My professional work spans academia, publishing, curatorial practice, and consulting, with a sustained focus on architecture and urbanism in the Middle East. I am an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and a Non-Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC. Over the years, I have also held visiting appointments at institutions including Université Paris–Sorbonne and INALCO in Paris, and taught for two decades at the United Arab Emirates University, where I founded and directed the Urban Research Lab.

My research and writing have resulted in more than seventy publications, including authored and edited books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and chapters in major urban studies readers. My books have received international recognition and are widely used in university curricula worldwide. In parallel, I have served as curator of the UAE National Pavilion at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale and as a consultant to cultural institutions, planning authorities, and international organizations such as the United Nations, working on projects related to housing, heritage, and contemporary urban transformation.

I am a frequent keynote speaker and invited lecturer at universities, museums, and research centers globally, and my work has been featured in international media including The Guardian, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN. I also serve on the editorial boards of several leading journals in architecture and urban studies, contributing to shaping contemporary debates on cities, culture, and the built environment.

This website offers a snapshot of a practice grounded in long-term research, fieldwork, and critical engagement—across writing, teaching, curation, and visual documentation.