Film | Sound | Performance
Essays
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2022-2024
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
Master of Science in Architecture Studies (SMArchS) - Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
2016-2021
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Bachelor of Architecture, with High Distinction
Minors in Philosophy and Art History
2001-2016
International College, Beirut, Lebanon
Lebanese Baccalaureate in General Sciences, with Distinction
2008-2017
Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music
Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance
Exhibitions
July 2024
“Spectacles of the Sacred”, Kunsthaus Graz, Austria
Collaboration with MIT’s Head of Art, Culture and Technology Program Professor Azra Akšamija in designing and fabricating a large scale window installation titled “Spectacles of the Sacred” which was commissioned for Professor Akšamija’s solo exhibition Sanctuary.
May 2024
“Traveling Laundry Line”, MIT Museum
Invited to screen short film “Traveling Laundry Line” (2024) with collaborators Juan M Chavez and Hajar Alrifai
May 2024
“Traveling Laundry Line”, ACT Student Art Gallery, MIT
Screening short film “Traveling Laundry Line” (2024) with collaborators Juan M Chavez and Hajar Alrifai as a part of an Independent Study supervised by Professor Nida Sinnokrot
April 2024
“Sonic Beirut, Displaced: Stitching Transboundary Soundscapes”, List Visual Arts Center, MIT
Invited to exhibit my multichannel sound installation Sonic Beirut, Displaced: Stitching Transboundary Soundscapes as a part of my graduate student talk
2019
Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (SBAU), Korea
Part of Global Studio - Collective Infrastructure and Post-Domestic City, presenting my design project “Nest Box”, an affordable housing proposal on an ‘unbuildable’ plot of Beirut, as a part of the “Invisible Plots” studio in AUB
Conferences and TalksApril 2024
Graduate Student Talk at the List Visual Arts Center, MIT
Invited to give a graduate student talk presenting my research on sonic violence and parafictional archives in conversation with artists Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abu-Rahme’s exhibition Only Sounds that Tremble Through Us
Feb 2024
Alternative Career Paths Symposium, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Invited to give a talk for Future Architects of the Middle East (FAME) presenting my practice and academic journey on the panel ‘Academia and Doctorate Studies’
Feb 2024
International Conference on Film Studies, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
Presenter on the panel ‘Identity and Otherness in Film’ at the London Center for Interdisciplinary Research; presenting my paper A Reading of Red: Revealing Textures in Cinema Fouad
Nov 2023
Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA), Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada
Presenter on the panel ‘Acoustic Ecologies of the Middle East: Current Conditions and Prospects’; presenting my paper Sonic Beirut, Displaced: Stitching Transboundary Soundscapes
Academic ExperienceFeb-May 2024
Research Assistant, MIT
Design and fabrication of an art piece titled “Spectacles of the Sacred” (2024) exhibited at the Kunsthaus Graz as a part of Professor Azra Akšamija’s retrospective exhibition.
AKPIA Lecture Series poster designer and social media master
Sep 2023-Jan 2024
Research Assistant, MIT
Design and research work with Professor Azra Akšamija on a competition for a school-yard installation project in Germany; and a cross-stitch embroidery design project consolidating textile traditions along the Silk Road
AKPIA Lecture Series poster designer and social media master
Feb-May 2023
Research Assistant, Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism, MIT
Research on the Living Heritage Atlas of Beirut, interviews with craftsmen in the port area of Beirut, research and writing for 2 forthcoming publications for the journals Change over Time and The International Journal of Cartography
Sep-Dec 2022
Research Assistant, MIT
Editorial work with Professor Azra Akšamija on her upcoming book on performative preservation
June 2021-Jan 2022
Research Assistant and Consultant, MIT LCAU, AUB Beirut Urban Lab; Dar
‘Recovering Beirut’s Inclusive Neighborhoods: The Case of the Port-Facing Hill’
Professional Experience
June-Sep 2024
Curatorial & Exhibition Intern, Cordova World, Barcelona, Spain
2021-2022
Junior Architect, L.E.FT Architects, Beirut, Lebanon
2020
Architectural intern, L.E.FT Architects, Beirut Lebanon
2019
Architectural intern, Dar, Kuwait
2019
Architectural intern, Wissam Maroun Architects, Beirut, Lebanon
Awards and Honors
2023
Aga Khan Conference Grant, MIT
$500, given for the 2023 MESA Conference
2023
Avalon Conference Travel Grant, MIT
$600, given for the 2023 MESA Conference
2023
Aga Khan Travel Grant, MIT
$2000, given for thesis research in Beirut, Lebanon
2022-2024
Fellowship, Aga Khan, MIT
Full scholarship across 2 academic years of graduate school in MIT’s Department of Architecture
2022-2024
Research Assistanship, Aga Khan, MIT
Full scholarship cross 2 academic years of graduate school in MIT’s Department of Architecture
2021
First Rank Honor in the Field of Architecture, AUB
2020
First Prize Recipient of the Fawzi W. Azar Award, AUB
$2000, in-department architecture competition
Professional Affiliations
Order of Engineers and Architects of Beirut, Lebanon
Syndicate member
Languages
2022-2024
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
Master of Science in Architecture Studies (SMArchS) - Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture
2016-2021
American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Bachelor of Architecture, with High Distinction
Minors in Philosophy and Art History
2001-2016
International College, Beirut, Lebanon
Lebanese Baccalaureate in General Sciences, with Distinction
2008-2017
Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music
Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance
Exhibitions
July 2024
“Spectacles of the Sacred”, Kunsthaus Graz, Austria
Collaboration with MIT’s Head of Art, Culture and Technology Program Professor Azra Akšamija in designing and fabricating a large scale window installation titled “Spectacles of the Sacred” which was commissioned for Professor Akšamija’s solo exhibition Sanctuary.
