Iran: Nectar Papazian-Andreef
Born in 1927 in Arak, Iran, Nectar Papazian-Andreef is the first Iranian woman to work as a professional architect. Though she initially pursued a diploma in mining engineering at the College of Engineering at Tehran University in Tehran, Iran, Dean Abdollah Riazi recommended that she enroll in the School of Fine Arts to pursue an education in architecture. After two years, she began her studies at in Paris, France, becoming the first Iranian woman to graduate with a diploma in architecture from this institution. After graduation, Papazian-Andreef worked for architectural firms in Paris before returning to Iran, where she co-founded the Moghtader and Andreef Firm (c. 1959). Moghtader and Andreef Firm merged with Manda Firm, which established the Modam Engineering Consulting Firm. After her departure from the firm, she co-founded Artek Engineering Firm with her husband and architect Emmanuel Ohanjanyan. Papzian-Andreef participated in the International Conference of Women Architects in Ramsar, Iran (1976). She now resides in Paris.
References
Nazemi, Saba. “Influential Iranian Women: Nectar Papazian-Andreef (1927-Present).” Iran Wire, December 17. 2024. https://iranwire.com/en/women/137248-influential-iranian-women-nectar-papazian-andreef-1927-present/.
Rasooli, Niloofar. “The Women Architects of Iran: Their Practice and Influence (1940–1976).” Helena Seražin, Caterina Franchini and Emilia Garda (Eds.), Women’s Creativity since the Modern Movement (1918–2018). Toward a New Perception and Reception, Ljubljana, ZRC SAZU, France Stele Institute of Art History, 2018.
Tabibi, Baharak. “Unhiding the Hidden Portrait of Pahlavi Women Builders in Sketching the Iranian Modernity: A Reassessment of the Congress of Women Architects.” Metu Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, June 30, 2021. https://doi.org/10.4305/METU.JFA.2021.1.5.
“The Women Architects of Iran, Their Practice and Influence (1940–1976).” ResearchGate. Accessed April 2, 2025. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350313982_The_Women_Architects_of_Iran_Their_Practice_and_Influence_1940-1976.
