DALIA HAMATI Selected Works, 2012-2019
BIOGRAPHY Dalia Hamati is a licensed architect registered in New York where she has lived, worked and studied for the past 11 years. Experiencing NYC through the lens of architecture has instilled within her a taste for dense urban environments and the synergies that unlikely collisions can yield. As a professional architect navigating the complexities of such an environment she has developed an expertise over the years in understanding and embracing uniquely metropolitan issues surrounding history, bureaucracy, indoor urbanism, infrastructure and, above all, the importance of civic space. Her work at Ennead Architects, where she has practiced since 2012, has spanned across typologies ranging from healthcare to universities and embassies, always with an eye towards architecture’s powerful ability to shape the dialog between people and the built environment. Believing that the architects’ skill set can extend past traditional models of practice, she was also an active steward of the office’s design culture, co-leading the office’s cultural platform, ‘STIM’ to prompt critical discourse through exhibitions, lectures, and workshops. Throughout her time at Ennead Dalia was heavily involved in Enneadlab, the office’s research and advocacy arm, where her award-winning work looked towards tackling some of the more challenging questions facing our profession. Questions such as, what are the ethics of building on the water’s edge in the face of rising sea levels? And what is the architect’s role in the global refugee crisis? Dalia also believes teaching architecture to be an important component of shaping the future of the profession. She has held a faculty position at Pratt Institute’s department of interior architecture and teaching assistantships at Columbia University’s GSAPP. She continues to be a regular visiting juror at both schools. Recently relocated to Dubai, Dalia has also spent time in England, Singapore, and her native Lebanon, all of which have deepened her appreciation for history, context, and the power of narrative to inform rich architectural concepts. Dalia received her Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University’s Gradutate School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning in 2011 after completing her undergraduate degree in General Architectural Studies at the University of Bath in the UK in 2008. For references please contact Dalia at dalia.hamati@gmail.com
DALIA HAMATI AIA, LEED AP BD+C dalia.hamati@gmail.com
EDUCATION 2008 - 2011 Columbia University GSAPP, MArch 2003 - 2007 University of Bath, BSc (hons) in General Architectural Studies PRACTICE 2012 - 2019 Ennead Architects. Architect & STIM co-director in NYC • US Consulate in Lagos, Nigeria • US Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand • Shanghai-Jiangsu Dafeng Industrial Park Service Center in China • Philadelphia Zoo Expansion competition • Concordia International School Shanghai, Baoshan Campus Land Use Study in China • Northwestern University New University Commons in Chicago • US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey • NYU Langone Medical Center Campus in NYC, including a new library for MSB, a new cafeteria at Tisch Hospital, a new Science Building, Alumni Hall renovation, and flood mitigation work post Hurricane Sandy in NYC • FAR ROC design competition in NYC • Rethinking Refugee Communities Toolkit development in collaboration with the UNHCR • Fast Company Innovation Festival Fast Track Workshop in NYC 2007 - 2008 Godwin Austen Johnson Architects, Junior Architect in Dubai, UAE • New headquarters for Nakheel on the Palm Jebel Ali • ECOS hotel in Dubailand 2006 Godwin Austen Johnson Architects, Summer Internship Architectural Assistant in Dubai • Bab Al Shams hotel extension in Dubai • Concept Design for a residential tower in Business Bay in Dubai 2005 Hopkins Architects, Summer Internship Architectural Assistant in Dubai • Gate Village DIFC in Dubai • Bahrain National Assembly INDEPENDENT BUILT WORK 2019 - Present 1200 SF Private Apartment gut renovation in Brooklyn, USA 2019 Private Kitchen in Los Angeles, USA. 2018 Active Ageing House Semi-commercial Kitchen in Beirut, Lebanon. 2016 2000 SF Private Apartment in Beirut, Lebanon. 