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Samer El Sayary

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Samer El Sayary

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Faculty of Architecture - Design And Built Environment

s.sayary@bau.edu.lb

07 985080 Ex: 3236

Debbieh

Samer El Sayary

Assistant Professor in Architecture

Dr. Samer El Sayary

Assistant Professor of Architecture | Researcher | Award-Winning Architect

Dr. Samer El Sayary is an Assistant Professor of Architecture, researcher, and internationally recognized, award-winning architect with a specialized focus on outer space architecture and extreme environments.

He graduated in 2001 as valedictorian, ranking first in his class with honors. Since then, he has built a distinguished academic and professional career, earning 53 national and international awards and prizes (as of 2025) across five continents. Notable recognitions include:

  • First Prize, Mars City Design Foundation, Los Angeles (2017)

  • Jacques Rougerie Foundation Awards, Paris (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2025)

  • Kuala Lumpur International Architectural Festival, Malaysia (2019)

  • First Prize, Mediterranean Scientific Forum “MEDIBAT”, Tunisia (2011)

  • Hassan Fathy Award for Sustainable Architecture, Egypt (2011, 2013)

  • Honored by the Society of Egyptian Architects (SEA) in 2017 as one of the Top 100 Architects of the Last 100 Years in Egypt

Dr. El Sayary’s work has been exhibited internationally at prestigious venues, including NASA Johnson Space Center (Houston, USA, 2019), United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) (2021), International Astronautical Congress (IAC) (Paris 2016 and 75th IAC 2024), MedCOP21 (France, 2015), as well as exhibitions in Greece, Tunisia, Egypt, Malaysia, and other countries.

His projects and research have been widely featured in international media and professional publications, including Discovery Channel UK, Dutch television, Wired Magazine, L’Arca, Architecture d’Aujourd’hui (Special Edition 2021), FIABCI, Designboom, ArchDaily, Universe Today, SpaceArchitect.org, and others.

Dr. El Sayary is a frequent invited speaker and has delivered public lectures and keynote addresses at leading institutions and platforms worldwide, including AIAA LA/LV, Forbes Middle East, TEDx BAU, IdeaXme UK, Digital Futures, Crew Central Asia, and multiple television networks. To date, he has delivered over 100 keynote talks and public lectures across five continents and participated in television interviews in seven countries.

Academically, he has published numerous scientific papers in Q1-ranked journals and reputable international conferences, successfully translating award-winning design work into peer-reviewed research outputs.

In addition to his academic and professional practice, Dr. El Sayary has served as:

  • Jury member for international architecture and design competitions, including Mars Society Colonies Competition (2020), IDS Cairo (2020), and BIM Africa Awards (2021)

  • Mars City Design Ambassador, USA (2017–2020)

  • Lead Junior Ambassador, Jacques Rougerie Foundation, France (since 2019)

  • IdeaXme Ambassador, UK (since 2021)

  • Ambassador for the Institute of Civilizational Rights, (USA) , (since 2021)

  • Global Ambassadors of Sustainability (GAoS) (Canada), (2026)

  • Autodesk Certified Instructor in Digital Design and BIM (since 2012)

He has also conducted and led specialized workshops and training programs in 13 countries over the past 24 years, contributing significantly to architectural education, innovation, and interdisciplinary research worldwide.

Awards and Honors

 

 

 

Awards & Honours

 

Moon Village Association
  • Special Award for Lunar market 2025, Moon village association. Turin, Italy

Jaques Rougerie foundation
  • Grand Prize, Lab speciality, Competition 2025 space architecture.

University of Adelaide’s Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources (ATCSR)
  • Third Award prize, Australian Space Architecture Challenge (ASAC) 2025 sponsored by Australian Space Agency

Torres Orbital Mining, Moon Village

Association, ASME DFW and Born Global
  • Third prize award, Lunar futures contest, a global art & design challenge for sustainable mining on the moon

Moon Village Association
  • Promoted to be one of the Top 7 projects in the First Phase  in the 4th Promo Moon initiative, 2025

Jaques Rougerie foundation
  • Special mention , Jacques Rougerie Fondation Competition 2024 space architecture.

