Many Saudi female interior architects have recently become social media stars thanks to Instagram, which has helped them gain the fame that rival celebrities and sports champions. This has also stirred competition among interior architects who have been racing to introduce unique designs with an international twist that combines classic and modern styles.
The Saudi female interior architects fuel their presence on social media with photographs of their designs and projects, not of them. The voice and faces of many of these architects are still unknown to their audience, but that didn't prevent hundreds of thousands of people from following them. The architects see Instagram as a window to market their works, a tool to attract new clients, and a platform to share their creations.
During an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Architect Jawaher al-Muhanna, who graduated from the interior architect school at Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, and has ten years of experience, said social media platforms have significantly served them in this field, mostly Instagram which has brought them more consultancy work.
Muhanna said that Saudi female architects have gained the trust of the market, and explained that the pandemic has changed the life of many Saudis, who have become more interested in their houses' décor, and home offices for remote work.
In the Eastern Province, Architect Alaa al-Hariri has become a prominent name in the interior architect industry. She has 20 years of experience in this field. Her love for design started when she was a kid. She loved reading magazines and books about design. Today, her name is on over 150,000 projects.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Hariri revealed that some of her projects were nominated for global awards and that she was praised by renowned experts in this field. Over the past three years, she focused on business designs like restaurants and cafes, because such projects require a lot of creativity, modern ideas, and materials, and must be implemented in a short time.
For her part, Architect Nora al-Ghufaily saw that the interest in interior architects has boomed lately, noting that Instagram has significantly contributed to spreading designers' works among its users, and so did Snapchat, which shares videos on the different phases of interior design. She said these apps are great platforms to market the architect and her works.
Ghufaily told Asharq Al-Awsat that although the number of female Saudi architects has remarkably increased in the few past years, the relationship among them is cooperative and not competitive. They contact each other via video calls to exchange ideas and meet monthly to share advice aimed at growing and developing their works.
