Raya Ani

Founder - Design Director RAW-NYC Architects 2017 President, American Institute of Architects- Middle East Region Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Biography

Raya Ani an award winning architect and urban designer with 25 years of experience having worked in Baghdad, Germany, Boston, New York and Dubai. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, she was named one of the top most powerful architects in the Middle East. She is the 2017 president of the American Institute of Architects - ME Chapter. In 2018, she was selected as one of the most influential architects in the region by Middle East Architect.

She received her BSc in architectural engineering from Baghdad University with distinction, and an MSc in architectural studies from MIT where she was awarded the Harvard/MIT Aga Khan Scholarship. Raya Ani is a licensed architect in the State of New York and a US Green Building Council Accredited Professional.

Raya designed the first public green school in New York City and two green-certified (LEED) residential towers in Battery Park City. In 2012, she founded RAW-NYC Architects, an interdisciplinary architectural studio based in New York City and in 2014, she established the Dubai office. In 2013, she received AIA-ME honor award for her visionary work on the marshes of southern Iraq as well as a merit award for her design of the Aspire Sports Complex in Qatar. In 2014, her Aspire Sports Complex project received the Leisure Project of the Year Award by Middle East Architect. In 2016, she was selected as one of five inspiring personalities in the world by Black Tomato Travel and Cadillac. In 2016, Raya was shortlisted from a list of 43 leading women architects in New York to enter an international design competition to convert a women’s prison to an international hub for women’s empowerment. She led RAW-NYC team for Liberland to design a masterplan for a micro-nation where her vision won the first place and was widely published.