Wherever you stand,
be the soul of that place.
ليكن الجمالُ الذي نحبّه هو ما نفعله
Let the beauty we love
be what we do.
Atlanta, 2025
Produced as a comprehensive collection of undergraduate architectural work at Georgia Tech, this artifact investigates material sequencing through vellum, layered transparency, and calibrated visual organization. Serving as the most current iteration of the portfolio, it consolidates research, design methods, and representational studies developed across the program. Completed in December 2025, it received the Portfolio Award of Excellence for its divergence from conventional formats, its ranging content, and its meticulous assemblage.
Nour Khalifa
Contact:
(404) 747 5174
Recent projects—Thresholds of Matter, Urban Roots Matrix, and Commonscape—engage themes of ecology, material intelligence, and the social dimensions of design. Urban Roots Matrix, recipient of the Georgia Tech Architecture Capstone Prize, reimagines civic space through networks of localized food production and adaptive infrastructural systems. Commonscape, awarded the AIA Georgia Student Design Award and the Niles Bolton Prize of Excellence, extends these inquiries toward shared landscapes of access and repair. Thresholds of Matter examines emerging relationships between automation and architecture, exploring how new technologies may reshape craft, authorship, and spatial agency.
Current research includes two papers in development and a project documenting how individuals describe place and placelessness within the home—tracing how memory distorts, reconstructs, and gives form to belonging.
Beyond studio and research work, the role of founding creative director for Sandbox—a student-led publication and platform for critical dialogue in architecture—has supported the cultivation of collaborative discourse. Additional contributions include helping establish Georgia Tech Creatives, an interdisciplinary collective for artistic collaboration. Writing and visual work extend across drawing, text, and discursive engagement, approaching architecture as both an investigative practice and a framework for shared thinking.
Class of 2026
B.S Architecture
Gold Scholar
Dean’s List
Barcelona Study Abroad
May 24’ - July 24’
Atlanta Girls School Class of 2022
High School
Salutatorian
Governor’s Honors Program
May 21’ - July 21’
Berry College
Social Studies Concentration
Georgia Institute of Technology
May 25’ - August 25’
Teaching introductory architecture concepts + techniques; leading a studio section and curriculum
Architectural Intern ASD SKY
Atlanta, Georgia
May 23’ - August 23’
Refining design concepts and diagrams; Revit; Site maps
Creative Director, Founding Member, Contributor
October 24’ - Present
Design and brand a student-led architetcural publication, amplifying emerging and established voices in discourse. Thematic inquiries chosen each semester. Navigated the complexities of founnding a new publication.
Georgia Tech Creatives
Creative Director, Founding Member
December 22’ - May 25’
Spearhead vision and brand identity for the largest organized creative presence on campus, expanding its influence across Atlanta. Develop innovative marketing strategies and design impactful visual materials. Mantain high creative standards while mentoring the executive board.
Arab Student Organization
Vice President
Georgia Institute of Technology
August 23’ - May 25’
Advance the goal of building a community for Arab-identifying student on campus by organizing social events.
Georgia Tech School of Architecture, December 25’
NextGen Cohort: AIA Women in Leadership Conference
American Institute of Architects, November 25’
Capstone Prize
Most Exemplary Architecture
Georgia Institute of Technology, April 25’
AIA Student Design Award
American Institute of Architects, April 25’
Exemplary Housing Schema, Niles Bolton Studio
Niles Bolton Associates, Georgia Tech School of Architecture, December 24’
Third-Year Portfolio Award
Georgia Tech School of Architecture, December 24’
Second-Year Portfolio Award
Georgia Tech School of Architecture, December 23’
Porous Housing: Reimagining Urban Domesticity Through Thresholds
In collaboration with Katherine Wright
ARCC, Pending Publication, 2025
Cross-Scalar Strategies for Re-Localized Food Production and Urban Metabolism
In collaboration with Adara Naui
ARCC, Pending Publication, 2025
Last Updated 24.10.31
Cross Scalar Strategies for Localized Food Production and Urban Metabolism
ARCH 4017
Design Studio VI
Spring 2025
In collaboration with
Adara Naui
Instructed by
Ingeborg Rocker
Case Study
Atlanta, Georgia
Distinctions
Capstone Prize, 2025
Pending Publication
Cross-Scalar Strategies for Re-Localized Food Production and Urban Metabolism
Architecturally, the project challenges prevailing models of hydroponic production that are often concealed, privatized, or industrial in character. By embedding modular systems into the public realm, Urban Roots Matrix foregrounds the didactic potential of hydroponics—making food technologies visible, spatial, and participatory. The shift from horizontal farmland to vertical, accessible corridors reframes food production as a civic experience, immersing the human body within a dynamic and unfamiliar composition of plants, structure, and resource flows.
Water—often treated as an obstacle in urban development—is repositioned as a generative force. Each module integrates stormwater capture, filtration, and reuse as part of a closed-loop system. Water’s cyclical movement informs design strategies and material choices, tying ecological function to architectural form.
The current proposal establishes two civic hubs—one in Vine City and one on Georgia Tech’s campus—as a starting point for cross-scalar deployment. While distinct in program, these hubs model operational interdependence and cross-neighborhood exchange. As research advances, the project will focus on smaller-scale prototypes to increase feasibility and scalability. Urban Roots Matrix positions hydroponics not as a technical fix, but as an architectural strategy to reconnect urban metabolism with public life.