2015 1000 SF Private Apartment gut renovation in NYC, USA TEACHING 2015 Fall Semester, Pratt Institute INT 601 Design Studio, Visiting Assistant Professor, Fall Semester 2012 - 2019, GSAPP and Pratt Institute, regular Guest Critic at midterm and final studio reviews 2011 Summer Semester, GSAPP Introduction to Architecture Program, Associate Professor 2011 Fall Semester, GSAPP Core 1 Architecture Studio, Mentor 2009 + 2010 Fall Semesters GSAPP New York / Paris Program, Architecture Studio Teaching Assistant 2009 Summer Semester, GSAPP Introduction to Architecture, Real Estate Development Studio Teaching Assistant PUBLICATIONS / HONORS 2017 Metropolis Magazine, Co-authored essay titled ‘What If…We Could Save Our Coastal Cities by Treating Land Like Water?’ 2017 Architizer A+ Award, FARROC Submission awarded Jury Winner in the Unbuilt Masterplan category 2013 CLOG : SCI-FI, Essay titled 'We Can Remember It For You' published 2012 Bi-Blog, Essay titled ‘Choice’ published 2012 Architectural Association Saturated Space Cluster Blog, Blog post titled ‘Paint My House’ published 2011 International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) New York, 3D printed installation exhibited 2011 GSAPP Historic Preservation Joint Studio publication, Studio work published 2011 GSAPP Admissions Committee, Committee member 2006 Basil Spence Studio Prize, Winner ARCHITECTURAL VOLUNTEER WORK & WORKSHOPS 2017-18 GSAPP Mentorship Program, Mentor 2015 Immersion’ Workshop with Rick Joy, Richard Leplastrier and Peter Stutchbury, Vermont, USA. (Participant) 2011, 2012, 2013 Annual Iron Designer Challenge at The Urban Assembly School of Design & Construction in NYC (Team Leader) 2007 ‘Studio in the Woods’ with Ted Cullinan, Piers Taylor and Toby Lewis in Bath, UK. (Participant) SKILLS Software Autodesk Revit, Autodesk AutoCAD, Rhinoceros, V-Ray, Enscape, MasterCam CAM/CAD, Adobe Creative Suite, Google SketchUp, Microsoft Office, Mac/PC 0S, Ultimaker 3D printing, Newforma, Bluebeam Revu Languages Fluent English, conversational French and Arabic.
SELECTED WORKS
New US Embassy Compound Ankara, Turkey
New US Consulate Compound Chiang Mai, Thailand
Northwestern University Commons Evanston, Illinois
For A Resilient Rockaway NYC, USA
NYU Langone Medical Center New York City, USA
Husu Dafeng Industrial Park Dafeng, China
NEW US EMBASSY COMPOUND - ANKARA, TURKEY 21st Century Külliye Located on a steeply sloped site in a developing area of Ankara, the new US Embassy seeks to represent American values of openness and democracy while creating a secure environment for embassy visitors and staff. The design scheme draws from the traditional Ottoman Kulliye - derived from the Arabic work ‘kull’ or all - of courtyards carved into a building fabric. Here, courtyards begin on the site as a series of regular walled gardens that define an active processional across the site. Designed as independent buildings each with their own separate entrances, the cabana and marine residence are enclosed by the same façade as the chancery, to reinforce the singular architectural experience. A tower element, visible from the main courtyard, houses specialized chancery programs and the vertical form is consistent with the surrounding urban architecture. The annex, shops and official parking are located at the west end of the site along with the service entry pavilion. These buildings are built into the grade and articulated as landscape features. The new US Embassy draws upon rich architectural traditions and material palette of the host country while creating a strong yet respectful presence on the site to represent the United States. Program: US Embassy Compound Location: Ankara, Turkey Site Area: 10 Acres Building Area: NOB: 23,220 SQM Annex Buildings: 11,600 SQM Phase: Under Construction (completion 2020) Role: Interiors,DD thru CD With Ennead Architects
Recent satellite image showing the site, which rises seventy five feet from front to back, under construction.
The term ‘kullieye’ is derived from the Arabic word kull (meaning ‘the whole’, ‘all’). The tradition of külliye is particularly marked in Turkish architecture, within Seljuk Ottoman Empire and also Timurid architectural legacies. Examples include Süleymaniye Mosque and Külliye in Istanbul (1550’s).
