Nasrine Seraji

After studying at the Architectural Association and practising in London, Seraji moved to Paris in 1989 to establish her studio where architecture is treated as both a cultural debate and a practice. Since then, she has pursued a path constantly enriched by her simultaneous engagement in architectural practice, teaching, and research. She has lectured and exhibited her work widely in Europe and North America, as well as China and South East Asia. Between 1993 and 2001, Seraji taught at Columbia...See more

After studying at the Architectural Association and practising in London, Seraji moved to Paris in 1989 to establish her studio where architecture is treated as both a cultural debate and a practice. Since then, she has pursued a path constantly enriched by her simultaneous engagement in architectural practice, teaching, and research. She has lectured and exhibited her work widely in Europe and North America, as well as China and South East Asia. Between 1993 and 2001, Seraji taught at Columbia University in New York, at the Architectural Association in London as Diploma Unit Master, and Princeton University as Visiting Professor. Seraji was Professor and Chair of the Department of Architecture at Cornell University from 2001 to 2005. In 2006, she returned to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna where she held the position of Professor of Ecology, Sustainability and Conservation, as well as Head of the Institute for Art and Architecture through until 2012. She was Dean of the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture Paris-Malaquais for ten years (formerly the École des Beaux-Arts) between 2006-2016. She was appointed centennial visiting professor of design at Hong Kong University in January 2014 She is currently Professor of the department of Architecture at the University of Hong Kong. Architect of the award-winning Temporary American Centre in Paris, Seraji has completed several notable buildings and projects, including apartment buildings in Vienna, student housing in Paris and an extension to the School of Architecture in Lille, the latter were both nominated for the Mies Van der Rohe Prize. She continues to participate in competitions of varying types and complexities, ranging from urban design master plans and institutional buildings to small houses and installations. Current projects in progress include a building complex in Paris for the Paris Transportation Authority comprised of 213 housing units and a bus depot will be inaugurated in November; competitions for student housing and affordable housing as well as large-scale urban plans in the French cities of le Rheu, and Pau. A recent housing project brought the prestigious prize of Mention de l'Équerre d'Argent to her practice this year. Seraji first received the medal for Chevalier des Arts et desLetters from the Minister of Culture in France in 2006 for her role as an architect contributing to excellence in art and humanities. In 2008, she was awarded the medal of Chevalier dans l'OrdreNational du Mérite by Presidential decree. In the same year she was also awarded the Medaille d'Argent by the French Academy of Architecture for her contribution to academic endeavours in architecture. Most recently, in July 2011, she received the Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur, one of the highest degrees of honour in France. She was promoted to the rank of Officier de l'Ordre Nationale du Mérite, by the President of the French Republic in May 2016. See less