Compact University Portfolio

19 Gaber Ebn Hayan st. , Dokki, Giza, Egypt Moeaymanfahmy@gmail.com +2 01148203320

Portfolio My name is Mohamed Abdelbary, commonly known as Moe. I studied Architecture in Cairo University, Egypt.

This document is an attempt to showcase my best work, skills, as well as my character development throughout my design journey.

Projects

EDUCATION

SKILLS

Free-hand Sketching Technical Writing Model Making

SOFTWARE

EXPERIENCE

Autocad

3ds Max Revit Dynamo Sketchup Photoshop Illustrator Indesign

Dec 2019 - Mar 2020 Linesmag: Design Magazine Content Writer & Reporter

Sufi

2

Sun Pavilion

5

Musicaloid

6

LANGUAGE

Egyptian Housing

7

Fann-Tuss

8

Arabic (Egyptian) English German

Growing up in an artist family, I started tapping into my designer’s side at a younger age. It all started with some cartoon sketching and dismantling all my toys to understand their mechanism.

I opted to become a mechanical engineer because I have always dreamed of becoming an inventor, little did I know that this term was no longer used in the modern times., and that people who create things are now called “Designers”.

Although I was passionate about so many design fields such as graphic, product, and industrial design, I pursued Architecture as I believed It tackles a broader scope of work which includes a huge humanitarian and environmental aspect to it. Throughout my studies, I gained a lot of awareness regarding the importance of good design that makes our lives more livable and sustainable.

Sep 2014 - May 2019 Architecture - Cairo University Bachelor’s Degree

Aug 2018 - Sep 2018 Heraa for Construction & Supplies Site Intern Al-Redeseya, Edfu, Egypt May 2018 - June 2018 Megawra Built Environment Collective Intern in an urban development project Al-Hattaba, Cairo, Egypt July 2017 Heraa for Construction & Supplies Site Intern Cairo, Egypt EXTRACURRICALAR ACTIVITIES & WORKSHOPS Oct 2019 MEDS Forum Basel MEDS Network Nationl Contact of Egyptian Team Aug 2018/2019 MEDS Workshop

Aug 2019 Memniso - Spetses, Greece Participant in Workshop: “Letters of Spetses” Greek Lettering & Design

Aug 2018 Divercity - Byblos, Lebanon Participant in Workshop: “H/I/Stories” Design & Pavilion Construction Aug 2017 - Sep 2017 Bauhaus Summer School Design Thinking Course July 2016 - Sep 2016 AIESEC UDSM - Tanzania

Volunteer English & Math teacher in an orphanage Kigamboni, Dar As Salam 1/8

Sufi

Project: Location:

Meditation Center Rashid, Egypt Year: 2019

https://www.behance.net/gallery/89915375/SUFI-MEDITATION-CENTER

The bachelor’s thesis design is a part of a community development project. It starts in the 1st semester as a group project which focuses on the urban aspect of the design.

This yielded an in depth urban study of Rashid city, as well as a master plan. In the 2nd semester, each group member works on their architectural project indvidually.

The concept of Sufi meditation center is to elevate the locals of Rashid to Spiral towards the Peak MEDITATION CENTER

VISITOR’S CENTER

LIBRARY

Spirituality Knowledge Social connectivity

The Sufi Way Islamic Mysticisim, commonly known as Sufism, is a school of practice that emphasizes on the inward search for spirituality and shuns materialism. The Sufis were very philosophical in their beliefs. They spent their lives dedicated to understanding the nature of God and his creation. They believed that mimicking nature both in practice and art deepens their connection with God. The connection of Sufism and Rashid dates back to the Ottoman expansion in the early 16th century in north of Egypt. The spread of the Sufi ways affected many aspects in th Egyptian lifestyle, ranging from traditions and beliefs, to architectural identity.

Outward & Inward (Adhaher Wal Bat’en)

Everything has a visible form and a deeper meaning

Anti-clockwise swirling mimicking celestial bodies

Ceremonial Marches

Sacred Geometry 2/8

Sufi Methodology

Concept Form Modeling

The geometric language of the meditation center is generated by linking sacred geometry & relevant mathematical concepts in a way that fulfills both the function of spiritual practices and the meaning behind the Sufi way.

Spiraling to the Peak

Inversion of Circles

Outward 1.

Underground Parking

2.

Drop Off

3.

Ceremonial Path

4.

Bridge To Meditation Rooms

5.

Ring Road

6.

Drop Off

7.

Visitor’s Path

8.

9.

