Name:  Dr. Mark David Major, AICP, CNU-A – Assistant Professor

DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THE SHORT CV HERE

Courses Taught (prior two academic years)

Fall 2021: ARCT 211 Architectural Design Studio I, ARCT 210 Perspective, Shade and Shadow, MUPD 760 Thesis Focus on Urban Design, MUPD 600 Planning Theory Use, DENG 699 PhD Thesis

Summer 2021: ARCT 400 Practical Training I, ARCT 500 Practical Training II, MUPD 760 Thesis Focus on Urban Design

Spring 2021: ARCT 512 Senior Project, MUPD 760 Thesis Focus on Urban Design, MUPD 611 Urban Economics, DENG 699 PhD Thesis

Fall 2020: ARCT 211 Architectural Design Studio I, ARCT 210 Perspective, Shade and Shadow, MUPD 760 Thesis Focus on Urban Design, MUPD 620 Urban and Regional Land Use, DENG 699 PhD Thesis

Spring 2020: ARCT 512 Senior Project, ARCT 420 Environment-Behavior Studies, MUPD 760 Thesis Focus on Urban Design, MUPD 654 Urban Transportation Systems, MUPD 611 Urban Economics, DENG 699 PhD Thesis

Fall 2019: ARCT 211 Architectural Design Studio I, MUPD 760 Thesis Focus on Urban Design, MUPD 620 Urban and Regional Land Use, DENG 699 PhD Thesis

Educational Credentials

• PhD, The Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, University College London – UK | 2015
• MSc, The Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning, University College London – UK | 1994
• BA (History), College of Liberal Arts, Clemson University, South Carolina – USA | 1991
• BA (Design), College of Architecture, Clemson University, South Carolina – USA | 1991

Teaching Experience

• Department of Architecture & Urban Planning, College of Engineering, Qatar University, Doha – Qatar | 2017-Present
• Department of Architecture & the Built Environment, School of Building Arts, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia – USA | 2015-2017
• The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, The Bartlett School of Architecture & Planning, University College London – UK | 1994-2000

Selected Supervisory Experience

• 2021- | Asmaa Al-Mohannadi (co-supervised with Raffaello Furlan), “House Form and Culture in Traditional and Contemporary Qatari Housing,” DENG 699 PhD Thesis (In Progress)
• 2021- | Hadeel T. Salaheldin (co-supervisor: Dr. Ahmad M. Ahmad), “Evaluating the Walkability Characteristics of Three Doha Metro Stations,” MUPD 760 Thesis Focus on Urban Design (In Progress)
• 2020-2021 | Abida H. Khan, “From a Fishing Village to a Heritage Marketplace: Souq Al-Wakrah in Al Wakrah, Qatar,” MUPD 760 Thesis Focus on Urban Design
• 2019- | Aisha Ahmed Al Asiri (co-supervisor: Djamel Boussaa), “The Role of Heritage Districts and Spatial Networks in Fostering Sustainable Urban Regeneration – The Case of Old Doha, State of Qatar,” DENG 699 PhD Thesis (In Progress)
• 2019 | Heba O. Tannous, “Traditional Markets in Context: A Morphological Comparison of Souq Waqif in Doha, Qatar and Mutrah Souq in Muscat, Oman,” MUPD 760 Thesis Focus on Urban Design
• 2017 | Asmaa Al-Mohannadi (co-supervised with Raffaello Furlan), “Socio-Cultural Factors Shaping the Spatial Form of Traditional and Contemporary Housing in Qatar: A Comparative Analysis Based on Space Syntax,” MUPD 760 Thesis Focus on Urban Design
• 1999 | Shibu Karthik Raman, “Communities and Spatial Culture: A Case Study of Ahmedabad, India,” Master of Science in Architecture (Advanced Architectural Studies), University College London
• 1998 | Maria Doxa, “Morphologies of Movement and Co-Presence in Interior Public Space: The Royal Festival Hall and The National Theatre,” Master of Science in Architecture (Advanced Architectural Studies), University College London
• 1998 | Stefania Maniati, “Twelve Public Spaces in Plaka, Athens: An Analysis of Public Space Using Space Syntax,” Master of Science in Architecture (Advanced Architectural Studies), University College London
• 1998 | Nikolaos Sarris, “Original Theories, Conventional Layouts: A Comparative Analysis of Theory and Practice in Eight Houses by Peter Eisenman Using Space Syntax,” Master of Science in Architecture (Advanced Architectural Studies), University College London

Professional Experience

• Vice President, Business and Planning/ Chief Operating Officer (COO), Starr Sanford Design/ Starr Style LLC, Jacksonville Beach, Florida – USA | 2011-2015
• Land Entitlements Manager, Pulte Homes/ Del Webb, Jacksonville, Florida – USA | 2004-2006
• Strategic/ Senior Planner, Nassau County, Fernandina Beach, Florida – USA | 2002-2004
• Director, Space Syntax Limited, London – UK | 1998-2000

