Yasmin Shariff (born in 1956 in Uganda) is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

n-born British architect, environmentalist and university professor, known for her defence of gender equality in the field of architecture.

Biography

Yasmin Shariff was born to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n parents in

, East Africa, in 1956 when Uganda was still a British protectorate. She spent her childhood between

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

in the United Kingdom and

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

until finally settling in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

in 1977. She studied and graduated in Architecture at the

Bartlett School of Architecture Bartlett may refer to: Places * Bartlett Bay, Canada, Arctic waterway * Wharerata, New Zealand, also known as Bartletts United States * Bartlett, Illinois ** Bartlett station, a commuter railroad station * Bartlett, Iowa * Bartlett, Kansas ...

(Faculty of the Built Environment) at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. Before that, Shariff had completed a master's degree in Archaeology in 1981 at the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. In 1983, she married architect

Dennis Sharp Dennis Sharp (30 November 1933 – 6 May 2010) was a British architect, professor, curator, historian, author and editor. His obituary in ''The Guardian'' stated that he 'was well-known as an architectural historian, teacher and active defender o ...

(1933–2010), with whom she had a son, Deen, and the family then moved to Epping, Essex.

Career

In addition to working as an architect in prestigious firms such as Populous, Pringle Brandon (Perkins and Will) and Jestico & Whiles, Shariff has also been a university professor for more than a decade at the University of Westminster. She is currently a board member of the firm Dennis Sharp Architects, which she joined in 1992. She has held the position of Honorary Secretary of the Chair of AA and AA XX 100, as well as conducting education consultancy at Eric Parry Architects. She has participated in projects such as: Aspenden Lodge (2007–09); the renovation of the iconic

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

Renault factory (2006–08); the Luton Community Center (2005), the Eco-Home, Bayford (2005–09); the Strawdance Dance Studio, the Community Environmental Project (1999) and the Trinity Bridge (1994–95), a project in which she worked with the architect Santiago Calatrava.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shariff, Yasmin Architects from Hertfordshire 1956 births People from Nairobi Living people