Professor Dr. Nezar Alsayyad

Biography

Nezar AlSayyad is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, in the College of Environmental Design. He has served as a member of the Departments of Architecture, City & Regional Planning, and Urban Design Graduate Group, and chaired the Ph.D. Program in Architecture from 2001 to 2009. His academic contributions extend to significant roles such as chairing the Center for Middle Eastern Studies from 1995 to 2014 and serving as Faculty Director for CASES/KFAS from 2015 to 2018. AlSayyad’s work focuses on urban spaces and social life, and he has authored and edited numerous books on topics like colonialism, identity, Islamic architecture, and urban informality. His films, including "Virtual Cairo" and "At Home Mother Earth," have contributed to public discourse on urban issues. He has received multiple grants from prestigious institutions and notable awards such as the Beit Al-Quran Medal from Bahrain and the Pioneer American Society Book Award. In 1988, he founded the interdisciplinary area of Environmental Design Urbanism Developing Countries, which aims to connect theory with social processes through design. He also co-founded the International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments, of which he became President Emeritus in 2018. AlSayyad also maintains a small architecture and urban design practice that provides consulting work to clients in developing countries.

Research Interests

Experience