Nader Tehrani

Born in London of Iranian descent, Boston-based architect Nader Tehrani moved to the United States in 1978, where he attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), receiving a BFA and a BA in Architecture in 1985 and 1986 respectively. In 1987, he chose to continue his studies in the History and Theory program at the Architectural Association in London. Four years later, in 1991, Tehrani completed his Masters of Architecture in Urban Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Tehrani has been practicing architecture in Boston since 1987 and now heads the prestigious architectural firm, Office dA, in partnership with Monica Ponce de Leon. As an architecture and design firm working on projects both within the city of Boston and in locations worldwide, Office dA boasts work on a scale ranging from furniture to urban design and infrastructure. Each project completed by the architects at Office dA takes in to account the peculiarities of the site, the requirements of the program, and the specific needs of the target audience. To add to the unique vocabulary and impact of their work, Office dA often imports materials and methods of construction from areas outside the field of architecture.

In addition to his work with the Boston-based architectural firm, Tehrani is a tenured Associate Professor of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has also taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, RISD, and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Tehrani’s work has been recognized internationally with eleven Progressive Architecture awards, a Harleston Parker Award, an Academy Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and more recently, the coveted Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Award for Architecture. The built work of Office dA includes the RISD Library, the Northeastern University Spiritual Life Center, as well as the renovation of the Harvard Graduate School of Design offices. Office dA has also worked on international projects including the Tongxian Arts Center in Beijing, the Elemental community project in Chile, and the Villa Moda Competition in Kuwait, among others.