SABA SHIRAZI
Architectural Designer
Resilience, Adaptive Reuse, and Place-Based Urban Design
I am an architectural designer working between urban design and architecture—between the scale of streets and public space and the intimate scale of rooms, thresholds, and daily rituals. I’m drawn to questions of resilience and sustainability: how cities and buildings can adapt over time without losing the character that makes them feel like home.
A large part of my passion lies in adaptive reuse and renovation. I love working with existing structures because they already carry stories—traces of craft, use, and memory. Rather than erasing those layers, I’m interested in how design can extend the life of a building, reveal its qualities, and make it responsive to new social and environmental needs. For me, keeping the character of a place while transforming its performance is one of the most meaningful forms of sustainable design.
My background in resiliency studies and architecture has taught me to think across scales: from urban systems, public space, and circulation to the careful shaping of interior atmospheres. I’m interested in projects where long-term environmental thinking, community needs, and everyday use all come together.
Growing up between different cultures and cities, and spending time in urban environments across Europe, Asia, and the United States, has made me attentive to how culture, memory, and infrastructure intersect. I try to bring that sensitivity into every project, whether it’s a neighborhood-scale plan or a single interior.
I am currently working toward architectural licensure through the AXP process and preparing for the LEED Green Associate credential, continuing to shape a practice centered on context, adaptive reuse, and sustainable design.