Exploring the Margins

Sahel Al Hiyari is the principal architect at Sahel Al Hiyari Architects. He holds Bachelor Degrees in Architecture and Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He carried out post-graduate work at the School of Architecture at the University of Venice, where he also taught from 1993-1995. In addition he has taught an intensive summer design studio organized by the Centre for the Study of the Built Environment (CSBE) in collaboration with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2002 and 2004, as well as an option studio at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in the fall of 2010. In 2002, he was chosen as the first architect to receive the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative, according to which he has been a protégé of architect Álvaro Siza of Portugal. He has lectured in Columbia University, Harvard University, Physical Development Research Centre in Iran and Jordan University of Science and Technology. He is currently a visiting professor at the Department of Architecture and Design at the American University of Beirut. He has served as a reviewer and a member of the Master Jury for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. Additionally, he is a painter and has exhibited in Jordan, Lebanon and Italy. www.sahelalhiyari.com