Yasser Elsheshtawy is an independent writer and researcher and an Adjunct Professor of Architecture at Columbia University, GSAPP. He was a Professor of Architecture at United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, where in addition to teaching he also ran the Urban Research Lab. He was appointed as the curator for the UAE Pavilion at the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016. Considered an authority on urbanism in the region, his scholarship focuses on urbanization in developing societies, informal urbanism, urban history and environment-behavior studies, with a particular focus on Middle Eastern cities. He authored a series of books and publications including “Dubai: Behind an urban spectacle” (ranked no. 1 on Amazon under the 'United Arab Emirates History' category in September '17). His blog dubaization has been hailed by The Guardian as one of the notable city blogs in the world. Elsheshtawy is currently working on a book about the Arab Gulf City titled: “Temporary Cities.”

He has been appointed as a Visiting Professor at Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (Fall 2017). He was a Visiting Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC to pursue his research on urbanization in the Gulf and work on his book during Spring 2018.

Research Metrics: Google Scholar As of July 2018. 953 primary citations and h-index=14.



GRADUATION PROJECTS (RECENT):

Qasr Al Hosn Mosque Competition. Abu Dhabi.






Urban Pod: Modular temporary infrastructure for Dubai Metro
Winner of RTA 2015 Best Student Project Award.





Abu Dhabi Highline: Contiguous Pedestrian Bridge Extensions.



RESEARCH ACTIVITIES & INITIATIVES

UAE Modern.
An ongoing project documenting the UAE’s modernist landscape, focusing on the period from 1960-1980.

URL — Urban Research Lab
Documenting research projects and activities taking place at the Lab which was founded in 2010. It aims to map the UAE’s contemporary urban landscape using latest technological advances.

Related Blog:
Baniyas Square Research Project
HIDDEN DUBAI

FIND: Terrain Vague
Research Project with NYU-AD: Terrain Vague: Interstitial Spaces Inside Abu Dhabi’s Central Area.

NOTABLE EVENTS:

Public Lecture University of Puget-Sound, Tacoma-Seattle. Transient Spaces: Home and Belonging in Dubai. March 1, 2018




Lecture Mapping Nightscapes: Scenes from Dubai and Abu Dhabi . Harvard, Graduate School of Design. April. 2017
Video (my talk starts at the 51' mark):





Lecture: "Exporting the UAE: National Pavilions and the manufacturing of identity." Symposium: Architecture & Representation Columbia University NYC. November 21, 2014.
Video (starts at 1:08:43):




Lecture: Where the Sidewalk Ends. December 3. 2012. NYU-Abu Dhabi.
Video


Lecture: Learning from Dubai. CCA — Canadian Centre for Architecture. Montreal.
October 29. 2011
Video: