Ali Malkawi

Bio

Ali Malkawi (马加维) is an international scholar and expert in building simulation, energy conservation, and sustainability in buildings. He teaches architectural technology and computation and conducts research in the areas of computational simulation, building performance evaluation, and advanced visualization at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Professor Malkawi is the Founding Director of the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities, a multi-disciplinary research institution that seeks to transform the building industry through a commitment to design-centric strategy that directly links research outcomes to the development of new processes, systems, and products. The Center for Green Buildings and Cities has a large research focus on building design and urbanization in China.

Malkawi is part of many large scale research initiatives and is the recipient of several prestigious and extensive grants. He has lectured and conducted research at numerous universities, conferences, and public events. He currently holds the Velux visiting professorship at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. Previously he has taught at Georgia Institute of Technology 1991-1994, University of Michigan 1994-2001 and the University of Pennsylvania 2001-2013; where he was a professor of architecture and the chairman of the graduate group in architecture and founder and director of the TC Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies.

Malkawi serves as a consultant on many high profile projects, including airport designs, super towers (LOTTE, Seoul; World Trade Center, NY), industrial factories (Ferrari factory, Italy), cities (King Abdulla Atomic and Renewable City, Riyadh) and commercial and residential showcase projects. He has provided strategic guidance on building energy related topics to senior members of the Obama Administration, including the Vice President of the United States of America. He also innovates and leads efforts in sustainability framework developments and engages with energy policies in several countries, including leading the development of the first performance based sustainability rating system in the Middle East for the State of Qatar.

Lead author or co-author of over eighty scientific papers, Malkawi is also the co-editor of two books on the subject of computationally-driven design and simulation: Advanced Building Simulation and Performative Architecture–Beyond Instrumentality. He serves as a board member and scientific reviewer for many leading journals, conferences and research centers, and is the associate editor of Building Simulation–International Journal, distributed by Springer publisher.

Malkawi received his BS in Architectural Engineering and Environmental Design from Jordan University of Science and Technology in 1989, his MArch from the University of Colorado in 1990 and his PhD from Georgia Institute of Technology in Architectural Technology/Artificial Intelligence in 1994.

Research interests: building simulation, energy conservation, and sustainability in buildings; architectural technology and computation, with a focus on areas of computational simulation, building performance evaluation, and advanced visualization

Recent publications

Books

• Kolarevic, Branko, Malkawi, Ali. (2005). Performative Architecture: Beyond Instrumentality. Routledge
• Malkawi, A., Nygaard, M., Beim, A., & Stenberg, E. (2018). Sustainability in Scandinavia : architectural design and planning. Edition Axel Menges.

Edited Volumes

• Augenbroe, Godfried, Malkawi, Ali. (2004). Advanced Building Simulation. Spoon. 

Articles

• Lee, Y. S., & Malkawi, A. M. (2014). Simulating multiple occupant behaviors in buildings: An agent-based modeling approach. Energy and Buildings, 69, 407–416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.11.020

Media Mentions

• The Challenges of Greener Cities, Harvard Magazine, 11/12/2014
• All under one roof: how malls and cities are becoming indistinguishable, The Guardian, 3/16/2017 
• Harvard in Beijing, Harvard Gazette, 3/26/2015
• Presidents Xi and Faust Confer in China, Harvard Magazine, 3/16/2015
• Greener Buildings and Cities, Harvard Magazine, 5/16/2014

Interviews

• A house that produces energy, Harvard Gazette, 6/13/2017
• Harvard Speaks on Climate Change, Ali Malkawi

Video Lectures

• Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities Annual Lecture: Richard Rogers, Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities, 10/26/2016
• Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities Inaugural Lecture: Norman Foster, Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities, 11/20/2015
• Spectacular Simplicity: New Models of Design Research, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, 12/19/2014