Shafinaz Sameen
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Architecture, MIST
Email: shafinaz@arch.mist.ac.bd
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shafinaz-sameen-15b70919a/
Research Interest
Gender inclusive design and planning, equitable and just cities, displacement and refugee crisis, community development for social justice.
Teaching Interest
Urban Design and planning, housing, vernacular architecture, climate and design, society and culture.
Academic Qualification
Master of Urban Planning (MUP) from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Illinois, USA
Master of Science in Disaster Management (MSDM) from University of Dhaka
Bachelor of Architecture from Khulna University
Professional Experiences
Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, MIST, since January 2022
Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, State University of Bangladesh (SUB), since May 2021
Lecturer, Department of Architecture, State University of Bangladesh, since September, 2015
Research Fellow, Housing Division, Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI), since August 2013
Assistant Architect, ARCHITECT’S, since August 2012
Principal Research Architect, Center for Housing and Building Research (HBRC) (Honorary), since 2020
Managing Partner, Zephyr Architects (freelancing), 2014-2018
Administrative Services at University level
Team member, IAB accreditation committee, DoA, MIST,
Officer in Charge, Departmental Library, DoA, MIST, since 2023.
Curriculum development, MURP, AUST, 2024
Appointed as the coordinator to oversee international collaboration with TPTI program (The Master Erasmus Mundus Techniques, Heritage, Territories of Industry) with Dept. of Architecture at SUB
Assigned as the coordinator to oversee and launch journal of department of Architecture from (SUB)
Oversaw the duty of grade compilation of the department, at SUB
Chair, “Annwesha”– a recurring lecture series platform; organized 4 online events with 70+ audience at SUB
Participated in a team of 4 members in the re-designing of curriculum of Dept. of Architecture at SUB
Organized biannual guest lecture series with guest academicians and practitioners for over 100 students
Coordinated multiple cultural events including budget management with over 50 students;
Supervisor, debating club, SUB
Other Notable Experiences
Member secretary, Urban Design and Landscape sub-group, Urbanization and Built Environment Committee, IAB, since May 2024
Focal point on behalf of IAB to Commonwealth Association of Architects’ (CAA) knowledge sharing partnership program, since January 2024
Committee member, Seminar and Convention, IAB, 2023-2024
Committee member, Urbanization and Built Environment, IAB, 2023-2024
Board Member, Fulbright Foreign Student Program candidate selection, 2023
Invited Speaker, Regional Climate Summit, October 2023
Organizer, Study tour to National Parliament building, DoA, MIST, 2023
Organizer, Bashatbari Workshop and Exhibition, MIST, DoA, May, 2023
Member of the Jury, INSPIRELI, international platform for students’ projects, since 2023
Seminar Speaker ,on behalf of MIST, World City Day seminar series by UDD, October, 2022
Supervised students’ works in international publications ‘Manifesto for a Just City”, Vol 3 (2022) & Vol 4 (2023)
Application review, Fulbright Foreign Student Program, 2021-2022 cycle
Administered two research projects including budget and purchase, recruitment, proposal writing and research design while assisted in a number of other projects undertaken on affordable & resilient building materials
Organized two hands-on weeklong workshops on “Emergency/Refugee Earth bag Shelter” conducted by Architect Iliona Khalili from London, UK, in collaboration with Institute of Architects’ Bangladesh (IAB)
Organized, instructed and moderated a number of workshops with different NGOs and professionals on disaster resilience and shelter design at HBRI
Trainer, “Build Home Yourself”, HBRI
Publications
- Journal
Sameen, S. Hybrid Landscape of Urban Informality: The Spatial Identity of Urban Refugees through Housing in Dhaka, Journal of SUB. (in press).
Sameen, S. Chowdhury, F. K. Islam, Z. and Ananna, A.T. (2018). Vulnerability or Capacity: A review on gender dimension of disasters SUB Journal of Sustainable Environment and Development 3(1), 49-67.
Islam, Z., Sameen, S. and Ananna, A. T. (2018). Water Logging Risks in Dhaka City: An overview and the way forward, Journal of SUB 8(1), 27-36.
Hafiza, R. Sameen, S. and Rahman, T. (2015). A Review on construction process of Ferrocement sandwich panel: Instigating an orderly approach in Bangladesh, IJSE, 3(1) 12-18
Rahman, M.M. Sameen, S. Hafiza, R. and. Sadeque, M. A. (2013) Behavior of Polymeric Fiber as an Alternative Reinforcement to Iron Wire Mesh in Ferrocement Elements under Flexural Load IJCEBS 1(5). 715-718
- Book Chapters/Book
Sameen, S. and Eshita, A. Freedom of Body and Presence: Women’s Inclusion in Public Spaces of Dhaka, NEXT:50 Collective Future. (in press)
Sameen, S. (2023) Just City Can Only Be Conceptualized by Just Minds: Decolonizing and Decapitalizing the pedagogy of the 3rd World, Manifesto for A Just City, TU Delft. 136-140.
- Others (Conference Proceeding, workshop paper etc.)
Sameen, S. (2023). How much is Dhaka city for women? Seeing gender based crimes as spatial phenomena, AMPS Proceeding series 34.3, New York, 229-236.
Sameen, S. (2023). Women’s safety and freedom of mobility: Seeing gender based crime through city planning and design, Proceedings of ICPAC 2023, RUET, 968-973.
Sameen, S. (2017). Process Inclusive Infrastructure: Notions towards Cyclone Resilience in Bangladesh, Elsevier Procedia Engineering, 212, 30-38. (Refereed conference proceeding)
Ahmed, J. Ahmed, A., Sultana, R. Subrina, S. & S. Sameen, (2017). “Should architects work for mastaans for house reconstruction activities?” Proceedings of 26th UIA World Architects Congress.
