Six Degrees showcases outstanding work by graduating AUS designers and architects

Exciting, original work by graduating students of the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) at American University of Sharjah (AUS) went on display at Dubai Design District (d3) yesterday, May 13. The exhibition, entitled Six Degrees, comprises creative work by around 100 students graduating in the five undergraduate disciplines offered at CAAD, namely architecture, interior design, visual communication, multimedia design, and design management, as well as the graduate program in urban planning. During an associated ceremony, the college also presented awards to 15 outstanding students and faculty for their work done during the academic year.

Attended by a large number of industry representatives and members of the various creative communities in the Emirates, the annual exhibition provides an opportunity for professionals to interact with CAAD graduates and their work. 

Speaking about the occasion, Dr. Varkki Pallathucheril, Dean of CAAD, said:

“It’s always a delight to participate in this celebration of outstanding creative work. I congratulate our soon-to-be graduates, and I especially thank their parents and my faculty colleagues for the key role they played in this success. I am deeply grateful to d3 for their invaluable sponsorship of this event. Other external sponsors of our students’ learning—such as Ithra Dubai, Dubai Metal Industries, and RSP—joined us at the event. The high-quality design education we deliver is the combined efforts of a variety of contributors.”

CAAD is known for the high quality and variety of the work it produces and the exhibition reinforces that reputation. Among the projects displayed was Mariam AlZayani’s fascinating submission A to G. Al Zayani, who is graduating from the visual communication program, explained her project:

"My project stemmed from my interest in both music and design. I was curious to discover ways that music and design could overlap, and hence I decided to create a notational system that a) visualizes music by developing a color-chord relationship, and b) reveals the ‘color’ of a song and consequently, the emotions behind it. My aim was to make reading music easier to learn by re-association and to reveal that a song may not look the way it sounds, which is important when we think about the potential applications that this notational system could have in the future."

Graduating with a degree in architecture, Hadia Hanan reflected on the importance of the exhibition and of her time at CAAD and said:

“CAAD has taught me much more than simply drawing or modeling – it has taught me that the process of making pushes us to discover and sometimes re-discover what architecture is.  I will always be grateful for getting the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest mentors and to discover new things even about myself.

“Six Degrees is held every year to honor CAAD graduates and provides us with a great opportunity to exhibit our projects as well as to interact and communicate. It also makes us reflect on our work over the past five years. It feels good to see the accumulation of our hard work being exhibited for me personally along with the rest of my peers.”

The evening also saw students and faculty being recognized at the 2018 CAAD Awards ceremony. The “Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence” was presented to seven students: Hadia Hanan – architecture; Priyanka Soni – interior design; Mayar Mohammed Sabea – multimedia design; Lana Hasan Alabdulrazzak – multimedia design; Nora Ashraf Zeid – visual communication; Jasmine AlDameary – design management; and Esraa Kamal Ali – urban planning (master’s program). 

Six students received the “Motivation + Attitude + Dedication (aka, MAD) Award.” These were: Mohamed Maged Rowaizak – architecture; Rima Fouad Chalha – interior design; Ahmed Tarek Geaissa – multimedia design; Nora Ashraf Zeid – visual communication; Marwa Magdi Ibrahim – design management; and Sultan Abdelsamad AlHammadi – urban planning (master’s program).  

Sara Haitham Helaweh was presented with the “Dean’s Service Award.” Riem Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Art and Design, received the “Excellence in Teaching Award” for this year.

This year, for the first time, CAAD awarded the RSP Drawing Award. Sponsored by RSP, the global design practice, this award recognizes an outstanding drawing by a student in the architecture or interior design program. Out of 44 entries received, 15 were sent to RSP, where eight were shortlisted and a winning entry selected. The winning entry was jointly created by Nada Abdelnabi and Hadia Hanan.

Throughout the region, AUS has a reputation of producing highly sought-after graduates. It is no surprise, therefore, that CAAD graduates have gone on to excel in their chosen professions, winning laurels and pursuing further education at some of the finest universities in the world.

Six Degrees runs from May 13—15.