Faisal Mohsin
Faisal is RIBA-USA Chapter Chair for Washington DC and the South-eastern US. He is a dual US and UK-licensed architect and is registered in the District of Columbia. He is multilingual, speaking Urdu and Norwegian, widely traveled, and broadly experienced having worked on projects in the US, Europe, Scandinavia, and the Middle East. He currently works freelance on single-family residential projects in the Washington DC region. He has previously worked on commercial, mixed-use, and major airport and transit projects at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in London, Chicago and Washington DC, Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners in London, and Nordic – Office of Architecture in Oslo, Norway. He has a dual Masters in Architecture (with commendation) and Professional Practice and Management from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. He is also a volunteer member of the US National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) Examination Subcommittee.
What's your favorite thing about architecture?
I enjoy the reciprocal acts of drawing, testing, making, thinking and iterating. My favorite buildings are those that evoke a strong emotional response, that are confident in the feelings they seek to evoke using spatial tools like proportion, contrast, light, color and legibility.
Why did you become an RIBA member?
I became a member as a student in the late 1990’s, partly so I could access the rich resources of the library for researching my dissertation. I’d attend events when I could but would always walk around the exhibits and browse the bookshop. After moving overseas, my continued membership helped me to remain connected to a community of architects in the UK who’s sensitivity, wit and inventiveness has been an important influence for me. I must also point out that the restrooms at Portland Place are some of the finest in the city.
What’s your favorite project you've worked on so far and why?
The new terminal and pier at Bergen International Airport in Bergen on the west coast of Norway, undertaken whilst I was working at Nordic – Office of Architecture in Oslo from 2011 to 2016. It’s set in an astonishing location, nestled in the bucolic surroundings of the fjords. It’s also a building bound up with fond memories of my time as a humble guest in Norway, traveling the region, learning the language, and getting to know some of the peculiar local cuisines (I like my rotting fermented fish with a sheep’s head on the side).
For more information about Faisal Mohsin you can Email or call at 1 240.474.3395
Image Credit: Bergen International Airport, Bergen, Norway
Designed by: Nordic – Office of Architecture @nordicooa