The Embassy design embraces the tradition of the Kulliye with three courtyards distributed thoughout the building forming gathering spaces for staff within the secure building setback, providing daylight for interior spaces, orientation points and a sense of place.
A section through the building shows the three major internal courtyards over different levels as an organizing device. Construction of the structure is complete
Both the interior and exterior of the office building is designed to showcase the beauty of local materials. Turkish travertine is deployed widely on the facade and shading screens. Inside, Iznik tile and Marmara marble create visual interest in the main representational spaces.
NEW US CONSULATE COMPOUND - CHIANG MAI, THAILAND An Architecture of Community Inspired by the rich architectural traditions of Northern Thailand, the NCC draws heavily on local vernacular design concepts; multiple elevated volumes tied together around a central courtyard; strong connections between building and landscape; non-axial circulation; rich and dramatic material palettes of masonry, plaster and wood, layered together to create modular screens for visual, climatic and acoustical control. The New Office Building & Marines Residences form the central figure in a richly landscaped consulate compound and are split into individual volumes. The envelope’s materiality creates a sense of elevation and its screens draw heavily from the richness of ornamentation found in traditional carved Thai screening panels. Program: USA New Consulate Compound Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand Building Area: NOB 6,100 SQM Annex Buildings 2,425 SQM Phase: Construction Bidding Role: Interiors, SD thru DD With Ennead Architects
M M
M M
M M
GWA GWA
PAA PAA
GWA
PAA PAA
GWA
PAA PAA
CAA CAA
CAA CAA
CAA CAA
Traditional ‘Lanna’ architecture separates the ground plane from the principal public floor of a building to create a “piano nobile”. The raised floor allows for a shaded community space below, recreated here at the NOB’s eastern edge.
Floor Finishes
GWA
GWA
Ceiling Finishes
Drawing from historic Thai massing traditions, a similar series of operations - ‘split’, ‘elevate’, ‘tie together’- are applied to the program blocks of the building massing to form a series of discrete elements housing various consulate functions.
The Compound site strategy draws upon the rich Thai tradition of creating direct connections between indoors and outdoors featuring a series of interior and exterior gardens that tie into the architecture.
Wall Finishes
A large double-height planted terrace on the office floors supports the ‘outdoor living’ Chiang Mai is known for.
The interiors palette is heavily derived from the materials, colours and textures found in traditional Thai architecture, codified into this series of diagrams which help to identify specific spaces.
Brightly coloured ceramic tile inspires the colour and texture of ‘feature walls’ throughout the NOB
Handmade terracotta brick, ‘Lanna brick’ found in historid walls around Chiang Mai is picked up at entry walls at the NOB main lobbies.
The intricacy of the carved wooden screens of traditional Thai houses inspires feature stair railings at the NOB.
NORTHWESTERN NEW UNIVERSITY COMMONS A Place to Experiment Sited between Lake Michigan and the central campus library, the new University Commons aspires to create a new paradigm of academic social life – a Common Ground; a place that nurtures individuals yet builds deep communal bonds that transcend departmental and cultural lines; an environment that supports study and play, solitude and group activity. An intellectual funhouse where risk and stepping outside of one’s comfort zone is celebrated where the fabric of the University is woven anew each day. A touchstone for all the university’s population groups, from undergraduate and graduate students to faculty and alumni, the new NUC will grow out of the existing in a four-sided glazed box, explicitly symbolizing Northwestern University’s core values of transparancy and didactic innovation. The site offers a unique campus setting surrounded by open green spaces with views to the lake, the north campus as well as the Chicago skyline to the south. The Center’s new landscape design with varied programmed ground plains and transitions will serve as a mediator, stitching together existing grade changes and campus pathways. Beyond the shared common areas, the new building program will include food service, conference and meeting rooms, large multi-purpose room, an auditorium, a black box theater, student support and services, student organization, an art gallery and studio, as well as gaming and recreation. Program: Student Commons Building Area: 19,400 SQM Location: Chicago, USA Phase: CD Role: Exteriors, SD thru CD’s With Ennead Architects
The existing commons, the Norris Center,was conceived during the 1970’s, a period of social unrest and anger towards authority on college campuses. In response, the original design was designed as a 167,000 SF concrete bunker, sacrificing openness for compartmentalization to facilitate crowd control. Today, universities are a much safer place - sanctuaries for learning and community. The new university commons will retain only the foundations of the existing building and giving life to a new, open center for the university.
