Nada Kadasa is an architect. Her father established a new real estate company by the name of Al-Ard Al-Salbah and asked her to head and manage it.
“I knew this was the place for me. In less than a year, we were finishing construction on four villas and renovating two multi-story buildings. It became one of the first few companies to be licensed by the Ministry of Housing in the country,” she said.
She said she would use the work ethic given to her by her family to achieve the company’s vision.
Kadasa said she tries to balance work and her personal life. She is a member of a charity called Kayan that is specifically for children of unknown parenthood. She also volunteers with animal shelters. She has fostered more than 40 cats, dogs, birds and even rabbits — taking care of them until they find a family to adopt them or sponsoring their medical care. Currently, she owns three dogs and eight cats. Most were rescued from the street and have different medical issues.
But her most loved animals are her four parrots. She helps raise awareness for bird care within the animal-loving community, since most people do not know how sensitive and intelligent birds are.
Kadasa also teaches art to beginners on Instagram, to hopefully help them become better artists. She had staged two art shows so far and is setting up her third event next month. “Even in my hobbies I like to set goals. Nothing feels more amazing that when you aim for something and reach it,” Kadasa said.
Kadasa said she grew up in a very intelligence-focused household. Her father established one of the first and strongest intellectual property firms in Saudi Arabia, representing brands such as Apple and Versace. Her mother was a social activistand is still a member of many charities
She already has a driver’s license because driving was one of the biggest issues that “upset me since I tried to drive a golf cart when I was eight without my family knowing. (I was caught right away).”
Kadasa said she loved art and analytical thinking so when it was time to get into college she chose a major that reflected that, and studied architecture. Initially, Kadasa’s family tried to pressure her to study law like the rest of her family. She refused and went with her heart.
While in college she also drove her professors crazy, asking “why” for every single design decision. That affected her grades during the year, “but I truly didn’t care and believed in myself, so at the end of each of those classes I would present a project so good it proved to my professors that I was not being ‘disruptive or disrespectful’ with my questions. I was truly wanting to grow and that got me the respect of most of the faculty by the time I graduated.”
Her final project was the largest in square meters in the university’s history at the time. If built it would break the largest dome-size world record and be the second largest indoor theme park in the world.
She received a lot of pushback for this project from her professors, but her stubborn nature helped her keep going and in the end they loved it! After her graduation, Kadasa worked in different companies from design to IP and designed a cafe in Riyadh called Symphony Lounge.