Shehla Hussain (Assoc. AIA) has an experience of 10 years spanning Architecture, Urban Planning and Design Research, with an M. Arch from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

She has developed her design approach through the lens of research, community development and environmentally friendly design by means of her experiences with various organizations. Her Master’s thesis on Disaster Rehabilitative Housing in India explores practical guidelines on designing resilient and easily deployable reusable housing for displaced people. Her work was based on field research and her time working at the United Nations Development Programme, where she shared her research and assisted in developing design outlines for government stakeholders after the Tsunami of 2004. Her work was picked for publication and is available on amazon.com.

Since 2015, her work in Oman has focused on Urban Planning and Architecture at NORPLAN A/S, understanding land use patterns and futures in South Al Batinah. Her experiences led her to initiate “Oman Think Urban”, a non-profit group bringing together designers and urbanists to inform urban and regional spatial planning projects that have been growing in Oman. She hopes to use the platform to engage professionals and academicians, allowing them to examine design from the viewpoint of the inhabitants across the various regions of Oman.