Moon Village Association
  • Special Award for Lunar Sustainability, Moon village association through Luxembourgh space week

University of Adelaide’s Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources (ATCSR)
  • Third Award prize, Australian Space Architecture Challenge (ASAC) 2024 sponsored by Australian Space Agency

 

NonArchitecture.eu
  • Honorable mention, AI museum. 2024

NonArchitecture.eu
  • Honorable mention, Villa on Moon. 2024

Stelsi Metaverse Competition
  • Grand prize winner in the 1st metaverse competition, 2023

Moon Village Association
  • Winner in the 2nd Promo Moon initiative, 2023

Jaques Rougerie foundation, Grand Prize award
  • Jacques Rougerie Fondation Competition 2022 space architecture, (Mars Reefs)

The Federation of Arab business pioneers
  • Globe supreme magnitude award (VIP Category), Cairo 2022

Alliance for Humanitarian Architecture, Honorable Prize

LYX Iconic Villa International Competition, Honorable Prize
  • Alliance for Humanitarian Architecture, Refugees shelter, Japan 2021

 

  • LYX Iconic Villa for Designing UAE Mars Habitat 2117

Cairo Construction Hub, Second Prize
  • Cairo Construction Hub for Sustainable architecture.

VinFast International (Consolation award) 

  • Vinfast global showroom design competition 2021 (vfdc 2021)

 

Moon Society, Special Mention
  • Moon society international competition for Moon base 2021, Special mention for lunar habitat design.

V-Art digital platform, Ukraine
  • TAtchers’ ART Management for Digital art of space art exhibiting artist.

Jaques Rougerie foundation, Special Focus award
  • Jacques Rougerie Fondation Competition 2020 space architecture, (Lunar Village)

Mars Society 2020 Convention First prize Poster contest
  • Mars Society convention 2020.

Abdullatif Al Fozan Award for Mosque Architecture
  • Honorable Prize for designing the Holder of the Qur’an.

Jaques Rougerie foundation, Finalist & Shortlisted
  • Jacques Rougerie Fondation Competition 2019 space architecture.

 

Bayet Al Mimar Al Masry, First Prize
  • Sustainable Houses through Enneagram Competition in St. Catherine, Cairo 2019

KualaLumpur Architectural Festival 2019 (KLAF), Third Prize
  • First Mars Colony space architecture.

Jaques Rougerie foundation, Special Focus award
  • Jacques Rougerie Fondation Competition 2018 space architecture, (Lunar Village)

Jaques Rougerie foundation, Finalist & Shortlisted
  • Jacques Rougerie Fondation Competition 2017 space architecture

Society of Egyptian Architects (S.E.A)
  • Honored and awarded among 100 best architects in Egypt in the last 100 year.

Mars City Design

Energy Category, First prize
  • Mars City Design Foundation 2017 (1st Prize, Energy Category)

Jaques Rougerie foundation, Coup de Couer Award
  • Jacques Rougerie Fondation Competition 2016 space architecture, 2016

MOHA Research Center and ‘Sheltering Humanity’, Special mention
  • Accordion Shelter’ Sheltering Humanity:Emergency-hosting proposals for people in the Mediterranean Sea,MOHA Research Center and ‘Sheltering Humanity’

Jaques Rougerie foundation, Finalist & Shortlisted
  • Jacques Rougerie Fondation Competition 2015 space architecture, Over 2400 project from 96 countries, 2015

Hope and work olympics  third prize competition
  • Egyptian Syndicate of Engineers 2015.

(Agence des Ville et Territoires Méditerranéens Durables (AViTeM))

  • Medcop21 Nomination and Selection to be showcased in Marseille, France 2015 Conference, June 2015

Egypt Building Show Expo, Cairo2015
  • Nominated to be one of the top Egyptian architects, June 2015

EcoHouse First prize Competition
  • Arab Academy of science and technology, 2014

German chamber of commerce
  • Full scholarship Award for 2 weeks for green construction vocational training in Germany 2014

Hassan Fathy award 2013

Interior design Award
  • Honorable award, Bibliotheca Alexandrina Award, (Juried by Aghakhan chairman) 2013

ArcBazar Honourable prize
  • Newyork Clinic design, Arcbazar, 2013

ArcBazar Honourable prize
  • Arizona House retreat, Arcbazar, 2011

Outer space architecture honourable award
  • Moon Capital Habitat, Architectural Revolution, 2013

Medibat Scientific award
  • Medibat Scientific forum,Sfax, Tunisia, 2013

Hassan Fathy 2011

Architecture Award
  • Honorable award, Bibliotheca Alexandrina Award, (Juried by Aghakhan chairman) 2012

FABLAB Cairo honourable award
  • Ramadan Lantern industrial design competition, FabLab Cairo 2012

DesignBoom, Shortlisted Mention

Magaz honorable mention
  • Future school competition, Magaz magazine competition,2009

