From TOLEDO CHAPTER OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS
The Toledo Chapter of the American Institute of Architects is pleased to announce that Salim Elwazani, Ph.D., AIA, has been named the 2021 Architect of the Year in recognition of his commitment to the profession.
A Professor of Architecture & Environmental Design at Bowling Green State University, Salim originally joined the small architecture studies program in 1992 and has witnessed the program move into a full-fledged, independent department with an NAAB accredited M. Arch. degree. Salim gives the lead credit for creating an architecture professional program at BGSU to the collaborative energies of the dedicated faculty over a score of years. “It was a long journey, but worth the sweat,” noted Salim. Further, he espouses the role of the AIA Toledo Chapter, the Toledo Design Collective, and others in supporting a practice-driven preparation of students through participation in studio design reviews, the advisory board, accreditation visits, and student activity programs. “Having a professional architectural program in Northwest Ohio is viewed by these organizations as a catalyst for the design vitality in the NW Ohio Region,” he said.
Salim’s qualifications and experiences are multi-faceted. He holds a B. Arch. (Kansas State) and a Ph.D. (Catholic University of America) in addition to degrees in architectural engineering and city planning. A licensed architect since 1995, he holds the Expert membership in CIPA, the ICOMOS International Documentation Committee, and was twice the recipient of Fulbright awards, including the Fulbright-Aalto University Distinguished Chair to Finland, 2012-2013. Serving on the boards of AIA Toledo and the Toledo Design Collective, he is also a member of ACSA, ICOMOS, ASCAAD, and DCA.
His international experiences add to the diverse perspectives of the architectural community. Salim had established the Department of Architecture at the An-Najah University in the West Bank, and as a Fulbright Scholar, he lectured and researched in Finland and Bahrain for universities and preservation agencies. He conducted preservation related workshops in Lebanon, Spain, and Jordan. In addition to his teaching at the Savannah College of Art and Design (1986-87), he assumed a one-semester visiting professorship at Nizwa University, Oman and completed program reviews for universities in Saudi Arabia and the West Bank. International scholarly engagement has taken him all around the world, and he finds international travel for business or leisure as a source of enlightenment for its humbling inter-cultural value.
Salim finds great importance in reaching out to local communities and volunteering in a variety of ways. He advocates for community design support through studio projects involving community representatives and, invariably, review panels of volunteer peer architects and designers. Project examples include Senior Affordable Housing, Perrysburg; The Junction Revival Center, Toledo; Welcome Center at Anthony Wayne Gateway; Resilient Student Housing, Uptown; Gateway Plaza, Sandusky; Ohio Theatre Rehabilitation, United North; City Building Rehabilitation, Bowling Green; Toledo Uptown Community Housing; among others. He concludes, “as an architect, I am fortunate to have an architectural education career that afforded me the privilege of contribution to many future architects with an open support of the architecture community in Northwest Ohio.”
Mr. Elwazani will be presented the 2021 AIA Toledo Architect of the Year Award during Celebration of Architecture Week on Wednesday, April 28.
