Role
Dr Majdi Faleh is an Academic Fellow in Cultural Heritage in the Nottingham Trent University Research Peak in Cultural Heritage. At the School of Architecture, Design and Built Environment at Nottingham Trent University, he will teach architecture courses, supervise research projects and students, and develop international collaborations. His international research collaborations include key partnerships with universities and research institutions in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Tunisia, Morocco, and India.
Career overview
Before joining NTU, he was an Assistant Professor at the University of Bahrain and a Postdoctoral Fellow at THE Aga Khan Programme of Islamic Architecture (AKPIA) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Majdi Faleh is currently an Academic Fellow/Lecturer at Nottingham Trent University. He is also the coordinator of the Tunisia ENGAGE Hub Network for Humanitarian Heritage. In the past few years, he received several research grants sponsored by the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Council for Arab Australian Relations (Department of Foreign Affairs), the US Department of State (The Fulbright Programme), and the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies.
He holds a PhD in Architecture and Humanities from the University of Western Australia and a Master of Architecture from Ball State University (USA) sponsored by the Fulbright Program. He is an architect, architectural and urban historian, and Fulbright alumnus with a particular interest in architectural globalisation, migration and architecture, ethics and aesthetics in Islamic architecture, and social justice in contemporary cities.
Majdi lectured various architectural history and theory subjects, design studios, urban planning, and engineering design in the Middle East, North Africa, Australia and China. He was a Teaching Assistant, Course Coordinator, and Guest Lecturer at the University of Western Australia, the University of Melbourne, and Deakin University. At the University of Melbourne, Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning, he was a senior tutor and studio coordinator for Master courses. He was also a Guest Lecturer at Northeast Forestry University (NFU) and Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology (XUAT) in China. He also held a research position at the University of Adelaide.
In addition, he practised architecture in the US, Tunisia, and France. Majdi is a polyglot and speaks Arabic, French, English, Spanish, and German fluently, and has a basic level of understanding in Persian, Greek, and Bahasa Indonesia.
Research areas
Dr Faleh’s research focuses on architectural and cultural heritage in marginalised communities, the interaction between globalisation and architecture in Twenty-first Century Arab cities, migration, cultural heritage and architecture in Western countries, the philosophy of ethics and aesthetics in Islamic architecture, and social justice in Australian cities (Melbourne). At Nottingham Trent University, Majdi is leading the development of the Tunisia ENGAGE Hub Network for Humanitarian Heritage activities and research. He is also a Chief Investigator of the project “The Australian Mosque Today: Architectural Collaborations.” This project is supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and has received the ARC Linkage grant, The Special Research Initiative for Australian Society, History and Culture ($280,000), to study the design processes of contemporary mosques in Australia.
His PhD subject received much interest from international universities, including Cardiff University, the University of Auckland, and the University of Western Australia (UWA). At UWA, under the supervision of Professor William Taylor and Michael Levine, his doctoral research, titled “A Holistic Ethical System of Architecture in the Time of Globalisation: Between Dubai and the Medina of Tunis,” focused on the influence of globalisation on architecture in the twenty-first century. Drawing on archival research and interviews conducted for four years with architects and academics, it compares Dubai’s urban and architectural metamorphosis and the heritage city of Tunis. Under the effects of a new consumerism culture associated with glamorous and imported postmodern aesthetics, global cities promised progress and equality and undermined heritage sites and cities in the process.
Dr Faleh is involved in many editorial boards of academic journals, research associations and conferences’ Scientific Committees worldwide as well as reviewing for top journals. This includes The Journal of Architecture, Urban Design International, Palgrave Macmillan, UK, the International Journal of Islamic Architecture (IJIA), Journal of Heritage Management, SAGE Journals, Ahmedabad University, India; and The 57th FLA World Congress, World Landscape Architects Summit, Malaysia.
