The Architecture of Place: In Conversation with Soraya Hosni

The Architecture of Place: In Conversation with... is a series of interviews between design practitioners, scholars, and educators. The iteration of the series that took place in December 2025 features conversations with three designers and place-makers from different backgrounds and points of view: Manvendra Singh Shekhawat, Felicity Cain, and Soraya Hosni.

In this three-part series, each speaker alternately serves as interviewer and interviewee, discussing the influences, experiences, and projects that have shaped their approach to the architecture of place.

The Architecture of Place series is a collaboration between the ICAA, INTBAU, and The King's Foundation.

In this installment of the winter 2025-2026 Architecture of Place series, Felicity Cain interviews Soraya Hosni.

Soraya Hosni is a cultural strategist and Yale World Fellow who oversees arts and culture funding initiatives across the USA and the MENA region. She is the founder of The New Medina, a cultural revival initiative dedicated to reclaiming ancestral knowledge and architecture in historic Islamic cities. Trained as an anthropologist and cultural entrepreneur, her work sits at the intersection of heritage, sustainability, and belonging.

Presented as part of The Richard H. Driehaus Curricula for the Built Environment at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. The ICAA is very grateful to The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation for its generous support of this program.

Tags: architecture of place, recorded event, architecture of place in conversation with, world of classicism, sustainability