Ozayr Saloojee
Assistant Professor
Email: saloojee@umn.edu
Telephone: (612)625-0690
Office: 253B Rapson Hall

Education
M.Arch, School of Architecture , Carleton University , Ottawa , Canada , 2001
B.Arch, School of Architecture , Carleton University , Ottawa , Canada , 1999

Biography
Born and raised in Johannesburg , South Africa , Ozayr Saloojee completed his secondary and university schooling in Canada . He obtained, with high honors, his undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture from the School of Architecture at Carleton University in Ottawa . While teaching as an adjunct assistant professor, he served as an associate with GHDG, an interdisciplinary design studio that focused on issues of cultural and religious expression in architectural, design-build and writing projects. He remains active as a consultant in Islamic and related architectural and design work.

Teaching Areas

• Architectural Design (Arch 8251, Graduate Design, Arch 4282, Undergraduate Design Studio)
• Design Pedagogy (Arch 1905/1401, Architecture: Ideas and Making)

Current Research

• Issues of tradition and modernity in Islamic art and architecture
• Cultural transposition in western and non-western traditions; architecture and religion; Sinan (selected buildings)
• Social ethics in design; architecture as a design ethic
• Architectural expression and representation through literature and language (Architecture and Semiotics); design pedagogy; narrative representation in architecture
• Post-colonial theory and issues of race, identity and belonging in South Africa

Selected Publications and Conferences
"The Solomnic Narrative: Architecture, Text and the Sacred." Department of Religious Studies, Lancaster University ,

Reading Spiritualities: Constructing and Representing Spiritualities Through the Medium of Text - Sacred, Literary and Visual. Lancaster , England , January 2006

"Catalyst, Consequence, (re)Definition: Language and Architecture," ACSA NE. Conference Proceedings. Professor T. Goode, editor. Syracuse , New York , October 2004.

"Architecture and Wonder: The Spirit of the Design Studio." ACSA E Conference Proceedings. Professor K. Kaiser and J. Ahmundsen, editors. Elgin , Illinois , September 2004.

"Abraham as Bridge and Mediator: A Metaphoric Reflection on the Alhambra ." ISAMA/Bridges Conference Proceedings. Professor J. Barallo, Nathan Friedman, Reza Sarhangi, Carlo Sequin, Jose Martinez and Juan Maldonado, editors. University of Granada , Faculty of Sciences, Granada , Spain , July 2003.

"9/11 and Possible Histories," ACSA W Conference Proceedings. Prof. Michael Lucas, co-editor. San Luis Obispo , California , November 2002.

Accepted Abstracts/Papers/other
Peer Review, American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 2005

 "Architecture, Alchemy, Pedagogy and Process: First Year Design Studio," ACSA International Conference , Mexico City, June, 2005

"The Courtyard as Prototype: Design Excellence across Climate Zones," with Dr. H. Elmahdy, M. Moussa. International Housing Conference, Arriyadh , Saudi Arabia , 2004.