Mohamad T. Araji

Dr. Mohamad T. Araji is the Director of Architectural Engineering Program at the University of Waterloo. As a building scientist and expert in the field of environmental modeling, he has contributed to international landmark projects that range from the Chicago De-Carbonization Plan to the world’s tallest building and the world’s first large-scale positive energy building. Numerous of these and other novel projects plus winning design competitions in his practice portfolio apply innovative technologies to form high-performance design strategies that generate minimal ecological footprint.

At Waterloo, Dr. Araji is leading the Symbiosis Lab, an interdisciplinary group that specializes in developing innovative building systems, design and planning workflows, and new metrics to evaluate the environmental performance of buildings. The lab has been recognized as an incubator for the development of new models in architecture and city-center environments, with specific applications in parametric design, renewable energy, building envelope, urban performance, air quality, sustainable materials, carbon analysis, health & wellbeing, and data visualization.

Dr. Araji is the recipient of several prestigious awards and grants. His current research program has been funded by NSERC and Mitacs. Among his academic appointments around the world, he was tenured at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture where he received the 2020 Teaching Scholar Award and the 2017 Carl R. Nelson Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Araji received the 2014 TÜV Süd Stiftung Visiting Professorship for his scientific excellence from the Technical University of Munich. Based on his expertise, he has been appointed as a Research Fellow and Trusted Jury Member for the selection of the Hans Fischer Fellows at TUM’s Institute for Advanced Studies. Dr. Araji additionally held the Guest Scientist position at the Oskar von Miller Forum in Munich, and for the academic year of 2018-2019, he was appointed as a Visiting Professor at the School of Architecture and Design at the Lebanese American University, Beirut. Part of his research was earlier fulfilled at the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center and the Building Research Council at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Being a keynote speaker, Dr. Araji has conducted extensive lectures in Canada, USA, Europe, and the Middle East. His distinguished industry collaborations have established partnership with directors and partners from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, HOK, and Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill in Chicago, where he spent years of practice on buildings and urban projects that have transformed cityscapes globally. Dr. Araji’s work has been published and cited in several scientific and highly acclaimed journals. He is a founding member and co-chair of Built Environment Education in Washington, D.C. He is a licensed architect, holding professional registration with Beirut Order of Engineers & Architects since 2003, and member of the U.S. Green Building Council in addition to numerous environmental and architectural societies, councils, and associations.

• AE 325 - Project 1 Studio
  • Taught in 2022, 2023, 2024
• ARCH 473 - Technical Report
  • Taught in 2021
• ARCH 493 - Design Studio/Comprehensive Building Design
  • Taught in 2021, 2024
• ARCH 691 - Design Studio - Comprehensive Building Design
  • Taught in 2022, 2023, 2024

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Research team grows green walls to generate energy
• Prof uses AI to improve building energy use