Advisory Committee

Chilean architect engaged in research, teaching and practical work on earthen architecture and technologies. Vice-president of the International Scientific Committee on Earthen Architectural Heritage ISCEAH-ICOMOS, Researcher of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Spain). PhD candidate at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Spain) and University of Cagliari (Italy), Master in Cultural Heritage at the Catholic University of Chile and Earthen Architecture Post-Graduate Diploma at the CRATerre laboratory ENSAG (France).

Amel Chabbi heads the Conservation Section at the Department of Culture & Tourism – Abu Dhabi where she is responsible for planning conservation and management measures, policies and guidelines for the built heritage of the Abu Dhabi Emirate. This includes overseeing the implementation of preventive and curative conservation across all sites and buildings, coordinating the preparation of conservation and site management plans for heritage resources, overseeing major strategic rehabilitation projects of heritage buildings such as Bait Mohammed bin Khalifa and the Cultural Foundation, as well as spearheading the Modern Heritage Conservation Initiative. Prior to joining DCT, Amel was based in the United States where she was a Research Associate at the Getty Conservation Institute. She received a fellowship from the Kress Foundation to carry out the pilot conservation project of the Texaco Road Map of Philip Johnson’s New York State Pavilion. She also worked as a Building Conservator in New York City. Amel holds a B.A. in Archaeology and Chemistry from the University of Virginia and an M.Sc. in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania. Board member of ICOMOS International from 2012-2017, she is currently a member of ICOMOS-UAE and of the International Scientific Committee on 20th-century heritage. She also currently serves on the Scientific Committee of the ALIPH Foundation and the Technical Working Group of the Federal Committee on Architecture and Urban Heritage of the UAE post-1960s.

Born in 1972, Anwar completed his undergraduate studies in Architectural Engineering at the University of Damascus in 1990. In 2009, he earned a Master’s Degree in Conservation of Cultural Heritage from the University of Damascus, in collaboration with the Centre des Hautes Etudes de Chaillot. Following his studies, he served as a lecturer for five years.

Anwar served as a Conservation Architect with the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) in Syria from 2000 to 2014.

Since January 2014, Anwar has been a Projects Manager at the ICCROM Regional Centre in Sharjah, UAE, where he oversees field projects, technical consultations, and training activities. During this period, he was actively involved in supervising and providing expert advice on several regional projects implemented by ICCROM, including the Western Sudan Community Museums, the Royal Historical Houses in Muscat, Oman, the Conservation of Al-Dur Temple, the Conservation of Al-Midfa Tower in the UAE and the Experts project with KSA.

Anwar is also ICCROM’s coordinator for the Master’s Degree program, a joint initiative between ICCROM and the University of Sharjah. He is also responsible for designing ICCROM-Sharjah training courses. In addition, he has contributed to the significant publications issued by ICCROM’s Regional Centre on conservation projects and guidelines.

Aqeel Ahmed Aqeel is a trained Architectural Engineer graduated from UAE University, specializing in preserving Abu Dhabi’s cultural heritage. Throughout his career, he has served as a Conservation Architect for organizations like the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

Currently, Mr. Aqeel is the head of historic buildings conservation at the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi. He is responsible for devising plans, designing strategies, and executing conservation measures aimed at safeguarding Abu Dhabi’s Historic Environment. His primary focus centers around the preservation of the Emirate’s vernacular and historic buildings.

Within his scope of work, Aqeel manages an emergency conservation program, oversees the implementation of preventive and remedial measures, and allocates essential resources and talents. Throughout his career, he worked in over 100 historic sites, including being part of the team who played an important role in obtaining UNESCO World Heritage status for “The Cultural Sites of Al Ain”. Moreover, Aqeel has been an integral part of several large-scale rehabilitation and adaptive reuse projects in the UAE, such as Qasr Al Hosn, Jahili Fort, Qasr al Muwaiji, and Qattara Art Center.

