nour hamade
nour is an interdisciplinary architectural designer based in london.
I am a recent graduate of the MArch (part II) Diploma course at the Architectural Association (AA) in London, with my final thesis project “Sex, Ruin(s) & (3rd) Space,” exploring the design of Third Space(s) in Beirut, Lebanon - where the legitimacy of the ‘other’ is somewhat ambiguous. I have a diverse interest in the multiple scales of the arts, ranging from the most intimate of objects, to the vast designing of spaces and cities. Within my architectural work, I have always had a specific interest in the acts of curating and archiving - applying that to most of my work - and dealing with ruins and heritage, where I believe that the most sustainable practice of improving our cities is with the act of care - both for its fabric and its inhabitants. As a designer, I find myself captivated by the ways in which things are perceived and used; I do not think of designing functions, but I create spaces in which each autonomous individual is capable of making their own.
Originally Lebanese, I have a distinct admiration for the way architecture shapes a city. Beirut, once a city of rubble after the 1975- civil war, was completely rebuilt from the foundations up and now stands as one of the most architecturally progressed cities of the mena region. Being born and raised in the desert of Saudi Arabia, I was accustomed to an entirely different method of design. The severity of climate and social and political injustices demonstrated how design was influenced to allow the physical and cultural ethos of the country to be served, limiting certain perspectives of the ‘other’ and their spatial implications. Growing up in such greatly impacted my ambitions in forcing change - I found myself becoming an insurgent. Since moving to the UK six years ago, I have found a place that more closely aligns with my social and political beliefs, and a place that would allow me to investigate the interactions between spatial and social constellations rooting from different cultural histories.