Asma Mehan

Asma MEHAN is a Visiting PhD Student at EPFL (École Polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne) in Lausanne (Switzerland), Former Visiting Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute (ADI) in Deakin University, Melbourne (Australia) and PhD Candidate in 'Architecture- History- Project' Doctoral Program in the Department of Architecture and Design (DAD), Politecnico di Torino, Torino (Italy). A graduate of Art University of Isfahan (AUI) with Master degree in Architecture and Urban Studies, she examines the relationship between democracy and the (trans)formations of urban space in Iran. Focusing on public squares, she traces their socio-political transformations as well as their role in instigating social transformations through examples that span from the pre-modern times to the present. Her current research on Tehran goes beyond the symbolic capacities of architecture and focuses on the politics of space production.

Asma has been working as an Architect and Lecturer since 2010. She has extensively presented her research at national and international conferences, and has received Awards, Grants and Fellowships included: Awarded Travel Grant for attending in International PhD Seminar "Comparing Habitats" supported by the 'EPFL Habitat Research Center' and ' the Laboratory of Urbanism (Lab-U, EPFL)', École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) (Lausanne, 2017), Graduate Scholar Award by Spaces & Flows: Seventh International Conference on Urban and ExtraUrban Studies, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 2016), 2015 Premi di Qualità (Quality Awards) by Scuola di Dottorato (Doctoral School), Politecnico di Torino (Torino, 2016), Society of Architectural Historians’ (SAH) Keeper’s Preservation Educational Fund Annual Conference Fellowship (Chicago-2015), and Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (SAHGB) Graduate Student Research Forum Travel Grant (Edinburgh- 2015).