Abdullah Al Mandhari wears many hats – apart from being a student at German University of Technology in Oman, he is a well-known photographer and portrait artist. Born in Muscat, he belongs to a middle-income family and has three sisters and two brothers. When he was in eighth grade, tragedy struck the family when his father died. Since then, he has worked hard on himself to develop skills and achieve goals to make himself proud.
His career has seen him climb through the ranks; he started out working at Sweets of Oman and the apparel brand Pedro, jobs he took up to save enough to buy his first camera. When Abdullah Al Mandhari was able to do so, he began to teach himself photography through YouTube and with practice he was able to master the skill. Abdullah Al Mandhari is also an expert with charcoal and pencil portraits and continues to improve his painting skill; his art was recognised and lauded, as he went on to exhibit 61 paintings at the INK Exhibition. In 2019, he won first place at the Roca One Day Design Challenge for his design titled Echo and went on to participate in the Roca Master Design Challenge in Barcelona. Read on to know more about his journey…
What inspired you to get into the field of design and architecture?
My inspiration was that I wanted to implement my art skills into my field of study. I have received more knowledge than I expected and have learned about the relationship between a space and a design and that it can play a big role in life.
What was the experience of the Roca One Day Design Challenge like?
The Roca One Day Design Challenge is the best challenge to compete with yourself before competing with others and it is a platform that will acquaint you with both your strengths and weaknesses. It requires you to create an idea to fulfil the goal/theme, build presentations and communicate silently through graphics. I participated in all the editions and worked on my weaknesses; plus I observed the projects of the previous winners closely to learn from them.
Tell us about your winning project Echo.
The challenge was to design a wash basin in a children’s schools for different ages. My approach was to solve one problem with two considerations – to tackle the issue of kids playing with water and the necessity to save water and increase hygiene in the bathroom. So, I created two rules for my project – 100% no splashes and a flexible system.
The design concept included adjustable wash basins shaped with acrylic balls of various colours to bring joy to the space. The fitting of high-tech sensors helped sense when hands entered the wash basin through the hole, at which point the tap would dispense water in a direction that prevents spills and drips. Hand soap too would be dispensed in the similar manner.
What elements define your style of design and architecture?
I am a person who likes to understand the assembling of shapes with relation to functionality, that is why I start with functions in the space then move on to create shapes and detailed designs which serve the need.
Who has been your mentor or muse in this journey?
I always follow my mentor Alexandar Kadar. He has always pushed us to work beyond our limits and to find solutions by ourselves. I went to Berlin for summer school in 2019 where I realised that we still need to push ourselves to understand the meaning of design in our region.
What are your plans and hopes for the future?
I’ll share two things about my future plan – in the next two years, I aim to be a millionaire and hope to share my story with more than 10,000 people.
What is your message to aspiring architects and interior designers?
If you really want to call yourself an architect or interior designer, define the word design with your own words, only then will you understand what your design means to you. Each detail in your design speaks about your message, what you want to create and where you want to reach.
That story is truly inspiring. One day you are going to achieve your goals never give up. Appreciate all your opportunities. You are a role model for upcoming architecturers.