Sahar HaghighiArchitecture · Design · Art

About

Sahar Haghighi is an architect and design/art practitioner based in London. With more than fifteen years of experience across the United States and Iran, her work spans residential, cultural, public and sustainability-focused design, with a research background in resilient and socially sustainable architecture.

She holds Master of Architecture degrees from the University of Utah and the Islamic Azad University of Shiraz. In the US she practised as an architectural designer at GSBS Architects in Salt Lake City, working across the full design process from concept to delivery, and took part in DesignBuildUTAH@Bluff, designing an affordable home and a tiny house with the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, Utah. She is a recipient of the AIA Utah Award for Excellence in Design Honor.

In Iran she designed residential and cultural projects with Mehrdad Iravanian Architects, Freeform Studio, Chénin Studio and Moshir Design Group, directed the art programme at Artfactory School, and taught design studios at Hafez University of Shiraz.

In 2020 she founded Thirdspace LAB, an independent design and art practice working across painting, installation, photography, sound and interdisciplinary projects. Her interests include computational design and fabrication, performance and visual art, and the sonic identity of places. She has served as a committee member of NOMA Utah's Project Pipeline and as a student leader of AIA Utah.

Professional experience

  • Architectural Designer — GSBS Architects, Salt Lake City
    2023–2026
  • Founder, Designer & Artist — Thirdspace LAB, Shiraz / London
    2020–
  • Designer — Mehrdad Iravanian Architects, Shiraz
    2020–2022
  • Art Director — Artfactory School, Shiraz
    2020–2021
  • Designer — Freeform Studio, Shiraz
    2019–2020
  • Designer — Chénin Studio, Shiraz
    2017–2019
  • Designer — Moshir Design Group, Shiraz
    2016–2018

Academic experience

  • Design-Build team — DesignBuildUTAH@Bluff, University of Utah
    2023
  • Research & Teaching Assistant — University of Utah
    2022–2023
  • Studio Instructor — Hafez University of Shiraz
    2019–2022
  • Teaching & Research Assistant — Shiraz Azad University
    2015–2019

Education

  • Master of Architecture — University of Utah, USA
    2022–2024
  • Master of Architecture — Islamic Azad University, Shiraz
    2015–2018
  • Bachelor of Architecture — Islamic Azad University, Shiraz
    2010–2014

Awards

  • AIA Utah — Award for Excellence in Design Honor
    2024
  • International Ambassador Scholarship
    2023
  • HKS Architecture Scholarship
    2023
  • Lloyd Architecture Scholarship
    2023
  • 8th National Award for Contemporary Iranian Interior Design (design partner, Mass Architects)
  • Ghavameddin Competition, Shiraz — First Place, Interactive Design
  • Shiraz Azad University Competition — Best Sustainable Design & Model

Exhibitions & workshops

  • ArtxArc × NOMA Utah, SLC Design Week — Rumi & Hafez poetry and calligraphy
    2023
  • “Sounds to Accompany Sokut” — sound artist, WGXC 90.7-FM / Wave Farm
    2023
  • Archi-Graph: Architectural Process, Design & Analysis — Tehran
    2020
  • Dramaturgy in Installation Art — Shiraz
    2019
  • Movement Research: Choreography & Installation Art — Shiraz
    2019
  • Contemporary Dance: Physical Dance and Movement — Tehran
    2017
  • Ghavameddin: Pavilion Architecture — Shiraz
    2016

Research & publications

  • Resilient Climate Adaptation Centre for Refugees (in preparation)
    2025
  • Sonic Identity and Soundwalk Experience — Listening in Design (in preparation)
  • Designing Sociable and New Spaces in Bazaar with Cultural and Environmental Sustainability — greenarchitecture.ir; Int. Conf. on Civil Engineering & Urban Design, Tabriz
    2019
  • The Effect of Designing an Eventual Bazaar on Human Behaviour Norms and Environmental Parameters — Tabriz
    2018

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