External activity
APPOINTMENTS & COMMITTEES
· Contributor and Researcher, @LAS, UNLV School of Architecture, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
· Newsletter Subscriber, Architectural Humanities Research Association (AHRA)
· Newsletter Subscriber, European Architectural History Network (EAHN)
· Vice President (2020 – 2021), The Fulbright Association. Management, grants’ application, and website design
· Member, African Union of Architects (AUA) + Union of Mediterranean Architects
· Associate Member (To be renewed), American Institute of Architects (AIA), Indiana. N: 38177421
· Registered Architect, Tunisian Institute of Architects (OAT). N: A090984280400
· Member, The International Council of Museums (ICOM)
INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
2021 - 2022 | Fulbright Alumni Development Grant, United States Department of State & Amideast, in collaboration with Engage (Nottingham Trent University) and ArCHIAM (University of Liverpool). Project Title: Tabarka and El Kef: Tales of Marginalized Community Heritage in North-West Tunisia | USD $1000 |
2021 - 2024
| Linkage Special Research Initiative for Australian Society, History and Culture, Australian Research Council, the University of Adelaide. Project Title: The Australian Mosque Today: Architectural Collaborations, Awarded Oct 14, 2020 | AUD $280,343 |
2021 | Australia-Indonesia Muslim Exchange Program (AIMEP). Online panels that bring Australian and Indonesian delegates together to interact with scholars, religious leaders, NGOs, and community leaders. Sponsors: the Australian Government and Australia-Indonesia Institute. | Workshops, training, trip to Canberra |
2021 - 2022 | The Imam Bukhari Visiting Fellowship, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, The University of Oxford (Awarded, starting October 2021 – June 2022) | £ 4000 |
2021 - 2022
| Council for Australia Arab Relations Grant (CAAR), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Project Title: Jousour – Insight into the Art and Architecture of Tunisian Medinas (Applied and Postponed to 2021 due to Covid-19) | AUD $59,100 |
2019 | MIT Aga Khan Postdoctoral Fellowship, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 1 out of 4 international researchers selected | USD $16,668 |
2019 | Affordable Housing Hallmark Research Initiative, SEED, Uni of Melbourne. | AUD $15,000 |
2018 | The Economic and Social Participation Research Initiative Grant (ESPRIt), University of Melbourne. Project Title: The Socio-economic Experiment of Melbourne’s African Immigrants: Public Housing as an Incubator | AUD $14,430 |
2018 | Council for Australia-Arab Relations (CAAR) Grant, in collaboration with curator Hamida Novakovich and CMES, UWA. Project: Design workshops in Morocco | AUD $3,000 |
2018 | University of Western Australia Publication Grant | AUD $1,250 |
2015 | University Travel Grant/Award, University of Western Australia | AUD $1,850 |
2014 - 2018 | Recipient of International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS) by the University of Western Australia (UWA) to undergo PhD | AUD $135,036 |
2014 – 2018 | Recipient of Australian Postgraduate Award by UWA to cover living expenses | AUD $ 100,000 |
2014- 2018 | Recipient of Top Up Research Scholarships by UWA | AUD $32,000 |
2013 | Ruth Katzman Scholarship, Art Students League of New York, USA | Studio + acc |
2013 | Copenhagen Air Scholarship, Artist in Residence Award, Denmark | DKK 20,000 |
2012 | Pecha Kucha Night Award, the Arab American Museum, Detroit, USA | Top 10 projects |
2010 | Robert and Ester Cooper Conservation Award, Landscape Architecture, USA | Certificate |
2009 - 2011 | The Fulbright Scholarship, US Department of State, USA: 1 out of 4 candidates | USD $27,600 |
2009 - 2011 | The Werner Award Full Scholarship, Ball State University, Indiana, USA | USD $40,644 |
Publications
Faleh, M. 2021, ‘Reconstructing Tunisian Architectural Identity in the Context of Ottomanization, Colonialism, and Postcolonialism,’ MIT Aga Khan Program Postdoctoral Publications, Cambridge, MA.
Faleh, M. 2021, ‘Law and Vision: A Reading of Islamic Culture and the Socio-spatial Structure of Traditional Settlements,’ Australian Journal of Islamic Studies, 6, 1, pp. 47-64.
Faleh, M. 2019, ‘Restoration of Tangible and Intangible Artefacts in the Tunisian Landscape: “Boutique Hotels” and the Entrepreneurial Project of Dar Ben-Gacem,’ Journal of Heritage Management, Ahmedabad: SAGE Publications. Doi: 10.1177/2455929619852863
Faleh, M. 2017, ‘The Sustainable Well-being in the Medina of Tunis and its Environmental Values,’ Advanced Science Letters, 23, 7, pp. 6313-6317.
Faleh, M. 2016, ‘The Mediterranean Region: “Islamic” Light in the Architecture of the Sublime,’ WIT Transactions on The Built Environment: Islamic Heritage Architecture and Art, 159, pp. 171-181.
De Bérigny, C., Gough, P., Faleh, M., Woolsey, E. 2014, 'Tangible User Interface Design for Climate Change Education in Interactive Installation Art,’ Leonardo MIT Press, 47, 5, pp.451-456.
Faleh, M. 2013, ‘Urban metamorphosis and Islamic Architecture in the Time of Globalisation: Utopian Realities and Challenges,’ A|Z ITU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, 10, 1, pp. 128-137.
