Nooshin Esmaeili is a registered architect in Canada, sessional instructor, and PhD candidate at the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape (SAPL). Her interdisciplinary work bridges architecture, environmental psychology, neuroaesthetics, and contemplative studies to explore how the built environment can nurture eudaimonia—a state of human flourishing rooted in well-being, meaning, and inner growth. Informed by the study of human behavior and perception, she investigates how spaces act as mediums for connection, contemplation, and transformation. Her research emphasizes timeless design qualities—such as awe, harmony, and flow—that support emotional resonance, learning, and deep inner growth. She is particularly interested in how we perceive and experience our surroundings through the body as a mediator, and how these spatial encounters influence health, well-being, and what we understand as enriched architecture.

In parallel with her academic work, Nooshin brings over a decade of professional experience as an architect, project manager, design lead, mentor, and public speaker having worked on a wide range of commercial, institutional, and mixed-use projects across Canada. This practical grounding informs her deep commitment to translating research into meaningful, real-world design solutions.

Nooshin is the President of the Canada Chapter of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA) and serves as a board member of the Architecture, Culture, and Spirituality Forum (ACSF), and a senior researcher at the national SSHRC Partnership Project, “Quality in Canada’s Built Environment: Roadmaps to Equity, Social Value, and Sustainability”—a pan-Canadian initiative involving 14 universities, over 70 researchers, and 60+ partners.

A recipient of the prestigious 2023 OBEL Award Teaching Fellowship, Nooshin spent six months in the Kingdom of Bhutan teaching a design studio on “Architecture and Well-being” at the Royal University of Bhutan. She has received numerous recognitions for her work, including the Doctoral Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (AGES) and the Lloyd & Florence Cooper Doctoral Scholarship in Mind-Body Connection in Health.