Speakers

Since joining ZHA in 2007, Sara Sheikh Akbari has led numerous major design competitions and projects from early concept through to completion. She has played a pivotal role in delivering large-scale cultural, commercial, office, and residential developments across the Middle East, Europe, and North America and has been a key contributor to ZHA’s most high-profile and award-winning projects.

She served as Project Director for the BEEAH Headquarters in the UAE, an innovative, sustainability-driven project that achieved LEED Platinum certification and was a lead designer and key member for the Heydar Aliyev Centre in Azerbaijan, winner of the 2014 Design of the Year Award. Most recently, she is the Project Director for Khalid Bin Sultan City in the UAE, a major new masterplan that weaves together sustainable design, vibrant public spaces and community-centred living, creating a place where nature, culture and everyday life converge. 

Her expertise spans a wide range of typologies, including complex geometries, digital design rationalisation, project delivery packages, and on-site construction supervision. She ensures effective coordination between internal teams and external collaborators, transforming ambitious architectural concepts into built reality.