Department: School of Design & Architecture

Brief information about the School of Design & Architecture at ADA University

The School of Design and Architecture (SDA) is outlined in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano in the framework of the Italy-Azerbaijan University initiative. It will offer bachelor's, master's and non-degree certificate programs in Design, Architecture and Urban Planning. ADA University is intertwined with the country’s plans, where economic and cultural growth lead the way. The urban areas are growing, and the country landscape and profile are evolving. 

The School of Design and Architecture will share the polytechnic approach to Design, Architecture, and Urban Planning. Graduates will gain foundational disciplinary knowledge and practical experience, thanks to fundamental courses and the learning-by-doing educational approach that pursues up-to-date development lines in project-based design studios. The School of Design and Architecture offers an international level of study suitable for entering the job market as a junior architect or designer. 

More information about SDA can be found at www.ada.edu.az/en/schools/sda

Why apply for this position

The School of Design and Architecture is the place for constant education and innovation, where students will develop the knowledge and skills to contribute to the country’s goal. Indeed, the School of Design and Architecture will raise a new generation of Designers, Architects, and Urban Planners who will participate in the country’s progress, sharing and making the vision for it.  

For this purpose, the School of Design and Architecture will collaborate with public institutions to promote coordinated efforts toward progress, indicating priorities, developing projects, and anticipating future scenarios. Furthermore, the School of Design and Architecture will collaborate with local communities to promote the country’s development beyond Baku and with global partners to reach a multicultural environment and international status. 

Due to this ambitious program, joining SDA will be an opportunity for academic growth and engagement within a new international community of designers and architects.

Brief description of responsibilities:  

Principal responsibilities include teaching undergraduate courses in Architecture, Urban Planning, Communication Design and/or Interior Design. Candidates must have a potential or demonstrated commitment to teaching excellence, scholarly research and publication in peer-reviewed journals, and academic engagement.    

Qualifications:

• Candidates for Assistant Professor must have a Ph.D. in Urban Planning
• Candidates for Associate Professor must have a Ph.D. and evidence of quality scholarship.

How to apply:

Please, send to the e-mail address in the Apply for job button the following documents in the PDF format by August 1, 2025, 10 PM Baku time (GMT+4).  

• Cover letter (max 1 page)
• Curriculum vitae
• Portfolio of selected students’ works (if available)
• Summary of teaching evaluations (if available)
• A list of publications and a PDF of a maximum of three of them

Women and members of minority groups are strongly urged to apply.

Teaching Position Details in Historical-Critical

Description of the Disciplinary Area:

The historical-critical disciplinary area equips students with the analytical tools and historical knowledge needed to interpret design, architecture, and visual culture within their broader cultural, social, and technical contexts. Drawing on methodologies from art and architectural history, cultural studies, and historiography, this area fosters the ability to examine past and contemporary practices across design disciplines critically. Students learn to situate artefacts, spaces, and visual communication within specific historical periods, stylistic movements, and socio-political frameworks, developing an informed understanding of the evolution of design languages, construction systems, and aesthetic principles. Through philological and critical analysis, they gain the capacity to interpret cultural objects, apply appropriate disciplinary vocabulary, and articulate independent, well-grounded judgments. This foundation not only supports research and theory but also enhances students’ ability to develop innovative, contextually aware design proposals rooted in a deep awareness of historical continuity and contemporary relevance.

Description of the courses

1. History of Design

Programme: Bachelor of Communication Design

Year: 1st

Semester: 1st

Start dates: February 2026 (teaching starts September 2026)

The course explores the history and evolution of modern design culture since the late 18th century, between the beginning of the 19th century and the end of the 20th century. Proceeding from the scenarios of the Industrial Revolution up to the horizons of post-modernity, this course focuses on the most significant episodes in the history of design, architecture, and applied arts, according to transversal cuts and in-depth studies aimed at restoring their links with the relative socio-cultural, economic, and political context.

