Tamer Shalabi

ABOUT

TAMER SHALABI
ths79@cornell.edu
Instagram

I’m a designer based in New York, Texas, and Palestine. My work examines the relationship between everyday life and the built environment. I’m currently a fifth-year Bachelor of Architecture student at Cornell University, where I am on the Dean’s List. My academic work includes evidentiary spatial analysis, social housing, and material surplus reuse.

I’ve worked at a wide range of architecture practices including Morphosis Architects, HKS Inc, and the Circular Construction Lab. My professional work includes educational, infrastructural, and housing projects in North America and West Asia.

CONTACT

C.V.

Education

Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
2021 - 2026

Bachelor of Architecture
AAP Dean’s List

Class Representative
2023 - 2025

Experience

AAP Digital Fabrication Lab
Ithaca, New York
2025 -

LeCavalier R + D
Ithaca, New York
2025

Morphosis Architects
New York, New York
2025

HKS inc.
Dallas, Texas
2024

Circular Construction Lab
Ithaca, New York
2023

Malone Maxwell Dennehy Architects
Dallas, Texas
2021

Exhibitions

Preston H. Thomas Memorial Symposium: Labor Un:Imagined
Cornell University Land Grant Map
Ithaca, New York
2024

Mixed Mannerisms
Rain Amplifier
Ithaca, New York
2023

Structural Systems
House in Ebisu
Ithaca, New York
2022

Programs

Adobe Creative Suite
ArcGIS
Blender
Enscape
Google Workspace
Grasshopper
Keyshot
Microsoft Suite
Revit
Rhino
V-Ray

Languages

English
Arabic
Spanish

References

Tom Carruthers
Assistant Professor of the Practice
tbc39@cornell.edu

Wendolin Gonzalez
Design Strategist at Gensler
wg84@cornell.edu

Catherine Wilmes
Assistant Professor
cwilmes@illinoistech.edu

Last Updated 26.01.05

SELECTED WORK

1. The Architecture of Sumud in Palestine

ARCH 5902 B. Arch Thesis
Advised by
2026 (Current)

Sumud means “steadfast perseverance” in Arabic; in the Palestinian context, it is the resistance against the Israeli occupation embedded in everyday life. The practice of sumud is dynamic: it can be visible or hidden, active or passive, individual or collective.

Architecture is central to Israeli settler colonialism; it claims territory, organizes power, and controls movement. The construction of settlements, border walls, and checkpoints is accompanied by the systematic destruction of Palestinian homes and agricultural land, targeting everyday life.

Architectural sumud is a form of resistance that rejects this illegalization of building on one’s own land. This practice may include traditional stone construction methods, landscape preservation, or the development of housing for displaced people. Refugee camps are built without the guarantee of no further displacement. Local ranches are built supplying food despite the risk of destruction. These sites are frequent targets of Israeli settler violence because they signify the Palestinian commitment to live on the land, sumud.

This thesis examines the architecture of sumud in Palestine through the design and siting of local housing and food infrastructure. If infrastructure space is a tool used by the occupation, how can this practice be redirected through and for the everyday life of the occupied?

2. Martyrs’ Report Database

ARCH 5101 Option Studio
Taught by Farzin Lotfi-Jam
2025

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3. Lanterns Over Sound

ARCH 3102 Core Studio
Taught by Tom Carruthers
2024

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4. Offcut Curtain

5. Circulating Matters II

7. Test Project

8. Test Project