About Golnar Tajdar

Golnar Tajdar is a London-based architectural historian and archivist whose work encompasses historical research, architectural heritage and archival collections.

Her research focuses on the history of modern architecture, particularly twentieth-century Iran, and explores cross-cultural exchange, including the circulation, interpretation and transformation of architectural ideas and knowledge across different historical and geographical contexts. Drawing on archival documents, historical publications, architectural drawings, photographs and the study of buildings, she examines the people, ideas and circumstances that have shaped architectural practice and its historical interpretation.

Her publications and research have explored the work of architects including André Godard, Maxime Siroux and Mohsen Foroughi. She has also contributed to scholarly discussion through lectures and seminars, including curating Beyond Eurocentrism: Rethinking the Architectural Canon at the Architectural Association in 2024.

Alongside her historical research, she works as Archivist – Photographic Collections at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. Her responsibilities encompass the management, documentation, cataloguing and digitisation of photographic and architectural collections, as well as facilitating their use in research, teaching and public engagement.

Before moving to the UK, she spent fifteen years working in architecture, urban design and planning in Iran. She holds an MA in the History of Architecture from Birkbeck, University of London, and an MA in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Tehran.