Leila Araghian

Leila Araghian (Persian: لیلا عراقیان‎‎; born in 1983), is an Iranian architect. She has a Master of Architecture degree from the University of British Columbia, where she won the UBC Architecture Alumni Henry Elder Prize. She previously studied architecture in Iran, at Shahid Beheshti University.

In 2005, Araghian co-founded Diba Tensile Architecture, a company specialising in the design, manufacture and installation of membrane structures. She was chief architect and designer of the Tabiat Bridge in Tehran, a pedestrian bridge opened in late 2014 which has won several prizes, including the Popular Choice award in the Highways & Bridges category of Architizer's 2015 A+ Awards.

Araghian's Iranian heritage has restricted her international exposure; she was not allowed to enter the World Architecture Festival because of sanctions against Iran. The architect herself spoke out against the sanctions because according to her, "this is ridiculous , I’m an Iranian architect and this is a cultural activity, it has absolutely nothing to do with politics."[1].

She was recently (September 2015) photographed by Brandon Stanton for the Humans of New York trip to Iran.

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