Deniz Manisali Leba is an Architect, Designer, and Educator based in Amsterdam, NL, with over 14 years of international experience across leading architectural practices and academic institutions in Europe and Asia. Her work spans a wide range of scales and typologies, including architectural and urban projects, cultural and museum environments, experiential and exhibition design, and product-scale interventions.
She has extensive experience in developing, coordinating, and delivering complex international projects, working with large interdisciplinary teams from concept design through construction documentation and site supervision. Her professional background combines strong design leadership with research-driven methodologies, bridging architectural theory, computation, and built work.
Deniz graduated with a Master of Architecture and Urbanism from the Design Research Lab (DRL) at the Architectural Association in London, following Bachelor’s degrees in Architecture and Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and she has been invited to lecture and participate in design forums throughout Europe and Asia.
Between 2007 and 2011, she worked at Zaha Hadid Architects in London, contributing to projects ranging from product design to large-scale masterplans. She was part of the design and execution team for the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center in Baku, completed in 2012, with a focus on the auditorium design and delivery. She later led and managed multiple large-scale projects in Istanbul, including cultural, sports, and mixed-use developments currently under construction.
She currently works as a Project Manager and Senior Architect at UNStudio in Amsterdam, where she is involved in the design and coordination of large-scale international projects. In parallel, she undertakes independent design work and collaborations, providing architectural and experiential design services across multiple scales.
Alongside professional practice, Deniz has been actively engaged in academia since 2011, teaching architectural design studios at Bilgi University in Istanbul and at the Architecture and Sustainable Design Pillar at SUTD in Singapore. She has also participated in major international exhibitions, including the DOMUS Exhibition at Salone Internazionale del Mobile (Milan), the Istanbul Design Biennale, and the Antalya Architecture Biennale.