Licenses/ Registration

• International Society of City and Regional Planners, Lifetime Member (#2130) | 2020-present
• Royal Town Planning Institute, Licentiate Member (#107069) | 2019-present
• Congress for New Urbanism, Accredited | 2015-Present
• American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP #018666) | 2003-Present

Selected Publications

• Khan, A.H., Major, M.D., Tannous, H.O., Paquet, T. (2021) “Tradition, Transformation, and Re-creation in Two Marketplaces: Souq Al Wakrah and Souq Waqif, Qatar,” Habitat International, 116, 102438, ISSN 0197-3975, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2021.102438.
• Major, M.D. (2021) “‘Excavating’ Pruitt-Igoe using space syntax,” Architectural Research Quarterly (arq), Cambridge University Press, 25(1), 55-68, doi: 10.1017/S1359135521000130.
• Tannous, H.O., Major, M.D., Furlan, R. (2021) “Accessibility of Green Spaces in a Metropolitan Network: Using Space Syntax to Objectively Evaluate the Spatial Locations of Parks and Promenades in Doha, State of Qatar,” Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 58(2021), https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1618866720307093, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126892.
• Major, M.D., Tannous, H.O., Elsaman, D., Al-Mohannadi, L, Al-Khulifi, M., Al-Thani, S. (2020) “Complexity in the Built Environment: Wayfinding Difficulties in the Modular Design of Qatar University’s Most Iconic Building,” Special Issue on Defining and Debating on Smart Cities or Smart Buildings, Smart Cities: An Integrated Framework to Measure Smart City Readiness, 3(3), 952-977; doi:10.3390/smartcities3030048, https://www.mdpi.com/2624-6511/3/3/48.
• Al-Mohannadi, A., Furlan R., Major, M.D. (2020) “A Cultural Heritage Framework for Preserving Qatari Vernacular Domestic Architecture,” Special Issue on Space Syntax Theory, Methods and Applications, Sustainability: Sustainable Urban and Rural Development, 12(18), 7295, doi:10.3390/su12187295, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/18/7295.
• Major, M.D., Tannous, H.O., (2020) “Form and Function in Two Traditional Markets of the Middle East: Souq Mutrah and Souq Waqif,” Special Issue on Space Syntax Theory, Methods and Applications, Sustainability: Sustainable Urban and Rural Development, 12(17), 7154, doi:10.3390/su12177154, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/17/7154.
• Tannous, H.O., Furlan, R., Major, M.D. (2020) “Souq Waqif Neighborhood as a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD),” Journal of Urban Planning and Development, American Society of Civil Engineers, 146(4), (ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000615, https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/%28ASCE%29UP.1943-5444.0000615.
• Marthya, K.L., Major, M.D., Ellath, L.A., Al-Thani, S. (2020). “Single-Family Housing Market Trends in the Cradle of New Urbanism: Seaside, Florida USA,” New Urban Research Session, Congress for New Urbanism 28 (CNU28.A Virtual Gathering), 10-13 June 2020.
• Major, M.D., Mirincheva, V., Tannous, H.O. (2019). “Urban Transformations: From restricted random aggregation to designed cultural intent in Middle Eastern cities” (in Chinese and English), China Journal of Urban Design. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press, 5, 2019: 34-49.
• Major, M.D. (2018). The Syntax of City Space: American Urban Grids (with Foreword by Ruth Conroy Dalton). New York/London: Routledge Books/Taylor & Francis Group, ISBN-10: 1138301566, ISBN-13: 978-1138301566.

Selected Recent Research

• September – December 2020, (LPI) Configuration and Use in Building Evaluation (CUBE³): Space Syntax Modeling of Layout in the Main Library at Qatar University, QU Student Grant QUST-2-CENG-2020-16
• January 2020 – present, (LPI) The Doha Syntax, Phase 2: Urban Movement Network Validation of Space Syntax Model of Metropolitan Doha, State of Qatar, QU Collaborative Grant QUCG-CENG-20/21-1.
• January 2020 – present, Space, Time And Natural movement in old Doha (STAND): The morphological case of Souq Waqif (Resubmission), Qatar National Research Foundation Undergraduate Research Experience Program UREP25-002-5-001.
• August 2019 – December 2019, Complexity and Use in Building Evaluation (CUBE²): The Modular Case of the BCR Corridors at Qatar University, QU Student Grant QUST-2-CENG-2019-12.
• December 2017 – July 2019, The Doha Syntax: A Configurational Model of Vehicular and Pedestrian Networks in Qatar’s Capital, QU SEED Grant QUSD-CENG-2018/2019-4.
• July – December 2018, Post-Occupancy Cluster: Comfort & Use in Building Evaluation (CUBE¹): Informational Modeling and Post-Occupancy in the Built Environment, QU Student Grant QUST-2-CENG-2018-9.