Sanaa Shaikh

Sanaa is an architect, educator, and activist passionate about creating inclusive spaces in the built environment. Prior to joining the Autumn Cohort 2023, she led large-scale regeneration projects in the UK and abroad. In 2020, she founded Native Studio, an architecture practice dedicated to creating inclusive places.

Saana actively promotes wider participation in the industry from marginalised groups and has conducted workshops with organisations like the Construction Youth Trust. She has also been involved in community installations that encourage community involvement in shaping the built environment.

Sanaa teaches at Oxford Brookes and Central Saint Martins, focusing on researching the colonisation of space and spatial injustices, co-leading DECOSM — a think tank responding to associated spatial injustices. Additionally, she is trained in Passivhaus and PAS 2035 and is actively involved with the Architects Climate Action Network, working on strategies to address climate and ecological breakdown.

London Borough of Bexley

As part of our Autumn Cohort 2023, Sanaa worked as the Placemaking Projects Manager at the London Borough of Bexley. She led the placemaking and regeneration team, overseeing a group of 5-6 people responsible for managing various placemaking and regeneration projects across the borough. Sanaa also took the lead in developing Supplementary Planning Documents (SPDs), responding to larger-scale planning applications, and working closely with various council teams to ensure that placemaking was integrated into the borough's wider strategies and goals.