![Magda Sibley](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/910?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Dr Magda Sibley
Professor in History and Theory of Architecture
- SibleyM@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 29208 75983
- Bute Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3NB
Overview
I am an architect with 25 years experience in full time academia, teaching and researching Architecture.
I have held permanent positions at various Russell Group UK Universities in the UK and joined the Welsh School of Architecture at Cardiff University on 1 February 2019.
I have established an international reputation through my multidisciplinary research on Urban and Architectural Heritage in North African and the Middle Eastern cities with a focus on courtyard housing and public bathhouses. My research received funding form the EU, AHRC, EPSRC and British Academy, totalling almost half a million pounds of external funding.
I have successfully supervised more than 15 PhD students and examined more than 25 PhD theses in the UK, France, Egypt, Morocco and Malaysia. My recent research activities span History and Theory of Architecture and Environmental Design with a focus on energy transition in heritage settings. This has led to the development of my innovative design of a hybrid vernacular/high-tech component for lighting windowless spaces, shortlisted for the Clean-Tech Award.
My international research expertise on heritage public bathhouses in Mediterranean countries has led to my involvement as a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the rehabilitation of two 14th Century heritage bathhouses in Old Jerusalem. I have also acted as a keynote speaker at various international conferences and workshops and have been a guest editor for the International Journal of Architectural Research and the Global Built Environment Review.
I recently completed an AHRC funded project on the forgotten Cairo Museums of the Belle Epoque era and received a Best Practice Award from the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in Cairo. This project has also been recognised by the AHRC as a successful example that has met the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for Quality Education.
I continue to enjoy research-led, innovative teaching in Humanities and Architectural Design studios to which I bring both interdisciplinary and international dimensions.
I am fluent in three languages: Arabic, French and English.
Publication
2023
- Alghafis, M. and Sibley, M. 2023. The vernacular mosques of Al-Khabra in Saudi Arabia: Investigating urban architectural and social dimensions. Journal of Engineering Research, pp. 1-15. (10.36909/jer.ICMA.20211)
- Alghafis, M., Sibley, M. and Latif, E. 2023. Folk Memory and Temperature Measurements for Thermal Comfort in Vernacular Courtyard Houses of Saudi Arabia’s Hot Arid Climate. Presented at: WILL CITIES SURVIVE?, Santiago, 22-25 November 2022PLEASTGO 2022 WILL CITIES SURVIVE? BOOK OF PROCEEDINGS VOL 1 ONLINE SESSIONS.
2022
- El Faouri, B. F. and Sibley, M. 2022. Heritage-led urban regeneration in the context of WH listing: lessons and opportunities for the newly inscribed city of As-Salt in Jordan. Sustainability 14(8), article number: 4557. (10.3390/su14084557)
- Alghafis, M., Sibley, M. and Latif, E. 2022. A review of existing literature in Saudi domestic architecture. Presented at: 5th International Conference on Conservation of Architectural Heritage (CAH 2021), Virtual, 8-10 February 2021 Presented at Versaci, A. et al. eds.Conservation of Architectural Heritage. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation Springer Cham pp. 261-271., (10.1007/978-3-030-74482-3_20)
- Hu, X., Sibley, M. and Davidová, M. 2022. Applying a systemic approach for sustainable urban hillside landscape design and planning: The case study City of Chongqing in China. Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics 20(7), pp. 121-153. (10.54808/JSCI.20.07.121)
2021
- Sibley, M., Pezzica, C. and Tweed, A. 2021. Eco-hammam: the complexity of accelerating the ecological transition of a key social heritage sector in Morocco. Sustainability 13(17), article number: 9935. (10.3390/su13179935)
2020
- Sibley, M. and Pena-Garcia, A. 2020. Flat glass or crystal dome aperture? A year-long comparative analysis of the performance of light pipes in real residential settings and climatic conditions. Sustainability 12(9), article number: 3858. (10.3390/su12093858)
- Sibley, M. and Pezzica, C. 2020. Eco-hammam - share the resources, save the planet!. [Online]. https://ecohammam.com: Cardiff University. Available at: https://ecohammam.com/
- Sibley, M., Pezzica, C., Elkadi, G. and Abouelmagd, D. A. S. 2020. Belle epoque Cairo museums itineraries: مسارات متاحف الزمن الجميل. [Online]. https://becami.com/: Cardiff University. Available at: https://becami.com/
2019
- Alghafis, M., Latif, E. and Sibley, M. 2019. A review of existing literature on architectural identity of Saudi buildings. Presented at: SPACE International Conference 2019 Architectural Culture and Society, London, England, 29 November - 1 December 2019Proceedings - SPACE International Conference 2019 on Architectural Culture and Society, 29 November - 1 December 2019, London. London, UK: SPACE Studies Publications pp. 110-118.
