15 Avenida Casa del Oro • Santa Fe, NM 87508 • [email protected] • www.bonner-design.com
October 1, 2017
EDUCATION
M.Des. Royal College of Art, London, England, 1983
Concentrations: Islamic geometric design (thesis), and Islamic architectural ceramics and glaze chemistry (project). The Royal College of Art offers post-graduate degrees by project and/or thesis.
POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH AND AWARD
1983: Postgraduate Research Fellow in the Department of Ceramics and Glass, Royal College of Art, London. This position lasted two consecutive years, and involved extended research into (1) traditional burnt luster glaze and kiln technologies, and (2) a survey of working practices among British ceramic tile manufactures.
1983: Major Traveling Award from the Royal College of Art. This was their highest college-wide award at the time, and was awarded to a single recipient upon graduation each year. Funds used for extended travel to ceramic tile factories in Italy, as well as prominent sites of Islamic architecture in Southern Spain.
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
2017: Islamic Geometric Patterns: Their Historical Development and Traditional Methods of Construction: Springer, September 2017. This details the historical development of Islamic geometric patterns, and is also a comprehensive exposition of the traditional design methodologies employed in the construction of these complex designs: 596 pages, 105 photographs, and 540 detailed illustrations of pattern analysis. Chapter 4 concerns the use of computer algorithms to create Islamic geometric patters, and is contributed by Craig Kaplan. The forward is by Sir Roger Penrose.
http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9781441902160
2016: The Historical Significance of the Geometric Designs in the Northeast Dome Chamber of the Friday Mosque at Isfahan. Published in the Nexus Networks Journal (April 2016, Volume 18, issue 1, pp. 55-103).
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00004-015-0275-3
2012: A 7-Fold System for Creating Islamic Geometric Patterns, Part 1: Historical Antecedents (pp. 141-148), and Part 2: Contemporary Expression (pp. 149-156). Co-authored with Marc Pelletier, published in the Bridges Conference proceedings.
http://archive.bridgesmathart.org/2012/bridges2012-141.html
http://archive.bridgesmathart.org/2012/bridges2012-149.html
2003: Three Traditions of Self-Similarity in Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century Islamic Geometric Ornament (pp. 1-12). ISAMA/Bridges Conference Proceedings.
http://archive.bridgesmathart.org/2003/bridges2003-1.html
ADDITIONAL PUBLISHING CONTRIBUTIONS
2014: Arabesques and Quasicrystals: Visuality & Mathematics. Experimental Education of Mathematics through Visual Arts, Sciences and Playful Activities. Three contributions from Jay Bonner:
Section 1:The System of Regular Polygons.
Section 2:The 4-Fold System A.
Section 3:The 5-Fold System.
2013: Les tracés de l’arabesque géométrique. Proceedings from the International Symposium of the same title. Académie des Arts Traditionnels at the Foundation of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. Three Chapters by Jay Bonner:
Chapter 1: The Historical Use of Polygonal Systems to Create Islamic Geometric Patterns.
Chapter 2: The Design of Particularly Complex Non-Systematic Geometric Patterns with Multiple Centers of Local Symmetry.
Chapter 3: Jay Bonner’s Ornamental Work on Architectural Projects in the Middle East.
2012: Red Stone: Indian Stone Carving from Sultanate and Mughal India. George Michell and Will Kwiatkowski, London. Jay Bonner contributed expository text on the geometric structures of the sandstone jali screens.
2011: Afghan Jewelers Design Workbook. Contracted by Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH of Eschborn, Germany to produce a design workbook for jewelers in Mazar-I Sharif, Afghanistan. This German NGO was working to preserve the ancient jewelry traditions in this region by raising the quality of design and fabrication, and encouraging the international exportation of their wares.
2010: Afghan Design Workbook. Contracted by Turquoise Mountain Foundation in Kabul, Afghanistan to prepare a design workbook for their college-age students. This organization is dedicated to the preservation of native Afghan artistic practices, and employs traditional ustads who are the finest living Afghan exemplars of their art. This includes an historical survey of the arts of sequential Afghan dynasties, detailed analyses of diverse examples of Afghan ornament, and a series of practical design exercises for the students.
