Architect Arch. Sumaya Dabbagh
Founder
Dabbagh Architects, United Arab Emirates
Sumaya Dabbagh is the founder of Dabbagh Architects. She is a
Saudi architect educated in the UK with diverse experience in
architecture, interior design, and project management. Following an education at Bath University under the guidance of
the late Peter Smithson and Sir Ted Happold, Dabbagh began her career in
London and Paris in the early 90’s. Her return to the Gulf region in 1993
was part of a quest to gain a deeper understanding of her own identity, a
unique mix of influences and sensitivity towards both western and Middle
Eastern cultures. Through her work in architecture and design in the Gulf region
Dabbagh’s quest to bridge the cultural and gender gaps continues. She was an instrumental
part of the team who set up the RIBA Gulf chapter in 2009 and is currently
the elected Chair for the RIBA Gulf Chapter.
Dr. Nasser Abdulhassan
Architect,
founder and partner of AGI architecture - Kuwait
With extensive experience and education,
Abulhasan is driven by research in arid climates and interest in perception and
light in architecture and design. A winner of many prestigious awards, his rich
background has earned him widespread recognition. His work encompasses various
aspects of architecture, communal design and urban planning. One of the Leading
Firms in the ME.
MOHAMED MOKHTAR AL-RAFEI, M.Sc.
Architect and Founder
ADEEM Consultancy
Specialized
in appropriate architecture with application of Compressed Earth Blocks
(CEBs) for several architecture projects and urban design related to
local communities. Research and innovations in the field of
architectural design that uses wall bearing structural systems with
domes and vaults roofing while leading and conducting research on soil
mixing design for earthen architecture. M. El Rafei is Nominated foe
AghaKhan Awards for QUarinah Project Riyadh.
Dr. Mohammad H. Ghosheh
A historian specializing in
Jerusalem and its Islamic architecture,
AUTHOR
Encylopaedia Palestinnica
which is the
most extensive pictorial and documentary resource yet published on the history
and culture of Palestine in the Ottoman period. This work is marking 500 years
since the start of then Ottoman period in Jerusalem and Palestine, when Sultan
Selim I entered Jerusalem at the end of 1516. Encyclopedia Palestinnica
consists of 24 volumes of around 7,000 pages covering different cultural and
historical aspects of Palestine from 1516 until 1918, including much
unpublished information on the history and culture of Palestine.