Hiba Zeineddine
My practice moves between urban research, architecture and digital/visual design. I work on public space, ecological transitions, participation and child-centered cities, while translating research into clear spatial, visual and interactive experiences.
Selected projects across architecture, research and digital design.
Concept illustrationChild-centered research on access, everyday use, continuity and belonging in Beirut’s largest public green space, combining field observation, participatory mapping and spatial strategy.
Concept illustrationTerritorial research into the relationship between ecology, sacred landscapes, everyday practices and local development, translated into low-impact spatial proposals.
Concept illustrationResearch, site selection, diagnostics, youth engagement, implementation support and evaluation across eight public-space projects in different Lebanese contexts.
Concept illustrationDesign leadership across digital products, brand systems, interfaces and communication assets for startups and organizations.
Concept illustrationArchitectural design, digital modelling, technical documentation, site surveys, execution follow-up and interdisciplinary coordination.
Concept illustrationVisual communication, public awareness and sustainability strategy for a package-free grocery initiative centered on local sourcing and waste reduction.
A child-centered investigation into how a major public green space becomes part of everyday urban life — not only by being open, but by being reachable, legible, safe and continuously inhabited.
Child-centered public-space research examines how children reach, understand and use shared outdoor places. Hiba Zeineddine’s Horsh Beirut project applies that question to the relationship between a park and children’s everyday lives in Beirut.
Updated for 2026.
The project asks what helps children develop an ongoing relationship with public space. Its published scope identifies children aged 8–15 and combines fieldwork with mapping. The emphasis is on the conditions around a visit: getting there, finding a way through, feeling comfortable and having reasons to return.
A useful way to approach that question is to follow a visit from the surrounding street into the park. Where does the journey become difficult? What makes an entrance understandable? Where can a child pause, play or meet someone? These are questions for investigation, rather than assumptions about what every child needs.
This perspective connects the park’s interior to its surroundings. A design proposal can address a path or a seating area while still asking how street connections, care and everyday activities affect its use.
Explore the relationship between public space and design and consider how this project’s research question relates to the places you work with.
The project combines observation, interviews, participatory mapping and spatial and sensory analysis. Together, these methods provide different ways to investigate the relationship between people and a place. Observations record activity; interviews invite explanations; maps can locate experiences that a conventional plan leaves out.
The following questions offer a reading lens for the project’s stated themes. They are prompts for evaluating a proposal, rather than reported findings from individual participants.
| Theme | Question to investigate | Possible design response to test |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival | Is the approach understandable from a child's perspective? | Entrance information and clearer connections |
| Movement | Where does walking or cycling continuity break? | Connections between routes and destinations |
| Comfort | Where can children and accompanying adults rest? | Shade and seating considered together |
| Play | What supports different ways of spending time? | Places for movement, exploration and quieter activity |
| Care | Who can respond when a space needs attention? | Clear responsibilities for maintenance and programming |
A response in the final column is a possibility to assess. It becomes a project recommendation only when the evidence and practical context support it. This distinction keeps a drawing from claiming more than the research demonstrates.
For example, identifying a resting place on a plan does not establish who uses it or whether it meets their needs. A fuller account would connect the location to an observation, explain whose perspective informed the interpretation and describe the limits of that evidence.
The case study identifies access, shade, movement, play, seating, signage, stewardship and programming as areas of design translation. The value of considering them together is that a public-space proposal includes both physical conditions and the arrangements that keep it usable.
Separate work at Horsh Beirut illustrates why infrastructure and activity can be discussed together. In April 2026, the International Labour Organization reported 10 biking sessions associated with a rehabilitated 1.7 km bike lane. Those figures describe the initiative reported by the ILO; they are contextual evidence, not outcomes attributed to Hiba’s project. Read the ILO account.
For someone reviewing this case study, the next useful question is how each research theme becomes a design decision. A clear presentation can show the question, the evidence considered, the proposed response and what remains to be tested. It can also distinguish a spatial proposal from something that has been implemented and evaluated.
That sequence makes a portfolio useful to potential collaborators. It gives them a way to discuss research priorities, understand the reasoning behind a proposal and identify where their own contribution could fit.