SELECTION OF CITATIONS TO MY WORK
Fractal Geometry in the Arts: an Overview Across the Different Cultures, Nicoletta Sala. Thinking in Patterns: Fractals and Related Phenomena in Nature, Ed. Miroslav M. Novak. World Scientific Publishing Company (2004).
Muslim Networks: from Hip Hop to Hajj, ed. miriam cook and Bruce Lawrence. University of North Carolina Press (2005).
Quasi-Crystalline Tiling in Medieval Islamic Architecture, Peter Lu and Paul Steinhardt. Science 315, 1106 (2007).
Material Witness: Tendentious Tilings, Philip Ball. Nature: Materials 6, 476 (2007).
Quasi-Periodicity in Islamic Design, Peter Saltzman. Nexus VII, Architecture and Mathematics, ed. Kim Williams (2008).
The Oxford Handbook on the History of Mathematics, eds. Eleanor Robson and Jacqueline Stedall. Oxford University Press (2009).
Aperiodic Crystals, eds. Siegbert Schmid, Ray L. Withers and Ron Lifshitz. Springer (2012).
The Decagonal Tomb Tower at Maragha and its Architectural Context: Lines of Mathematical Thought, Carol Bier. Nexus Networks Journal, vol. 14, No. 2 (2012).
Persian Variations, Jean-Marc Castera. Nexus Networks Journal, vol. 18, Issue 1 (2016).
Geometry in Islamic Art, Carol Bier. https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7 Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, ed. Helaine Selin. Springer (2016).
Note: my paper Three Traditions of Self-Similarity in Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century Islamic Geometric Ornament (2003) has been cited over 350 times in various academic books, journals and papers. My paper The Historical Significance of the Geometric Designs in the Northeast Dome Chamber of the Friday Mosque at Isfahan (2016) has been downloaded from the Springer sales website over 350 times.
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
2014: Lecture titled The Formative Role of the Decagon and Pentagon in the Development of Islamic Geometric Design given at the Fourth Biennial Symposium of the Historians of Islamic Art Association (HIAA), Forms of Knowledge and Cultures of Learning in Islamic Art, at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada.
2014: Two Lectures at the Second International Workshops on Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art: In the Footsteps of the Seljuks organized by the Istanbul Design Center, held at the IDC in Istanbul and in Konya.
Lecture 1: The Construction of Three Particularly Complex Anatolian Seljuk Geometric Designs.
Lecture 2: Walking Tour of the Diverse Geometric Patterns at the Eşrefoğlu Mosque: with Observations and Discussion on Historical Context and Design Methodology.
2013: Three lectures at the First International Workshop on Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art organized jointly by the Istanbul Design Center and the Umraniye Municipality of Istanbul.
Lecture 1: The Historical Development of Islamic Geometric Patterns: from Inception and Spread to the Fully Developed Mature Style as Exemplified in the Design Traditions of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum.
Lecture 2: The Polygonal Technique – the Principle Historical Design Methodology.
Lecture 3: The Geometric and Floral Ornament of Jay Bonner.
2013: Three lectures given at the International colloquium Les tracés de l’arabesque géométrique sponsored by the Académie des Arts Traditionnels at the Foundation of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco.
Lecture 1: The Historical Use of Polygonal Systems to Create Islamic Geometric Patterns.
Lecture 2: The Design of Particularly Complex Non-Systematic Geometric Patterns with Multiple Centers of Local Symmetry.
Lecture 3: Jay Bonner’s Ornamental Work on Architectural Projects in the Middle East.
2012: Two-part lecture titled A 7-Fold System for Creating Islamic Geometric Patterns, Part 1: Historical Antecedents, and Part 2: Contemporary Expression, co-authored with Marc Pelletier, given as a plenary address at the Bridges Conference at Towson University in Maryland.