Lazurdi Gold design award
  • Nominated from Best 100 Gold designers in middle east, Gold world council with Hammer group, 2008

AOM (artist of the month)

Urban Enhancement center award

 

Image of the month
  • Aesthetical solutions for Egypt's facades, Urban Enhancement center with collaboration with Al Beet magazine, 2007
  • www.3dsharp.com,  January 2007

DesignBoom, Shortlisted Mention

Al Benna Al Araby second prize
  • Enhancing the Urban life of the Maxx area, Al Benna Al Araby Architectural magazine, 2006

Cairo University honourable mention
  • Ideal Egyptian House, Cairo University, 2005

Ain Shams University honorary prize
  • Future architecture 2100, Ain shams University, 2005

Tasmeem second prize
  • Mobile library unit, Tasmeem Architectural magazine, 2002

American University of Sharja honorary prize
  • International Architecture Student Competition on “Architecture and the Sustainability Challenge”, American university in Sharjah,2001

 Medina first prize

  • Smart village ideas competition, Medina Architectural magazine, 2001

Medina first prize

  • Furniture design competition, Medina Architectural magazine, 2000

Farsy Award
  • First position on Department of Architecture, Alexandria University, 1998

 

 

Press and Media coverage

  • Nusf Addunia Magazine, December 2023
  • AlAhram Journal, August,2001
  • Medina magazine, 2001
  • Tasmeem magazine, February 2002
  • AUS NEWS, The news letter of American University of Sharjah
    December 2002,Volume 4, Issue 1
  • Al Benaa Al Saudi magazine,22nd year, Issue 148,December 2002
  • Al Beet magazine ISSUE 78, 7th year, 2006
  • Al Benaa Al Araby, Issue 7 October 2006, 2010, 2011
  • Al Benaa Al Araby, 2010, 2011
  • Magaz design magazine 205 , December/January 2010, page.68
  • The Architecture magazine, Issue 11, August/September,2010
  • AlAhram Journal, December,2012
  • AlAhram Journal, December,2014
  • Bibliothecae Alexandrina formal 2012 award publication
  • Egyptian newspaper (Al Masry Al yom) for winning the Focus Prize 2018.
  • Russia Today (RT) online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018.
  • Al Ghad TV online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018.
  • EgyKwt  online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018
  • Syria-24 online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018
  • Akhbarak.net online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018.
  • Al Bahrain Today online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018.
  • Egypt Today online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018.
  • Elgornal online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018.
  • Oman Today online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018.
  • Al Maghrib Today online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018.
  • Al Yemen Today online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018.
  • Rosa El Youssef online press for winning the Focus Prize 2018.
  • 2020 Featured in the prestigious Space and science website; Universtoday.com.

 

Research

 

  • THE RESILIENCE PRINCIPLES OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN LIGHT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND POST-PANDEMIC ERA,

BOOK II – Resilience vs. Pandemics: Innovations in Public Places and Buildings, under the Springer’s Urban Sustainability Book Series., Omar Osama, & El Sayary Samer, (2023), P.p 137-152

 

 

  • IMPACT OF BIM ON BUILDING DESIGN QUALITY

BAU Journal-Creative Sustainable Development (2019), K Sadek, R Raslan, I El-Bastawissi, S Sayary

 

  • LUNAR OASIS, Scientific poster, UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF SPACE AFFAIRS

https://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/WSF/2021/Posters/Samer_El_Sayary_-_Lunar_Oasis_-_Green_Moon_Settlement.pdf

 

  • DESIGNING A BIM ENERGY-CONSUMPTION TEMPLATE TO CALCULATE AND ACHIEVE A NET-ZERO-ENERGY HOUSE

Q1 Journal of Solar Energy, Volume 216, 1 March 2021, Pages 315-320, Opensource on sciencedirect.

Author(s): El Sayary, Samer; Ossama, Omar, Faculty of Architectural Engineering, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon.​

 

  • USING TIME AS A SUSTAINABLE TOOL TO CONTROL DAYLIGHT IN SPACE: CREATING THE CHRONOFORM

ASCAAD 2016, Parametricism Vs. Materialism: Evolution of digital technologies for development, At SOAS University of London, London, November 2016

Author(s): El Sayary, Samer

 

  • ADDING TIME DIMENSION AS A SHAPING PARAMETER OF ARCHITECTURAL FORM (CHRONO FORM)

Parallelism in Architecture, Environment And Computing Techniques, (PACT),ISSN: 5760-1744, At University of East London (UEL), London, September 2016

Author(s): El Sayary, Samer​

 

  • ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE ADAPTIVE REUSE IN ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STUDIO USING ENVIRONMENTAL SIMULATION

COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION IN ENGINEERING 10th World Congress on Engineering Education “Engineering Education for Sustainable Development” November 29 – 30, 2015 Beirut, LEBANON

Author(s): Hiba Mohsen, Samer El Sayary, Faculty of Architectural Engineering, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon.

