Global Expertise

Hannah Allawi is an Intern Architect with the AAA and NCARB, and has over 10 years of professional experience across Canada, the UAE, the UK, and Japan. She currently works with Mode Architecture Inc. and is a Sessional Instructor at the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape (SAPL). She holds a PhD in Architecture from SAPL, where her research explored the revival of Abu Dhabi’s lost modern architectural heritage through mobile augmented reality.

Hannah holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the American University of Sharjah and a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University. She also serves as a Director with the American Institute of Architects Canada Chapter and a Committee Member with the Consulting Architects of Alberta.

Veronica is a sessional instructor at the architectural design studio and a Ph.D. candidate in Environmental Design. As an architect, she has extensive experience in architectural and interior design, landscape architecture, and project management in both private and public sectors in Mexico.

Carol-Ann is an experienced Project Manager skilled in Land Development, Sustainable Development, Mixed Use, Urban Planning, Feasibility Studies, and Community Engagement. 

Rob Birch's M.E.Des. thesis research focused on the intersection of spirituality and place through the lens of both traditional and contemporary Japanese architecture. His geoscience career has taken him from the Mayan pyramids of the Belize jungle to the frigid landscape of the Canadian Arctic, to the rocky cliffs of Northern Ireland, and to the central highlands of Madagascar. 

Trevor Boddy is a critic and curator of contemporary architecture and a Vancouver-based consulting urban designer.  His books, articles, exhibitions, and consulting are dedicated to exploring the relationship between design and contemporary city-building. The clarity, insights, and public-mindedness of his writing on buildings and cities have been awarded the Alberta Book of the Year and Jack Webster Journalism prizes.

Joshua Clarke is a designer, artist, and educator whose path to design and architecture includes a background in civil engineering, graduate studies in counselling psychology, and a decade of work in homelessness, poverty reduction, and social justice. A Master of Architecture graduate from SAPL, he is a sessional instructor in the BDCI program and an invited lecturer in graduate design programs, including at UBC Okanagan. Alongside teaching, he runs his own creative practice, working across a range of media to explore an enduring interest in the relationships between human psychology, culture, and the built environment.

Mathieu Denis is an intern architect, sessional instructor, and current PhD student at the University of Calgary. With over a decade of professional experience, he has worked with architecture firms in Ottawa, Montreal, and Calgary, contributing to large public and institutional developments to private residential designs. Mathieu approaches architecture as a relational and representational practice, tracing how formal and informal spatial assemblages mediate inclusion and exclusion. His doctoral research examines supportive infrastructure for people experiencing homelessness across Canadian cities, investigating how shelter, services, and negotiated spaces operate as interconnected urban systems. 

Nooshin is a Registered Architect in Canada, a researcher, a yoga teacher & a nature lover, and currently is a Ph.D. candidate. After graduating from SAPL, she worked with many well-known architectural firms. She has always been intrigued by the quality of space and its impact on our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Cameron Gillies is an Architect and an alumnus of Dalhousie University and the University of Calgary. During his 20+ year career, Cameron has worked with some of Canada’s best-recognized Architects, contributing to over $3B worth of design and construction projects.  He's currently works with The City of Calgary and mentors, teaches, lectures, and volunteers at institutions across the country.  

Teresa is a Registered Professional Planner and Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners/ Alberta Association Canadian Institute of Planners with 18+ years of professional planning experience, specializing in the areas of affordable housing, housing policy, community and land use planning, policy development, and planning analysis.

CEO and Founding Partner at Future Fit Cities, and Founding Partner at InceptionU, Greg specializes in ergonomics, process design and assessment, interface design, urban design, CPTED, critical thinking development/leadership, pre-employment physical and aptitude assessment, continuous improvement, and incident investigation. 

Jennifer is a registered Landscape Architect and Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner In-Training. Jennifer’s work emphasizes the ecological aspects of landscape design: ensuring spaces are functional and connected, working with native plant materials, conserving biodiversity, and designing for resilience. 

A registered architect with over 18 years of experience in architectural design and project management,  Farhad is also exploring how architects can contribute to sustainable international development through knowledge sharing and empowering their fellow practitioners at SAPL. 

Mathis is an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture. A consistent theme in Mathis' academic and practice expertise is the integration of design and ecology.

Read more about Mathis here.

A graduate of our faculty, Khalid is a maker, entrepreneur, artist, and educator. His classes focus on concept-driven architectural design with an emphasis on narrative and the physical construction of architectural wonders. 

Pryce has over 30 years of planning experience spread across New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He currently is the Planning Lead for V3. His work experience has been in both the private and public sectors with experiences in downtown revitalization, sustainable development, transportation, governance, mixed land use development, climate change, and commercial and residential development. 

Daniel is an Associate Urban Designer at O2, where he leads complex projects and pioneers digital and place-based design workflows informed by contextual analysis. With a background in architecture and a Master's in Landscape Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania, he previously served as Deputy Director of Public Space for the Municipality of Quito, overseeing 120 citywide projects. Daniel also teaches design and graphics at institutions including Universidad Católica, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Calgary.

A Landscape Architect and Educator with 15+ years of experience bridging academia and professional practice to build resilient landscape interventions. As Principal Architect at Studio1 Group Ltd, Emmanuel's design philosophy is rooted in combining modern engineering with place-based local materials to create sustainability, community-led innovations and climate structures in territories facing extreme resource scarcity.

Emmanuel has taught at leading global institutions, including the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (Norway), the University of Rwanda, and the International University of East Africa (Uganda). With that trademark in the built environment, he has completed a variety of projects in healthcare, civic, climate response architecture and community led designs.

Steven has nineteen years of professional experience working in a wide range of technical areas with vegetation ecology as a central focus. He is a senior specialist in reclamation, environmental impact assessments, wetland science, regulatory approvals, research, rangeland management, bioengineering, and native plant propagation. 

An associate professor and program director for architecture at The University of Texas at Austin, Bieg received his Master of Architecture from Columbia University, is NCARB certified, and is a registered architect in Texas. Since 2013, he has served as Chair of the TxA Emerging Design + Technology conference, and co-Director of TEX-FAB Digital Fabrication Alliance. 

Dr. Philip Belesky is a designer, developer, and educator whose work bridges environmental mapping and procedural generation to model landscapes and guide design action. As Computational Design Technical Lead at McGregor Coxall’s BioUrbanism Lab, he applies this research to urban resilience, drawing on experience in academia, tech, and a PhD from RMIT’s Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory.

Wil uses innovative design principles to probe new ideas in architecture, public space, equity, and design. His 20-year tenure goes hand-in-hand with his enthusiasm for new ways professionals contribute to meaningful yet stimulating environments for a just city. 
 

Valerio Morabito, is a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome in Landscape Architecture. For almost 20 years, he was an Adjunct Professor at The Department of Landscape Architecture, School of De-sign at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, and a Professor at the Mediterranean University in Italy.

Luca is a photographer, researcher, and teacher based in Lugo, Italy. He holds a PhD in Photography from Plymouth University, and his work explores notions of landscapes, place, memory, and belonging with an interdisciplinary approach that revisits the tradition of documentary photography. 

Philip Speranza is an architect, urban designer, and educator whose work explores Fine-grained Urbanism through computational methods to understand human-scale social and environmental qualities. As Associate Professor at the University of Oregon and principal of Speranza Architecture + Urban Design, he leads international collaborations and data-driven projects - from Barcelona’s Superilles to Oregon’s Middle Housing - that integrate urban ecology, adaptive reuse, and sensor-based design.