Fariborz Sahba, received a Master’s degree in architecture in 1972 from the School of Fine Arts in Tehran University. As head of the design teams of various architectural firms in Iran, he was involved in the design of a wide range of prestigious buildings, including:

• The Centre of Handicraft Production and Arts Workshops Tehran, Iran
• The Iranian Embassy Beijing, China
• The New Town of Mahshahr, South-Western Iran
• The Pahlavi Cultural Centre Sanandaj, Iran
• The School of Art – Sanandaj, Iran

In 1974 he was recognized by Iran’s Ministry of Housing for his design of a low-cost housing system. Fariborz Sahba was Associate Architect for the design of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the administrative centre of the Bahá’i Faith in Haifa, Israel. In 1975, he was appointed Manager of the design team for the construction of Iran’s largest cultural centre, the Negarestan Cultural Centre in the Marble Palace.

In 1976 the “Universal House of Justice,” the international governing body of the Bahá’i Faith, selected Fariborz Sahba to design the Bahá’i House of Worship for the Indian subcontinent in New Delhi. This project, on which he worked for 10 years as Architect and Project Manager, was described by Canadian Architect Arthur Erickson as “one of the most remarkable achievements of our time, proving that the drive and vision of spirit can achieve miracles.” With over 3.5 million visitors a year, this building, commonly known as the “Lotus ot Bahapur,” is one of the most visited sites in the world.

In 1987, the Bahá’í World Centre assigned Fariborz Sahba the task of designing 18 monumental terraces as a majestic approach to the Shrine of the Báb, the martyred Herald of the Bahá’i Faith, which is one of the holiest sites in the Bahá’i World. Fariborz Sahba was also appointed Project Manager to oversee the execution of the Arc Project, which involved the construction of the last two of the four edifices of the Bahá’í administrative complex arranged along a “far-flung” arc on the slopes of Mount Carmel, just above the Shrine of the Báb. The Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb received the 1998 Ephraim Lifshitz Award from the Municipality of Haifa, and the 1999 Magshim Award from the Council for a Beautiful Israel. In 2008 they were designated by UNESCO, together with other buildings and gardens at the Bahá’i World Centre, as a World Heritage Site.

Fariborz Sahba has written and published several books. He has lectured extensively on the topics of Art, Architecture, Project Management, Culture and Environment as an official guest speaker in universities, institutes of architects, professional international conferences and organizations all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Israel, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Malaysia, India, U.K., Holland, Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Uganda and South Africa.

In 1970 he founded a literary magazine for children called “Varqa”. The magazine, which originally appeared in Persian, was later published in nine languages. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Varqa International Children’ Magazine (ISSN 1708-7767), a bi-monthly magazine published in Canada up to 2006. For more information, see www.varqamagazine.org

His writings have been published in almost 500 magazines and newspapers all over the world. 

Mr. Sahba has lectured extensively as a guest speaker at universities such as Yale, Princeton, Toronto, and Beijing, as well as architectural institutes, international conferences and organizations all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Israel, China, Japan, Malaysia, India, U.K., Holland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Cuba, Uganda and South Africa.

First Honor Award

“Excellence in Architecture”

Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture Affiliate of the American Instute Architects, 1987

Special award

from the Institute of Structural Engineers of the United Kingdom 1987

The Paul Waterbury Outdoor Lighting Design Award

Special Citation illuminating Engineering Society of North America 1988

Recognition from the American Concrete Institute

Finest Concrete Structure in the World

1990

The Ephraim Lifshitz Award

Municipality of Haifa 1998

The Magshim Award

Council for a Beautiful Israel 1999

The GlobArt Academy Award

For “promoting the unity and harmony of people of all nations, religions and social strata, to an extent unsurpassed by any other architectural monument worldwide” 2000