Vladimir Yavachev was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1973. Upon graduating from high school, he moved to New York City to study film and photography at New York University. While at university, he began working with his uncle and aunt, the late artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, with whom he has worked with for the past 30 years.

He has been involved in all of their large-scale artworks, including, The Umbrellas (USA/Japan 1991), Wrapped Reichstag (Germany 1995), Wrapped Trees (Switzerland 1998) The Gates (USA 2005), The Floating Piers (Italy 2016) and the The London Mastaba (UK 2018). He is currently working on realizing Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s L'Arc De Triomphe Wrapped in Paris scheduled for September 18 - October 3 2021.

Nizar Haddad, holder of a specialized graduate degree in architecture from the Academie Libanaise des Beaux Arts (ALBA) founded NH-Architectes in 2011.

The son of Georges Haddad, a veteran Lebanese architect renowned for being among the pioneers who introduced modern architecture to Lebanon; Nizar hopes to use the knowledge passed down to him to bridge the divide between modern man and nature in terms of his designs.

Nizar's evolving vision of architecture and his passion for nature are what have fashioned the guidelines adopted by NH-Architectes. His interest in green architecture, stemming from his respect for the natural world, grew to include techniques that promote a sustainable, self-sufficient dwelling.

Wael Al Awar founded waiwai in 2009 as the principal architect, after moving back to the Middle East from Tokyo. With interests in natural phenomena, landscape and formless diagrams of relations, Wael has a multi-disciplinary approach to design and is always looking to challenge conventional processes to push the boundaries of design. His projects layer his individual design sensibilities into an architecture of natural light, time, structure and landscape. By aligning with natural phenomena, Wael seeks to create an architecture that is more than man-made fabrication, but instead remains open to adaptation and appropriation. The spaces that emerge from his approach are site-specific provocations that encourage unexpected experiences, activities and behaviors.

waiwai is an award-winning multidisciplinary architecture, landscape, graphic and urban design studio with offices in Dubai and Tokyo.

Known for addressing the social, environmental, economical and technological aspects of architectural projects, the firm has worked on prominent cultural institutions including Dubai’s Jameel Arts Centre, Jaddaf waterfront sculpture park, Al Warqa’a mosque, Hai d3 and Jeddah’s Hayy: Creative Hub.

Formerly known as ibda design (‘start’ in Arabic), in 2019 the firm was renamed waiwai – a Japanese onomatopoeia which refers to the sound of a cheering crowd – to mark its 10-year anniversary.

Dubai and Tokyo each foster multicultural diversity, and the range of cultural backgrounds in the waiwai team inspires communication through a clear, simple and deliberate approach to architecture.

waiwai was named among the top 17 architects and top 50 influential designers of the year by Nikkei Magazine in 2019; recognized by Architectural Record's annual Design Vanguard issue as one of the top 10 emerging firms in the world in 2018; and included in Architectural Digest’s top 50 offices in the Middle East in 2017. In addition, waiwai was a Shortlisted Nominee for the Aga Khan Architecture Award in 2019.

Born in Seattle and raised in California, Kaz went on to receive a B.Arch. (Hons) from the Cornell University AAP. After a two-year collaboration with a then-startup atelier in Tokyo, he attended Harvard GSD and received his M.Arch. II (Hons) in 2011. Thereafter, he was appointed to run Harvard GSD’s Tokyo Abroad Studio with Toyo Ito. After serving as an inaugural director of space design for Takram from 2011 to 2014, Kaz founded Bureau 0–1 in 2018 where he is the Principal and CEO.

Equally committed to practice, research and education, Kaz currently serves as Studio Critic at Waseda, Lecturer at Keio (formerly Assistant Professor from 2016 to 2020), Adjunct Professor at Hosei, and Lecturer at Japan Women’s University. He has previously taught at Harvard GSD as a Design Critic in Architecture, Cornell University, Tokyo University, Nihon University College of Fine Arts, and during 2017-19 a local professor for UCLA xLAB program, in addition to lecturing at various institutions. He has also served as an advisor for various institutions, such as the Strelka Institute and Keio SFC.

He was named a Professional Member of The Japan Institute of Architects and Full Member of Architectural Institute of Japan in 2019. In 2020, he came a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, UK.

Asif Khan founded his eponymous London-based practice in 2007, which works across the fields of architecture, industrial and furniture design. It is dedicated to pushing these disciplines in innovative and unexpected directions.

In recognition of his design and delivery of the MegaFaces Pavilion at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, Asif was awarded a Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Innovation. This is the first time the panel have awarded the prestigious prize to an architecture studio or a Russian project.

In 2010, Asif was the first architect to be chosen for the Designers in Residence programme at the Design Museum London and was awarded Designer of the Future in 2011 by Design Miami. Asif lectures globally on his work and in the past has spoken at Harvard University, The Royal Academy, London, India Design Forum and Design Indaba in Cape Town.

Asif was born in South London and studied architecture at The Bartlett School, University College London. In 2004 he graduated as the best student in the faculty, was awarded the Donaldson medal and received a full scholarship for further study at the Architectural Association.

Ammar Kalo teaches advanced studios and elective courses, as well as being the Director of Labs at CAAD. His work interrogates the relationship between digital technology and traditional craft, blending conventional material processes with advanced digital fabrication methods. In October 2015, Harper's Bazaar Interiors awarded him the Emerging Designer award during the inaugural Dubai Design Week. In 2016, the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York acquired two pieces, Stratum and N-bowl, for its permanent collection.

Starting on October 14, Bee’ah’s Recycled Architecture Virtual Series will bring a fresh weekly discussion over six weeks with renowned and inspiring figures, to explore sustainability in architecture and design.

For those who are unfamiliar with Bee’ah, we are the Middle East’s sustainability pioneer based in the UAE. Across our ventures and projects, we are guided by our twin-pillared strategy – sustainability and digitalization. Our new Headquarters embodies this ethos and will set a benchmark for smart and sustainable buildings of the future. Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the Bee’ah Headquarters is an architectural marvel mirroring its surrounding sand dunes to blend into the natural desert landscape. It is also a LEED Platinum building, powered by renewable energy and employs the highest standards of sustainable practices.

At Bee’ah, we are keenly interested in investigating modes of recycled materials and sustainability principles that can be applied to architecture and design. We strongly believe that the acceleration of a circular economy here in the UAE will enable us to lead a more sustainable quality of life. I hope that from these series of discussions, our audience will be leave inspired and motivated to consider principles of sustainability in their respective practices.
Thank you.