Wael Al Awar

Wael Al Awar is the founding partner of waiwai, a studio with offices in Dubai and Tokyo that specializes in architecture, landscape, urban planning, interiors, and graphic design. Al Awar’s work emphasizes sustainability and cultural relevance, integrating natural phenomena with the built environment to create spaces that engage with their surroundings and evolve alongside their inhabitants. Al Awar curated Wetland for the National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates at the International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2021, which was awarded the Golden Lion, the Biennale’s highest honor. Wetland uses recycled brine to develop sustainable cement inspired by traditional houses made with coral in the UAE. Al Awar is Creative Director of Architecture for the 2025 Bukhara Biennial in Uzbekistan and is also the architect of Bukhara’s renewed historic district.