Shireen Hamdan

Shireen is a Senior Principal and a member of the firm’s Global Board of Directors. Her experience spans stadium, arena and convention centre design for projects in the UK, Europe and the Middle East, as well as mixed-use sports masterplans and Olympic and FIFA overlay design. In 2016 she was awarded the RIBA Rising Star Award for achievements in architectural design and innovation.

Fluent in Arabic, Shireen oversees Populous’ Middle East operations. She is currently leading the design of several large-scale sports and entertainment infrastructure projects across the Middle East, including in Saudi Arabia. These projects include Aramco Stadium, Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium and King Salman International Stadium, all of which are potential venues for the 2034 World Cup.

Previously, Shireen was involved in the design, planning and delivery of the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis Club Court 1 extension and Court 3 development, together with the redevelopment of Centre Court to include a retractable roof.

Shireen has spoken at a range of conferences in the Middle East on how the design of sports facilities and masterplans can be used as a catalyst for rapid urban development and social integration. Her interest in the relationship between rapid urban growth and social cohesion stems from her thesis, which was a collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Together they developed a prototype high-density refugee shelter and new rapid growth masterplanning systems for dense urban environments.