Narges holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Guilan/Iran. For her master’s thesis, she conducted an interdisciplinary study and examined the impact of the built environment on patients with psychosis. Her project was qualitative research (a grounded theory study) in an inpatient mental health facility, through which she studied the socio-spatial attributes in the physical environment supporting patients’ well-being. The findings of this research have been published in the journal Design for Health.
Having gained invaluable experience during her master’s studies, she is passionate about exploring why and how the architectural environment impacts human perception, emotions, feelings, behaviours, and well-being. In this regard, she has studied the Salutogenic theory in design and published a conference paper and co-authored a book chapter about architecture and salutogenesis. In addition, she recently completed the course Moving Boundaries/Human Sciences and the Future of Architecture, which aimed at creating an effective dialogue among hard sciences, behavioural and social sciences, and architecture to inform design decisions.
Her research interests include mental health and architecture, learning spaces design, environment-behaviour studies, and health promotion through architecture. She is also interested in the role of embodiment and the application of neuroscience in urban design and architecture to improve human performance, use, and experience in the built context.
Before returning to academia and starting her PhD at the Queensland University of Technology, she worked as an architect at several architectural firms and consulting engineering companies in Iran, designing residential, commercial, and recreational projects for about five years.
For her PhD research, which is a part of the ARC Linkage funded project, she is investigating the relationships between architectural elements and conditions of urban vertical schools and students’ well-being and capabilities. This investigation aims to explore the influence of school design on students, including those from high-priority equity groups. She will collect and analyse data related to the three case schools to develop architectural evidence-based principles for vertical school design under the supervision of Professor Jill Franz, Associate Professor Jenna Gillett-Swan, and Dr Prue Miles. One of the significant outcomes of this PhD project will be an inclusive post-occupancy evaluation (POE) tool relevant for urban vertical schools.