Contact
n.akber@ajman.ac.ae
06 705 5378
Ajman Campus
Naji Akbar

As a 1998 college graduate, new architect, and young entrepreneur, Naji Akbar began his decade-long journey to establish his own consultancy. During this time, he actively engaged in and fully experienced both designing and constructing. Although successful at both, he eventually decided to test his knowledge of architecture by returning to the academic world, specifically at the University of Calgary, Canada, where he earned two master’s degrees in architecture and environmental design. As an architect, Naji’s experience now spans over 20 years of building residences, educational institutes, mosques, and renovations. His designs display deep respect for context, simplicity, practicality, and meaningfulness. As an academic, Naji has taught at international universities in Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE alongside his own practice. He has written a book on graphical language for design students and peer-reviewed scholarly articles exploring meaningfully livable habitats as found in human history. His current research focuses on "ecological embeddedness" and its capacity to enable the creation of truly sustainable environments. Based on his research, Naji has founded a grant called RSFA*. This grant financially supports students of architecture, landscape, urban design, and development studies whose capstone projects are rooted in traditional wisdom and contextual embeddedness. According to Naji, desirable social changes are possible, and education is a powerful medium through which these changes can be initiated. While he now dedicates more time to his academic and research pursuits, he still likes to be connected to architectural endeavors. His other interests include writing ecopoetry and studying digital art, which he is currently planning to convert into two books in the near future: a book of his poems and a collection of, and commentary on, manual and digital drawings by students under his supervision. Naji is currently a member of the teaching faculty at the College of Architecture, Art and Design at Ajman University. He maintains his internet presence through YouTube, Behance, and rsfa.pk. * RSFA stands for Razia Sultana & Farida Akbar (RSFA). Naji has named this research grant after these two remarkable women to honor their lives and emulate their selflessness, compassion, and true love for humanity.

Education
  • Master of Environmental Design (MEDes), University of Calgary, Canada-2021
  • Master of Architecture (M. Arch), University of Calgary, Canada-2016
  • Bachelor of Architecture (B. Arch), NED University of Engineering & Technology, Pakistan-1998
  • Building Information Modeling Program (BIM), Bredin Institute, Calgary, Canada-2013
  • Alberta Building Code, Part 9 Certification, Safety Codes Council, Edmonton, Canada-2013
Experience
  • Lecturer, College of Architecture, Art and Design, Ajman University, UAE-2022 - Present
  • Lecturer 2017-2022 College of Architecture and Planning, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Saudi Arabia-2017-22
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant 2016-2017 School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape, University of Calgary, AB, Canada-2016-17
  • Professional Expert Teacher 1999-2012 Department of Visual Studies, University of Karachi, Pakistan-1999-2012
  • Principal Architect, Naji & Kamran Architectural Consultants, Canada, Pakistan-1998 till date
  • VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE: 1-RSFA Grant for Sustainability in the Built Environment (currently volunteering as Grant convener). 2-International School, Alkhober, Saudi Arabia (volunteered as a moderator for workshop titled “Teachers as Leading Facilitators of Change”). 3-Alberta Association of Architects, Canada (volunteered as Student Representative). 4-Junior Achievements of Southern Alberta, Canada (volunteered to deliver “Economics for Success Program” to grade nine students at the Ian Bazelgette School, Calgary). 5-Habitat for Humanity, Calgary, Canada (volunteered as construction crew member). 6-Centre De Sources (French Library), Calgary, Canada (volunteered to assist the management in determining interior design needs and appropriate schemes). 7-Institute of Architects Pakistan (IAP) (volunteered as Honorary Secretary IAP Karachi Chapter)
Teaching Area
  • Professional Practice for Architects and Interior Designers
  • Research and Programming
  • Architectural and Interior Design Studios
  • Building Construction
  • Design and Construction Documents
  • Revit for Architects and Interior Designers (Essentials)
  • Adobe InDesign (Essentials)
  • Freehand Drawing and Perspectives (Essentials)
Research
  • Ecologically Embedded Built Environments
  • History of Sustainable Built Environments
  • Ecological Wisdom (EW)
  • Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)
Publications
Conference Presentation
  • Towards a Post-Capitalist Society: Strategies for an economically, socially and environmentally responsive built-environment-University of Helsinki-Finland-2019
  • Post-Capitalism and the Built-Environment: Redefining Human Scale to Envision an Economically, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Neighbourhood for the Area of Manchester, Calgary, Canada-University of Manchester, UK, 2018
  • Post-Capitalism and the Built-Environment: Envisioning Neighbourhoods for a Better Future-University of Chalmers, Sweden-2017
  • Communication Drawings: A Beginner’s Guide to Graphical Language-IAPEx, Pakistan, 2011
Memberships, Awards and Honors
  • Student Member, Alberta Association of Architects (AAA) 2014-21
  • Associate, Institute of Architects, Pakistan, IAP-Lifetime member
  • Member, Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners, PCATP-Lifetime member
  • Queen Elizabeth Research Funding, Canada-2016
  • EVDS Scholarship Award, University of Calgary, Canada-2016
  • EVDS Research Award, University of Calgary, Canada-2016
  • Alberta Learners’ Scholarship, Alberta, Canada-2013
  • Guest speaker for the TV program ‘Mosques of Pakistan’ aired by News One Pakistan in 2011.