THE
TEAM
XLAB
PRINCIPAL
INVESTIGATORS
is an anti-hierarchicalextra-disciplinary researchdevelopment entity with the goal of creating design tools and artifacts that converge art, design, and the sciences through technologycomputationcraft.
contact us to collaborate!
︎︎︎@xlab.vcuq
contact us to collaborate!
︎︎︎@xlab.vcuq
Levi Hammett
Chair and Associate Professor, Kinetic Imaging, VCUArts Qatar
Born in a cabin without electricity in the remote mountains of northern California, Levi Hammett worked as a sign painter and carpenter before pursuing a formal education in design focusing on coding and automation. This background developed into a creative practice that uses computational processes to inform the creation of hybrid design objects incorporating digital technologies that are rooted in traditions of craft. His work has been acquired by several notable individuals and institutions, including the private collection of Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. His work has been published in print and online collections, distributed as digital applications, and exhibited in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South America, and the United States. In 2019 Levi co-founded xLab, a research and development studio working to produce electronic art, curricula, and tools to extend creative practice. Levi Hammett received his MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2006. He is currently the Director of Kinetic Imaging at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar.
︎︎︎@exact.location
︎︎︎https://levihammett.com/
Chair and Associate Professor, Kinetic Imaging, VCUArts Qatar
Born in a cabin without electricity in the remote mountains of northern California, Levi Hammett worked as a sign painter and carpenter before pursuing a formal education in design focusing on coding and automation. This background developed into a creative practice that uses computational processes to inform the creation of hybrid design objects incorporating digital technologies that are rooted in traditions of craft. His work has been acquired by several notable individuals and institutions, including the private collection of Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. His work has been published in print and online collections, distributed as digital applications, and exhibited in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South America, and the United States. In 2019 Levi co-founded xLab, a research and development studio working to produce electronic art, curricula, and tools to extend creative practice. Levi Hammett received his MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2006. He is currently the Director of Kinetic Imaging at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar.
︎︎︎@exact.location
︎︎︎https://levihammett.com/
Mohammad Suleiman
Chair and Assistant Professor, Interior Design, VCUarts Qatar
Mohammad Nabil Suleiman is an Architect, Assistant Professor and Chair of the Interior Design department. He holds an M.Arch from the Emergent Technologies & Design Program at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and a B.Arch from the American University of Sharjah. Mohammad is a co-founder and principal of xLab - Studio for Computation and New Making, his research investigates spatial mapping and data-driven design workflows for the existing built environment.
Chair and Assistant Professor, Interior Design, VCUarts Qatar
Mohammad Nabil Suleiman is an Architect, Assistant Professor and Chair of the Interior Design department. He holds an M.Arch from the Emergent Technologies & Design Program at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and a B.Arch from the American University of Sharjah. Mohammad is a co-founder and principal of xLab - Studio for Computation and New Making, his research investigates spatial mapping and data-driven design workflows for the existing built environment.
Dr Hiathem El-Hammali
Assistant Professor, Interior Design, VCUarts Qatar
Haithem is an architect and an assistant Interior Design professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, with two decades of experience, in teaching and practice in Qatar, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Libya. His research investigates the integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in academia and industry and incorporates Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) technologies and mixed reality into design education. Haithem and his research colleagues achieved notable recognition by winning the 2012 Nurture Collegiate Healthcare Design Competition for "innovative design for a cancer center.The initiative aimed to develop a technologically advanced, mobile environment to enhance staff workflow, productivity, satisfaction, and well-being. Haithem holds a Ph.D. in Interior and Environmental Design from Texas Tech University and a Master in Architectural Computing Studies from the University of Strathclyde.
Assistant Professor, Interior Design, VCUarts Qatar
Haithem is an architect and an assistant Interior Design professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, with two decades of experience, in teaching and practice in Qatar, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Libya. His research investigates the integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in academia and industry and incorporates Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) technologies and mixed reality into design education. Haithem and his research colleagues achieved notable recognition by winning the 2012 Nurture Collegiate Healthcare Design Competition for "innovative design for a cancer center.The initiative aimed to develop a technologically advanced, mobile environment to enhance staff workflow, productivity, satisfaction, and well-being. Haithem holds a Ph.D. in Interior and Environmental Design from Texas Tech University and a Master in Architectural Computing Studies from the University of Strathclyde.
2019-PRESENT
RESEARCH
COLLABORATORS
Giovanni Innella (2021-Present)
Associate Professor , Graduate Studies
Giovanni is a designer, researcher and curator trained at the Polytechnic of Turin and then at the Design Academy Eindhoven, to finally obtain his Phd at Northumbria University. During his professional career, he has participated and curated several exhibitions in international contexts including the Droog gallery in Amsterdam, the Triennale in Milan and The New Institute in Rotterdam. His projects are part of the collections of the Design Museum Den Bosch and the Centre des Arts Plastiques in Paris. Furthermore, Giovanni writes and publishes in the academic and non-academic fields. He covered faculty positions at Chiba University (JP), Tokyo Metropolitan University, School of the Arts Institute of Chicago, and is currently an Associate Professor at VCUarts Qatar.