Basic knowledge required to teach the course:

• Strong understanding of the historical development of modern design culture from the Industrial Revolution to post-modernity, with connections to architecture and applied arts.
• Knowledge of the principal movements, periods, figures, and stylistic evolutions in design history, situated within their socio-cultural, political, and economic contexts.
• Familiarity with historical-critical methodologies, including visual analysis, iconographic and iconological interpretation, and material culture studies.
• Ability to frame design practices through the lenses of semiotics, critical theory, and ethnographic or contextual research.
• Experience in supporting students in developing independent, critical approaches to design history through bibliographic research, case study analysis, and interpretative writing.

1. History of Interior Design

Programme: Bachelor of Interior Design

Year: 2nd

Semester: 2nd

Start dates: October 2026 (teaching starts January 2027)

The course intends to introduce students to the events of interior design starting from the late 18th century/early 19th century, to provide a core of knowledge useful for the courses of the following years, and to develop in students a level of critical and analytical capacity, functional to the objectives of a design career. The History of Interior Design course proposes an analysis of the most significant moments in design culture from the second half of the 18th century, that is, from the Industrial Revolution to the present day. The course examines the main international protagonists of contemporary design, focusing on the study of the domestic environment and the system of objects related to it, also intended as a space for experimentation and interaction with the arts. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of the professional figure of the designer during the 20th century.

Basic knowledge required to teach the course:

• Strong understanding of the historical development of interior design from the Industrial Revolution to the present day, with a focus on domestic and shared spaces.
• Knowledge of the evolution of interior design culture in relation to broader artistic, architectural, technological, and societal transformations.
• Familiarity with the key figures, movements, and typologies that have shaped the history of interiors and the role of the designer in the 20th and 21st centuries.
• Ability to analyse and interpret spaces through critical and iconographic approaches, exploring their symbolic, cultural, and aesthetic dimensions.
• Experience in supporting students in the contextualisation of design practice through historically grounded research, comparative analysis, and interpretative writing.

1. History of Architecture 2 (Modern and Contemporary)

Programme: Bachelor of Architecture

Year: 2nd

Semester: 1st

Start dates: February 2026 (teaching starts September 2026)

The course of History of Architecture 2 concerns the analysis of the main themes of contemporary architectural research from the middle of the 19th century up to the middle of the 20th century. The course provides basic knowledge of events, buildings, architects, fundamental theories and different historiographical interpretations of the architectural culture. The suggested period starts from the golden age of Baku's oil boom up to the end of the Second World War, passing through the entrance of Azerbaijan into the USSR. The study focuses on the influences of these political, social and economic changes on the building industry and architectural production. One of the aims is to offer tools and methodologies helpful in understanding and interpreting this period's architectural and urban design, providing an overview of the main architectural trends and leading figures in European architecture. 

Basic knowledge required to teach the course:

• Ability to analyse the architecture and urban production of XX century period in a critical way.
• Ability to make understandable for the students the reasons for the transformation of architecture over time, offering critical methodologies and tools and training the students to collect, list and use historical documents.
• Knowledge of restoration and conservation practices of the existing architectures in their historical context.
• Knowledge of the most significant case studies of the main moments in the history of architecture in the period between the 18th and 21st centuries, at a national level (with reference to Azerbaijan and the Caucasus region) is required.
• Knowledge of the works.
• Knowledge of the protagonists.
• Critical knowledge of the historiographical approaches relating to the period in question.
• Relationship between the social, political and economic context in different geographical contexts and the related architectural production.
• Relationship between the history of architecture, design processes and conservation processes.

Teaching Position Details in History and Humanities

Description of the Disciplinary Area:

The disciplinary area ‘History and Humanities’ enables the student to acquire the legal, sociological, and economic notions that are fundamental for understanding the urban and territorial facts and their design as a 'field' of encounter and relationship: (i) between space and society; (ii) between the physical and settlement dimension, and the technical, political, economic, and social system that governs the organization of a settled society. Within this prospect, specific attention is focused on the history of the city and its urban morphology in relation to the history of urban planning, which are framed by relating the characteristics of the Azerbaijan’s spatial planning and urban issues to the international trajectories: (i) of urban phenomena and dynamics: (ii) of planning studies, laws, tools and processes.

