Wael Al Awar is an architect and founding partner of Dubai- and Tokyo-based firm waiwai. He layers his interests in natural phenomena into an architecture of light, time, structure, and landscape that remains open to adaptation. Al Awar curated the UAE National Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2021, which was awarded the Golden Lion. He served as Creative Director of Architecture for the 2025 Bukhara Biennial and was responsible for the masterplan of the renovation of Bukhara’s heritage district. He is currently working on a book titled Future Vernacular in the Middle East: Ideas for Architecture Practice with Park Books.