Sumaiya Ara Simi completed her Bachelor of Architecture from BRAC University in 2018. Her B.Arch. thesis project entitled ‘Hatirjheel Culture Centre,’ was intended as an urban platform to showcase different cultural activities that take place sporadically a cross Dhaka.
Sumaiya worked in Studio Morphogenesis Ltd. as an intern and continued there for two years as an architect. She has a keen interest in exploring built environments that engage people and the community. She has been involved with designing various community focused projects such as suburban markets and clinics on the edges of Dhaka. She worked with Sthanik design team directed by the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) that assembled a pavilion entitled ‘An Enclosure of Permeability and Aperture’ at Gulshan, Dhaka, for holding public exhibition on ‘Architectures of Bangladesh’ arranged on the occasion of the Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA) Forum 20 held in Bangladesh in 2019. She attended community-based workshops ‘Unpacking Dhaka’ by BRAC University collaborating with Open Studio and ‘Growing Up’ by Paraa and LEEDO. She has participated in many competition projects both national and international; securing first position in the competition ‘Spirit of Nazrul’ by Archtwist and achieved honorable mentions in others. As a graphic design enthusiast, she designed Web User Interface for a number of organizations such as TKNRK. She also contributed as a designer for the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) that funded a de-colonial research project ‘Medieval and Early Modern Orients (MEMOs),’ this project endeavored to uncovering understand the early interactions between England and the Islamic worlds.
At Ci+AU she is working on a research project, entitled “Improving sanitation safety through soft engineering design solution in informal settlements: Karail (Dhaka) and the pollution at Banani Lake”, funded by the University of Liverpool.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sumaiyaara
https://memorients.com/members/sumaiya-ara/
https://contextbd.com/enclosure-permeability-aperture-arcasia-pavilion-dhaka/