We are glad to announce that Arch. Zaheer Allam has been appointed ISB representative for Africa. He will help connecting with professionals and theoreticians from the Big Mother Continent, establishing new ISB branches, and spreading and enriching biourbanism –a new scientific approach that is more keen to several African needs and traditions than the current West urban practice.
Born and raised in Mauritius, Zaheer Allam has a background in Architecture and Project Management and his work focusses on sustainable development in Africa and the SIDS (Small Island Developing States). He especially promotes renewable energy and a new resilient energy network based on the works of Nikos Salingaros, Michael Mehaffy & Christopher Alexander. He is the co-founder of the Plateforme Citoyenne, a not-for-profit NGO that advocates against the fossil fuel industry in Mauritius and the SIDS.
A passionate of Urbanism, Architecture, Energy systems, and cultural identity, Zaheer publishes popular papers highlighting the need for fostering resilient communities on various scales in developing countries. He was nominated as the advisor for the 2015 International Conference on Design Pedagogy and Contextual Aesthetics. Member of the Steering Committee for the UN SIDS 2014 conference in Samoa, he represented the civil society in the AIMS (Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean & South China Sea). For his contributions to the global community he was nominated among the 10 Outstanding Young Persons of the World in 2014 in Leipzig, Germany.
Among his writing, please see Invasive Aesthetics: A manifesto for reviving Architectural Identity in Developing Nations (Ranked among the top 20 best articles of 2013 by ArchDaily) and Only Connect- A renewable energy future for Small Island Developing States.
Best wishes of success and of good work!