Safdar Abidi

OAA, MRAIC
Principal, Higher Education, Toronto

Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Safdar’s formative influences and interests were inspired by a father who was a rationalist and pragmatist, and a mother who loved literature, poetry, and classical music. His family also deeply valued Eastern history and tradition, along with an appreciation of Western and a variety of other cultures. Architecture offered the ideal and obvious synergy of all of the influences in Safdar’s life.

Safdar’s multi-cultural worldview began the day he arrived in the United States, as a university student in leafy New Hampshire, and continues to evolve as he lives and works in both academic and design worlds. As his journey with architecture progresses, the beauty of built form and its manifestation in the richness of human culture continues to inspire and bring joy to Safdar’s daily experience.

“If we envision the environments we design for our clients as not just spaces, but as agents of change, we have a deeply privileged role as their architects. However, it is only by deeply immersing ourselves in the lives, identities, and enterprise of our clients that we can create game-changing solutions that shift their futures and inspire them to reimagine themselves.”

Safdar highlights four of Perkins&Will’s key components of our Return to Campus Roadmap. Click here to read the full article with University Business. ⁠

Safdar's Featured Work

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University of Ottawa STEM Complex
Ottawa, Ontario
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York University School of Continuing Studies
Toronto, Ontario
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Humber College Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation
Toronto, Ontario
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Centre for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship
Toronto, Ontario