Jadd Hallaj

Consultant

Profile

An urban planner with a passion for cartography and data science, dedicated to enhancing location intelligence in vulnerable geographies. Through consultancy services offered in Paris and Istanbul, he contributes to research, design, dialogue and education initiatives. Strives to leverage innovative technologies and collaborative approaches to drive sustainable urban development and territorial innovation.

Education

Master of Architecture  


Bachelor of Architecture

Expertise

Skills

Professional Skills


Language Skills

Experience

Research & Design


2023 - 2024: Finalist of the EUROPAN architecture competition “Living Cities”. Rouen, France.
Led a team of 4 architects to create a proposal for the development of the Eastern banks of the Seine River in Rouen. 


2023 - 2024: Co-researcher: “Women Status Report for Syria”.  UN Women.
Assisted gender studies experts in collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data from cross-geography surveys in Syria. Generated cartographies, data visualizations, and contributed to text drafting. Produced an automated workflow for reproducibility of the research format and the mapping techniques. Participated in the design and analysis of more than 1000 surveys. Participated in round-tables and debates on findings. 


2022 - 2024: Full Stack Developer: Map-based Digital Simulation tool for Dialogue. Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Led design and development of interconnected tools, including web mapping servers, facilitating real-time simulation exercises involving decision makers from diverse regions in Syria. Facilitated engagement with the Special Envoy’s Civil Society Support Room, Women Advisory Board, ESCWA and various local NGOs and diplomatic missions. Compiled workshop data in structured databases and assisted in report drafting. 


2023: Author: “Designing administration in Syria: a historical and statistical approach (1500 - 2030)”. Syrian Urban Research Project (SUR), Beirut Urban Lab, American University of Beirut.
Researched and authored a peer-reviewed paper on the custom built Historical Geographic Information System (HGIS) used to analyze scenarios for the decentralization of Syrian governance.  Link >


2023: Co-Author: “Mapping Imagined Territories”. In “Mapping After Displacement”.
Researched and co-authored paper that delves into the intricate history of maps within the Levant region. We dissect how maps, often wielded as instruments of power, have shaped territories, identities, and socio-political landscapes in the Levant area. 


2023: Cartography: Mapping of ethnic distributions in and around the Akkar municipality. Legal Agenda.
Provided cartographic support for a research project headed by Samir Aita, President of the Circle of Arab Economists. Assisted in data preparation and analysis. 


2023: Co-author: “Revealing the cultural heritage landscape of the Flemish moated homesteads”. UNESCO.
Conducted historical and environmental documentation of 529 moated sites in Southwest Flanders (Belgium). Led cartographies and urban analysis, and edited contributions from local experts. Designed and implemented an open heritage day for local heritage coordinators as part of an awareness campaign. Drafted a proposal for the region to apply for UNESCO cultural heritage recognition of the sites.  Link >


2022 - 2023: Co-researcher: “A Roadmap for the EU Engagement with Syrian Civil Society”. Delegation of the EU to Syria.
Led qualitative research mapping civil society groups (CSOs) through Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). This research aided in establishing guidelines for the EU's engagement with Syrian CSOs. Automated workflow for reproducibility and created custom code to handle complex qualitative data. Participated in drafting.  Link >


2022: Co-author: ”The making of Syria's Administrative divisions: one hundred years of a problematic relationship between the center and the periphery”. London School of Economics.
Produced a dataset of 50 maps illustrating Syrian administrative borders from the late 1800s to present. Analyzed results and contributed to text drafting.  Link >


2020: Author and Lecturer: “From Toulouse to Tripoli, the Saint Gilles castles”. France.
Comparative urban and architectural studies between the castles of Raymond IV of Toulouse and Tripoli (Lebanon). Commissioned by the Mayor of Salvêtat Saint-Gilles. 


2020 - 2021: Designer in residence, Kortrijk, Belgium.
Research, development and realization of a project on the future of urban leisure in the city of Kortrijk, in a network of creators and industrialists. 



Teaching, Lectures


2021 - 2024: Co-Founder and Organizer: Living Summer School (LSS). Kortrijk, Belgium.
Established and organized an annual free informal education program in Kortrijk, Belgium, uniting 30 multidisciplinary European and local youth to lead experiments in territorial innovation. Successfully ran three editions in partnership with local stakeholders and decision makers. Facilitated multidisciplinary teams to address socio-environmental challenges, emphasizing experiential learning and collaborative problem-solving.  In 2022, secured  ERASMUS + Status and full membership in the LINA Network for European Architecture.  Link >


2024: Co-Organiser of Forecast Platform's first Spring School. Berlin, Germany.
Assisted Forecast in developing the concept for a 5 day spring school in parallel to the annual Forecast Festival with the participation of artists Markus Hoffman, Ana Prvacki  and Ulli Lust among others with the participation of 30 students. The experience will culminate  in an artistic urban intervention in the city of Berlin. 


2023 - 2024: Lecture:  “Researching Moated Homesteads”. ENSA Versailles, Paris, France. 


2021: Co-founder and Organizer: Territorial Lab. Leidal, Kortrijk.
Led temporary animation of a vacant city center space in Kortrijk through participatory workshops, installations, and exhibitions. Transformed the city’s main monument, the Broel Tower, into a research laboratory open to the public. Project funded by the EU and commissioned by the regional development association Leiedal. 


2022: Facilitator: Mapathon for the New European Bauhaus, Brussels, Belgium.
Conducted a 3-hour workshop mapping a Flemish heritage landscape using custom mapping tools developed for the occasion. Engaged with 50+ participants.


2022: Guest speaker:  UNESCO cities of design sub-network meeting, Geelong, Australia.


2021: Guest speaker: “Explorations & Cartographies”, Research in Practice, series of architecture seminars , Brussels, Belgium.


2018 to 2020: Teaching at École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris-La Villette.
Assisting in teaching housing history and urban planning, supervising a group of 60 students. Teaching assistant in a descriptive geometry course. 



Architecture


2021: Architect’s Assistant Tabanlioglu architects, Istanbul, Türkiye.
Participated in the design and drawing of renovation and conversion projects of the Galata Greek Primary School (Istanbul) into a cultural center, and the Akşehir Monastery into a luxury hotel, from survey to APS. 


2019 to 2020: Architect’s assistant at SERAU Architectes & Ingénieurs Associés, Paris, France.
Followed office construction sites (new + renovations), and assisted in the design of a 2800 person technology campus project. Designed renovation projects for an embassy and ministry. Participation in all phases of design.