About | Dubai | Material Artifact Marcus Farr

About

Marcus Farr is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the American University Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, with a teaching focus on comprehensive architecture & global practice. His research explores new technologies, materiality, and pedagogy. He has taught full-time in the Middle East since 2015.

Extended Bio

Marcus Farr is an American professor, architect, and U.S. Fulbright Scholar. His work explores the contemporary cultural impact on architecture through new technologies and materiality. His teaching research explores pedagogy in the studio environment through delivery and learning outcomes. He has presented in the United States, U.K., Hungary, Iceland, Spain, Brazil, China, Taiwan, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the UAE.

As an architecture professor, Marcus teaches courses in comprehensive architecture & global practice. He is currently an Associate Professor of Architecture at the American University Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. He has taught full-time in the Middle East since 2015, and previously taught in the U.S. at the University of Colorado, Boulder in the Environmental Design department. His teaching has received recognition from the AIA, ACSA, GUA, RIBA, and the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation. He has also served as an NCARB Scholar in Washington D.C., developing best practices for architectural education.

He was given the Fulbright Award for Teaching & Research in Social Sciences for China & East Asia, sponsored by the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State. While in China, he taught in the graduate school at Tianjin University and served as a guest lecturer at the Tsinghua University School of Architecture in Beijing. During his role as a visiting scholar, he lectured at many schools in China, including Tsinghua University, Nanjing University, Southeast University, Tianjin University, Beijing Normal University, Tongji University, and Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. He has also served as visiting scholar at Dayeh University in Taiwan. His research in China focused on Wa Pan Qiang (tile wall), an ancient Chinese construction method using materials from demolished/abandoned buildings.

Marcus received a post-professional Master of Architecture (M.Arch) from Rice University (USA), as well as a Professional Degree in Architecture (5-year B.Arch) and a B.A. in Studio Art with a minor in Art & Architectural History from Drury College (USA), and studied Sustainable Preservation at Cornell University, School of Architecture, Art & Planning (USA). Additional studies include the Architectural Association Foreign Locations Program in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His graduate thesis at Rice won the Rice Design Alliance Initiatives for Houston Award.

From 2018-2025, he was part of the DigitalFUTURES International PhD research group with, Neil Leach, Philip Yuan and Patrik Schumacher (Zaha Hadid Architects).

He has had recent appointments as an Artist in Residence in Iceland, Spain, Hungary, and Japan, and has won the the James Hunter FAIA Traveling Fellowship to South America from the American Institute of Architects, and the AIA LookUp! Film Challenge Excellence in Resilience Design category.

Marcus has participated in design juries &/or spoken at several institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, the University of Houston, Tsinghua University (China), Tongji University (China), Nanjng University (China), Peking University (China), Dayeh University (Taiwan), Abu Dhabi University, the Dubai Institute for Design & Innovation, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Florida, the University of Colorado, Clemson University, the University of Detroit-Mercy, the University of Rome, Sapienza, Ithra Saudi Arabia, the University of Edinburgh and the Edinburgh College of Art.

Prior to teaching, he practiced as a LEED BD+C professional in many firms, including acting as Senior Associate at the Office of James Burnett (OJB) Urban Design/Landscape Architecture, the 2015 ASLA National Firm of the Year, and the 2020 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award recipient. This includes collaborations with the design offices of SOM, Thomas Phifer, Gensler, HOK, Robert A.M. Stern, and Carlos Jimenez. Subsequent work has been published in Landscape Architecture Magazine, Texas Architect, Architectural Record, Architect, Cite Magazine, The New York Times, and World Architecture Magazine.

Marcus Farr Architecture / Teaching

Marcus Farr
Architecture / Teaching