Ali Naghavi Namini

Ali Naghavi Namini, born in 1975, graduated from the Science and Technology University of Iran (IUST) with a master’s degree in Architecture. He began his professional career in 1997 and, together with his partners, Hamidreza Mousavi and Shadi Azizi, founded Negin Shahr Ayandeh (NESHA) consulting engineers in 2001. So far, he has served as the CEO and principal, leading diverse housing, office, and commercial projects. In recent years, Ali has developed an approach called “Off-Architect,” which delves into architecture and city design with the aim of creating maximum freedom and fulfilling the residents’ needs, while freeing the space from the prevalent and strict constraints of the discipline in order to enhance the quality of architecture. Additionally, he gives careful consideration to the context and responds to environmental and social issues in the design and construction of architecture and urban projects, particularly in the realm of housing.

Furthermore, Ali was a lecturer at IA University Central Tehran Branch, teaching courses on housing and residential complex design. Nesha’s professional experiences in planning and designing architectural or urban spaces are guided by this approach. He also links these concerns with fundamental urban issues such as economic, social, and urban livability concepts, both in architectural and urban design projects and in his books, such as “Paz” (2021) and “The Architectural Promenade” (2022), the latter being the first book published in the NeshaNevest collection.

Ali has been nominated for and won numerous architectural competitions in Iran. One of Nesha’s projects, apartment 210, was included in the 2015 Venice Biennale as part of a collateral event called “A Little Thing called Architecture,” along with 63 other selected projects from Iran.