About Nabu Labs
DESIGNING WITH INTELLIGENCE OF EARTH AND PERSPECTIVE OF SPACE
Nabu Labs is an architecture, design, and research laboratories working across terrestrial environments, experimental systems, and space habitation. We combine international knowledge, advanced technology, material research, and architectural craft to design places that are resilient, purposeful, and alive.
Studio Introduction
Architecture is not a fixed object. It is a living process.
Our vision is a future in which the boundary between terrestrial and extraterrestrial design dissolves where the further we develop for the Moon and Mars makes our cities on Earth more resilient, more resourceful, and more alive. We are not simply imagining that future. We are designing it.
For us, architecture is not only about shelter or form. It is about creating systems and environments that support life, respond intelligently to their context, and remain meaningful as conditions change.
Architecture Categories
One studio, three fields of exploration.
Our work moves across terrestrial architecture, experimental research, and space environments. Each category responds to different conditions, but all are shaped by the same approach: understand the context, work intelligently with resources, and design systems that support life.
Design Principles
The forces that shape the work
Light
We treat light as both material and measure—shaping atmosphere, orientation, rhythm and comfort while responding to climate and time.
Air
Air informs how spaces breathe. Through orientation, enclosure, ventilation and thermal movement, we create environments that feel open, balanced and naturally responsive.
Water
Water is a source of life, reflection and environmental intelligence. We consider how it is experienced, conserved, collected and integrated into a building’s wider systems.
Landscape
Architecture does not sit apart from its setting. We look for ways that land, vegetation, topography and built form can become one continuous environment.
Movement
A project is understood through the body in motion. Sequences, thresholds, views and moments of pause shape how people discover and inhabit a place.
Finishes and details
Ideas become credible through execution. Material choices, junctions, surfaces and proportions are developed with the same attention as the larger architectural gesture.
Team
Built by people who move between disciplines.
Nabu Labs is built on a team of internatioanl innovators, designers, and space architects who move comfortably between worlds. Our work in the UAE is grounded in a deep understanding of the region’s heritage, culture, and climate, an appreciation for the desert’s logic, the role of light and shade, the importance of community and hospitality.
Hatem Hussein
Co-Founder, Chief Architect
Hatem is a visionary architect and entrepreneur with long years of international experience in iconic architecture and tech-driven innovation. He has worked on landmark projects like the Museum of the Future facade in Dubai and led startups in architecture and robotics, one of which scaled to 75+ people and generated $50M+ in revenue. With a master’s in space studies from ISU France and research experience in Japan, Hatem blends architecture, space tech, and entrepreneurship. He now leads a startup focused on AI-powered design while designing future-forward projects worldwide.
Mawj Al Darraji
Co-Founder, Director of Operation & Construction
As a RIBA Architect, International Associate AIA, LEED GA, and PMI Certified Project Manager, Mawj excels as Director of operation and construction. Managing a diverse portfolio across the MENA region, she goes beyond project oversight to drive strategic business development and innovation. She builds strategic partnerships and explores new opportunities to enhance market presence. Her work spans luxury home designs with a futuristic vision, from design through to construction and handover. She focuses on community- scale projects, collaborating with urban planners and city officials to create sustainable environments. Active in the Canadian (Ontario) and US (Texas) markets, she integrates cutting-edge design with functionality, setting new standards in architectural excellence.
Dr. Monika Brandic Libenska
Co-Founder, Chief Architect
Space Architect and Researcher exploring the intersection of architectural design, biotechnology, and in-situ resource utilization. Co-founder of NABU LABS and the Bio-Futures for Transplanetary Habitats platform. Dedicated to designing resilient habitats that support human well-being in extreme environments, both on Earth and in space. She holds two master degrees, one in Space Studies from the International Space University, and one master of architecture from university of Lund. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Lund. Additionally, She has a PhD in Built environment from the University of New Castle.
Our Portfolio
From luxury resorts to planetary systems.
Our experience spans private residences, hospitality, cultural institutions, masterplans, extreme-environment research and space architecture. Across every scale, the ambition remains the same: to make each project appropriate to its place, technically resolved and capable of lasting consequence.