The tripartite building massing’s new steel-framed upper volume is supported on the concrete foundations of the existing Norris Center. This hybrid structural approach allows the project to balance between efficiency of reuse while still offering planning flexibility above. Situated below the floating upper volume, the new campus Living Room is located on the Plaza level and its elevated location maximizes 360 degree views out to the surrounding campus and Lake Michigan and serves as a 24/7 beacon of campus life.
To help mitigate solar gain, opaque shadow box facade panels, solar frit, and projecting horizontal ‘fin’ extrusions are designed into the envelope. The result is a dynamic glazed facade with areas of opacity and transparency offering a ‘reading’ of the program within.
3D model tests of parametricised horizontal fin profiles.
Visual mock-up of vision + spandrel glass panel with 3D printed horizontal fin extrusion
F.R.E.D (Fostering Resilient Ecological Development) A Whole-Systems Approach After Hurricane Sandy devastated Jamaica Bay in 2013, a competition titled ‘FarRoc’ was launched by the AIA in partnership with x and x as a fresh call for ideas aimed at building resiliently at the waterfront, at beachfront site in the Far Rockaways. At Enneadlab the first question we asked ourselves was – is this even a good idea? Why build at the waters’ edge in an era or rising sea levels? But in realizing that people’s desire to live by the water will continue to drive development into the future, we decided to tackle the problem head on. Our design response to the site begins with dunes – a native ecology that is the most cost-effective, sustainable, and appropriate method of coastal protection for beachfront sites like this. A healthy dune system replenishes the beach, absorbs normal storm water, and sponsors habitat opportunities for both resident and migratory species. This type of environment is rare in the city, and this particular stretch of the Rockaways represents a tremendous opportunity to re-establish a native beachfront ecology on a large scale, as part of the greater-Jamaica Bay ecosystem. The other driver, of course, is sea-level rise. With forecasts of regular tidal flooding we have a choice: raise the ground level and invest heavily in large, water retention infrastructure to try to prevent surface flooding; or use topography to create open basins--wet meadows and rain gardens-that are designed to fill with water and drain down slowly. In the short-run, the green infrastructure is less expensive; in the long-run it anticipates change and allows for adaptation. So the challenge of the project is to create a dense and vibrant urban neighborhood that is integrated into an active coastal ecological system. To do so, perhaps paradoxically, we need to intensify and concentrate both the natural and the urban characteristics of the site—make them both strong enough that they can co-exist and even reinforce each other in surprising and exciting ways. Program: Masterplan Site Area: 80Acres Building Area: Housing - 158,000 SQM Commercial & Cultural - 30,660 SQM Location: Far Rockaway, NY Phase: 2013 Competition award-winner Role: Lead Designer With Ennedlab
In researching dune systems with our ecologists, we understood that the broader benefits of dunes extend beyond coastal protection as part of a larger ecological system. Starting at the beach, A healthy dune system is a progression of micro-environments from malleable shock-absorbing sand dunes to hardier shrub inland, which is the spine of the system, and eventually progressing to maritime forest if given the opportunity. These findings drove us to dedicate as much of the ground plane as possible to the establishment of an active dune system. The twin approaches for wave-mitigation + water collection call for a live, open ground plane, leading inevitably to a housing strategy: collect housing into dense elevated clusters allowing the groundplane to run continuously below; aggregate the open space to create community-inducing shared courtyards; connect the clusters together using a system of raised decks and pedestrian piers, providing street life on several levels.
A kit of parts approach that can be a model for new coastal communities everywhere.
An elevated road network plugs directly into the two existing subway stations.
At the ground plane, pedestrian, cycling and emergency vehicle lanes run parallel to the dunes...