2008: Lecture titled The Polygonal Technique: the Traditional Use of Polygonal Matrices in the Design of Islamic Geometric Patterns given at the Pécs-Ars Geometrica conference in Pécs, Hungary.
2006: Lecture titled The Polygonal Technique: an Exposition of the Primary Historic Method of Constructing Islamic Geometric Patterns given at the Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art conference at the Lorentz Center, University of Leiden, Netherlands.
2003: Lecture titled Three Traditions of Self-Similarity in Fourteenth and Fifteenth Century Islamic Geometric Ornament given as the keynote opening plenary address at the ISAMA – Bridges Conference at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Spain.
2001: Lecture titled Aesthetic Synthesis and Contemporary Islamic Architectural Ornament presented to the first International Conference on Muslim Networks: Medium, Methodology and Metaphor at Duke University, North Carolina.
INVITED TALKS AND PRESENTATIONS
2017: Lecture titled Beauty and Complexity in Islamic Geometric Design given as part of the Dean’s Lecture and Concert Series at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This was also a book launch event for Jay Bonner’s book Islamic Geometric Patterns: their Historical Development and Traditional Methods of Construction.
2006: Lecture titled Seljuk Geometric Patterns: Recreating the Astonishing Compound Islamic Geometric Patterns of 13th Century Anatolia given as part of the Special Lecture Series in Computer Science at the University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
2002: Presentation titled Jay Bonner’s Work as a Specialist in Traditional Islamic Design and Architectural Ornament to graduate students in the Architectural Department at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
2002: Lecture on the subject of Jay Bonner’s Ornamental Designs for the Kaaba Minbar presented to the second annual meeting of the Muslim Networks Consortium at Duke University, North Carolina.
2001: College wide lecture titled The Role of Geometry in Islamic Ornament sponsored by the Architecture Department in association with the Department of Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design.
SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS
2014: Two workshops for the Second International Workshops on Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art: In the Footsteps of the Seljuks, organized by the Istanbul Design Center, held at the IDC in Istanbul and in Konya.
Workshop 1: Instructions for Constructing the Non-Systematic Design with 8 and 12-Pointed Stars from the Side Panel of the Minbar at the Eşrefoğlu Mosque in Beyşehir.
Workshop 2: Creating Patterns with Polygonal Modules.
2012: Design seminar titled Creating Non-Systematic Islamic Geometric Patterns with Complex Combinations of Star Forms given at the Bridges Conference at Towson University in Maryland.
2006: Seminar titled The Use of Polygonal Systems to Create Islamic Geometric Patterns given to undergraduate students in the Math and Aesthetics class at the University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
2001: Seminar titled Systems in the Design of Traditional Islamic Geometric Patterns given to the undergraduate student body of the Department of Graphic Design at the Rhode Island School of Design.
TEACHING AND ADVISING EXPERIENCE
2009: Assisted in the creation of the Traditional Afghan Design Curriculum for college-aged Afghan students in Kabul. The contract was with the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, and was designed to help preserve native Afghan artistic practices by augmenting the provided artistic training from traditional Afghan ustads – the finest living exemplars of their art – with Afghan specific design guidance provided within the curriculum and workbook (see above).
2002: Outside advisor to PhD candidate, Craig Kaplan, in the Computer Science and Engineering Department of the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. The dissertation title was Computer Graphics and Geometric Ornamental Design. Craig Kaplan is now Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, Canada.
1982: Two years of work as a Postgraduate Research Fellow in the Department of Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art in London involved, in part, instruction for two graduate students. This was primarily concentrated upon ceramic glaze chemistry, and the appropriate balancing of decorative design with architectural ceramic fabricating technologies.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE / ORNAMENTAL DESIGN CONSULTANT
2017: At the behest of his client, John Fry of Fry’s Electronics, Jay Bonner is currently the senior ornamental consultant for the resumption of work on the American Institute of Mathematics Research and Conference Center in Morgan Hill, California. This 575,000 sq. ft. building is dedicated to the study of advanced mathematics, and is being designed and ornamented in the style of the Alhambra.
