Renata Holod is Professor of the History of Art, and Curator, Near East Section, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. She received her BA in Islamic Studies from the University of Toronto, MA in the History of Art from University of Michigan and Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Harvard University. She has done archaeological and architectural fieldwork in Syria, Iran, Morocco, Central Asia and Turkey, and completed an archaeological/ethno-historical survey on the island of Jerba, Tunisia. She has co-authored and edited the following works: City in the Desert: an account of the archaeological expedition to Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi, Syria; Architecture and Community: Building in the Islamic World Today; Modern Turkish Architecture,The Mosque and the Modern World, London-New York, 1997. Jerba Studies is forthcoming.
Professor Holod has served as Convenor, Steering Committee Member, and Master Jury Chair of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. She also served as consultant to Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), Arthur Ericson Architects, and Venturi Scott-Brown Architects. In 2004, the Islamic Environmental Research Centre honored her with an Award for outstanding work in Islamic Architectural Studies.
Prof. Holod foresees the direction of the project and provides theoretical assistance.