Aqeel’s expertise extends across various areas, including documentation, conducting surveys, and managing conservation projects. He has also contributed to the formulation of policies and guidelines within the conservation field and authored and co-authored a number of publications in the field of historic buildings conservation. Furthermore, his passion for capacity building has led him to co-organize and instruct in several initiatives aimed at training and empowering both internal and external resources.

Hossam Mahdy is an independent consultant and researcher on the conservation of built heritage, based in Oxford, UK. He earned his PhD from Glasgow University, MSc from Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation, Leuven and BSc from Ain Shams University, Cairo. He is a member of ICOMOS-UK and the president of ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Vernacular Architecture (CIAV) and a member of the Board of Trustees for Paul Oliver Vernacular Architecture Library (POVAL) at Oxford Brookes University. Hossam has more than thirty years’ experience as an architect, researcher, consultant and lecturer on built heritage conservation. His previous roles included the head of Conservation Section at the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi, UAE; the Head of Heritage Section at the Alexandria Mediterranean Research Centre at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina; consultant to the Getty Conservation Institute for the preparation of a management plan for Queens Valley in Luxor; consultant to the Ministry of Culture in Egypt on urban conservation in Historic Cairo and a member of staff as a lecturer on conservation at South Valley University and various Egyptian universities. His academic research focuses on culture-specific approaches, philosophy and practices of conservation in the Arab region. Hossam is the author of “Glossary of Arabic Terms for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage” and Approaches to the Conservation of Islamic Cities: the case of Cairo. Both are published by ICCROM.

Ishanlosen Odiaua is a Senior Social Development Specialist at the World Bank. She holds a doctorate degree in Art history (architectural conservation). She is a past President of the ICOMOS Advisory Committee and a past Board member of ICOMOS-ISCEAH.

Architect, she holds a degree in architecture from the University of Florence, a PhD in architecture obtained in Cagliari (Italy) and the CEEA-Terre (Certificat d’Etudes Aprofondis) achieved at CRATerre – ENSAG in Grenoble (France).

She is associate professor of construction design at the University of Cagliari, Faculty of Civil, Environmental Engineering and Architecture, where she also teaches courses in the frame of the UNESCO Chair “Earthen Architecture, building cultures and sustainable development”.

President of ICOMOS-ISCEAH International Scientific Committee for Earthen Architectural Heritage and coordinator of the same committee within ICOMOS-Italy.

She is an expert consultant for the International Association of Earthen Cities (Italy), and World Monuments Fund (USA). She is a member of scientific and organizational committees of numerous international conferences and of the latest World Terra Congresses.

She has participated as manager, coordinator or partner in various international projects financed by the European Community and the Autonomous Region of Sardinia on the themes of conservation and enhancement of the vernacular heritage, and particularly the heritage built with earth.

She has a long and intense experience of teaching at academic level and for professional training in the field of vernacular and sustainable architecture.

Achenza is author of over 80 scientific publications.

Dr. Benkari is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at Sultan Qaboos University and an Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo. An expert in earthen architecture, she has led advancements in sustainable building methods and heritage conservation, with a focus on adaptive reuse and durability.

Dr. Benkari holds a Master’s in Architectural Engineering and a Ph.D. in Urban Design from the University of Pierre Mendes, France. Her teaching and professional practice span Europe, North Africa, and the Gulf, where she brings significant knowledge of vernacular earthen techniques and their application in modern architecture.

In her role as a consultant to the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism in Oman, Dr. Benkari advises on heritage conservation with a particular focus on earthen architectural heritage, merging traditional knowledge with modern conservation practices. As an Expert Member of ICOMOS, she contributes to international efforts on World Heritage, leading workshops and assessments that promote the sustainable preservation of earthen sites notably.

Dr. Benkari’s work on vernacular architecture and sustainable heritage is widely published in leading scientific journals, conference proceedings, and books. Her contributions have been recognized with honors such as the Medal of Algerian Scholar (2022) and the Prince Sultan Bin Salman Prize for Islamic Urban Heritage, celebrating her impactful work in research, education, and sustainable development.

