Zahra Zamani, PhD, EDAC she/her

Zahra Zamani, PhD, EDAC, is director of research at BSA, where she integrates evidence-based design, research, and data analytics into the planning and design of complex environments. Her work focuses on translating user needs, operational patterns, and performance metrics into actionable design strategies, with expertise spanning research laboratories, healthcare, learning environments, and workplaces. Zahra’s research in laboratory design includes benchmarking emerging planning and design trends in medical research laboratories and examining rapidly evolving metrics for interdisciplinary research environments. Her broader expertise includes post-occupancy evaluation, simulation modeling, behavioral observation, surveys, space utilization, and quantitative and qualitative analysis. Through this work, she helps project teams move beyond conventional benchmarks to understand how space can better support collaboration, flexibility, efficiency, and evolving research needs. Zahra holds a PhD in design from North Carolina State University and is Evidence-Based Design Accredited and Certified (EDAC). She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and regularly presents research and applied design insights at national conferences.