Mariam Iqbal

Born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, I have had the immense privilege of travelling to, living and working in a number of countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe where I have gained an invaluable, versatile and international exposure.

I moved to London almost 12 years ago with the pursuit of studying Architecture at Central Saint Martins. After completing my Part I, I went on to do my Masters at the Manchester School of Architecture and undertook my Part III at the University of Westminster. I have always been interested in challenging the notions of conventional design by producing methodological tools that aim to highlight and push the boundaries of materiality, program and design codes. I believe that designing can be an emancipating act that involves the investigation of social, political, economic and theoretical tensions. When combined, these factors consequently produce a practice of architecture that is a form of mediation and an opportunity to generate responses encompassing a plethora of factors and processes.

These principles were the basis for my winning co-design at 2014 Think.Space international design competition, which was presented at the Think.Space Unconference in Zagreb.

Since graduating, I have enjoyed working at several studios including Haverstock, CZWG and Chapman Taylor before joining Studio Egret West. My experience spans education projects and many large-scale mixed-use residential developments, as well as the transport aviation sector.

I have always been interested in the notion that design is shaped by people. By understanding the pattern in an individual’s everyday life interactions, we can reflect this in the design of a space to achieve architectural quality. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and an interaction is worth a thousand pictures. I believe that architecture has the ability to be worth a thousand interactions.