The published case study describes research and design principles. It does not document a completed park redesign or measured effects on children’s use. Read its spatial ideas as proposals unless implementation evidence is supplied. A proposal, an installed intervention and an evaluated outcome each require a different kind of supporting record.
A participatory mapping guide explains a method that can be used across different places. This case study focuses on a particular research question at Horsh Beirut: how children develop an ongoing relationship with public space. Mapping is one part of that inquiry, alongside observation, interviews and spatial analysis, rather than its entire subject.
A useful starting point is a specific question about the place, the people affected and the decision the research should inform. Relevant maps, existing studies and a clear account of the project’s constraints can help frame that discussion. Any proposed engagement with children also needs an agreed approach to consent, privacy and participation.
For another landscape inquiry, explore the Nong Han Lake and Don Sawan Island research. For a broader account of the practice, browse the selected research and design work.
Discuss a related project with Hiba: describe the place, your research question and the collaboration you have in mind.
Research on sacred landscapes, ecological systems and everyday use around Nong Han Lake, leading to low-impact proposals for Don Sawan Island.
Understanding interactions between landscape, ecology, cultural heritage, belief and local use around the lake and island.
Field observation, spatial analysis, documentary research, surveys and engagement with local residents and stakeholders.
Entrance pavilion, meditation hall rehabilitation, boat arrival pontoon, elevated pathways, small shop units and visitor facilities using low-impact and reused materials.
A multi-site body of applied research connecting site selection, diagnostics, youth participation, implementation and evaluation.
Research on public space, the Lebanese coast and urban heritage, including eight public-space projects from early site selection through implementation and evaluation.
Research protocols, sampling, semi-structured interviews, field observation, spatial analysis, participatory workshops and evaluation frameworks.
Work with local and international partners, interdisciplinary teams, municipalities, young people and community stakeholders.
Design leadership across user interfaces, brand systems and digital communication for startups and organizations.
Leading design work across UI/UX projects, branding and rebranding, social visuals and client-facing digital products.
Clarify user and business goals, define hierarchy and flows, prototype in Figma, develop visual systems, test clarity and iterate with stakeholders.
For each selected digital project, show the problem, your role, the user flow, 3–6 strongest interface screens, key design decisions and outcome/learning.
Do not turn this section into a gallery of disconnected screens. Keep each case study short, contextual and outcome-led.
Architectural practice spanning design development, digital modelling, technical documentation and site coordination.
Concept and schematic design, digital modelling, technical drawings, site surveys, site visits and coordination with engineers and contractors.
The architecture work demonstrates that your research-led thinking is supported by technical delivery and real project coordination.
A sustainability initiative where communication design, public engagement and local circular-economy strategy meet.
Local sourcing, responsible consumption, waste reduction and public awareness around everyday sustainable practices.
Strategic communication, partnerships, educational materials, social content and brand-facing storytelling.
It connects environmental transition with behavior, communication and user-facing design — reinforcing the same human-centered thread found in your urban work.
My work focuses on public space at the intersection of urban ecology, environmental transition, commons governance and spatial justice. I am especially interested in how children and everyday users experience, access and shape the city.
Because I have worked across research, architecture and UI/UX, I approach projects from both analytical and design perspectives: understanding systems, listening to users, mapping conditions, prototyping possibilities and communicating outcomes clearly.
Read academic CVA career that crosses urban research, architecture, visual communication and digital product design.
Research on children, public space and urban transformation through Horsh Beirut.
Landscape, commons and territorial research around Nong Han Lake and Don Sawan Island.
Applied research, public-space projects, participatory methods, mapping, evaluation and policy-facing outputs.
UI/UX, branding, digital products, social communication and design systems.
Concept design, modelling, documentation, site work and coordination.
Child-centered cities · Public space · Commons · Spatial justice · Ecological transition · Heritage · Post-crisis urban change
Qualitative research · Semi-structured interviews · Field observation · Participatory mapping · Spatial analysis · Co-design · Evaluation
Figma · Adobe Creative Suite · AutoCAD · Revit · Lumion · GIS / mapping workflows · AI-assisted design and research
Arabic · French · English