Aya Mohamed Salaheldin Riad
Program Head, Interactive Media; Associate Arts Professor of Interactive Media
Affiliation: NYU Abu Dhabi
Education: BSc American University in Cairo, MArch Architectural Association School of Architecture, DDes Florida International University
Research Areas: Interactive design; responsive environments; computational architecture; parametric design; digital fabrication; body architecture; 3D-printed wearables; affective computing; behavioral design systems; robotics; kinetic design systems
Aya Riad is a computational architect, design researcher, creative engineer, and educator. She is an Associate Arts Professor and Program Head of Interactive Media at NYU Abu Dhabi. She serves as Middle East Regional Manager at DigitalFUTURES. She holds a DDes from Florida International University, an MArch from the Architectural Association’s Design Research Lab, and a BSc in Architectural Engineering from the American University in Cairo.
Riad's creative practice spans computational design, body architecture, 3D-printed wearables, digital fabrication, robotics, affective computing, and interactive systems, exploring relationships between the body, technology, materiality, and responsive environments.
Her work, alongside student projects she has directed and mentored, has been presented at Ars Electronica, Dubai Design Week, Festival X, Sikka Art & Design Festival, Dubai Innovation Week, Al Qattara Arts Center, and Alserkal Avenue. She has collaborated with DCT Abu Dhabi and Dubai Culture, and received the 2022 Emirati Futurism Award (First Prize) in the Architecture and Urbanism category and Autodesk’s Scriptathon Design Award.