Nayla Al-Akl

Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, American University of Beirut

Nayla M. Al-Akl is a Landscape Architect and Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at the American University of Beirut. She is also co-founder and administrative member of the Lebanese Landscape Association (LELA). Nayla worked on a number of landscape architecture, planning and urban design projects in the Middle East, the US and China. Her research interests lie in the interface of nature/culture/society. She investigates the focuses on the relationship between humans and their environments and the role of landscape in promoting social sustainability. Her recent projects investigate the role of semi-private spaces, including cemeteries and campus landscapes, for social inclusion and wellbeing, and ecological health. Nayla holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the American University of Beirut and a Masters of Landscape Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design.”

Why women? Why climate change? Why Now?

I believe that women have long been in tune with societal and environmental needs as they engaged in multiple and diverse aspects of life. With the urgency of climate change, women by their ability to recognize key relationships between people and their environments are well suited to identify critical areas for intervention and lead bold efforts for change.

What is the biggest challenge facing women leaders in male dominated field and how to overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges that women leaders may have to face, is the ability to change values and expectations of success in a male dominated field. Success has long been linked to high profile visibility and landmark projects. Today there is a need to be able to advance more collaborative, site and context sensitive and responsive designs, where the role of the designer is that of a coordinator rather than that of a master designer. This means that women will need to break conventions of success and recognition to build new ones.

What are the pressing issues you are contributing as a landscape architect for tackle climate change?

As a designer and an academic, I work on designing and promoting urban landscapes for social and ecological health. Through creative and innovative approaches, I create socially sustainable designs that mitigate climate change, and raise awareness of the potential and value underutilized urban green spaces in dense cities