Nazlee Markowsky
I grew up
In Tehran, Iran.
Education
Master of Architecture, 2012 / The University of British Columbia
Graduate Diploma in Spatial Design, 2007 / University of the Arts, London, England
Bachelor of Industrial Design, 2006 / Azad University of Art and Architecture, Tehran, Iran
Notable accomplishments/awards
Painting/drawing exhibition at Assar and Behzad art galleries in Tehran
Member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites
Designed light fixtures for a charity auction for Children’s Hospital in Tehran
Presented a Christmas centrepiece for Buckingham Palace that was showcased on the BBC
Won design commission to design and build centrepiece for the City Inn Hotel lobby in London, England
Honourable Mention in the 2010 Fast + Epp Arch/Eng Design Competition for “The SkyTrain Station Never Built”
Why Measured?
I have always admired Measured for the compelling design aesthetics, materiality and space making as well as the precision — exciting work. Plus, I collect tape measures!
Earliest architectural memory
I remember drawing a floor plan of a doctor’s office that we’d visited when I was five using my mother’s drafting table.
Architect I admire most
Petre Zumthor for his choices in material and space making. Enrique Miralles for material and space and the most amazing drawings. Also Aldo Rossi and Lina Bo Bardi.
Preferred era in architecture
Modernist
A space that has affected me
Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
Materials that excite me
Concrete and vellum paper
I love working with clients because
They put a deadline to our design. Otherwise we would keep designing forever.
I wish I’d designed
A better paper clip.
I’m inspired by
Books as objects and their contents.
When I’m not working you can find me
Daydreaming.
Ball point or felt tip?
Felt forever!
Go-to unit of measurement
Anything metric
Favourite object
Pens, pencils, chalk, paints — let’s just say art supplies
On my playlist
Radiohead, David Bowie, Franz Liszt, Erik Satie
Go-to morning drink
A latte in my own cup