Zain Karsan (left) and Layth Mahdi (right)
Matter Design and Quarra Stone announce this week that Zain Karsan of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Layth Mahdi of the University of Michigan have been selected as the 2017 QuarraMatter Fellows.
Layth Mahdi is a degree candidate for Master of Science in Architecture and Design Research with concentration on Digital Technologies. Layth graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture from the American University of Sharjah in the UAE where he also worked at the Fabrication lab where he continued to explore and advance his interest. He was the lead designer and fabricator for the award-winning design-build Tarkeeb Display Wall where he developed a great knowledge in manual and digital fabrication. He is an award-winning Architect and fabricator, his projects won multiple awards some of which are AIA middle east first place design award, and Young Artist Award first place design category. He is currently a fellow student working along with Professor Wes McGee at the Fablab at the University of Michigan where he is helping developing thermoplastic concrete molds and GFRC formulas. As exposure to design research is an integral part of his learning process, Layth is looking forward for this fellowship which he sees as a great and rare opportunity to explore what is known to be a traditional material using a highly advanced multi axis robotic and it will allow him to expand his experience and skills in the fabrication field.
Zain Karsan is currently pursuing a Master of Architecture at MIT. He received his bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Waterloo School of Architecture in 2013. Zain has worked on a variety of installations with GLD, WOJR, and the Self Assembly Lab, as well as the construction of a public space in China as part of a design build workshop with students from SEU and the CAA coordinated by Wang Shu. He has also worked for a number of professional practices in Toronto, New York, and Boston. Zain’s interests have revolved around computational processes as they relate to materials, with work spanning from laminar assemblies using thin shell geometries of fiberglass, to the subtractive processes of machining hardwood. His current research focuses on the design of fabrication tools to reconsider the means of our interaction with materials.
For more information and the press release, click here.