Giovanni is a designer, researcher and curator trained at the Polytechnic of Turin and then at the Design Academy Eindhoven, to finally obtain his Phd at Northumbria University. During his professional career, he has participated and curated several exhibitions in international contexts including the Droog gallery in Amsterdam, the Triennale in Milan and The New Institute in Rotterdam. His projects are part of the collections of the Design Museum Den Bosch and the Centre des Arts Plastiques in Paris. Furthermore, Giovanni writes and publishes in the academic and non-academic fields. He covered faculty positions at Chiba University (JP), Tokyo Metropolitan University, School of the Arts Institute of Chicago, and is currently an Associate Professor at VCUarts Qatar.
Hind Al Saad
(2021-Present)
Graphic Designer & Computational Artist
Hind’s work contemplates and translates Islamic and cultural principles to generate emergent graphical forms and artifacts. Her practice explores the procedural systems of the digital (code), the mechanical (computation), and the physical (printmaking). Hind holds a MFA in Design from VCUArts Qatar, and taught at the School for Poetic Computation. She was selected for the fifth edition of the Artist-in-Residence program at the Fire Station in Doha, and is part of the art collection in The Ned Doha hotel.
︎︎︎@hindgalsaad
︎︎︎https://hindgalsaad.com/
Hind’s work contemplates and translates Islamic and cultural principles to generate emergent graphical forms and artifacts. Her practice explores the procedural systems of the digital (code), the mechanical (computation), and the physical (printmaking). Hind holds a MFA in Design from VCUArts Qatar, and taught at the School for Poetic Computation. She was selected for the fifth edition of the Artist-in-Residence program at the Fire Station in Doha, and is part of the art collection in The Ned Doha hotel.
︎︎︎@hindgalsaad
︎︎︎https://hindgalsaad.com/
Martin Juras (2022-Present)
Computer Scientist
Martin is currently a computer science student at Goldsmiths, London. He applies diverse interests, including quantum mechanics and gaming, to his studies in computation and algorithm design. Martin occupies a research assistant position with xLab, where he works on projects involving machine learning and augmented reality.
Martin is currently a computer science student at Goldsmiths, London. He applies diverse interests, including quantum mechanics and gaming, to his studies in computation and algorithm design. Martin occupies a research assistant position with xLab, where he works on projects involving machine learning and augmented reality.
Hala Amer (2022-Present)
Designer & Maker
Hala is the coordinator of the Digital Design + Fabrication Studio at VCUarts Qatar. With a deep-rooted passion for the intersection of technology, design, and making, Hala specializes in creating innovative spaces where experimentation and creativity thrive. Her work spans a wide range of disciplines, including digital fabrication, electronics, biomaterials, and e-textiles where Hala’s approach integrates design thinking with hands-on making. Her practice is dedicated to exploring what can be achieved through the hybridization of digital and physical processes.
Hala is the coordinator of the Digital Design + Fabrication Studio at VCUarts Qatar. With a deep-rooted passion for the intersection of technology, design, and making, Hala specializes in creating innovative spaces where experimentation and creativity thrive. Her work spans a wide range of disciplines, including digital fabrication, electronics, biomaterials, and e-textiles where Hala’s approach integrates design thinking with hands-on making. Her practice is dedicated to exploring what can be achieved through the hybridization of digital and physical processes.
Saga Elkabbash (2022-Present)
Designer & Maker
Saga is a detail-driven interdisciplinary designer and maker with a passion for creative, technical-centered projects, capable of integrating conceptual thinking and hands-on making to push the boundaries of design, while constantly seeking new ways to approach and transform concepts.
Saga is a detail-driven interdisciplinary designer and maker with a passion for creative, technical-centered projects, capable of integrating conceptual thinking and hands-on making to push the boundaries of design, while constantly seeking new ways to approach and transform concepts.
Fatima Abbas (2021-2022)
Type & Graphic Designer
Fatima is a Sudanese 'graphic designer, observer, and thinker' based in Qatar. Her work lies around the philosophy of materializing the relationship between the tangible and intangible. Visualizing this connection through the language of shapes, and their graphic relations and behaviors. She approaches her chosen topics by delving deep into the subject matter to uncover its essence and re-present it from a unique perspective using mediums of poetic & minimalist aesthetics.
Fatima is a Sudanese 'graphic designer, observer, and thinker' based in Qatar. Her work lies around the philosophy of materializing the relationship between the tangible and intangible. Visualizing this connection through the language of shapes, and their graphic relations and behaviors. She approaches her chosen topics by delving deep into the subject matter to uncover its essence and re-present it from a unique perspective using mediums of poetic & minimalist aesthetics.