2017: Contracted by Keith Yates Design Group in Auburn, California to design an ornate soffit grille for a private client in Los Angeles, California.
2016: Contracted by Keith Yates Design Group in Auburn, California to design an ornate coffered ceiling for a private client in San Francisco, California.
2015: Contracted by Dr. Bodo Rasch of Stuttgart, Germany to provide the ornamental designs for the Grande Mosquée Massalikul Djinan in Dakar, Senegal.
2013: Contracted to provide a series of geometric designs for custom inlaid wood floors by Nomad Inception in Dubai, UAE.
2011: Senior Ornamental Design Consultant to the American Institute of Mathematics Research and Conference Center (ARCC) in Morgan Hill, California. This 575,000 sq. ft. building is dedicated to the study of advanced mathematics, and is being designed and ornamented in the style of the Alhambra.
2011: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany as the senior ornamental design consultant for their contributions to the Shamiyya Expansion of the Grand Mosque in Mecca (al-Masjid al-Haram). This 20-month contract included diverse architectural features, including: domes, the multiple 20-meter ornamental screens of the exterior façade, the wood entry doors, and the grand chandelier in the Royal Entry Hall.
2009: Islamic ornamental design consultant to Baker Design Group in Boston, Massachusetts, for a luxury hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This was designed with careful attention to historical details and vernacular, and loose association with the adjacent International Medical Center in Jeddah.
2009: Commissioned by Dr. Bodo Rasch to design a Highly Ornamental Custom Steel String Guitar. The ebony fretboard and headstock are inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The floral inlay is in the same style first developed for the 27 Sliding Dome of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia (see below). This guitar was made by the Santa Cruz Guitar Company of Santa Cruz, California.
http://bonner-design.com/index.php/projects/miscellaneous/custom-ornamental-guitar-california/
2009: Contracted by Fry’s Electronics to provide ornamental designs for the Windows and Doors for the American Institute of Mathematics Research and Conference Center (ARCC) in Morgan Hill, California (see above).
2008: Contracted by Keith Yates Design Group of Auburn, California to design the Ornament for a State-of-the-Art In-House Theater in the Moroccan style.
2007: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany to design the ornaments for the Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. With their 43-meter high clock faces, the four clocks that surmount this tower are the largest in the world. At approximately 600 meters, it is also the tallest clock tower, and the third tallest building in the world. This tower is part of the Abraj Al-Bait Tower complex of five towers.
http://bonner-design.com/index.php/projects/mecca-clock-tower-mecca/
2006: Contracted to design a Mughal Style Tomb for a Sufi Sheikh in Tasmania, Australia. This small project was for a private client, and included designs for the carved teakwood door, marble jali windows, exterior façade, and interior dome.
2003: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, to design the hand carved ornamental details for multiple Quran Bookshelves for the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia (al-Masjid al-Nawabi).
2002: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany to design the ornament for the Kaaba Minbar. This minbar is placed adjacent to the Kaaba in the courtyard of the Grand Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The extensive floral ornamentation is in the pan-Islamic style first developed for the 27 Moving Domes for the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina (see below). The floral panels for this minbar were made from hand-carved marble, and inlaid with Persian turquoise.
http://bonner-design.com/index.php/projects/kaaba-minbar-mecca/
2002: Contracted to design a series of Enamel Murals for the Department of Science and Mathematics at the University of Colorado in Pueblo, Colorado. The Islamic geometric patterns developed for these panels reflect several areas of interest in math and sciences, including self-similar geometry, aperiodicity, and molecular symmetry as revealed by X-ray diffraction patterns. This work was carried out in collaboration with the enamel artist Pat Musick.
2000: Contracted to design the architectural ornament for the International Medical Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This ws undertaken with Saudi Arabian architect and preservationist Dr. Sami Angawi in association with Steffian Bradley Associates of Boston, MA.
2000: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, to design the Ornamental Details for the Kaaba Stairway, a large teakwood movable stairway used once a year by the king when entering the Kaaba chamber in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. As custodian of the holy sites, this is a purely ceremonial function of the king. The floral ornament was hand carved from teak, inlaid lapis lazuli, by craftsmen in Malaysia.
