Sanaa Shaikh

Sanaa is an Architect, educator and activist with a passion for inclusion in the built environment.

After graduating from the Bartlett and the Architectural Association, she worked for a number of practices in London. She was a partner at MAKE for 5 years where she led large scale commercial projects in the Bahamas, Mumbai and Birmingham for clients including More Development, Piramal Realty, HSBC and Calthorpe. She then practiced at Studio Egret West working with larger scale masterplans and residential projects in London concentrating on the symbiosis of nature and the built environment, clients included U+I, Berkely Homes and LLDC. She has simultaneously worked to encourage wider participation in the built environment from marginalised groups and has designed, led and participated in workshops with the Stephen Lawrence Foundation, Construction Youth Trust, Open City, local schools and the Manchester Museum.

She has also been involved in smaller scale installations and workshops that facilitate community participation and involvement in the shaping of the built environment. Sanaa teaches, examines and critiques at various universities, encouraging the discourse between education and practice at the Architectural Association, Oxford Brookes University and Central Saint Martins. She is now director at NATIVE STUDIO, a design and architecture practice that focuses on building sustainable communities through the creation of equitable places and spaces.