BE INSPIRED | FEATURE 05 ZAFIR AMEEN
- Johannah Fening-Ajakaiye
- Jun 24
- 8 min read
It’s feature number five and we are joined by Architectural Designer, Educator and Co-Founder, Zafir Ameen. In this feature we discuss his unconventional journey from traditional architecture to the education and charity sectors which is driven by a commitment to accessibility, community empowerment, and challenging systemic inequities through participatory and interdisciplinary practices.
Share a bit about yourself (Your ethnicity, where you grew up, what you do)
Hi! I’m Zafir, an Architectural Designer, Educator and Co-Founder of Defrente Studio. With a vested interest in empowering young and marginalised voices, I pivoted from ‘traditional’ architecture into the education and charity sectors. I currently divide my time between managing educational outreach programmes at Open City, lecturing on the interdisciplinary foundation course at Ravensbourne University and coordinating operations and strategy at Defrente Studio. I am British-Sri Lankan, having predominantly grown up in and around London. As the first generation of my family to be born in the UK, I feel particularly fortunate to be where I am today - fully acknowledging the many sacrifices of my parents and family.
Can you tell us about your journey into architecture? What led you to take an
unconventional route?
My first real exposure to architecture was through the London Open House Festival. With a keen interest in art and science, a family friend suggested attending to see if architecture was for me. Being able to witness incredible private buildings and speak first-hand to the architects, cemented my decision to pursue a career in architecture. I went on to study at the Manchester School of Architecture and the LSA, with a few years in between working for architectural studios in London. However, when completing my hybrid Masters of studying and working, I really struggled with the disconnect between academia and praxis. On one hand, I was proposing radical, socially-progressive, designs that were purely speculative. On the other, I was delivering grounded projects that weren’t always aligned with my interests or ambitions. Like many others, I also grew increasingly frustrated with the poor working conditions, culture of exploitation and rampant low salaries in the UK. After graduating, I decided to move adjacently into architectural education and applied for a job at Open City - the architectural charity behind the Open House Festival. It became a true full-circle moment to work at the organisation that first got me interested in architecture.
What were some of the biggest barriers you faced, and how did you overcome them?
My biggest barrier I faced was finances. It continuously underpinned my architectural trajectory, both as a student and professional. In university, I overcame it by choosing a hybrid Masters at the LSA, enabling me to work 3 days per week in practice, with university condensed in the remaining 2. I was therefore able to use the income from practice to help supplement my living costs. In practice, I struggled with the low salaries and remuneration, particularly when factoring in overtime. In the short-term, I overcame this by regularly keeping-up with industry benchmarks (such as the RIBA, Pay100 and FAF) and checking-in with friends at different practices. This enabled me to lobby each year for higher wages that accurately reflected my experience. With few peers understanding their own value, I compiled my research and benchmarks into an annual email to all Architectural Assistants I knew - empowering them to lobby at their respective practices as well. In the long-term, I realised traditional architecture wasn’t sustainable for me and was pleasantly surprised by the higher
salaries and better working conditions in the charity sector. In the end, it became the turning point that motivated me to move adjacently.
What advice would you give to someone who feels like they don’t fit into the traditional
architecture mould?
There are countless ways to pursue architecture; you don’t have to be a ‘traditional architect’ to enjoy or engage with the profession. If anything, it’s actually more advantageous to be different and set yourself apart from the crowd. ‘Traditional architecture’ can be a surprisingly saturated industry, so the more you can showcase your individuality and transferable skills, the better. I would strongly encourage attending as many events, talks and exhibitions as possible - even if they don’t necessarily intersect with architecture. It will help to explore and identify your true interests and steer you towards a more meaningful path. The built environment is an incredibly diverse sector with a multitude of different roles and opportunities. If there isn’t already an existing career or path, you can certainly create one.
How does your work aim to amplify the voices of young and marginalised people?
Through different roles, I aim to support diverse voices from various backgrounds. At Defrente, we seek to challenge global access to architecture and design, opening up services to those that have been historically-excluded. We achieve this by collaborating directly with local organisations, as well as removing financial barriers to events and skills workshops. In addition, we actively engage with communities to support sustainable causes, participating in solidarity through protest and activism. Our primary beneficiaries are those that have been displaced (by disasters, global emergencies or wider socio-political factors), marginalised (due to race, gender or other protected characteristics) and those that come from disadvantaged backgrounds (due to inequality, deprivation or low-income). At Open City, I work in London and Birmingham to champion diverse pathways and access into the profession. We support young people to actively engage with and explore creative careers in the built environment - through in-school workshops, events and mentoring opportunities. We work with students aged 8 to 18+, predominantly focusing on those from global majority backgrounds, with special educational needs (SEN) and in areas with less economic development.
