Layan Hashem Architect
Digital SkillsLanguages
English Arabic
About MeContact Info
layanhashem16@gmail.com
layanhshem
Education
Jeddah Knowledge International School
International Baccalaureate Certificate - 2017
American University of Sharjah Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture (BArch) - 2022
Brought up in a community that advocates for diversity in thought and approaches to learning, I believe that an architect’s role is not just about design. It is an additive act that alters, improves and even counteracts the undesirable. Essentially, the ultimate goal of architecture is to create functional and visually stimulating spaces. I believe that the inner heritage of our context is of great significance. It must be used as a catalyst that transforms energies and enhances our designs; whilst reinforcing the role of sustainability in the architectural discourse of the MENA region.
Work Experience
Freelance Designer
MAZAR Real Estate Development
-Conceptualized and developed designs for a residential dwelling
-Assisted in site research and analysis
-Consulted on schematic design plans and elevations
Contributions & Achievements
Tau Sigma Delta | Activities Director (2020)
Tau Sigma Delta | Member (2020 - Present)
Inspireli Architectural Awards | 3rd Place (2020)
The Undergraduate Awards | Participant (2020)
AUS | Dean’s List (2020)
AUS | Dean’s List (2021)
Sharjah Sustainability Awards | Participant (2021)
Saudi Modern Catalogue | Contributor (2021)
6 Degrees Catalogue | Featured (2022)
6 Degrees Dubai Design District | Exhibitor (2022)
YAC Riyadh Villa Competition | Participant (2022)
Pratt Institute Symposium | Presenter (2022)
Architectural Intern
BRICKLAB Studio
May 2020 - Present
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Indesign
Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Premiere Pro Autodesk AutoCAD
Rhinoceros 5-7
Vray for Rhinoceros
Lumion SketchUp Enscape
Keyshot TouchDesigner
June 2021 - July 2021
-Assisted in concept development and preliminary architectural designs
-Developed digital 3D models and renderings
-Assisted in website development, archive and design, and requests for proposal
-Produced schematic design and construction documents
Projects:
Red Sea International Film Festival, JAX Offices under the Ministry of Culture, Diriyah Biennale, Art on the Move Competition, Saudi Modern Initiative
Architectural Intern
Tareg Al Yafi Engineering Consultants
-Attended workshops for digital drafting and 3D modeling
Curated conceptual design proposals
-Assisted in designing and producing architectural drawings
June 2016 - Aug 2016
Microsoft Office
Grasshopper VisualARQ Manual Skills
Hand Drafting
Physical Modeling
Laser Cutting
3D Printing Wood Work
Metal Work
Sketching
Photography CNC Milling Rubber Molding Casting Painting
Terrene Residence 01
Young Architects Competitions (YAC) - Riyadh Dream Villa
In Collaboration With: Abdullah AlRifai & Malak Hawamdeh
Professor: George Newlands
Studio: Architectural Design Studio 502, Spring 2022
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Project Type: Residential Dwelling
Terrene Residence gears itself towards a new chapter of living at the edge of Riyadh’s desert. The vastness of the empty quarter prompted an intervention that functioned as a membrane between the public context and the private space, as well as the natural and manmade.

As people who longed for deep and intimate connections to the earth, dwellers sought refuge in caves and caverns. Conceptually, the intervention’s overall composition was governed by the primitive features of its context; the natural topographic and geographic conditions.
To reinforce the notion of the primitive and the natural, a cave-like entity was carved out of the existing mountain; functioning as the central axis for a clus tered dwelling typology.
Water, sand and shade were three features that were believed to be critical in creating an intervention that is meant to recall how dwellers were able to reside in the natural.

Terrene Residence
Young Architects Competitions (YAC) - Riyadh Dream Villa


In Collaboration With: Abdullah AlRifai & Malak Hawamdeh
Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Project Type: Residential Dwelling
As people who longed for intimate connections to the earth, dwellers sought refuge in caves and caverns. Conceptually, the intervention derived from the primitive features of its context; the natural topographic and geographic conditions.


To reinforce this notion, a cave-like entity was carved out of the existing mountain. Water, sand and shade were three features that were believed to be critical in recalling the primitive and the natural.












