Wael Al Awar founded waiwai (formerly ibda design) in 2009 after moving back to the Middle East from Tokyo. With interests in natural phenomena, landscapes, and formless diagrams of relations, Al Awar takes a multi-disciplinary approach to design, and is always looking to challenge conventional design processes. His projects layer his individual design sensibilities into an architecture of natural light, time, structure, and landscape. In doing so, Al Awar seeks to create a type of architecture that remains open to adaptation and appropriation. The spaces that emerge from his approach are site-specific provocations that encourage unexpected experiences, activities, and behaviors. Al Awar is currently co-curator of the National Pavilion of the UAE at the 17th Architecture Biennale di Venezia 2021, which won the Golden Lion Award for Best National Participation.