Refereed Conference Publication
Gharbi, A., Faleh, M., Ben Fatma, N., 2021, ‘Tabarka and El Kef: Tales of Marginalised Community Heritage in Tunisia’s Northwest,’ ENGAGE Network 1st International Conference, Towards a Global Agenda for Humanitarian Heritage, Tunis, Tunisia. (Online publication, Forthcoming)
Faleh, M., 2015, ‘Sustainable and Diverse Islamic Art: A Social and Cultural Experiment in Australia,’ 1st International Islamic Heritage Conference (ISHEC), Malacca, Malaysia, pp. 70-80.
Faleh, M. 2014, ‘Biscuit-Cutter Developments in Dubai: A Whole Life Thinking Approach,’ CUI’14 International Conference, Istanbul, pp. 304-315.
De Berigny, C., Faleh, M., Zinovieff, F. 2014,'Media Facades: Augmenting Urban Location through Interaction,’ 20th International Symposium on Electronic Art: ISEA2014, Dubai, pp. 419-424.
Faleh, M. 2014, ‘Islamic Architecture and the Struggle of an Identity: Islam and Architecture,’ International Conference of Global Islamic Studies 2014 (ICGIS), University of Salford, UK, pp. 176-187.
Faleh, M., 2014, ‘The Jorn Utzon Architectural Paradigm and the Emerging World Design Experience, ‘4th International Utzon Symposium, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
De Berigny, C., Faleh, M. 2013, ‘(Re)creating Lively Cities through Ambient Technologies: Arts, Culture, and Gastronomic Experiences,’ 2nd International Workshop INTERACT2013, Cape Town, pp. 31-41.
Newspapers / Architecture magazines (The Conversation, Australia; Archibat, Tunisia)
Faleh, M., Gharbi, A., 2021, "Engage Network – un réseau international pour promouvoir le patrimoine marginalisé". ARCHIBAT, Tunisia. https://archibat.info/engage-network-un-reseau-international-pour-promouvoir-le-patrimoine-marginalise/
Carrasco, S. M., Faleh, M., Dangol, N., 2020, “Our lives matter – Melbourne public housing residents talk about why COVID-19 hits them hard”. The Conversation, Academic Rigor, Journalistic Flair, Melbourne.
Faleh, M., Carrasco, S. M., Cook, A., Haw, A., 2019, “Paris? Melbourne? Public Housing doesn’t just look the same; it’s part of the challenges refugees face”. The Conversation.
Faleh, M. 2018, “How City Squares Can be Public Places of Protest or Centers of State Control”. The Conversation, Academic Rigor, Journalistic Flair, Melbourne. (Republished by the Independent)
Media Communication
SBS RADIO AUSTRALIA:
Tungandame, B. 2021, “Le Dr Majdi Faleh et le Dr Malek Lataoui décryptent le symposium MATCHs 2021,”
Tungandame, B. 2021, “Fuir la guerre pour aller vivre dans un hlm: les défis des africains de Melbourne,”, Accessed from: https://www.sbs.com.au/language/french/audio/fuir-la-guerre-pour-aller-vivre-dans-un-hlm-les-defis-des-africains-de-melbourne
Riman, I. 2017, “Social Media and the Failure of the Immigration Bill”, Accessed from: https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/social-media-and-the-failure-of-the-immigration-bill
RTCI TUNISIA: Interviews with Mrs Hayet Toukabri on different occasions and topics including: Art of the Revolution (2014), Cultural activities in Western Australia (2016-2018), Engage Network (2021)
Book Chapters
Faleh, M., 2022, “This is Home Now! ‘Migrating’ Mosques as Symbols of Territorial Identity in the Modern Australian Suburban Landscape” in Rashid, H. & Petersen, K. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Islam and Popular Culture (Accepted for Publication, Forthcoming 2022)
Faleh, M. and Desphande, D. 2010, ‘The Still Living Hospital Project’ in Kendall, S. Hospitals on the Time Axis, Preparing Hospitals for Inevitable Churn. Muncie IN: Ball State University.
Books
Carrasco, S. M., Faleh, M., Dangol, N. 2021, A Home for the Diaspora: From the Horn of Africa to Melbourne’s Public Housing. Affordable Housing Hallmark Initiative. Melbourne: Melbourne University Publishing. (ISBN 9780734056269)
Faleh, M. 2021, Holistic Architectural Ethics in the Time of Globalisation: Between Dubai and the Medina of Tunis. London, UK: Bloomsbury. (Proposal Under review)
Faleh, M. 2011, [Re]member, think Detroit+Decay. Master’s Thesis. Copenhagen, Denmark: ISSUU.
Book Review
Faleh, M., 2022, Review of the book Muslim American City: Gender and Religion in Metro Detroit, by Alisa Perkins. International Journal of Islamic Architecture (IJIA). (Accepted for publication, forthcoming 2023)