Abdulrahman & Turki Gazzaz — Bricklab

Bricklab is a studio for architecture, design and experimental research based in Jeddah. It navigates the interplay between material research, practical design, and the built environment. The portfolio—from cultural architecture to urban design and consulting, public space interventions, to scenography and installations—reflects a thoughtful response to the changing contexts of each project. The studio was formed in 2015 by Abdulrahman and Turki Gazzaz. Over the years, their team has expanded to include architects and designers from different backgrounds and interests.

The Interview

What inspired you to pursue a career in design?
We are always driven by the impact the built environment has on societies, their constituent communities, and their collective cultural values. Understanding the relationships between place, objects, and people forms the basis for our research in any given project. This approach allows us to explore the potential for architectural practice to address wider philosophical questions around the human condition as it relates to being, ethics, and aesthetics.

How does your cultural or regional context influence your design work?
We are keen on reassessing the extreme state of polarization between the traditional and the contemporary that has become a recurring theme for architectural discourse in our region today. In response, our work attempts to reconcile traditional modes of making with contemporary production by working closely with locally based artisans, retailers, and laymen to incorporate bespoke elements for each project ranging from construction details, specialized finishes, or furniture pieces. By building close relationships with the makers themselves, we aim to reassess the process of production as a particular instance within a broader historical context with its unique society, culture, and material economy.

Describe a project you're most proud of and why it's meaningful to you.
After almost a decade of research and two years of focused development, we finally managed to release Saudi Modern: Jeddah in Transition 1938 – 1964, a publication focused on the transformation of Jeddah’s built environment upon the discovery of oil. It is a compilation of both archival and commissioned contributions including critical essays, photographic accounts, and personal reflections. With contributors from different backgrounds and generations, including Todd Reisz, Sumayya Vally, and Abdulla Bokhari, this publication aims to chronicle a period of the city’s history that has been largely overlooked and continuously facing the threat of erasure from the urban fabric.

What role do you think design plays in shaping communities and culture in the MENASA region?
Design plays a vital role in shaping communities and culture in the MENASA region, especially at a moment of rapid transformation. In Saudi Arabia, the built environment has become a pivotal medium for projecting future narratives and addressing contemporary social and cultural needs. For us, design is not just about aesthetics or function, it is a tool for preserving collective values while engaging responsibly with modernization. By critically reflecting on the social and cultural consequences of development, design ensures that rapid growth remains connected to heritage, responsive to communities, and socially meaningful.

What are the biggest challenges facing designers in the MENASA region today?
We are witnessing a period of increasing speed and agility in the development of design ideas thanks to the advances made in AI technology. It is a precarious moment whereby values, knowledge, and experience may be circumvented by the glossy outputs of technology. At Bricklab, we have been wary of the pitfalls of AI generated imagery and as such, we have been treading lightly with these new tools. We have been asking the question of how to integrate these new tools in our research process and allow it to inform our thinking instead of dictating it.

Works

Website
www.brick-lab.com
Socials
@_bricklab