Sarkis named dean of School of Architecture and Planning
Sarkis named dean of School of Architecture and Planning
Hashim Sarkis, practicing architect and current Aga Khan Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism in Muslim Societies at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design (GSD), was named the tenth dean of MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P). His appointment begins in January, formally succeeding Professor Adele Naude Santos.
Sarkis, a member of the Harvard faculty since 1998, has been director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the GSD (housed jointly at Harvard and MIT), for the last 12 years. The program is one of the best for the study of architecture, urban issues, and visual culture in Islamic societies. Sarkis expressed that he is looking forward to working within MIT’s framework of how to approach architecture.
“Educators of architects and planners worldwide are emulating the MIT research-based model, and it is a true honor to build on Adele’s legacy and to guide this model forward,” Sarkis told the MIT News Office. “MIT at large provides an ideal setting for such an undertaking, especially as it invests in the future of education and in initiatives like energy, environment, and innovation that are at the core of SA+P. It is especially invigorating to see the scientists and engineers reach out to the designers and to see how much they value their contribution to the One Community.”
Sarkis comes to the Institute with an extensive portfolio of award-winning architectural projects from around the world with his firm, Hashim Sarkis Studios, and a PhD in architecture from Harvard in 1995.
—Stan Gill