After the success of the inaugural RIBA Gulf live lunch talk, join us on 25 February 2021, 1:00pm GST (9am - 10am GMT) for the second session of 2021.
This exclusive lecture is by Mouaz Abouaid, the founder and design principal of Dubai's Verform design studio.
Standing at the heart of Dubai, a desert city renowned for its pioneering vertical skyscrapers, X-Space sets out a new vision - that of the horizontal landscraper. As a nature and human oriented urban greenway, X-Space aims to provide connectivity to one of the world’s great metropolises. This public recreational, cultural, and communal space links the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, with the new Museum of the Future. At the epicentre of urban life and architecture, it runs atop Dubai’s major thoroughfare, Sheikh Zayed Road, converging into a tunnel underneath the urban greenway.
X-Space lends itself as the lungs for a city looking to cut its carbon footprint. Inspired by the sand which frequently sweeps across the highways of the United Arab Emirates, X-Space creates the opposite visual effect by covering itself in natural flora. Taking into account how the car in Dubai has long been regarded as king, X-Space further fosters the human experience by allowing walking amongst nature not often found in the urban city.
Grab your lunch and join in with this incredible talk to expand your knowledge and interact with Mouaz Abouzaid.
About Mouaz Abouzaid
Mouaz Abouzaid is the founder and design principal of Dubai's Verform design studio architecture, urbanism, design and research.
Abouzaid was appointed curator for the Egyptian National Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Other accolades include finalist in the Mohamed Makiya prize known as the Middle Eastern Architectural Personality of the Year Award and The World Architecture Festival, both overall award and first place in the Smart Cities category, for his 2019 X-Space project. The previous year, at the same event, his Sheltainer design won the Ethics and Value category and Middle East Architect’s Concept of the Year. For the last four years, Abouzaid has been included in the 50 most influential architects in the Middle East.
About RIBA Gulf live lunch talks
The RIBA Gulf Live Lunch Talks are designed to share and expand knowledge on projects from across the Gulf and promote interactive conversation with leading architects over your lunch break. These events highlight voices from across the Gulf to delve deeper into their projects and highlight various views from across the Gulf while hosting a live Q&A session with the audience.
