Nader Tehrani

For his “contributions to architecture as an art,” Nader Tehrani is the recipient of The American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize, the highest form of recognition of artistic merit in the United States. With nineteen Progressive Architecture Awards, he is also an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Design, and recipient of the Design Visionary Award from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Tehrani is the Founding Principal of NADAAA, an interdisciplinary practice with works in infrastructure, urbanism, architecture, and installations. The former Head of the Department of Architecture at MIT, Tehrani was also Dean of The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union. His work is featured in the permanent collections of the CCA and the Nasher Sculpture Center, and NADAAA has been widely exhibited at MOMA, LA MOCA and the Venice Biennale. NADAAA has evolved over three decades as a multi-disciplinary practice dedicated to bridging design disciplines; from landscape to urbanism, architecture to interiors, and industrial design to furniture. With an eye towards integrated thinking, the studio enters the discourse on technology, aesthetics, and building protocols as part of a holistic process. Rather than focusing on typology, NADAAA’s portfolio is built on process, with examples of institutional, academic, housing, commercial, retail, and civic projects. Design excellence is core to the firm’s pursuits, which also has earned four American Architecture Awards, four Chicago Athenaeum Awards, and an AIA Cote Top Ten Award. NADAAA consistently places among the top design firms in Architect Magazine’s annual ranking of US design firms and has been selected as top firm three years in a row. Nader Tehrani spoke for the Forum on November 6, 2025. Please support The Forum, a non-profit organization, at https://dallasarchitectureforum.org/d... so we can continue to present lectures and events featuring design thought leaders that educate, connect communities, and enhance how we live.