Mr Samir Pandya
Samir Pandya is an architect and Associate Head of College (External Relations) at the College of Design, Creative and Digital Industries. He was formerly Assistant Head of the School of Architecture and Cities where — amongst other roles — he was Director of Global Engagement and Strategic Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. He has designed a wide range of award-winning buildings in practice, and has been a Visiting Professor at APIED School of Architecture, Anand (India), an External Examiner at the University of Johannesburg (South Africa), and a PhD Co-Supervisor at the Università Iuav di Venezia, (Italy). His committee memberships and chairships have included the Society of Black Architects (Executive Committee), RIBA Education Committee (Member) and Architects for Change (Chair). He is currently an External PhD Supervisor at the University of Cyprus and the University fo Liverpool, an External Examiner at Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Wolverhampton, and an External Adviser to the University of the West of England. He has served on numerous juries and awards, including for the National Association of Students of Architecture in India, and the 2018 RIBA Annie Spink Award for Excellence in Architectural Education. In addition to being Co-Editor of National Identities: Critical Inquiry into Nationhood, Politics & Culture (Taylor & Francis), he is an Editorial Board member for FOLIO (Journal of Contemporary African Architecture) and Veranda, the peer-reviewed journal of Sushant School of Art & Architecture, Delhi (India). He is also on the Academic Advisory Board for the pioneering African Futures Institute, Accra (Ghana). He was one of fourteen tutors invited to lead a studio at the inaugural Biennale College Architettura at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. He is the current Chair of the RIBA President's Dissertation Medal, and his latest edited book, After Belonging: Architecture, Nation, Difference (Routledge, 2023) examines the complex bond between architecture, spatial politics, and collective (non-)belonging.
Samir's published scholarship focuses on the relationship between architecture and identity, examining questions relating to design, representation and power. His methodology utilises concepts and analytical frameworks drawn from postcolonial theory.
His professional and industry research to date for clients such as Royal Holloway (University of London), the UK Government Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills, the RIBA, CABE, Centre for Education in the Built Environment (CEBE), and the Equality & Human Rights Commission, relate to the development of architectural education and practice with a focus on diversity, cultural context, and design studio culture.