Monday, November 15, 2021: The Faculty of Architecture and Interior Design (FAID) held the first Industry Talk of the semester entitled “Concept & Paper to Fit-Out" with Ms. Sara Ali, Project Director, HBA on Wednesday, November 3, 2021. She was joined by Ms. Haziyah Selamat, Senior Designer, HBA, and Ms. Alyana Makhlouf, Graduate of Interior Design, Canadian University Dubai (CUD).
The event took place at CUD’s Al Bada’a Campus but was accessible to participants online. Topics of discussion included hospitality design, the design process, cultural aspects of Dubai that can influence interior design, as well as hospitality business and interior design responses. She also went through examples of the projects HBA was doing.
During the session, Ms. Sara encouraged students to do what they love, stating: “Do not be afraid to take risks. It's important to have a strong narrative and story to tell.”
Over the past 10 years, Ms. Sara has been doing just that, working successfully in hospitality interior design for luxury hotel brands. Her passion is to create unique, sophisticated designs reflecting her client’s vision and needs. She thrives to create a story behind the design, creating an experience, and expressing the identity for each project. She is currently working on different projects, tasks, responsibilities, and scales starting from the concept stage to completion. She holds an Architectural Bachelor’s Degree from Helwan University in Egypt (2009) and a Master’s Degree in Interior Degree from Interior Design Florence in Italy (2013).
Dr. Mini Suresh, Head of Interior Design, Canadian University Dubai added: “To all aspiring designers and design students who have already started their journey, always remember not to be afraid of making mistakes as you assimilate the knowledge and skills of creativity. We create our own stories and it is through the mistakes we make that we create rich stories in design.”
The Faculty of Architecture and Interior Design at CUD provides students with the knowledge and tools necessary to become change-makers within the industry. The unique studio experience is central to the teaching model and challenges students to translate the classroom experience into practice through innovative design and entrepreneurial ideas. With the fast-paced evolution of architecture, interior design, and sustainability, students are encouraged to critically analyze situations and develop unique design solutions, while acknowledging the human relationship to plan and design with empathy and responsibility.
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