gefinor
Kirigami Paper Cut-out of Saint George Hotel
n View of Gefinor
Projected Screen View of Saint George Hotel
ty View of Gefinor
Augmented Reality View of Saint George Hotel
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NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS A Digital Diorama
Work: Course: Instructors:
Individual Digital Dioramas Ana Nicolaescu and Sebastien Tiew
Semester: Year: Institution: Software:
Spring 2020 Fourth Architectural Association Unreal Engine
When you look around , you make judgements about what the things you perceive actually are, but sometimes these judgements are wrong. Perception is not reality, perception is a lens through which reality can be viewed sometimes. This digital diorama questions the reality we live in. The digital diorama starts with a realistic scene depicting a field of grass moving with the wind. Revealing later a realistic forest filled with trees and dragon flies, only to show at the end that this realistically portrayed forest is just a set placed on a table inside a living room fictionally portrayed. This shows how the perception of the realistically depicted scene is actually a staged scene that stands still on a table in a living room, leaving the viewer to question the state of the living room itself: Is it yet another staged scene or is it reality?
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Stills taken from the video.
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ON THE WAY , TO 3D PRINTING CLAY Digital Clay Harvesting and Kiln Design
Firm: Team:
Bits to Atoms Jana Semaan and Jason Aoun
Job Title: Tasks:
Architectural Apprentice Research, Presentation Prep, 3D
Duration: Publication:
Modeling, Model Making, Exhibition Prep. 01.10.2021 - 15.01.2022 Digital Clay Harvesting
Printing Clay is a research project optimizing the process of clay 3D printing in all its steps, from the preparation of the material to 3D printing and post-processing. We have been exploring different clay recipes and their properties, testing mixing and filling methods, and studying the potential of different extrusion systems, be it pneumatic, mechanical or hydraulic. With each setup, we tested the several geometries to understand and push the limits of 3D printing as a benchmark for future designs. The research continues with generating the toolpaths for the prints and testing them with 3D printed furniture. And also, the research continues with the final process of the firing mechanism; such that the design and fabrication of a large-scale gas kiln is in process. The idea that the research is coupled with design and hands-on prototyping allows the work to mature.
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Kiln Design and Fabrication showing the digital design and the physical constructed design with all the details.
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Stool Partial Print - Draft 01 - Scale 1:1
Complete Tool Path 8 mm nozzle
Base Layers
3D Printed Base Layers
Base Layers
3D Printed Base Layers
Base Layers
3D Printed Base Layers
Stool Partial Print - Draft 02 - Scale 1:1
Complete Tool Path 6mm nozzle
Stool Full Print - Draft 03 - Scale 1:1
Complete Tool Path 6mm nozzle
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8 mm nozzle print resulted in a messy outcome and loads of air bubble in comparison with the scale of the print
Complete 3D Print
Detail of the Error
6mm nozzle resulted a better print with less air bubbles, however the geometry needed a better structure toolpath for one of the legs shown.
Complete 3D Print
Detail of the Error
Fix in toolpath resulted a better stable outcome, however several stops are shown as in the detail resulting from a pause in print to refill the clay tank. A larger clay tank was later reconstructed.
Complete 3D Print
Detail of the Error
Strategies for Geometries Diagram showing the design iteration of the Stool 55
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BENDING MINIMAL SURFACE A Form Finding Strategy
Team: Course: Instructor:
Laure Jaber and Riad Tabbara Arch 060 - Algorithm and Iterations Ahmad Nouraldeen
Semester: Year: Institution: Software:
Fall 2019 Fourth American University of Beirut Grasshopper / Rhino 3D
Bending Minimal Surface explores the tools and ways in which parametric programming can lead to greater integration of concept and execution in architectural design. This project is inspired by the way lifeforms create undulations and corrugations. Some of these undulations form as a result of tensions and are meant to be structural much like the case of leaves, petals, and clamshells. The project mimicked the undulations observed through modeling the behavior of an elastic mesh being stretched out to meet a certain 3D undulating curve in Grasshopper Software using Kangaroo plugin. This curve behaves like a bending ring that tries to flatten itself out, thus pulling on the mesh. The curve forces the mesh into a minimal surface defined by the elasticity of the mesh and the resilience of the bending ring to achieve a certain form as seen in the PVC model.
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Bending Minimal Surface Model, dimensions of 105 x 70 cm, using polyvinyl carbonate sheets cut using a CNC machine and then fabricated and tied together using 3D printed knots.
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The mesh and bounding curve are defined. The central ring of the mesh is removed to create an internal void. The outer ring is anchored to the bounding curve. The mesh is reconstructued through its diagonals, which are set as elastic members. The data is input into the Grasshopper bouncy solver. The solver runs until the form is found, while avoiding self-intersections.
The lines and points obtained from the solver are used to create 2 orthogo-nal sets of gridlines: 1 set of “circular lines, and another of radial lines.
These gridlines are used to create lofts in both diretions, creating a weeve. Each loft is a strip in the real-life model. The innermost rings are removed to facilitate fabrication. The intersection points are marked with points, which correspond to the joints in the model.
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