Category: writings
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Unknown Citizen
STORY “02” ALEXANDRIA’S THIRD PLACES Memorials are always witnesses of political history. This white marble memorial was built by the Italian community of Alexandria at beginning of the 20th century and dedicated to Khedive Ismail as it once hosted his bronze statue. After the revolution of 1952, the statue was removed and it was transformed into a memorial for […]
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ALEXANDRIA’S THIRD PLACES
If I ask you to describe someone in his 50s, would you start telling: he was beautiful when he was 10 years old, very smart and intellectual according to his age? Or you would describe what he looks like know. What could be the reasons for anyone to describe someone only by his childhood or past […]
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DINOCRATE
STORY “01” ALEXANDRIA’S THIRD PLACES Ideas last. Ideas change lives for years and years. Every single time we wander the streets of a pre-planned city, we are experimenting with the dreams of someone else. There is a good dream and there is also an incubus (nightmare). Or maybe both exist in one vision. Is Alexandria […]
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Al-Nasr Automotive Manufacture CO. (NASCO)
My parent’s first car was the Italian Fiat 128 model 1977. Since the 1960s the Egyptian state started producing affordable cars for the middle and upper-middle classes of the society. On 23/5/1960 by the Republican Decree No. 913 Al-Nasr company was established as the first automotive manufacturer in the Middle East. El Nasr which means […]
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Al-Sandara
I recently had a walk in Wabour El Maya, an early 19th-century upper-middle-class neighborhood in Alexandria. It got its name from the Italian water company that was famous for its huge and advanced water steam-machines for purification and sterilization. The name Wabour comes from the Italian word Vapore which is pronounced in: /væ poʊ ri/, […]
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The Stones of Massilia
Work in progress Between 1851 and 1853 the English art historian John Ruskin published “The Stones of Venice”, a treatise on Venetian art and architecture. In his book, Ruskin surveyed the history of architecture over the course of three eras: Byzantine, Gothic, and Renaissance. Following the same model of Ruskin, during the course of my […]
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Alex Med Bibliotheca Alexandrina: Alexandria ornaments Encyclopedia
The Alexandria ornaments Encyclopedia is an ambitious project by Alexandria and Mediterranean Research Center (Alex Med) that aims at documenting the ornaments of heritage buildings in the city. It is my pleasure to contribute to this research work and to announce that I am working with (Alex Med) on documenting the ornaments and decorations of […]
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Architect’s Eye
In architecture, we get used to giving great attention to details. On the one hand, the more we think of details, the more we elaborate well-studied designs that improve users’ experience. On the other hand, details make our lives as architects unbearable. Last Friday I was having a walk by the waterfront promenade of Alexandria […]
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A Journey to Djibouti
“Ya Bashmohandes Gohar Did you sleep well last night?” He asked“Hmm, yeah I believe I did” I answered“Well, well, well…probably, it was your last night of good sleep in Djibouti”He answered me back, with a smile while getting into his Nissan Pathfinder!!! Before starting the design process of any new commissioned project, architects need to […]
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Physiognomy in Architecture
I have been always convinced that objects in general look like living beings. As a kid one of my favorite practices was to imagine that each car has a face, sometimes happy and laughing and some other times sad or even angry. I grew up, studied architecture and started to apply this practice on buildings. […]
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Al-Sadat, the hero of peace This painting is located atop of a building’s entrance in Caid Gohar street. It depicts a portrait of the former Egyptian president Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat, behind him we can see the pyramids, and a dove the peace symbol. The decayed and partly hidden Arabic text under the portrait reads: Al-Sadat, […]
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Community associations The first association started operating in Egypt in 1821 under the name: The Greek association in Alexandria. Through history, society associations passed by several phases, changes and amendments. Due to domestic and/or foreign immigration, associations that serve specific communities used to be founded in big cities, where there are several communities and groups […]
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