Can you tell us more about Defrente Studio and the work you do? What’s the driving force
behind it?
Defrente is an interdisciplinary design studio and registered non-profit. Working across Europe and Latin America, we deliver projects at the intersection of architecture and activism - supporting marginalised, disadvantaged and low-income communities to enact change. Key projects include: pioneering an open-access housing system, co-creating an interdisciplinary film to document and protect indigenous land, and researching sustainable design solutions for a grassroots cladding system. Our driving force is to tackle social and spatial injustice through design and integral development - building global communities that respond to local and territorial needs. We approach design as an art-based form of resistance, envisioning a world where architecture is a force for positive change. Ultimately, we hope to inspire alternative futures - democratising the profession and empowering under-served communities across the world.
Are there any standout projects or initiatives you’ve worked on that you’re particularly
proud of?
Una Casa para Unión Santa Fe: One of our standout projects is a community-led initiative to pioneer a safe, sustainable, open-access construction system for low-income people in Lima, Peru. Collaborating with a local NGO, the finished design will be handed directly to the residents, empowering local people to build their own high-quality homes. The project is predicated on Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs), which will be co-crafted with the community. We are proud to have received a research grant from ACAN! to design, test and
fabricate cladding prototypes.
Casa Llacao - Taller de Construcción en Tierra: Another proud moment was a 3-day earth-building workshop we organised with El Sindicato in Quito, Ecuador. In addition to being our inaugural education workshop, it also represented a turning point for the studio. Adamant that all Defrente projects reflect our socially-progressive ethos, we explored novel ways to ensure that even our private projects give back to the wider community. Thus, the workshop was born to both share traditional methods of construction and facilitate a hyper-local knowledge exchange. With our commitment to breaking-down barriers, we were proud to use our project fees to sponsor a number of places to those that needed it most.
How do you see architecture and design as tools for social change and empowerment?
With the unique ability to shape both the natural and built environments, architecture and design has ample opportunity to facilitate meaningful social and environmental change. Through participatory design and meaningful stakeholder engagement, communities are empowered to have an active role in the design process - ensuring outcomes that are truly beneficial and reflect the community’s needs and wants. This provides beneficiaries with direct benefits (such as the space itself, its respective facilities and equipment) but also indirect benefits (such as, challenging gender stereotypes, promoting diversity and inclusion, or up-skilling local people). By prioritising our planet, we also ensure a myriad of benefits for people and communities. This includes: food security, higher environmental resilience, the conservation of buildings, better air quality, increased biodiversity and ultimately, greater health and wellbeing.
How do you hope to continue shaping the industry for underrepresented voices?
I hope to continue working across various roles, dividing my time and effort between multiple causes. In particular, I would like to work in new locations, applying the methodologies and pedagogies of my roles in other cities and counties. I am incredibly grateful to have studied, worked and lived in the UK, but I am also eager to provide similar opportunities for people in other parts of the world. For instance, I see potential in combining the educational outreach programmes of Open City with the marginalised audiences of Defrente. Given the current political climate, it is more important than ever to platform diverse voices and provide equal opportunities for all.
If you could reform the way architecture is taught or practiced, what would you change?
Architecture should become as holistic and hands-on as possible. While the ‘starchitect’ narrative is slowly fading, an even greater importance should be placed on collaboration and working across disciplines. One of my favourite things about lecturing at Ravensbourne University is that architecture, interiors and landscape architecture are often taught together. I hope this will become the norm and be pushed even further to also encapsulate engineering, technology and construction. Why isn’t there a university module that joins every built environment discipline together? Could there be a live-build project where teams collaborate across both different years and disciplines? In practice, new graduates could also learn considerably faster if they were also able to gain physical experience on-site. Why don’t all architects have a basic induction in brick-laying, plumbing or carpentry? The outcomes would be seismic - architects would have increased competence and confidence, enabling greater collaboration and problem-solving across every discipline. In tandem, it would also equip architecture students with key transferable skills should they decide to change discipline layer.
If you could go back and give student Zafir one piece of advice, what would it be?
It’s okay to get lost along the way. There were multiple instances throughout my career which didn’t go exactly as planned or pivoted last minute. In the moment, it was incredibly daunting and each one took a long time to overcome. I only recently appreciated that it was all part of the process. If it wasn’t for Covid, I would have returned to Manchester to study my Masters and would probably still be working in ‘traditional architecture’. If I hadn't felt conflicted while studying and working, I would never have taken the leap of faith to move into the charity sector. And if I never joined Open City 4 days per week, I wouldn’t have had the capacity to lecture at Ravensbourne University or launch Defrente Studio. It’s okay to feel lost and make decisions that change your trajectory. The key is embracing it as a welcomed opportunity and being excited by the journey as well as the destination.
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