- Idris, M. M. and Sibley, M. 2019. What are users' perceptions of the hospital courtyard garden and how satisfied are they with it?. Asian Journal of Environment -Behavior Studies 4, pp. 60-75. (10.21834/aje-bs.v4i13.348)
2018
- Sibley, M. 2018. Let there be light! Investigating vernacular daylighting in Moroccan heritage hammams for rehabilitation, benchmarking and energy saving. Sustainability 10(11), article number: 3984. (10.3390/su10113984)
2017
- Ahmed, V., Tezel, A., Aziz, Z. and Sibley, M. 2017. The future of Big Data in facilities management: opportunities and challenges. Facilities 35(13/14), pp. 725-745. (10.1108/F-06-2016-0064)
2015
- Sibley, M. and Sibley, M. 2015. Hybrid transitions: combining biomass and solar energy for water heating in public bathhouses. Energy Procedia 83, pp. 525-532. (10.1016/j.egypro.2015.12.172)
2013
- Sibley, M. and Sibley, M. 2013. Hybrid green technologies for retrofitting heritage buildings in North African medinas: combining vernacular and high-tech solutions for an innovative solar powered lighting system for hammam buildings. Energy Procedia 42, pp. 718-725. (10.1016/j.egypro.2013.11.074)
- Sibley, M. 2013. The historic hammams of Damascus and Fez. In: Weber, W. and Yannas, S. eds. Lessons from Vernacular Architecture. Routledge, pp. 77-91.
- Dumreicher, H., Levine, R. S. and Sibley, M. 2013. Hammam rehabilitation reader. Vienna, Austria: Sonderzahl Verlagsges.
- Sibley-Behloul, M. 2013. Rehabilitating hammam seffarine in Fez. In: Dumreicher, H., Levine, R. S. and Sibley-Behloul, M. eds. Hammam Rehabilitation Reader. Sonderzahl Verlagsges
- Destino, T. and Sibley-Behloul, M. 2013. The Hammam living traditions. In: Dumreicher, H., Levine, R. S. and Sibley-Behloul, M. eds. Hammam Rehabilitation Reader. Sonderzahl Verlagsges.
2012
- Sibley, M. and Jackson, I. 2012. The architecture of Islamic public baths of North Africa and the Middle East: an analysis of their internal spatial configurations. arq: Architectural Research Quarterly 16(2), pp. 155-170. (10.1017/S1359135512000462)
- Alatni, B., Sibley, M. and Minuchin, L. 2012. Evaluating the impact of the internationalisation of urban planning on Saudi Arabian cities. Presented at: 7th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability 2012, Ancona, Italy, 7-9 May 2012 Presented at Pacetti, M. and Passerini, G. eds.Sustainable City VII: Urban Regeneration and Sustainability, Vol. 1. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environmen pp. 291-301., (10.2495/SC120251)
2009
- Sibley, M. 2009. The courtyards houses of the Medina of Fez. In: Ludovico, M. and Vadini, E. eds. The Mediterranean Medina. Gangem Edition
- Sibley, M. and Fodil, F. 2009. The utopian space of the Islamic bathhouse or hammam. In: Phillips, R. ed. Muslim Spaces of Hope: Geographies of possibilities in Britain and the West. Zed Books
- Fadli, F. and Sibley, M. 2009. Hammams of North Africa: an architectural study of sustainability concepts in a historic traditional building. In: Claude, D. and Andre, P. eds. Architecture Energy and the Occupant's Perspective. Presses de l'Université Laval
2008
- AlWaer, H., Sibley, M. and Lewis, J. 2008. Factors and priorities for assessing sustainability of regional shopping centres in the UK. Architectural Science Review 51(4), pp. 391-402. (10.3763/asre.2008.5143)
- AlWaer, H., Sibley, M. and Lewis, J. 2008. Different stakeholder perceptions of sustainability assessment. Architectural Science Review 51(1), pp. 48-59. (10.3763/asre.2008.5107)
- Tee, G. A. and Sibley, M. 2008. Sustainable housing development: design towards zero energy for space heating. Presented at: 25th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA), Dublin, Ireland, 22-24 Oct 2008.
