Sandra, is adedicated environmentalist, architect, and urbanist, who has been a driving force in shaping sustainable architecture across the region for 30 years. As the head of Tangram Architects’ MENA studio, renowned for delivering regionally significant social and critical infrastructure projects.

Sandra’s work fosters collaboration, thought leadership, and innovative design solutions addressing the region’s environmental and urban challenges.

Her career in the Gulf began in the mid-1990s with the analysis, review, and development of the Al Ain City master plan, igniting a lifelong commitment to broadening an understanding of desert urbanism and the delivery of regionally significant schemes that respect and respond to local climatic, environmental, cultural, social, and economic sustainability needs.

She has since led pioneering projects integrating tradition with modernity, including early regeneration work at Sharjah’s historic Arts and Heritage Area using traditional materials, designing Dubai’s first green-roofed government building, and shaping a sustainable campus for the Emirates Nuclear Energy Programme.

Her latest projects, a Women and Children’s Cancer Care Hospital, and the Hospital without Walls programme that she founded, exemplify her belief in architecture as a therapeutic environment, embedding patient recovery spaces within a healing Winter Garden, whilst utilising digital and advanced technologies as an exponent of sustainable design.

A champion of knowledge-sharing, after decades of recognition in a career driving sustainable strategies and climatic responsive design solutions Sandra co-founded the RIBA Gulf Chapters’ Sustainability Group in 2021, creating a platform for built environment professionals to collaborate on strategies for decarbonization and sustainable design. Through an ongoing Sustainable Development Series, she co-curates’ discussions that promote best practices and innovation across the GCC, sharing awareness, knowledge, skills, and tools along with showcasing projects, processes, best practices, and strategies that will guide us all to meet the challenges faced in delivering a regional route to locally deliver on commitments to the UN’s SDGs.

This included the RIBA exhibition Sustainable Architecture in the Gulf, a landmark initiative showcasing 50 years of regional architectural evolution curated for COP28 in Dubai, which was later hosted at RIBA’s London headquarters and followed by an updated KSA-focussed version exhibited in Riyadh in 2024, to further amplify the conversation on sustainable urban development.

Dedicated to fostering inclusivity, more recently Sandra launched the RIBA Gulf Chapter’s Women in Architecture Programme, empowering women through mentorship, promotion, and professional development. Her initiatives have resonated globally, with events such as the Middle East book launch of 100 Women: Architects in Practice and high-impact discussions during COP28 and in the partnering with AIA Middle East for events to annually mark International Women’s Day.As a thought leader Sandra is a sought-after speaker, workshop facilitator, and published architect, who frequently addresses global forums, advocating for sustainable, inclusive, and innovative design.

Sandra’s collaborative approach and visionary leadership continue to shape the architectural landscape of the MENA region, earning recognition from clients, academia, professional bodies, and industry peers worldwide.“My plans for the ongoing development of tangram will see us mastering more digital and advanced technologies to support greater efficiencies and design innovation to allow us to achieve a more radical reduction in carbon, energy, water, and waste footprints of our products, for the betterment of people and planet,” explains Sandra.

She further adds: We are privileged to working here in the Gulf, in such a fast-paced and evolving market, where innovation and design excellence are demanded. Working alongside the very best creative minds in the world means that we all must continually push boundaries to just even stay in the game, which certainly raises the standards across the industry.