May 2024
“Traveling Laundry Line”, MIT Museum
Invited to screen short film “Traveling Laundry Line” (2024) with collaborators Juan M Chavez and Hajar Alrifai
May 2024
“Traveling Laundry Line”, ACT Student Art Gallery, MIT
Screening short film “Traveling Laundry Line” (2024) with collaborators Juan M Chavez and Hajar Alrifai as a part of an Independent Study supervised by Professor Nida Sinnokrot
April 2024
“Sonic Beirut, Displaced: Stitching Transboundary Soundscapes”, List Visual Arts Center, MIT
Invited to exhibit my multichannel sound installation Sonic Beirut, Displaced: Stitching Transboundary Soundscapes as a part of my graduate student talk
2019
Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (SBAU), Korea
Part of Global Studio - Collective Infrastructure and Post-Domestic City, presenting my design project “Nest Box”, an affordable housing proposal on an ‘unbuildable’ plot of Beirut, as a part of the “Invisible Plots” studio in AUB
Conferences and Talks
April 2024
Graduate Student Talk at the List Visual Arts Center, MIT
Invited to give a graduate student talk presenting my research on sonic violence and parafictional archives in conversation with artists Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abu-Rahme’s exhibition Only Sounds that Tremble Through Us
Feb 2024
Alternative Career Paths Symposium, Harvard Graduate School of Design
Invited to give a talk for Future Architects of the Middle East (FAME) presenting my practice and academic journey on the panel ‘Academia and Doctorate Studies’
Feb 2024
International Conference on Film Studies, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
Presenter on the panel ‘Identity and Otherness in Film’ at the London Center for Interdisciplinary Research; presenting my paper A Reading of Red: Revealing Textures in Cinema Fouad
Nov 2023
Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA), Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada
Presenter on the panel ‘Acoustic Ecologies of the Middle East: Current Conditions and Prospects’; presenting my paper Sonic Beirut, Displaced: Stitching Transboundary Soundscapes
Academic Experience
Feb-May 2024
Research Assistant, MIT
Design and fabrication of an art piece titled “Spectacles of the Sacred” (2024) exhibited at the Kunsthaus Graz as a part of Professor Azra Akšamija’s retrospective exhibition.
AKPIA Lecture Series poster designer and social media master
Sep 2023-Jan 2024
Research Assistant, MIT
Design and research work with Professor Azra Akšamija on a competition for a school-yard installation project in Germany; and a cross-stitch embroidery design project consolidating textile traditions along the Silk Road
AKPIA Lecture Series poster designer and social media master
Feb-May 2023
Research Assistant, Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism, MIT
Research on the Living Heritage Atlas of Beirut, interviews with craftsmen in the port area of Beirut, research and writing for 2 forthcoming publications for the journals Change over Time and The International Journal of Cartography
Sep-Dec 2022
Research Assistant, MIT
Editorial work with Professor Azra Akšamija on her upcoming book on performative preservation
June 2021-Jan 2022
Research Assistant and Consultant, MIT LCAU, AUB Beirut Urban Lab; Dar
‘Recovering Beirut’s Inclusive Neighborhoods: The Case of the Port-Facing Hill’
Professional Experience
June-Sep 2024
Curatorial & Exhibition Intern, Cordova World, Barcelona, Spain
2021-2022
Junior Architect, L.E.FT Architects, Beirut, Lebanon
2020
Architectural intern, L.E.FT Architects, Beirut Lebanon
2019
Architectural intern, Dar, Kuwait
2019
Architectural intern, Wissam Maroun Architects, Beirut, Lebanon
Awards and Honors
2023
Aga Khan Conference Grant, MIT
$500, given for the 2023 MESA Conference
2023
Avalon Conference Travel Grant, MIT
$600, given for the 2023 MESA Conference
2023
Aga Khan Travel Grant, MIT
$2000, given for thesis research in Beirut, Lebanon
2022-2024
Fellowship, Aga Khan, MIT
Full scholarship across 2 academic years of graduate school in MIT’s Department of Architecture
2022-2024
Research Assistanship, Aga Khan, MIT
Full scholarship cross 2 academic years of graduate school in MIT’s Department of Architecture
2021
First Rank Honor in the Field of Architecture, AUB
2020
First Prize Recipient of the Fawzi W. Azar Award, AUB
$2000, in-department architecture competition
Professional Affiliations
Order of Engineers and Architects of Beirut, Lebanon
Syndicate member
Languages