Programme: Bachelor of Urban Planning

Courses: Urban and Planning History / Urban and Planning History and Issues of Azerbaijan in the Caucasian Macro-Region

Description of the courses

1. Urban and Planning History

Year: 1st

Semester: 1st 

Start dates: February 2026 (teaching starts September 2026)

The course aims to provide the students with the fundamental knowledge on the history of cities and of urban planning through an international perspective and a specific correlation with the history of architecture, landscape, and society. On the one hand, the course aims to offer an insight into the main phases of world urbanization processes and connected spatial morphologies in relation to the advancement of technologies, the changes of economic and political frames, and the development of architectural, landscape, and social cultures. On the other hand, the course aims to outline the evolution and the articulation of the main approaches to the spatial planning of the city expansion, transformation and regeneration, focusing on the social, environmental, and landscape purposes and implications. Through the critical analysis of international theories, methods, projects, and case studies, the course aims to develop the comprehension and awareness of the students about the long origins and stratification of contemporary cities and urban planning worldwide. As well, the course aims to provide students with the necessary knowledge and understanding to critically orient their urban planning culture in relation to the main issues and challenges of the current international disciplinary debate: from the regionalization of cities and sustainable spatial planning to the emerging issues of housing and urban restoration.

Basic knowledge required to teach the course:

• Strong understanding of foundations, theoretical principles, technical lexicon, and methodologies concerning the history of cities and urban planning at the international level, and in correlation to the history of architecture, landscape, and society.
• In particular, a strong understanding around the history of cities at the international level by considering the main phases of urbanization processes and their territorial connections from ancient society to modern and contemporary society. 
• In particular, a strong understanding around the development of modern and contemporary urban planning at the international level by considering the evolution of the main theories, themes, places, planners, plans, and projects.
• Expertise in teaching the history of cities and urban planning in relation to the contemporary issues of urban and regional analysis, planning, and design at the international level.  
• Expertise in guiding students through lessons, but also through seminars and exercises concerning bibliographical analyses, collection and report of case studies, and direct observations.

1. Urban and Planning History and Issues of Azerbaijan in the Caucasian Macro-Region

Year: 1st

Semester: 2nd 

Start dates: October 2026 (teaching starts January 2027)

At the backdrop of the knowledge depicted by the course of Urban and Planning History in the first semester, this course aims to provide students with more in depth understanding on the history of cities and urban planning in Azerbaijan in relation to the Caucasian macro-region. Through the critical analysis of theories, methods, projects, and case studies, the course aims to complete the comprehension of the fundamental steps regarding urban planning and historical urbanization processes by focusing on Azerbaijan and the Caucasian macro-region. In addition, the course aims to provide students with the necessary knowledge and understanding of the main issues and challenges for the country and the surrounding macro-region in relation to the urban agenda of international organizations (such as the United Nations and the European Union), and of international reference countries for urban planning. Such issues and challenges in Azerbaijan and the Caucasian macro-region include socio-spatial disparities and inclusion, housing provision and urban restoration, climate change effects and adaptation strategies, as well as ecological and landscape regeneration of the built environment and open spaces.

Basic knowledge required to teach the course:

• Strong understanding of foundations, theoretical principles, technical lexicon, and methodologies concerning the history of cities and urban planning in both the Azerbaijani and Caucasian contexts, and in correlation to the history of architecture, landscape, and society.
• In particular, a strong understanding around the history of cities in both the Azerbaijani and Caucasian contexts by considering the main phases of urbanizations processes and their territorial connections from ancient society to modern and contemporary society. 
• In particular, a strong understanding around the development of modern and contemporary urban planning in both the Azerbaijani and Caucasian contexts by considering the evolution of the main theories, themes, places, planners, plans, and projects, even in relation to the progress of the national legislation.
• Expertise in teaching the history of cities and urban planning in relation to the contemporary issues of urban and regional analysis, planning, and design by comparing the Azerbaijani and Caucasian contexts.  
• Expertise in guiding students through lessons, but also through seminars and exercises concerning bibliographical analyses, collection and report of case studies, and direct observations.