JEDDAH — Prince Sultan Bin Salman, f Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage (SCTH), opened the architecture exhibition at the Dar Al-Hekma University campus and toured the exhibition with Dar Al-Hekma University’s Board of Trustees.
Dar Al-Hekma University hosted the architecture exhibition to showcase the work and talents of the second batch of architecture graduates the university in addition to the best projects from the previous seven levels.
This exhibition aims to facilitate the students’ smooth integration to the job market after graduation through the attendance of many architecture firms and business professionals.
The University’s Board of Trustees Members Kais Julaidan and Adil Bushnak, the University’s President Dr. Suhair Hassan Al Qurashi, the Provost Dr. Areej Asseri, the Dean of Students Dr. Sanaa Askool and the Dean of Hekma School of Design and Architecture Dr. Effat Fadag and a few of the university’s management team examined the students’ work during the tour.
“I am joyful to see that Dar Al-Hekma University’s students’ outcome does not separate from the university’s educational mission that is keen to grow the sense of social and national responsibility. This is achieved through the schools’ dedication to choose educational projects throughout the year and for the graduation projects with functional value to our community which contributes to the development and construction to each program according to its place and specialization,” said Dr. Al Qurashi.
“I'm pleased and proud with the students’ achievements; they have accomplished the department’s vision. One of the department’s vision and objective is to serve the community. This year’s projects were designs based on study and research that prove the need for such a project in Jeddah or Saudi Arabia. Students created projects that benefit the community and were not duplication. I believe that many of the ideas that my students came up with can be adopted in the future,” said the Architecture Department Chair Dr. Mona Helmy.
The university will be graduating 24 students with a bachelor degree in architecture this year; where the number of graduates last year was 20 graduates and is expected to graduate 30 students next year. This is clearly a sign of the growing popularity of the major in Dar Al-Hekma University.
The exhibition had many designs and topics that presented the 24 capstone projects which the students had worked on for the last academic year. The topics varied, it covered areas like museums, information exchange hubs, research centers and libraries.
“My project is a Jeddah Library Complex, because I wanted people of Jeddah to go back to reading since the first verse in the Holy Qur’an was an order to read as a sign of the importance of reading in Islam. I used Islamic architecture in designing the complex. In the past, mosques included orphanages, schools and other quarters. Therefore, my complex included an auditorium, restaurants and other community facilities,” said Dania Omar Alahdal one of this year’s seniors.
Another senior, Yara Sobhi, said: “My project is a societally developmental hub designed to solve two problems. Many youth in Jeddah try to start humanitarian initiatives but face the issue of not finding a physical location that supports them. The other thing this building provides is location for the less fortunate to receive training. With an art center, information technology center and more that aim to decrease the gap between the fortunate and less fortunate by providing similar opportunities.”
The building also provided a vocational center to give the less fortunate a new skill that could help them get better career opportunities.
