Houman Riazi
- Instructor, Architecture
127 Stuckeman Family Building
- Email hqr5205@psu.edu
- Pronouns he/him
- Vitae Download/View CV
Biography
Houman Riazi is a historian, architect, and educator interested in the intersection of media and architecture of Iran during the Pahlavi dynasty. His current research focuses on Iranian architectural journals published between 1940s and 1970s examining how architects navigated the politically charged landscape leading up to the 1979 revolution and the intricate relationship between architecture, politics, and postwar media in Iran. Riazi is also a member of the editorial board of the architecture journal Hyphen.
During his time in Italy, Riazi explored the spatial dynamics of moving images, particularly through an architectural analysis of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) as the focus of his master thesis. His research explored the medium-specific techniques employed in the film and their influence on architectural design, specifically through 3D simulations of different scenes. He also investigated film-making methods—such as camera movement, set design, and montage—to uncover their potential as tools for architectural design. Riazi was the recipient of the Invest Your Talent in Italy (IYT) scholarship awarded by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of University and Research, and the Ministry of the Interior, in collaboration with 25 leading Italian universities.
In addition to his academic work, Riazi has contributed to architectural design under the mentorship of Stefano Boeri, Pier Paolo Tamburelli, Ingrid Paoletti, Marco Hemmerling, Louise Wright, Homa Farjadi, Hooman Talebi, Alireza Taghaboni, and Farshad Mehdizadeh. He collaborated with Arup Italia on a variety of national and international projects and was part of the architectural team that won the urban regeneration master plan competition for Pavia in 2020.