2005
- Sibley, M. 2005. Informal transformations of formal housing estates in Algiers and Cairo. In: Shakur, T. ed. Cities in Transition: Transforming the Global Built Environment. Open House Press, pp. 88-98.
- Sibley, M. 2005. The Courtyard houses of North African medinas: past, present and future. In: Edwards, B. et al. eds. Courtyard Housing: Past, Present and Future. London, UK: Taylor & Francis, pp. 49-62.
Articles
- Alghafis, M. and Sibley, M. 2023. The vernacular mosques of Al-Khabra in Saudi Arabia: Investigating urban architectural and social dimensions. Journal of Engineering Research, pp. 1-15. (10.36909/jer.ICMA.20211)
- El Faouri, B. F. and Sibley, M. 2022. Heritage-led urban regeneration in the context of WH listing: lessons and opportunities for the newly inscribed city of As-Salt in Jordan. Sustainability 14(8), article number: 4557. (10.3390/su14084557)
- Hu, X., Sibley, M. and Davidová, M. 2022. Applying a systemic approach for sustainable urban hillside landscape design and planning: The case study City of Chongqing in China. Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics 20(7), pp. 121-153. (10.54808/JSCI.20.07.121)
- Sibley, M., Pezzica, C. and Tweed, A. 2021. Eco-hammam: the complexity of accelerating the ecological transition of a key social heritage sector in Morocco. Sustainability 13(17), article number: 9935. (10.3390/su13179935)
- Sibley, M. and Pena-Garcia, A. 2020. Flat glass or crystal dome aperture? A year-long comparative analysis of the performance of light pipes in real residential settings and climatic conditions. Sustainability 12(9), article number: 3858. (10.3390/su12093858)
- Idris, M. M. and Sibley, M. 2019. What are users' perceptions of the hospital courtyard garden and how satisfied are they with it?. Asian Journal of Environment -Behavior Studies 4, pp. 60-75. (10.21834/aje-bs.v4i13.348)
- Sibley, M. 2018. Let there be light! Investigating vernacular daylighting in Moroccan heritage hammams for rehabilitation, benchmarking and energy saving. Sustainability 10(11), article number: 3984. (10.3390/su10113984)
- Ahmed, V., Tezel, A., Aziz, Z. and Sibley, M. 2017. The future of Big Data in facilities management: opportunities and challenges. Facilities 35(13/14), pp. 725-745. (10.1108/F-06-2016-0064)
- Sibley, M. and Sibley, M. 2015. Hybrid transitions: combining biomass and solar energy for water heating in public bathhouses. Energy Procedia 83, pp. 525-532. (10.1016/j.egypro.2015.12.172)
- Sibley, M. and Sibley, M. 2013. Hybrid green technologies for retrofitting heritage buildings in North African medinas: combining vernacular and high-tech solutions for an innovative solar powered lighting system for hammam buildings. Energy Procedia 42, pp. 718-725. (10.1016/j.egypro.2013.11.074)
- Sibley, M. and Jackson, I. 2012. The architecture of Islamic public baths of North Africa and the Middle East: an analysis of their internal spatial configurations. arq: Architectural Research Quarterly 16(2), pp. 155-170. (10.1017/S1359135512000462)
- AlWaer, H., Sibley, M. and Lewis, J. 2008. Factors and priorities for assessing sustainability of regional shopping centres in the UK. Architectural Science Review 51(4), pp. 391-402. (10.3763/asre.2008.5143)
- AlWaer, H., Sibley, M. and Lewis, J. 2008. Different stakeholder perceptions of sustainability assessment. Architectural Science Review 51(1), pp. 48-59. (10.3763/asre.2008.5107)
Book sections
- Sibley, M. 2013. The historic hammams of Damascus and Fez. In: Weber, W. and Yannas, S. eds. Lessons from Vernacular Architecture. Routledge, pp. 77-91.
