Author Talk – Islamic Architecture: A World History with Eric Broug

Join acclaimed author, educator, and specialist in Islamic art and design Eric Broug for a conversation, moderated by Nooshin Esmaeili, around his landmark book *Islamic Architecture: A World History*. Spanning more than fourteen centuries and a vast geographic area stretching from Spain to China, the book offers a fresh and expansive perspective on one of the world’s richest architectural traditions. 

Drawing on remarkable monuments, lesser-known sites, and contemporary examples, Broug explores the diversity of Islamic architecture across cultures, regions, and historical periods. Rather than presenting a single style, he reveals a dynamic and evolving architectural heritage shaped by local traditions, artistic innovation, and cultural exchange. 

Through images, stories, and insights from his research, this talk invites audiences to discover how architecture can reflect spiritual aspirations, social life, political history, and artistic creativity.

Copies of Islamic Architecture: A World History are available for purchase in advance of the event. Books ordered through the Museum Shop Online (follow this link) will be available for collection on the day of the event, prior to the lecture and book-signing session.

THIS CONFERENCE IS CONDUCTED IN ENGLISH.

Saturday, October 3, 10:00 a.m – 11:00 a.m

This talk is followed by a 30 min book signing session.

Sunday, October 4, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m

This talk is followed by a 30 min book signing session.

Eric Broug is an author, lecturer, artist, and internationally recognized specialist in Islamic architecture and geometric design. For more than twenty-five years, he has studied, taught, and shared the principles of Islamic geometry through lectures, workshops, and educational projects around the world. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Islamic Geometric Patterns and Islamic Architecture: A World History, which have helped introduce both general audiences and specialists to the richness, diversity, and contemporary relevance of Islamic artistic traditions. Holding an MA in the History of Islamic Art and Architecture from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and having studied at the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, Eric Broug regularly collaborates with museums, cultural institutions, and universities internationally.

Nooshin Esmaeili is a registered architect in Canada, lecturer, and PhD Candidate at the University of Calgary. Her research explores how architecture shapes perception, well-being, and human flourishing through the intersections of architecture, philosophy, environmental psychology, neuroaesthetics, and contemplative traditions. Drawing inspiration from Persian architecture and Islamic sacred geometry, she investigates how light, form, materiality, and symbolism influence human experience and foster reflection, meaning, and connection. She serves on the boards of the Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC) and the Architecture, Culture, and Spirituality Forum (ACSF), is President of the Canadian chapter of the Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture (ANFA), and sits on the Scientific Committee of the MTO Museum of Sufi Arts and Culture (MACS MTO) in France.