1998: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, to design the cast aluminum Rainwater Runoff Grates for the Flat Roof of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia (al-Masjid al-Nawabi).
1997: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, to design the interior Textile Appliqué Decoration for the Reception Tent for a Beach Palace in Obhur, Saudi Arabia. The surface coverage of this tent is approximately 300 square meters, and the material of the tent and appliqué is woven PVC.
1997: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, to design the Bronze Gates and Wall Grilles for the Enclosure of the Muna Tent City for Hajj pilgrims in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
1995: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, to design ornamental details for the 23-meter Umbrellas for the Piazza of the Prophet’s Mosque, Medina, Saudi Arabia (al-Masjid al-Nawabi).
1994: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, to design the Cast Bronze Ornamental Details for the Lamp Columns for the Piazza of the Prophet’s Mosque, Medina, Saudi Arabia (al-Masjid al-Nawabi).
1993: Ornamental Consultant and Furniture Designer for the Morrelli Corporation in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
1993: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, to design the ornamental Bronze Gates for the New Piazza of the Prophet’s Mosque, Medina, Saudi Arabia (al-Masjid al-Nawabi).
1993: Multiple contracts with SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, to design three important features for the Kaaba courtyard of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (al-Masjid al-Haram): (1) designs for the Maqam Ibrahim, a large reliquary adjacent to the Kaaba that houses a stone upon which Ibrahim is believed to have stood when he founded the Kaaba; (2) the first iteration of designs for the portable Kaaba Minbar (completed in 2002: see above); and (3) the first iteration of designs for the highly ornate, hand-carved wooden movable Kaaba Stairway for the once-a-year ceremonial use by the king when entering the Kaaba chamber (completed in 2000: see above).
1992: Consultant to I.P.C.A. Ltd. of Bristol, England to Research Filming Locations in Cairo, Egypt for a documentary on the expansion to the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia (al-Masjid al-Nawabi).
1991: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, to design ornamental details for the cast bronze column capitals for the twelve 14-Meter Architectural Umbrellas for the Two Courtyards of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia (al-Masjid al-Nawabi).
1990: Contracted by SL-Rasch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, to design the interior ornament for the 27 Sliding Domes for the Prophet’s Mosque Expansion Project, Medina, Saudi Arabia (al-Masjid al-Nawabi). Each dome has an approximate diameter of 20 meters, and is engineered to slide open and closed; turning a domed chamber into an open courtyard. This commission included the development of a pan-Islamic floral style that would be recognizably Islamic to all pilgrims from all areas of the world, yet not associated with the ornamental style of any particular epoch or Muslim culture. The ornament is elaborate and is comprised of a variety of hand-carved Moroccan Atlantic cedar floral panels (a.k.a. Atlas cedar), inlaid with semi-precious amazonite stones set in gold-plated bezels. The wood carving for this project was undertaken in Morocco where some 150 wood carvers were employed for over a year to complete the project.
http://bonner-design.com/index.php/sliding-domes-medina/
1990: Contracted by the Al-Furqan Foundation in London to design and supply 22 Linear Meters of Carved Walnut Arabic Calligraphy with Highly Ornamental Floral Background, Brackets, and Borders. The renowned Pakistani calligrapher, Rasheed Butt, undertook the calligraphy for this project. The wood carvings were produced by woodcarvers in Pakistani Kashmir.
1988: Design and quality control of the Chemically Etched Decorative Steel Cladding used in the Elevators that were installed as part of the expansion of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia (Al Masjid Al-Haram). This project was undertaken during my position as Senior Designer for Tenda Ltd, a London based design firm specializing in contemporary Islamic architecture.
