By Martin Stone
Professor of Law, New York City
Displacement and destruction were part of Raya Ani's formative experiences as child of war-torn Baghdad; before she went on to pursue her architectural studies on scholarships at MIT and Harvard. No doubt, this partly explains why Architecture is not just a profession for Ani, but a life’s passion, where the stakes can feel unusually high: nothing less, as it were, than the creation of a new world, where people can live in harmony with each other and with their environment. Whether it is a large project or small project, a master plan, a building, an interior design or an art installation, every project, for Ani, carries a sense of these stakes, comprising a response not only to the client, but to the human problems posed by the social context and the environment.”
A selection of Ani’s projects, very briefly described here, illustrate the inordinate devotion, intelligence, drive and creativity which she brings to her work – work that is easily described as innovative, and even visionary in nature:
A proposed design (winner of AIA ME honor award) to organize the marsh communities of Southern Iraq into a modern and an economically viable entity while addressing critical ecological concerns. Seeking to preserve the tradition of fishing and farming, Ani’s proposal recommended technologies to produce organic food, potable water, generate green energy, clean the marshes’ water, treat the waste, and even cultivate fish. It was conceived to inspire the indigenous people to be engaged in restoring the deteriorated ecosystem of the marshes and to accelerate the return of people to that habitat.
Through extensive discussions with a beverage company, Ani started an initiative for them to recycle their plastic bottles, which she then used 1200 used bottles to make a stand for the RAW-NYC Cityscape stand. Of course, she didn’t stop there: She used the same plastic bottles a second time in an ethereal piece of art (“Wanderlust”) at the zero exhibit inaugural exhibition.
Beyond her architectural projects, Raya Ani seeks to inspire others and encourage visionary architectural work through her regular appearances as mentor and lecturer at urban and architectural design studios, and at architecture schools in New York and Boston. She also continues to play a major role in mentoring and organizing continuing education whether for Architectural students or Architects.
Istabraq Janabi
CEO - MSDC CONSULTING and GENERAL TRADING INC.
I have known Raya Ani for more than 15 years and it gives me pleasure recommending her in pursuit of her professional growth. As an architect; she has gone beyond expectations and had out-shined all others in her peer group. Being an Alumnus from MIT and a LEEP AP; Raya had re-defined our expectations of her as an architect into becoming a real inventor of design visions with excellent sense of perceptions about the basics of architecture, which if brought into life would fulfill any modern urban community need from leisure to smooth human integration coupled with sustainable healthy environment. While working with EEK, proposing a study for Nakheel Marine Group; Raya used her excellent sense of perception to integrate cultural habits, nature, and human parameters into a design that would be admired for decades to come as it was beyond our time. She provides leadership for staff, promote design excellence, assist the client in the development of strategic marketing goals, and driving the development of new business nationally and internationally. She is distinguished by receiving several architectural awards, like the renowned Agha Khan, AIA Award for Architecture, SARANY Award of honors, and other international ones. I highly commend her for her professionalism and endorse her with high confidence.
By Omar (Farooq) Aftan
Construction Professional, United Arab Emirates
It was a great pleasure to work with a qualified professional such as Raya and her team at RAW-NYC Architects.
When I was working at Al Fayha Group in Amman in 2012 as technical manager, Raya was one of the architects we were considering for developing a residential master plan project in Iraq. The project was challenging with many obstacles to overcome given the time constraint. Raya possessed the right professional expertise to turn this project around effortlessly and the deliverables of her work were on time as outlined in our plan.
Later, as I moved to Dubai to work for Savanna Group in 2013 as Engineering Manager, We engaged Raya on an educational master planning proposal as well as few architectural projects. She worked with us on a concept design for a commercial building in Dubai, designed a luxury villa in Jumeriah as well as designed and completed the construction documents for two residential houses in Baghdad.
I could truly say that Raya is a visionary, trustworthy and highly committed architect. Her positive energy and honesty is key to turning projects into success stories and building a good relationship with her clients. Her ability to get clients on board with ideas is fascinating. she listens carefully to her clients, and then turn ideas to a masterpiece. This makes her a perfect business partner and a great colleague.
I was particularly impressed with Raya’s design skills as well as her technical skills. She cares about the big picture as well as the small details. Her projects are non-traditional and original. She has the ability to retain the historical character of any project yet inject a modern sense of design. I think during the previous years of working with Raya, we have achieved high quality projects and new prospects that she enabled us to achieve.
By Adam Barone
Managing Director / Co-Founder at Sonic Union.
New York, New York
Not a day goes by that we don't thank our lucky stars that we met you. We could have ended up with a perfectly suitable space had we gone another way. But we wouldn't be getting the "I love this place - it just feels right" comments that we enjoy hearing from our clients. You helped us one-up our competition and make the best use of limited space and light. I've been trying to figure out your secret, and I think I know what it is, (apart from your training of course)... It's your inquisitive nature and your lack of fear. It's your natural ability to step back and see things from other perspectives. And the fight that you have in you to get us what we want, even if we don't know we want it. You took the time to learn how we work and what matters to us on the deepest level. You inspired the project architects, the contractors, the acousticians and the laborers on-site. Wherever I got an "no", you seemed to be able to get a "yes". As we look back, we know that we could have chosen an architect we already knew, one that would have given us the safety of predictability. But from the moment the elevator door opens and a client steps off, they know we must have found an amazing designer for our space. Thanks again for contributing so much to the success of our company, and pushing us to trust our instincts. There were spot on.