Dr Zayad Motlib

PhD, MArch (Distinction), BArch

UNSW School of Built Environment

Arts, Design & Architecture

Zayad is an interdisciplinary architect, designer, and researcher on information-based digital design and sustainable systems. He currently leads the computational design division at Arch_Manu, [the ARC Centre for Next Gen Architectural Manufacturing], at UNSW, Sydney. With over 30 years of professional experience, primarily in practice, Zayad is a licensed architect with the Australian Registration Board (ARB, RAIA) in both Australia and New Zealand.

In 2014, he founded AmorphouStudio, an award-winning visionary architecture and design studio based in Dubai and Sydney. Zayad has also held prominent design and management roles in internationally renowned firms such as Woods Bagot and Lava, contributing to high-profile projects with budgets up to $500 million across New Zealand, Australia, and most recently Dubai. Additionally, Zayad is a regular speaker and panellist at design conferences, with his work featured in several notable design magazines and websites.

In academia, Zayad recently served as an associate professor at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou, China, where he spent five years and was appointed Director of the digital design group. He also founded d-NAT (Design Network for Art, Architecture, and Technology) in 2014, a collaborative research network exploring design possibilities at the intersection of natural systems, design, and technology. Zayad’s current research explores the interaction between humans and evolutionary algorithms in the context of the built environment, aiming to foster a collaborative design process that captures designers’ intentions and creativity.