-1.5 m 0.0 m - 0.5 m




Hydro-Tourism
Sharjah Sustainability Awards (SSA) - Sustainable Architecture Design in the Built Environment

In Collaboration With: Malak Hawamdeh
Professor: Jason Carlow
Studio: Architectural Design Studio 501, Fall 2021
Location: Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
Project Type: Hybrid Groundscaper
Water accessibility is one of the most crucial pillars of any country’s overall security, contributing to residents’ health and welfare. Water scarcity has been a primary concern for the UAE since the nation’s inception.
Aquifers and Groundwater reserves have been the primary sources of potable water in the GCC for many years; sustaining life and economic growth. With the increasing depletion of these natural sources, we must look for an alternative to uncertainty.
Drawn to the wastewater infrastructure and the plethora of possibilities it withholds in a region facing a water shortage crisis, Hydro-Tourism intends to utilize the global economy of hotel and healthcare tourism to supply and power wastewater treatment in the UAE for local food production.
Conceptually, the project was derived from a series of mapping exercises that studied water politics and interstate tensions in the GCC. As water sources cease to exist, areas equipped for agriculture begin to disintegrate. Moreover, the UAE has been marked as a hotspot for medical tourism, where nearly half a million patients are contributing 20 million Dirhams to its economy yearly.
Located in Ras Al Khaimah for its highly cultivatable and vast lands, Hydro Tourism is essentially an architectural intervention that comprises of hotel, healthcare, agriculture and wastewater treatment.

Hydro-Tourism
Sharjah Sustainability Awards (SSA) - Sustainable Architecture Design in the Built Environment

In Collaboration With: Malak Hawamdeh
Location: Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
Project Type: Hybrid Groundscaper
Aquifers and Groundwater reserves have been the primary sources of potable water in the GCC for many years; sustaining life and economic growth. With the increasing depletion of these natural sources, we must look for an alternative.
Drawn to the wastewater infrastructure and the plethora of possibilities it withholds, Hydro-Tourism intends to utilize the global economy of hotel and healthcare tourism to power wastewater treatment in the UAE for local food production.
















La Luz del Poblenou
In Collaboration With: Malak Hawamdeh
Professor: Igor Peraza Curiel
Studio: Architectural Design Studio 401, Fall 2020
Location: 22@ Barcelona, Spain
Project Type: Hybrid Building
Conceptually, La Luz del Poblenou derived from research suggesting that the Poblenou district in Catalunya was marked as a pollution blackspot by the UN in the early 2000s. The general increase in greenhouse gas emissions led to the hindrance of residents’ health and lifestyles.
La Luz’s primary intent is to emulate the narrative of 22@ Barcelona, a high ly innovative and tech-driven district, creating a building that is humanistic and ecological. This intervention prioritized the implementation of sustainable practices to compensate for the poor air quality in the region.
In order to create an intervention that is humanistic and ecological, La Luz’s facades explore the use of HMPE ropes and wire mesh to accommodate for vertical farming strategies. These inherently became a system of filtration for solar gain, noise and air pollution, as well as thermal comfort.


La Luz del Poblenou
In Collaboration With: Malak Hawamdeh
Location: 22@ Barcelona, Spain
Project Type: Hybrid Building





La Luz derived from research suggesting that the Poblenou district in Catalunya was experiencing a general increase in greenhouse gas emissions that has led to the hindrance of residents’ health and lifestyles.
The primary intent is to emulate the narrative of 22@ Barcelona, a highly innovative and tech-driven district, creating a building that is humanistic and ecological.
The facades explore the use of HMPE ropes and wire mesh to accommodate for vertical farming. These became a system of filtration for solar gain, noise and air pollution, as well as thermal comfort.


















Maggie’s Centre 04
In Collaboration With: Marina AbdelMessih Professor: Roberto Castillo
Studio: Architectural Design Studio 402, Spring 2021

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Project Type: Healthcare Center
Maggie’s Centres are a modern archetypal hybrid. They exist in relation and proximity to a hospital and offer emotional support to those suffering from or affected by cancer. The spaces designed are highly domesticated and serve as a home away from home for cancer patients and their families.
The prerogative was to design a “Maggie Center for Cancer Therapy” in the heart of Dubai’s Healthcare City, in close proximation to Rashid Hospital.
Conceptually, the project derived from the notion that there are no visually stimulating views on site, thus our primary objective was to renaturalize this urban landscape. Doing so simultaneously addressed issues of privacy, solar gain and noise pollution.
Since Maggie’s Dubai is not intended as a replacement for cancer therapy, but as a caring environment encouraging leisure and solace, programs such as; culinary therapy, hortiucultural therapy, art therapy, yoga studios, intimate reading and seating spaces, as well as a series of courtyards to dissolve the boundaries between architecture and nature were included.

Maggie’s Centre
In Collaboration With: Malak Hawamdeh

Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Project Type: Healthcare Center
The prerogative was to design a “Maggie Center for Cancer Therapy” in the heart of Dubai’s Healthcare City, in close proximation to Rashid Hospital.
Conceptually, the project derived from the notion that there are no visually stimulating views on site, thus our primary objective was to renaturalize this urban landscape.

Maggie’s Dubai is not intended as a replacement for cancer therapy, but as a caring environment encouraging leisure and solace, programs such as; culinary therapy, hortiucultural therapy, art therapy, yoga and movement studios, intimate reading and seating spaces are included.