- Sibley-Behloul, M. 2013. Rehabilitating hammam seffarine in Fez. In: Dumreicher, H., Levine, R. S. and Sibley-Behloul, M. eds. Hammam Rehabilitation Reader. Sonderzahl Verlagsges
- Destino, T. and Sibley-Behloul, M. 2013. The Hammam living traditions. In: Dumreicher, H., Levine, R. S. and Sibley-Behloul, M. eds. Hammam Rehabilitation Reader. Sonderzahl Verlagsges.
- Sibley, M. 2009. The courtyards houses of the Medina of Fez. In: Ludovico, M. and Vadini, E. eds. The Mediterranean Medina. Gangem Edition
- Sibley, M. and Fodil, F. 2009. The utopian space of the Islamic bathhouse or hammam. In: Phillips, R. ed. Muslim Spaces of Hope: Geographies of possibilities in Britain and the West. Zed Books
- Fadli, F. and Sibley, M. 2009. Hammams of North Africa: an architectural study of sustainability concepts in a historic traditional building. In: Claude, D. and Andre, P. eds. Architecture Energy and the Occupant's Perspective. Presses de l'Université Laval
- Sibley, M. 2005. Informal transformations of formal housing estates in Algiers and Cairo. In: Shakur, T. ed. Cities in Transition: Transforming the Global Built Environment. Open House Press, pp. 88-98.
- Sibley, M. 2005. The Courtyard houses of North African medinas: past, present and future. In: Edwards, B. et al. eds. Courtyard Housing: Past, Present and Future. London, UK: Taylor & Francis, pp. 49-62.
Books
- Dumreicher, H., Levine, R. S. and Sibley, M. 2013. Hammam rehabilitation reader. Vienna, Austria: Sonderzahl Verlagsges.
Conferences
- Alghafis, M., Sibley, M. and Latif, E. 2023. Folk Memory and Temperature Measurements for Thermal Comfort in Vernacular Courtyard Houses of Saudi Arabia’s Hot Arid Climate. Presented at: WILL CITIES SURVIVE?, Santiago, 22-25 November 2022PLEASTGO 2022 WILL CITIES SURVIVE? BOOK OF PROCEEDINGS VOL 1 ONLINE SESSIONS.
- Alghafis, M., Sibley, M. and Latif, E. 2022. A review of existing literature in Saudi domestic architecture. Presented at: 5th International Conference on Conservation of Architectural Heritage (CAH 2021), Virtual, 8-10 February 2021 Presented at Versaci, A. et al. eds.Conservation of Architectural Heritage. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation Springer Cham pp. 261-271., (10.1007/978-3-030-74482-3_20)
- Alghafis, M., Latif, E. and Sibley, M. 2019. A review of existing literature on architectural identity of Saudi buildings. Presented at: SPACE International Conference 2019 Architectural Culture and Society, London, England, 29 November - 1 December 2019Proceedings - SPACE International Conference 2019 on Architectural Culture and Society, 29 November - 1 December 2019, London. London, UK: SPACE Studies Publications pp. 110-118.
- Alatni, B., Sibley, M. and Minuchin, L. 2012. Evaluating the impact of the internationalisation of urban planning on Saudi Arabian cities. Presented at: 7th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability 2012, Ancona, Italy, 7-9 May 2012 Presented at Pacetti, M. and Passerini, G. eds.Sustainable City VII: Urban Regeneration and Sustainability, Vol. 1. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environmen pp. 291-301., (10.2495/SC120251)
- Tee, G. A. and Sibley, M. 2008. Sustainable housing development: design towards zero energy for space heating. Presented at: 25th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA), Dublin, Ireland, 22-24 Oct 2008.
Websites
- Sibley, M. and Pezzica, C. 2020. Eco-hammam - share the resources, save the planet!. [Online]. https://ecohammam.com: Cardiff University. Available at: https://ecohammam.com/
- Sibley, M., Pezzica, C., Elkadi, G. and Abouelmagd, D. A. S. 2020. Belle epoque Cairo museums itineraries: مسارات متاحف الزمن الجميل. [Online]. https://becami.com/: Cardiff University. Available at: https://becami.com/
Supervisions
Current supervision
Hussa Alghunaim
Research student
Fahad Alshiddi
Research student
Yunfan Zhang
Research student
Nimon Suwantamalee
Research student
