AUS architecture alumnus Ibrahim Ibrahim navigating the confluence of design and technology

In the dynamic intersection of architectural ingenuity and cutting-edge technology, American University of Sharjah (AUS) architecture alumnus Ibrahim Ibrahim is a curious visionary exploring the future of human-computer interaction. Embracing the conviction that architects naturally harbor a capacity for innovation, Ibrahim's journey from teaching fellow in technology prototyping at Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences to Product Manager in the Emerging Technologies Experiences team at IBM Research encapsulates the evolving landscape where creativity and technology converge. 

“I believe architects possess an innate attention for innovation, an inherent ability to transcend conventional boundaries and usher in transformative ideas that not only address challenges but also envision more captivating futures. While my present pursuits are centered on software products, the influence of architectural and design thinking remains integral to my work. I am interested in ideas—whether represented in bits and bytes, or atoms—and how we turn them into scalable realities, and what these ideas mean to end-users and the environment across various industries,” said Ibrahim.

Prior to joining IBM in 2023, Ibrahim spent five semesters at Harvard collaborating with his students, employing a multidisciplinary approach that integrated computer science, design principles and digital fabrication on projects that spanned diverse domains, including climate technology, human-AI interaction, and multisensory interfaces, enabling students with the requisite technical and design acumen to design and build creative and meaningful hardware artifacts while understanding the intricate systems underpinning the tools that augment our lives.

Ibrahim graduated from AUS with a Bachelor of Architecture in 2017. While at AUS he was awarded the Sheikh Khalifa Scholarship, along with the Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award, and was a finalist in the Middle East Emergent Designer Award. In 2018, he was granted the inaugural Emaar CAAD Labs Fellowship, an experience he says was pivotal in his career, helping him find his niche and propelled deeper exploration into advanced techniques, expanding his design methodologies.

“I love to build tools that enable creative prototyping, something I discovered and honed at the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD). Presenting with a working prototype has proven to be a compelling method to convey the essence of nascent ideas. The Emaar fellowship was a spectacular opportunity—a fully funded year-long fellowship to pursue my passions under the guidance of Ammar Kalo, Associate Professor in Architecture and Director of CAAD Labs, offering me access to top-notch facilities available in the region. It served as a crucible, amalgamating my interests by delving into the theoretical and technical realms of computational design and digital fabrication to uncover a tangible and poetic research value. Ultimately deriving many prototypes and ideas from these endeavors that lasted beyond the project and were seeds to my later research work,” said Ibrahim.

The experience helped mold Ibrahim’s design philosophies, transforming his curiosity for architecture into crafting software and hardware tools that help uncover the salient complexities of the natural and built environments. In CAAD Labs, he learned to operate robotic machinery and write computer code, creating a dynamic feedback loop between simulation, tooling, and creation.

After the EMAAR Fellowship, Ibrahim moved to Los Angeles to join award-winning global architecture firm Morphosis, notably working as a member of the early design team on the Saudi Arabian giga-project “The Line”. However, he was won over by the appeal of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and enrolled in the Master of Design Studies in Mediums at Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2021.

Embarking on the post-professional track allowed him to curate his own journey, taking classes in philosophy, design theory, and entrepreneurship at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, as well as get involved in technical coursework within creative machine learning (ML) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

“I came to Harvard at a time when AI was gaining momentum, and I wanted to focus on understanding the technical dimensions of AI and how it can be harnessed and integrated into the fields of human-and-spatial centered design. Having a background in design and architecture harmoniously projected onto AI in certain occasions but a return to the study of mathematics and enhancement of programming skills was imperative in others. Finding an equilibrium between understanding the technology and its application, discerning where this technology suffices and where it is challenged culminated in my thesis Ethereal Figures: A Visualization Medium for the Immediate (atmospheric) Milieu,” said Ibrahim.

Ibrahim takes a multidisciplinary approach to research with a focus on finding ways to allow technology to influence the built environment and be influenced by it.

“At times my research relates to architecture, and sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s all within  the broader design space and utilizes design thinking. This versatility is a testament to the preparation we receive at AUS. The curriculum at CAAD allows graduates to navigate the global landscape and explore new challenges. The range of projects you traverse as a CAAD student diversifies your knowledge, so we are able to speak different design languages and stand out in many cases in how we think and execute,” he said.

Ibrahim remains connected to his alma mater and former faculty mentors at CAAD, and maintains strong relationships with his AUS classmates.

“As much as the programs are robust, the quality of exceptional CAAD faculty and the relationships we have with them is the critical ingredient to the success of the college and its students. CAAD faculty members are my friends, people who I continue to call on for advice and who really support my work. There are also the life-long friendships forged within and beyond the studio environment and through the shared challenges of the five-year architecture program. The fact that we can move anywhere in the world and have an AUSer within close proximity is very valuable,” he said.

For more information about the College of Architecture, Art and Design at American University of Sharjah, visit www.aus.edu/caad.