....while multi-family housing clusters following the Brooklyn row house typology float above.
NYU LANGONE MEDICAL CENTER Healthcare in the Era of Climate Change How can we future-proof a sprawling medical facility on the waters’ edge in an era of global climate change? A product of 1950’s masterplanning, New York University’s medical campus was designed to have its infrastructure equipment and services buried underground to free up as much floor area above for patient and visitor services. However, when Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012 and the East River rose to engulf much of Manhattan’s coastline, the Hospital went offline and much of the facility was damaged. Consequently, NYU embarked on a multi-year renovation and expansion of its campus to better face future climate events. This included a re-shuffling of most of its existing below-ground, first and second floor program, fortifying the East River boundary with a flood wall, as well as the addition of three new buildings an energy infrastructure center, a new hospital tower and a science research facility. In order to keep the hospital running throughout construction the projects needed to be carefully phased and executed. Program: Hospital Cafeteria Area: 1,670 SQM Location: NYC Phase: Built Role: Interiors, Concept thru CA With Ennead Architects
NYU Langone Medical Center was originally constructed in the 1950’s following a masterplan by SOM. Following Hurricane Sandy in 2013, one of the first pieces of public program to be relocated as part of the large scale re-masterplanning effort was the Hospital Cafeteria, relocated to Tisch Hospital’s first floor off of 1st Avenue.
The new 18,000SF location is a place of respite for hospital patients and visitors, recreating a small piece of Manhattan’s foodie scene in the medical campus.
Beyond the requirements of creating a dining facility worthy of its operators’ (Union Square Group) curb appeal, the cafeteria needed to perform to stringent hospital cleaning standards. Consquently, finishes were selected for their durability. Where the cafeteria interfaced with the existing hospital travertine, stainless steel and terrazzo were selected to match. With the space above the ceiling a main MEP thoroughfare between the existing hospital and the newly constructed Kimmel Hospital, ceiling depth was limited. Dividing up the ceiling into a tripartite plan made it function as an organizing device for the servery and dining areas underneath. GFRC ceiling features, veneer-wrapped metal panel and milled wood helped to define the zones and give visual interest in a large open space.
HUSU DAFENG INDUSTRIAL PARK, CHINA Billboard HQ Currently an agricultural site, this signature development for the Dafeng Development group is designed to define a working environment which looks to the future. A shared landscape brings together four buildings of complementary functions; a headquarters building and an office for lease are supported by training and dining facilities. This shared landscape is topped by a series of canopies that provide a pleasant outdoor environment while also creating a bold architectural statement. Part of a larger comprehensive masterplan that will make this area as a thriving business district, this site is the centerpiece. As such, buildings are arranged to compliment the campus’ location. The 12 storey HQ anchors the north-west corner, maximizing views from inside and visibility from its surroundings. The remaining three buildings spiral down in height in a counter-clockwise rotation around the perimeter of the site, creating a campus heart in the form of a plaza and sunken garden that serves all four buildings, creating a unique identity for the office campus of the future. Program: HQ Corporate Campus Location: Dafeng, China Site Area: 4.6 Acres Building Area 41,300 SQM Phase: Pre-bid government Approval Role: Lead Designer, Concept thru DD With Ennead Architects
Conceived as a connector piece between two existing economic centers, Dafeng Industrial center will become a natural thriving business district of which this site, Dafeng Development Group HQ, is the centerpiece.
The scheme is characterised by a ground plane that steps up and down to define a multitude of outdoor spaces; sunken courtyards, monumental steps, ramped bridges, and plinths come together underneath the canopy to activate the shared plaza.
Reflecting pools on the south and east bounce light while also creating compression within the site to activate the central plaza
The buildings’ facades have been designed in pairs following their function; offices requiring more open views and flexible arrangements have floor-toceiling glass, while the smaller scale training and conference center take on a more intimate scale consisting of vertical fins. Overhead, the canopies’ PV louvers tilt south at an optimized angle to maximize solar gain while creating shade below. Circular steel columns supporting the canopies create a regular rhythm across the site, bringing all the pieces together into a comprehensive whole.