Born: 18 September 1981, Syria
Died: NA
Country most active: Syria
Also known as: NA
The following is excerpted from Women Architects Worldwide: Building a Diverse and Inclusive Canon by Aubree Tillett, edited by Aubree Tillett and Jess Ilias, an open-access Pressbook designed to uplift the names of women architects from almost every country and territory around the world. This entry is shared in line with the Creative Commons licensing.
Born in Homs, Syria, in 1981, Dr. Marwa Al-Sabouni is an architect and author. She co-founded Arabic Gate for Architectural News, based in Homs, Syria — the first Arabic language news platform dedicated to architectural news. Dr. Al-Sabouni holds a bachelor’s and a master’s in architecture and a PhD in Islamic architecture and philosophy of architecture, all from Al-Ba-ath (Homs University) in Homs. Dr. Al-Sabouni hosted a Ted Talk titled “How Syria’s Architecture Laid the Foundation for a Brutal War” (2016). She published both Building for Hope: Toward an Architecture of Belonging (2021) and her autobiography, The Battle for Home: The Vision of a Young Architect in Syria (2016). Her forthcoming book examines the essence of mosques in urban landscapes across the world; it will be published by Thames and Hudson (2026). Dr. Al-Sabouni earned the Watch Award from the World Monuments Fund (2023), was featured on the “The BBC’s 100 Women in 2019” list, earned a Prince Claus Award (2018), earned the Kuwaiti Royal Award with her husband for Best Media Project in Arab World (2010), and was awarded first place in the UN-Habitat Mass Housing Revitalization Competition (2014) with her proposal that focused on rebuilding Baba Amr, an area destroyed in the Syrian conflict.
References
Al-Sabouni, Marwa. Building for Hope: Towards an Architecture of Belonging. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2021.
Al-Sabouni, Marwa. “From a Model of Peace to a Mode Conflict: The Effect of Architectural Modernization on the Syrian Urban and Social Make-Up.” International Review of the Red Cross (2005) 99, no. 906 (2017): 1019–36. doi:10.1017/S181638311900002X.
Al-Sabouni, Marwa. “How Can the Architecture of a City Play a Role in War?” TED Talk. National Public Radio. November 13, 2020. https://m.kuow.org/stories/marwa-al-sabouni-how-can-the-architecture-of-a-city-play-a-role-in-war.
Al-Sabouni, Marwa. “Unsteady Foundations.” RSA Journal 166, no. 3 (5583) (2020): 40–41.
Al-Sabouni, Marwa, and Roger Scruton. The Battle for Home: The Memoir of a Syrian Architect. London: Thames & Hudson, 2017.
“BBC 100 Women 2019: Who Is on the List This Year?” BBC, October 15, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-50042279.
Buxton, Pamela. “Lessons from Syria: Make Architecture a Craft Again and Restore a Sense of Society.” The RIBA Journal, June 7, 2021. https://www.ribaj.com/culture/building-for-hope-marwa-al-sabouni-syria-vulnerability-and-home.
Cooke, Rachel. “One Woman’s Battle to Heal Her Home City of Homs.” The Guardian, April 3, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/03/homs-syria-marwa-al-sabouni-architect.
Coslovich, Gabriella. “Marwa Al-Sabouni on the Battle to Rebuild Homs.” Sydney Morning Herald, August 25, 2018. https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/marwa-al-sabouni-on-the-battle-to-rebuild-homs-20180821-p4zysz.html.
Cramer, Ned. “The Stones of Syria.” Architect, August 12, 2016. https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/editorial/the-stones-of-syria_o.
“Marwa Al-Sabouni.” Bristol Ideas. Accessed April 9, 2025. https://www.bristolideas.co.uk/speakers/marwa-al-sabouni/.
“Marwa Al-Sabouni.” International Review of the Red Cross. April 2018. http://international-review.icrc.org/authors/marwa-al-sabouni.
“Marwa Al-Sabouni.” Meer. Accessed March 4, 2024. https://www.meer.com/en/authors/98-marwa-al-sabouni.
“Marwa Al-Sabouni.” Prince Claus Fund. Accessed March 4, 2024. “https://princeclausfund.org/laureate/marwa-al-sabouni”>https://princeclausfund.org/laureate/marwa-al-sabouni.[Link unavailable at March 10, 2026].
“Marwa Al-Sabouni.” Renovatio, accessed April 9, 2025. https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/authors/marwa-al-sabouni.
“Marwa Al-Sabouni.” Skoll. Accessed March 4, 2024. https://skoll.org/contributor/marwa-al-sabouni/.
“Marwa Al-Sabouni.” World Economic Forum. Accessed April 9, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20260206130924/https://www.weforum.org/people/marwa-al-sabouni/.
Masuda-Farkas, Max. “Marwa Al-Sabouni: The Architecture of Peace.” Urbanize, September 21, 2022. https://detroit.urbanize.city/post/marwa-al-sabouni-architecture-peace.
McEvers, Kelly. “‘The Battle For Home’ Traces Syria’s History Through Architecture.” NPR, July 20, 2016. https://www.npr.org/2016/07/20/486785267/the-battle-for-home-traces-syrias-history-through-architecture.
“MEDirections Keynote Lecture by Marwa Al-Sabouni | The Spring’s Harvest: What Role Can Architecture Play in the Reconstruction of Syrian Cities?” Middle East Directions (blog). January 31, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20250126171411/https://middleeastdirections.eu/medirections-keynote-lecture-by-marwa-al-sabouni-the-springs-harvest-what-role-can-architecture-play-in-the-reconstruction-of-syrian-cities/.
Neustein, David. “‘Building for Hope’ by Marwa al-Sabouni.” The Monthly, accessed March 4, 2024. https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2021/june/1622469600/david-neustein/building-hope-marwa-al-sabouni.
Pfeifer, Hazel. “The Syrian Architect with a Vision for How to Rebuild Her Country.” CNN, November 18, 2016 . https://www.cnn.com/style/article/homs-syria-architect-marwa-al-sabouni/index.html.
“Syrian Architect Marwa Al-Sabouni Proposes Designs to Restore Social Cohesion after the War.” Design Boom. Accessed March 4, 2024. https://www.designboom.com/architecture/marwa-al-sabouni-syria-prince-claus-award-12-22-2018/.
“Ten Experts to Watch on Reconstruction in Syria.” Syrian Economic Task Force. December 7, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20251021085224/https://syrianeconomic.net/home/2017/12/07/ten-experts-to-watch-on-reconstruction-in-syria/.