Sameen, S. & Razzaque, M. Z. I. (2016). Building Urban Resilience: An unplanned Built-up Area in Dhaka. Proceedings of 9th FARU International Research Conference, (329-340), Srilanka. (Refereed conference proceeding)
Sameen, S. Hafiza, R. & Sadeque, M. A. (2015). Versatile Application of Ferrocement: An Experimental Approach in Bangladesh. Preceedings of 6th National Convention on Ferrocement, (20-28), Ferrocement Soceity (FS), India
Sameen, S. (2015). Alternative Building Technology by HBRI. Contextbd
Sameen, S. Rahman, T. & Hassan, M. T. (2015). Emergence of Alternative Construction Technologies: towards a safer Dhaka, Proceedings of 14th International Symposium on Urban Safety of Megacities in Asia (USMCA), Kathmandu, Nepal.
Research Engagement
- Women’s Safety in Urban Public Spaces (Independent research)
Developing a research to study gender-based violence on the streets of Dhaka and possible ways out within urban studies. Conducted surveys and group discussion; primary findings are being published on NEXT:50 book currently in preparation
- An Investigation into Rohingya Women’s ‘Invisibility’ in the Camps of Bangladesh (Master’s Thesis (Master of Urban Planning; UIUC)
Rigorous qualitative research involving ethnography, group discussion (54 women) and stakeholder (6) interviews. Addressed gaps in current gender-based programs and advocated for ‘women’s inclusion’ in camp planning process
- Women’s Negotiations of Domestic Space in Flood Prone Areas, Manikganj (Master’s Final Project; MSDM, DU)
Qualitative research involving 6 FGDs (60 women) and case studies (5); based on oral history. Explored women’s daily survival, care roles and individual vulnerabilities while living in submerged houses. Presented findings in seminars and international conference.
- Community Resilience in Cyclone Prone Areas (Housing and Building Research institute)
Conducted extensive field survey in coastal villages of Khulna and Barishal. Documented types of housing and indigenous practices; reviewed global practice of resilience; findings submitted to HBRI in form of report and published on Elsevier proceeding.
- Developing Polymer Reinforced Ferrocement as an Alternative Building Material (Housing and Building Research Institute)
Studied feasibility of polymer reinforcement in ferrocement through various tests (tensile, compression, flexure and impact). Explored the potentialities of community and women’s involvement in building construction through pilot construction
Projects
Architect, Nine Upazilla Project (Urban design development for action areas), UDD, May-August, 2023
Senior Architect, on behalf of HBRC; Northeastern Flood Recovery Plan Development Focusing on Housing and Community Infrastructure, UNDP, October, 2022
Team member; Mapping Gendered Struggle of Re-entry and Homelessness, Cunningham Township Supervisors Office, Urbana, Illinois, USA,
Team Member, Mapping Community resilience and Activism in Favelas, Fortaleza, Brazil
Team member, Post Fire Slum Reconstruction (Karail and Sattola), Dhaka; in collaboration BRAC
Team member, Standard Guidelines for Rural Housing in Disaster Prone Areas of Bangladesh. A handbook of shelter design guideline for disaster prone areas developed by HBRI, Dept. of Disaster Management and Friendship, IFRC.
Architectural consultancy for a number of projects- apartment buildings, interior design, HBRI training and display center etc.
Awards and Recognition
Best Thesis Award, DURP, UIUC, 2020
Michael A. Carroll Memorial Award, DURP, UIUC, 2019
Fulbright Foreign Student Award, 2018
Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG) World Fellowship, 2018
Rupa Merit Scholarship, Department of Architecture, Khulna University, 2010
Conference/Talks
“Green city, Smart city: Integrating green infrastructure and smart solutions for climate-responsive urban development” Regional climate Summit, Sep 2023, Dhaka
“Women’s Safety and Freedom of Mobility: Seeing gender based crime though city planning and design”, International Conference on Planning Architecture and Civil Engineering, October, 2023, Rajshahi
“How Much is Dhaka City for Women? Seeing gender based crimes as spatial phenomena”, Livable Cities, Architecture Media Politics Society Conference (virtual),June, 2023, NY, USA
“Refugee Women’s Agency: The Invisible Participation of Women in the Everyday Life-making of the Camps in Bangladesh”, Bangladesh: A Critical Retrospection of the Past and Forethought of the Future, AIBS Conference (virtual), November 2022, UT Austin, Texas, USA
“How safe is this city for Women?”, Seminar, World City Day 2022, October 2022, Dhaka
“Sharing Experiences of Architects in Reconstruction of Fire Resilient Informal Settlement”, Webinar; World university of Bangladesh, August 2021
“Every day Spatial Negotiations of the ‘Domestic’ During Flood”, 4th International Conference on Bangladesh Environment (ICBEN-4) (virtual), December 2020, Bangladesh.
“Refugee Women’s Invisible Agency: An Intersectional Investigation into Rohingya women’s everyday space in the camps of Bangladesh”, American Collegiate School of Planning (ACSP) 2020 Annual Conference (virtual), November 2020, Toronto, Canada.
“Process Inclusive Infrastructure: Notions towards Cyclone Resilience in Bangladesh”, 7th International Conference on Building Resilience, November 2017, Bangkok, Thailand.
“Emergence of Alternative Construction Technologies: Towards a safer Dhaka”, 14th International Symposium on Urban Safety of Megacities in Asia (USMCA), October 2015, Kathmandu, Nepal
Affiliations
|
Associate Member, Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) |
|
Member, Association of Collegiate School of Planning (ACSP) |
|
Fulbright Fellow, International Exchange Alumni, US Department of State |
|
Member, Women’s Association of Engineers, Planners and Architects (WAEPA) |
|
Member, Bangladesh News Presenter’s Association |