Tejas Kotak, a Civil Engineer and currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Engineering with a research focus on Earthen Construction, is the Founder and Managing Director of Sankalan, A Centre for Alternative Learning. He has been a founding member of Hunnarshala since its establishment in 2003 and served as the Executive Director for over 10 years.

Following the Kutch Rehabilitation work, Tejas Kotak and the Hunnarshala team actively responded to global disasters, including those in Indonesia and Nagapattinam, India. Alongside disaster response efforts, he has led research initiatives, promoted eco-friendly materials and techniques through artisan empowerment, and advocated for decentralized wastewater treatment systems. Tejas Kotak has also been responsible for overseeing the artisan entrepreneurship, research programs and managing the organization’s finances.

Notably, significant projects have been accomplished under his leadership, including the conservation and restoration of Al Jahili Fort, Qasr Al Muwaiji, and Qattara Art & Culture Centre in Abu Dhabi, as well as the restoration of the Old Amiri Palace in Doha. Conservation projects across India and the construction of the Hunnarshala Office Campus have also been carried out.

Tejas Kotak has led collaborative research with the University of Applied Sciences of Southern Switzerland, focusing on “Assessing the Environmental Impact of Building Technologies in the Kutch District, Gujarat, India.” Additionally, he has served as a research guide for Masters and Ph.D. students from MIT, Boston since 2016, specializing in passive cooling techniques and natural building materials specific to the Kutch region. Moreover, he spearheads training programs on Earthen Construction techniques for building artisans, architects, and students in the fields of architecture and engineering. Furthermore, Tejas Kotak made significant contributions to the development of construction guidelines for Compressed Stabilized Earthen Wall Buildings for GSDMA in 2001 and has been instrumental in designing Decentralized Waste Water Treatment systems (DEWATS) that can be installed at institutional buildings, housing complexes etc.

Under his leadership two new entities have been established, namely So Hath – 100 Hands Foundation for Building Artisans and Sankalan – A centre for Alternative Learning. So Hath – 100 Hands is a platform for the building artisan community to participate in eco-sensitive projects undertaken by the organization. Whereas, Sankalan – A Centre for Alternative Learning is the technical and research arm, which guides So Hath – 100 Hands artisans and involves in disseminating technical know-how among architecture & engineering students and professionals through various training programs. The training program designed and implemented by So Hath – 100 Hands for the conservation workforce of the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi was a joint effort by these two entities.

In addition to his role at Sankalan and So Hath – 100 Hands, Tejas Kotak is also the president of CDD India.

Zaki Aslan is an architect, planner, educator, and expert in the fields of cultural heritage and conservation. He currently serves as Advisor at the Culture Sector of the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi, and as a Professor of Practice at the American University of Sharjah, within the College of Architecture, Art and Design. With over two decades of leadership experience, he served as the founding director of the ICCROM-Sharjah Regional Conservation Centre in the UAE for 21 years, where he spearheaded programs across the Arab region. Aslan led cultural heritage conservation initiatives both from Rome, Italy (2003–2011) and later from Sharjah, UAE (2012–2023).

Throughout his career, Aslan has advised numerous GCC and Arab governments, guiding national policies and strategies in heritage conservation, World Heritage, and cultural planning. His expertise extends to managing high-profile projects and providing technical assistance on issues such as heritage management, public outreach, capacity building, and curriculum development. He has worked with leading global organizations, including UNESCO, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), EU, USAID, ICOMOS, the British Council, GIZ, and many others.

Aslan currently serves on several advisory and steering committees, including ASOR, EAMENA, the UAE-funded Mosul Project, TERRA 2022, ALIPH, PWC, the Welfare Association, and the Saudi Government. His work has earned him recognition as a keynote speaker and scientific committee member at several international conferences focused on heritage and conservation.

An extensive author, Aslan has published numerous works on cultural heritage conservation and management. He holds a Ph.D. in Heritage Conservation and Management from University College London (UCL), UK, and an MSc in Conservation of the Built Environment from the University of Montreal, Canada.