AYA ANI, AIA, LEED AP is a member of the American Institute of Architects, a licensed Architect in the State of New York and a US Green Building Council Accredited Professional.
She received her BSC in Architectural Engineering from Baghdad University with distinctions, and an MS in Architectural studies from Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she was awarded the Harvard/MIT Aga Khan Scholarship for designing in Islamic societies. She has taught urban and architectural design studios and served as a guest critic at a number of leading architectural schools in New York and Boston. Before graduation, she was the teaching assistant for Bill Mitchell on the application of advanced computer modeling relative to form and material.
She has 24 years of professional experience having worked in Germany, Boston and New York City for international and award-winning architectural practices including Perkins & Will, EEK Architects, Elkus/Manfredi, Wood and Zapata and Ellenzweig. In June 2010, she moved to Dubai and was appointed as the design director and head of Architecture for dwp.
Raya has headed the design team for EEK’s multiple high-profile projects including the first public green school in New York City; two green-certified (LEED) residential towers in Battery Park City, New York; 250 East 57th Street, a development comprising two schools, retail, and a residential tower; the Sobella City Center; the Bawadi Park Master Plan; and Nakheel Marina transportation hub concepts. In Dubai, Raya headed the architectural studio for dwp and was responsible for the design and management of all high-profile projects including a residential tower currently under construction in Abu Dhabi, mixed-use residential buildings, serviced apartments, hotels and office towers, master plans, and luxury villas in the UAE.
Raya’s work has been acknowledged in the US and internationally for excellence, including the Rotch traveling scholarship, Minosse International Prize for the Tsinghua University School of Fine Arts, SARANY award of honor for Science &Technology Center at Seton Hall University, and an AIA Award for the design of the B. F. Goodrich offices in Charlotte, North Carolina.
In 2011, RAYA ANI was nominated for the Middle-East Architect of the year Award and her work was highly commended by the jury.
In 2012, RAYA ANI founded RAW-nyc.
RAW-nyc is an interdisciplinary architectural studio based in New York City with an office in Dubai. RAW-nyc is a collaborative practice providing visionary and uniquely crafted architectural buildings, interior spaces, and urban design solutions worldwide. We provide our clients with an experienced team of leading consultants and offer a comprehensive list of architectural and construction services, including feasibility studies and master planning services.
We do large and small-scale developments, mixed-use projects, high-rise residential and office buildings, hotels, schools and higher education buildings, adaptive reuse, lab buildings, institutional buildings, cultural centers, and villas. We practice sustainability, from the larger master plan to the architecture and the interior spaces. We are leaders in energy and sustainable design.
RAW-nyc is a place of collective thinking, ongoing research, and investigation. We are inspired to design critically and innovatively to serve the individual and the public.
With a strong vision and open mind, we build for the joy of creating, for the joy of collaborating and for the joy of seeing our clients succeed.