Architecture Masters Central Asia Personal Statement

Aspiring architect presents innovative design concept to a diverse team, reflecting a vision for contemporary architecture in Central Asia.

I was born into a middle-class family in Iran. My grandmother came from southwestern Russia, so my mother speaks Russian and Azeri along with Farsi. My father is Turkish. This background has shaped me into a professional eager to research architecture using Farsi, Azeri, Turkish, and Russian, in addition to English. As a child, the Iranian Revolution profoundly affected me, especially my family's commitment to political freedom, governmental accountability, efficiency, and greater economic equality through self-sufficiency, all within the framework of popular religious devotion. I am also keenly aware of the largely unsuccessful struggle for freedom experienced by my family and many others. I am eager to collaborate extensively with Russians, Turks, and Iranians on earthquake prevention in that region, hoping that all involved in our quest for safer cities in the 21st century will transcend politics as much as possible in that part of the world.

My life changed dramatically at 1:56 AM UTC (5:26 AM Iran Standard Time) on Friday, December 26, 2003. Our historic city of Bam was devastated, including much of the 2000-year-old mud-brick Bam Citadel. At least 26,000 people were killed and 30,000 injured. I was a volunteer member of a rescue team that arrived in time to find several people alive under the rubble; however, we soon transitioned from a rescue crew to a burial brigade. Once we completed our initial human response, we observed the architecture, or what remained of it. Centuries of architectural mismanagement were revealed as the old layers of the city were unearthed by the disaster.

Due to international solidarity with Bam, relations between Iran and the United States improved, albeit temporarily. The U.S. offered direct humanitarian aid to Iran, and in return, Iran agreed to comply with an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Forty-four countries sent personnel to assist in relief operations, and sixty countries provided help; I witnessed how they saved countless lives. The memory of a one-month-old baby that survived an entire week under a collapsed house is particularly vivid and continues to inspire me to this day. This baby was the only surviving family member for the mother. Unfortunately, I also remember the many victims we could not rescue due to the mismanagement of the Iranian government. I am convinced that if US-trained teams had led the earthquake relief in Bam, rather than Iranian-trained teams, more lives would have been saved. Since Bam, I have been driven to explore how we might better prepare ourselves to prevent such devastation in the future through the adoption of earthquake-resistant building designs.

After permanently immigrating to the United States through the USA Diversity Visa Lottery Program, I have focused on your program at Berkeley as the ideal place to pursue my career aspirations. I consider myself an ideal candidate for your three-year Master of Architecture program at XXXX University, especially since it is designed for those who have earned a bachelor's degree in a field other than architecture, in my case computer science. Your program is my top choice because I seek an international education in environmentally sustainable architecture and earthquake-resistant building.

I appreciate your emphasis on progressive, forward-thinking, and cross-disciplinary approaches. I am greatly impressed by the technological resources of your program, its facilities, professors, and the resources of the surrounding area. My main focus aligns with that of Professors XXXX and XXXX, whose research involves earthquake-resistant design and reconstruction after disasters. Earning the master's degree in architecture at XXXX will optimally prepare me to better understand the relationship between architecture and computer engineering, especially software engineering.

I have firsthand experience with the devastating effects of failed urban environments and their consequences for society and our natural environment. I aim to pursue the integration of art and science throughout my professional career. It would be a great honor and privilege to join your esteemed academic community, and I sincerely thank you for considering my application to your program.

Architecture Masters Central Asia Personal Statement