Wesam Al Asali

Wesam Al Asali is an architect, researcher, and professor whose work focuses on the integration of manual and digital fabrication technologies with natural materials and traditional building techniques. His research examines craft practices, construction technology, and building history to explore how cultural and social factors can inform new architectural approaches in response to climate challenges.

He completed his PhD in Architecture at the University of Cambridge in 2021, where he developed low-carbon roofing design strategies based on the Catalan vault technique. Following his doctorate, he was awarded a Fung Global Fellowship and served as a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University (2021–2022). His work has received the RIBA President’s Award for Research (2021) and the Salje Medal for Best Doctoral Research in Arts and Humanities at Clare Hall, Cambridge (2022). He has secured research grants and commissions from institutions including the Arab Council for the Social Sciences, the Institute of Ceramic Technology, and Princeton University.

Al Asali is Professor at IE University (since 2022), co-founder and Director of Design and Innovation at IWlab, and founder of CERCAA (Educational Center for the Regeneration of Craft Construction) in Valencia. His current research addresses the use of natural materials in Spanish craft traditions, scarcity-driven vernacular architecture in the Middle East, and the relationship between domestic space and food production in Syria during the crisis.