 

  • THINKING COURTYARD HOUSING: DEVELOPMENT OF TRADITIONAL ISLAMIC COURTHOUSES INTO ZERO-ENERGY BUILDINGS

World Sustainable Built Environment Conference 2017 Hong Kong, At Hong Kong, Volume: Conference Proceeding, June 2017

Author(s): El Sayary, Samer; Ossama, Omar, Faculty of Architectural Engineering, Beirut Arab University, Lebanon.​

 

  • RE-THINKING BLOOM'S TAXONOMY BY INTEGRATING DIGITAL SIMULATION IN PRAGMATIC ARCHITECTURAL EDUCATION

Architecture and planning journal - special edition:
the 1st international conference 'rethinking architectural education' march – 2016
theme i: innovative pedagogical frameworks
faculty of architectural engineering, beirut arab university, lebanon

Author(s): Samer El Sayary , Hiba Mohsen& Lamis Mantash., Faculty of Architectural Engineering, Beirut Arab University

 

  • SENSING THE CITY: MAPPING OF BEIRUT CENTRAL DISTRICT THROUGH PHYSIOLOGICAL EMOTIONS

International Conference ‘Between Data and Senses; Architecture, Neuroscience and the Digital Worlds’. 23-24 March 2017, London. Organised by UEL, supported by RIBA, ARUP and the Museum of Architecture

Author(s): Ghosh, Roua.; El Sayary, Samer

 

  • HUMAN SOCIAL BEHAVIOR IN PUBLIC URBAN SPACES: TOWARDS HIGHER QUALITY CITIES.

Spaces & Flows: An International Journal of Urban & Extra Urban Studies . 2013, Vol. 3 Issue 2, p23-35. 13p.

Author(s): Hanafi, Israa; El Araby, Moustafa; Al-Hagla, Khalid S.; El Sayary, Samer

 

  • “ADVANCED COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ARCHITECTURE”
    Three-dimensional Mental Space model mapping into a 3D Virtual Environment    ​.

PhD Thesis, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, 2011

 

  • “ANALOGY BETWEEN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS AND PHYSICAL ARCHITECTURE”
    Wayfinding in cyberspace Architecture.

Master Thesis, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, 2006

Teaching statement

Teaching Philosophy Statement

My teaching philosophy is grounded in one central conviction: architecture education must form thinkers before it produces designers. I do not view teaching as the transmission of information, but as the disciplined construction of intellectual frameworks that allow students to question, synthesize, and ultimately generate meaning through design.

I teach architecture as a cultural, scientific, and ethical act. Every studio, lecture, or seminar is structured to connect historical knowledge, environmental realities, technological innovation, and speculative thinking into a single coherent design logic connecting 19 different context together. Students are trained to understand that form is never arbitrary, context is never neutral, and creativity is never detached from responsibility. Design decisions must be justified intellectually, socially, and environmentally.

My pedagogy is studio-centered and inquiry-driven. I emphasize learning by doing, supported by rigorous critical discussion. Students are challenged to research deeply, articulate concepts precisely, and defend their work with clarity and evidence. I deliberately avoid spoon-feeding solutions; instead, I guide students to develop their own design positions through structured questioning, iterative critique, and reflective self-assessment. Failure is treated as an essential learning tool, provided it is analyzed honestly and used constructively.

History and theory play a foundational role in my teaching, not as static knowledge but as active design instruments. I encourage students to reinterpret ancient, vernacular, and modern architectural systems through contemporary lenses such as sustainability, adaptive reuse, resource scarcity, and future habitats, including extreme and extraterrestrial environments. This approach trains students to see architecture as a continuum of problem-solving rather than a collection of styles.

I maintain high expectations and practice intellectual honesty. I believe respect for students is demonstrated through seriousness, rigor, and direct feedback, not through lowered standards. Critique in my classroom is demanding but fair, always aimed at strengthening the student’s capacity to think independently and act professionally.

Ultimately, my goal is to graduate architects who are intellectually resilient, ethically grounded, and capable of operating across disciplines and scales. I seek to cultivate graduates who do not merely respond to briefs, but who can redefine them, who understand architecture as a tool for shaping collective memory, identity, and future possibilities.