Brian Robert Sinclair

Professor

Dr. Brian R. Sinclair PhD FRAIC AIA (Intl) is an award-winning Professor of Architecture + Environmental Design, and former Dean, in Faculty of Environmental Design (EVDS) at the University of Calgary, Canada. For many years he served this institution in the unique position of Presidential Advisor on Design + Sustainability. In this capacity he advised, inspired and influenced the institution regarding all aspects of landscape, urban, architectural, interior design and sustainability. Prior to assuming the deanship at Calgary, he was Chair of the nationally-ranked Architecture school at Ball State University in the USA. Brian holds postgraduate degrees in the fields of both architecture and psychology. His expertise, experience and engagement span the breadth from science and technologies to art and humanities. With a strong commitment to interdisciplinarity, integration and holism, Sinclair performs across a wide spectrum of roles, including educator, practitioner, scholar and administrator.

Professional memberships include the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Fellowships in the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and the International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research & Cybernetics (IIAS). Involved extensively in development activities worldwide, with a particular emphasis on the Asian region, he is the only foreign member of the Society of Nepalese Architects (SONA) and the Union of Mongolian Architects (UMA). International board memberships include the Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) and the Toda Institute for Global Peace + Policy Research. Professor Sinclair has actively contributed to many organizations including the Van Horne Institute of International Transportation + Regulatory Affairs, the Evergreen Foundation, the Calgary Foundation and the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation. He is a past Senator at the University of Calgary, a presiding Governor of the Architectural Foundation of Alberta, and member of prominent societies such as the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) and the Council on Tall Buildings + Urban Habitat (CTBUH). In 2003 he was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) Leadership Society and in 2010 was elected into the prestigious Phi Kappa Phi (PKP) honor society.

Professor Sinclair has garnered numerous honors & accolades, including awards for Outstanding Achievements, Best Papers and Scholarly Contributions. He is recipient of a Distinguished Scholar Award from UNESCO|IIAS, a U-Make-A-Difference Award from the University of Calgary, the 2012 UC Graduate Students’ Association “Teaching Excellence Award”, associated Nomination for the 2012 "Supervisory Excellence Award", and the 2013 Rev. Dr. John Snow Sr. Award for Excellence in Teaching & Research.. Sinclair was bestowed in 2010 with a “President’s Medal of Distinguished Achievement” and in 2012 conferred a Doctor Honoris Causa (DrHC) from the International Institute for Advanced Studies in Systems Research & Cybernetics in Germany. In 2014 he was presented with the ARCC Kihl Award for Distinguished Service in Architectural Research. His doctoral degree, from the University of Missouri, focused on leading-edge research involving innovative design + planning approaches to improve quality of life for some of world's poorest people. His most recent book, published by the Canada Green Building Council, is entitled “Culture, Context and the Pursuit of Sustainability". Scholarship areas include professional practice, design methods, systems, open building & agile architecture, environmental psychology, international development, informal settlements, urban studies, sustainability, and the collision of science + spirit.