ML ARCHITECTS
SOUTH ELEVATION
MAGGIE'S CANCER









AlZorah Coastal Institute 05
Inspireli Architecture Awards - Third Place
Professor: Cristiano Luchetti
Studio: Architectural Design Studio 302, Spring 2020
Location: Ajman, United Arab Emirates
Project Type: Research Center
The AlZorah Coastal Institute is an intervention that raises awareness to the general public about the protected wetlands, coastal ecosystems, and marine life of Ajman. Conceptually, AlZorah was derived from two existing shells that were found on site. The initial idea was to physicalize these shells and allow them to contain the programs within.

Relating to its urban context, the shell mimicked the nature of the fishnet or gargoor, a dome shaped fishing net, reflecting the ancestral heritage of the UAE. From that, the notion of architecture as a micro-city preserving the past, present, and future of Emirati tradition occurred.
AlZorah intends to foster and encourage collaboration between scientists, government officials and designers in the UAE to address issues affecting the health, sustainability and resilience of their marine life and ecosystems.
Since the intervention is situated on the extreme edge of the site, where the three conspicuous landscape entities interact (land, water, and mangroves), the ultimate objective was to establish a union with nature; creating dynamic shifts in perception.

AlZorah Coastal Institute
Inspireli Architecture Awards - Third Place

Location: Ajman, United Arab Emirates
Project Type: Research Center

AlZorah is an intervention that raises awareness to the general public about the protected wetlands, coastal ecosystems, and marine life of Ajman. Conceptually, AlZorah was derived from two shells that were found on site.


The initial idea was to physicalize these shells; mimicking the nature of the fishnet or gargoor, a fishing net that reflects the ancestral heritage of the UAE. AlZorah intends to foster and encourage scientists, government officials, and designers to address issues affecting the health, sustainability and resilience of local marine life and ecosystems.








06
School of Traditional Crafts
Professor: Marisa Isabelle Oliver Studio: Architectural Design Studio 301, Fall 2019
Location: Amman, Jordan
Project Type: Art Incubator
Located in the epicentre of Amman’s booming art district, the incubator drew inspiration from an indigenious flower that blooms south of Amman. The School of Traditional Crafts is meant to preserve, re-educate and embody the intricate nature of traditional Jordanian crafts; instilling a sense of nationalism in Jordanian youth through education.

Through site analysis, the Black Iris was recognized as the national emblem of Flora in Amman. In analyzing its nature, I was able to understand that the flower’s growth pattern essentially mimicked that of the city itself. Where they both sporadically developed in both form and size.
Through an intensive period of iterative model making, I developed a form that accentuated the Black Iris’s nature. Programatically, the incubator was meant to target Jordanian youth between the ages of 13 and 25. As its primary purpose is re-educate tradional crafts, the incubator’s program breakdown includes spaces for; glass blowing, basket weaving, pottery, embroidery, as well as mosaics and calligraphy.

School of Traditional Crafts
Location: Amman, Jordan
Project Type: Art Incubator


The School is meant to preserve, re-educate and embody the intricate nature of traditional Jordanian crafts; instilling a sense of nationalism in Jordanian youth through education.
In analyzing the Black Iris’ nature, I understood that the flower’s growth pattern essentially mimicked that of the city itself; where they both sporadically developed in both form and size.

As its primary purpose is re-educate tradional crafts, the incubator’s program breakdown includes spaces for; glass blowing, basket weaving, pottery, embroidery, as well as mosaics and calligraphy.


Things to Stand On 07
In Collaboration With: Hannah Abouzour & Sara Bokr
Professor: Faysal Tabbarah
Studio: Intro to Structures 342, Fall 2019
Location: Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Project Type: Structural Construct
The prerogative of ‘Things to Stand On’ was to design and model a structural construct at a 1-to-1 scale. The construct was meant to withstand a direct load of 80kg minimum for a total duration of one minute without comprosmising the overall form.
Thus, my partners and I opted to design and construct a model that followed a combination of a vector active and sectional active structural system. This enabled us to minmize the use of nails, bolts, and screws. Instead, elements such as; tension cables, wooden beams, notches and fasteners, were used. Finally, the project was successful in withstanding a combined load of 120kg for a total duration of over five minutes.


Things to Stand On
Location: Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Project Type: Structural Construct


The School is meant to preserve, re-educate and embody the intricate nature of traditional Jordanian crafts; instilling a sense of nationalism in Jordanian youth through education.
In analyzing the Black Iris’ nature, I understood that the flower’s growth pattern essentially mimicked that of the city itself; where they both sporadically developed in both form and size.
As its primary purpose is re-educate tradional crafts, the incubator’s program breakdown includes spaces for; glass blowing, basket weaving, pottery, embroidery, as well as mosaics and calligraphy.