1987: Design for the Stained Glass Window and Interior and Exterior Ceramics for the Data Darbar Mosque and Shrine in Lahore, Pakistan. This mosque complex was built at the burial site of the great eleventh century Sufi saint Al-Hujwiri (Hazrat Data Gang Bakhsh). This project was undertaken while Senior Designer for Tenda Ltd, a London based design firm specializing in contemporary Islamic architecture.
http://bonner-design.com/index.php/data-darbar-lahore/
1986: The design of a series of Large Wooden Floriated Kufi Calligraphy Panels with bold relief for the Pakistani government’s New Senate House in Islamabad. This project involved collaboration with the renowned Pakistani calligrapher Rasheed Butt. The fabrication was carried out in Pakistan by local woodworkers. This project was undertaken while Senior Designer for Tenda Ltd, a London based design firm specializing in contemporary Islamic architecture.
1986: Design of the glass reinforced Gypsum Squinch-Net Vaulting, Muqarnas Capitals, and Stained Glass Windows for the interior the Mecca City Gate in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This modern building serves as a ceremonial entryway into the city of Mecca. This project was undertaken while Senior Designer for Tenda Ltd, a London based design firm specializing in contemporary Islamic architecture.
1985: Design and quality control of the ornamental Dome Interiors for the Renovation of the Historic Quba Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia. This work was produced in glass-reinforced gypsum, and manufactured in Wales, UK. This project was undertaken while Senior Designer for Tenda Ltd, a London based design firm specializing in contemporary Islamic architecture.
1984: The Design, Fabrication, and Installation of Decorative Ceramic Tiles for the London Post-Modernist residence of Charles Jencks. This was featured in his book Toward a Symbolic Architecture, Academy Editions.
1984: Private commission for the design and production of a Ceramic Fountain for the palace of Sheikh Sulman al-Sabah in Kuwait.
1984: Consultant to the ceramic tile company Langley of London for the development of a ‘traditional’ range of tiles for their Middle Eastern market.
1983: Design, fabrication and installation of a series of Decorative Ceramic Tile Panels for the Aga Khan’s Ismaili Centre in South Kensington, London. The project architect, Sir Hugh Casson of Casson & Condor Architects, London, commissioned these ceramic panels.
PROFESSIONAL DESIGN EXPERTISE
• International reputation as a specialist in the field of Islamic architectural ornament, with extensive working experience with geometric patterns (both historical and original), a wide range of historical floral styles, as well as muqarnas and star vaulting.
• Specialist in the application of traditional ornamental design features into the contemporary context, with special attention on the balanced use of calligraphy, geometric designs and the floral idiom.
• Close working relationship with epigraphic calligraphers.
• Familiarity with the nuanced ornamental traditions of diverse historic Muslim cultures.
• Familiarity with the ornamental predilections of diverse contemporary Muslim societies.
• International reputation as an authority of geometric design methodology, allowing for the design of original patterns with highly complex geometric structures, including recursive self- similar multi-level designs and quasi-periodic designs.
• Developer of a pan-Islamic floral style that has been used in multiple buildings on the Arabian Peninsula, including the Prophet’s Mosque (al-Masjid al-Nawabi), the Kaaba Minbar in Mecca, and the Abraj Al-Bayt clock tower in Mecca.
• Specialist in the constraints that ornamental materials and fabricating technologies have upon the design process.
• Extensive experience working with diverse ornamental media and fabricating technologies, including: hand painted ceramic tile; slip cast molded relief tiles; dust pressed relief tiles; cut-tile mosaic faïence; tesserae mosaics; hand carved wood; laser-cut wood marquetry; turned-wood mashrabiya screens; carved wood inlaid with semi-precious stones; flat wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl; hand carved stone relief; hand carved pierced marble jali screens, water-jet cut inlaid stone; precast glass reinforced gypsum (GFRG) panels and vaults; stained glass set in gypsum; stained glass set in lead; cast bronze; cast aluminum; chemically etched stainless steel; and printed textiles.
• Wide use of state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, including: laser cutting, water-jet cutting, five axis milling, 3-D printing, and GFRG casting.
• Professional familiarity with AutoCAD, Rhino 3D and Adobe Illustrator.
• Provider of quality control throughout ornamental fabrication.