Shanar's experience of changing roles, contexts, and scales throughout her architectural career has given her the humility and insight to become a problem solver in complex intercultural settings through creative design. She believes in her social duty as an architect and urban designer to drive impactful transformation in communities through effective teamwork.
Previously, she worked with Anacapa Architecture on high-profile projects in California after moving to the U.S. and graduated from the Design of Cities post-graduate program at SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture) in Los Angeles. Before moving to the U.S , She was a partner at the Transformative Architectural Office (TAO), based in Tehran, after gaining years of experience in an architecture and urban development consulting firm. Following her passion for mentorship, Shanar also worked as an educator at Tehran University of Art. Shanar received her Master of Architectural Engineering from IUST (Iran University of Science & Technology) in 2011 and her Bachelor of Architectural Engineering from IAUCTB in 2008 in Tehran. Having grown up in Tehran and lived in Los Angeles (two mega cities) before settling in Santa Barbara, she especially appreciates the balanced and relaxed lifestyle of the central coast while traveling and exploring both urban and natural landscapes.