Nazanin Naeini is an architect and exhibition designer whose work spans architecture, cultural institutions, and museum environments. Her practice sits at the intersection of spatial strategy, narrative, and material expression, shaped by more than a decade of experience across New York, the Middle East, and Europe. She is drawn to projects where concept and execution carry equal weight, and where design must translate complex ideas to create thoughtful, resonant experiences.

Nazanin currently serves as the sole exhibition designer representing the Guggenheim museum on the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project, leading the spatial development of collection display galleries, special exhibition galleries, and single-artist presentations for the museum’s inaugural installation. Her work bridges curatorial vision, architectural rigor, interdisciplinary coordination, and the quiet diplomacy required to guide large-scale cultural projects across continents.

Before joining the Abu Dhabi project, Nazanin shaped exhibitions for the Guggenheim Museum in New York, including Going Dark, Young Picasso, and By Way Of, developing spatial concepts, elevations, and integrated visitor experience strategies in close collaboration with curators, conservators, AV, operations, and fabrication teams.

Her architectural background includes roles at Adjaye Associates, SO–IL, and WeWork, and the restoration of a historic building into a contemporary gallery and artist residence in the Middle East. These experiences ground her work in construction methodology, material research, and a sensitivity to context and narrative.

Nazanin has taught and lectured at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and has served as a recurring jury member for Frame Magazine. She holds a Master of Architecture from McGill University and works across English, French, and Farsi.

Contact: Nazanin.Nayini@gmail.com