The female students at the College of Architecture & Digital Design at Dar Al Uloom University have taken part in the international workshop on The Participatory Design Studio for Sustainable Housing Challenge. The workshop is organized by the United Nations’ UN-HABITAT, UNDP, the Saudi Ministry of Housing, and the Agency for Housing Development and Community Participation, with the participation of experts from the UN’s housing and sustainable planning UN-HABITAT, representatives of the Ministry of Housing, the Saudi Developmental Housing Program, and local civil societies and academics. The students, whose participation comes as part of the CADD’s efforts to enhance their skills in view of the requirements of the labor market, participated as part of the Urban Design course at the Department of Architecture under the supervision of Dr. Lubna Mustafa, Vice Dean of the College of Architecture & Digital Design.

The participating students attended fifteen lectures covering topics related to housing, development, finance, the Ministry of the Developmental Housing program, in addition to topics related to the sustainability applications and the needs of the various population sectors in the Kingdom. DAU’s students also took part in the Daily Design Studio along with UN’s experts in planning and housing from different countries around the world, where they had the chance to share their views and evaluation of some local housing experiences and their perceptions of future housing and how it can achieve sustainability and ensure availability and appropriateness for all sectors of the population. Under the patronage of by Her Excellency Director of the UN’s worldwide UN-HABITAT, a ceremony was held at the end of the workshop at the Al-Faisal University theater to honor all participants,

Students began the workshop day by attending the Supervisory Committee meeting in the presence of a number of housing pioneers around the world at the Granada Hilton. The College’s Public Relations Committee was present to coordinate with the committee about the nature of DAU’s female students’ participation and its proceedings. During the meeting, an explanation of the competition and the goals it aims to achieve was presented, including the organization of the participatory planning and design process so that it creates an added value to the developmental housing program , and the involvement of stakeholders from the local community in the process of a housing design that suits the needs of users and their lifestyle in a way that it constitutes a positive addition to their life. The workshop was a venue where architecture students were able to express their creativity and refined thinking that goes hand in hand with the circumstances and contexts surrounding the project and come up with the desired product.

The workshop has also been attended by a number of charitable organizations and associations both in person and from a distance, including the Saaf Charitable Foundation, Al Mawa charity Association and Fatat Alhasa organization, which would ensure a wide representation of the targeted groups for developmental housing and the effective participation in field need surveys. A competition will be launched between students of architecture at different local universities by forming two teams with each tram working on one of the proposed sites in Jeddah and Al-Khobar. It is worth mentioning that program extends for 12 weeks starting from September to December 2021.

The participatory design studio represents the practical part of a participatory experience that extends throughout the current semester ending with presenting a new vision for designing sustainable residential neighborhoods and new housing models that fit the needs of future generations and achieve sustainability standards. This experience is considered a great addition and a rich experience for the female engineers of Dar Al Uloom in that it is achieved in partnership with international professionals and specialists in housing projects, and it culminates the knowledge and skills acquired within the walls of the college with innovative projects that translate needs into reality.