Dr Nasser Golzari

Nasser Golzari is an architect and academic dedicated to social architecture and the creation of inclusive cities that advance socio-environmental ecologies within post-colonial contexts. As the founder of GOLZARI (NG) Architects in London and co-founder of the Palestine Regeneration Team (PART), Golzari is deeply committed to rethinking scarred and contested landscapes through both speculative and live projects, in line with his passion for socially responsive architecture.

Golzari challenges Western, market-driven architectural practices, drawing inspiration from the daily rituals, narratives, and passive ecological practices of the Global South. His work seeks to reclaim and celebrate socially driven architecture, particularly focusing on ‘the invisible other.’

His research in cultural identity, social architecture, and European Modernism has led him to edit A3 Times and curate exhibitions, symposiums, and lectures across the UK and Europe. He has collaborated with architects like Peter Blundell Jones and Florian Beigel, championing an alternative modernist tradition.

Golzari has published extensively on participatory design and learning from the Global South. 

Recently, he co-founded Architects for Gaza and Gaza Global University to support displaced students and assist in the self-help reconstruction of homes.

He has co-curated a series of national and international exhibitions, including the London Festival of Architecture (2023, 2024), the Sharjah Architecture Triennial (2024), the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Chicago Architecture Biennial (2019), and the Berlinale (2020).

His projects and research have received numerous awards, including the RIBA President's Medals High Commendation Award (2016), the Grand Designs NACSBA Shortlist (2016), and the Constructing Communities Award Shortlist (2016). Golzari has also been involved in collaborative projects with the Palestinian NGO Riwaq, their collaborative work won the Holcim Commendation Award for Sustainable Construction in the MENA Region (2014) for the Beit Iksa Eco Kitchen and the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2013) for the Regeneration of Birzeit Historic Centre. Additionally, his projects in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets were nominated for the Civic Trust Awards in 2000, 1997, and 1996.

Golzari's recent work on reconstruction in Gaza has been awarded Quintin Hogg Trust funding for 2024. 

A SELECTION OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

2004- 05 New Towns for Compact Cities - culture and economic sustainability

2004-05 'Walled city - London Docklands'

2004 -05 'London Post-colonial Hyper Modern city' Urban Planning Symposium

2003- Investigations on vertical gardens, green roofs and natural cooling system for a prototype green Office - In association with Pierre d'Avoine Architects and London Metropolitan University

2002- Research on energy efficiency methods, courtyard climatic house with solar chimneys- in association with Pierre d'Avoine Architects, Universities of Oxford Brookes and London Metropolitan University as an energy consultant. Sponsored by Iranian Fuel Conservation organisation.

2002- Research on prefabricated-ready made housing technologies with Pierre d' Avoine Architects.

2000- Works and writings of Hugo Haring and the secret of form with Peter Blundell Jones and Sheffield University. Sponsored by the Arts Council of England and private practice.

1996 - Vertical and suspended gardens with courtyard live-work units and different living Manchester.

1996- Living types social housing SRB bid, London.

1994- The architect, Hans Sharoun, projects and works. Sponsored by the Arts Council, Foundation

for Sports & arts, A3Times magazine, Universities of Sheffield South Bank and North London in

collaboration with Peter Blundell Jones and Academic De Kunst Berlin.

1994- Short and long-term living types, suspended gardens and collective living ideas Neruppin

Germany researched with the students at the University of East London and CG Architects.

1988- Proposal for self-build energy-efficient house in collaboration with the University of North London

and Tower Hamlets Housing department and the centre for alternative technology.

1887- Research on Erich Mendelsohn and the Bexhill Pavilion works and writing sponsored by private practices, A3 Times magazine and Bexhill pavilion.

1986- Research on British Modern architecture, 100 years.

A SELECTION OF FORMER ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

• Golzari has been an educational advisor for several architectural institutions and universities in the Middle East including the Isfahan University of Arts and Azad University.
• He also led the academic team in forming a whole new university in Karachi. As the Acting Dean, he set up the school of Architecture and Spatial Design.
• Design Studio Leader MArch and BA Hons Architecture Oxford Brookes University
• Office-based examiner, Riba Part II, Oxford Brookes University
• Architecture Pathway Leader Central Saint Martin CSM University of the Arts 
• Spatial Pathway Leader Central Saint Martin CSM University of the Arts 
• Chair and urban advisor to The International Art and Architecture Research Association.
• Research Editor SOS International Architectural Urban and Engineering Design Magazine.

For details of all my research outputs, visit my WestminsterResearch profile.