Medusan was founded by Waad El Hadidy to create meaningful spaces and visceral experiences. Waad is an interior designer with an anthropologist’s mind. She started her design career at Starwood Capital in 2012 at the launch of two luxury and lifestyle brands, 1 Hotels and Baccarat Hotels and Resorts. For her award winning 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park, Waad nurtured the project from design concept to completion, designed certain spaces herself, led FFE design and selection, and brought in several artists and local partners creating a richly layered experience and vibrant social space. Waad also led the design direction of 1 Hotel Central Park and was responsible for various office and residential projects owned by the firm.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital, Waad was a researcher at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service where she authored several publications on social change organizations and collective leadership. She holds a Masters in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge, UK and a degree in interior design from Parsons School of Design. Her past and current lives converge as she designs with humanity in mind.

Thriving on the urban energy of New York, Waad finds her roots in Cairo, Egypt where she admired the vernacular fabric of the city and the natural desert landscape of the rest of the country. She traveled extensively as a child and fell in love with hotels at an early age. Her first name means “Promise” and her last name “Of Steel”, so she was destined to work on buildings and their interiors.