Educator Award – Maha Basileh

The AIA Houston Educator Award is given to an individual teaching architecture at some level of academia. Until 2017, this award was reserved for faculty of one of the three accredited architecture programs in Houston. In recognition of the exponential growth of architecture programs in community colleges and high schools, the decision was made to broaden this award so that we might honor and encourage those educators teaching architecture in high schools and who are helping introduce younger students to the pathway to becoming an architect. Maha Basileh of HISD’s Jones Future Academy was honored for just that. An architect in the middle east for 15 years before moving to Houston, in 2019 Maha started the magnet program at the HISD Jones Futures Academy called the Academy for Architecture & Construction Technology. Since then, her students have competed in the Michael G. Meyers Competition each year and took home the team category in 2020, they’ve joined AIAS, taken countless tours of architecture firms in the city and participated in Houston NOMA’s Project Pipeline. Maha herself is also pursuing Texas licensure having completed her IXP and working her way through exams. AIA Houston is pleased to present the 2022 AIA Houston Educator Award to Maha Basileh.