Public Space Abu Mandour Mosque & Shrine

10. Pedestrian Bridge

1 2

3 4 5 6

7

8

9 10

Inward

Layout & Form Generation Non Built-Up

Built-up

Previous Cemtery

Respecting the Cemetery

Memori al Park

Meditatio n Center

ur Abu Mando e Sufi Mosqu

Focal Points using Qibla (Prayers) Direction

Geometric Base & Spiraling from Focals Points

Generating Layout from Sacre Geometry

Parametric Form from Layout Geometry

Solar Chimney Cool Roof Rain Water Re-use Water Features

Low Carbon Footprint

North Wind Catching Self-Shading

Sun Breakers

3/8

Sufi FIRST LEVEL

SECOND LEVEL

MEDITATION 3

Peak Meditation Hall Single Meditation Rooms

UTILITIES

SAMAA'KHANA THEATER HALL

ABULATION SINGLE MEDITATION ROOMS

Bridge Entrance BACKSTAGE CHANGING ROOMS

Group Meditation 1 Group Meditation 2 THEATER ENTRANCE

Stepped Theater WC & Utilities Adminstration

MEDITATION 1

UP

DN

MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC HERITAGE

ENT RAN CE LOB BY

ADMIN

MEDITATION 3

C

MEDITATION 3 MEDITATION 3

WC & Utilities Entranc Hall / Exhibtition Theater Hall Theater Backstage

LADIES

PRAYING

Praying Hall

HALL

MEDITATION 3

UP

ENTRANCE HALL ENTRANCE HALL / EXHIBITION SPACE

Theater Entrance

MPU

ENTRANCE HALL / EXHIBITION SPACE

UP

Outdoor Meditation

MEDITATION 3

DN

Cafeteri

SAMAA'KHANA THEATER HALL

MUSEUM ENTRANCE

Stepped Theater

MEDITATION 2

THEATER ENTRANCE

BACKSTAGE CHANGING ROOMS

LIBRARY ENTRANCE

Art & Geometry room

UP

MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC HERITAGE

MUSEUM OF HISTORICAL SCRIPTURES

MEDITATION 3 MEDITATION 3

THEATER ENTRANCE

Theater Entrance

ENTRANCE HALL ENTRANCE HALL / EXHIBITION SPACE

MPU UP

B

Theater Entrance

ENTRANCE HALL / EXHIBITION SPACE

SINGLE MEDITATION ROOMS

MUSEUM ENTRANCE

DN

LIBRARY ENTRANCE MUSEUM OF HISTORICAL SCRIPTURES

UP

LIBRARY SEATING

Basement Level

A

Entrance/Exhibition

MEDITATION 3

UP

LIBRARY SEATING

Meditation Space WC Library Hall Entrance Hall Meditation Space MPU Museum

GROUND LEVEL

0

25

BASEMENT LEVEL

TOP LEVEL

0

50

Library Reading Zone Entrance Lounge Museum Hall Library Reading Zone

Quiet Meditation Zone Public Zone Visitors’ Center

Library Bridge to Meditation Halls

Section A

Section B

Section C 4/8

Sun Pavilion

Project: Location:

Egyptian Pavilion Design Cairo, Egypt Year: 2018

The concept of Sun Pavilion is to showcase the diversity of Egypt & its people, who are united under one Sun. Taking the visitor in a tour through its natural context, cultural traditions, & history; preparing them for the future.

Divergant Inverted Future

Present

Transition

NUBIA DESERT

RED SEA

Diversity OASES

History Pyramid Convergant

MEDITERRANEAN

AGRICULTURE

Unity

COPTIC

ANCIENT CIVILIZATION

Divergant/Convergant Masses 5/8

Project: Location:

Musicaloid Context Ecology

Identity Society

Tutor Proposal for MEDS Workshop Silesia, Poland Year: 2020

Collabortive project on Behance:

https://www.behance.net/gallery/95214989/Hyperbolic-Musicaloid

Transformation Revitalization

The main goal of the project is to create a new identity through connecting to the past; to give the local community a place where “I” turns to “We”. Nothing brings this feeling better than Music.

6/8

Egyptian Housing Among 14 other articles I wrote when I was working as a “Reporter” for Linesmag. com, the ones that I worte which tackled urban issues in my country were my favourite; not because of their beautiful content, but rather for my enthusiasm on adressing & raising awareness on urban & community issues.

Project: Firm:

Urban Research on Cairo’s Housing Linesmag.com Year:2020

extra floor will insanely affect the whole ommunity, as this in return will affect the traffic in the street, water and electricity supply, and parking spaces.

Breaking The Law, & Just Paying The Fine When I asked about how the owners get away with the extra floors, we found out that they calculate the fine they pay as part of the budget, and in theend,theprofitfromsellingtheseapartmentswillbemorethanenough to cover the fine they paid. In some cases, the government officials don’t allow those extra floors, that’s why the owners have to be very cautious during the construction to make sure no sudden investigations happen.

Because after all the whole purpose of these new buildings is profit, some owners don’t even recruit an architect to design their homes to cut out some expenses. Instead, they rely on templates and some general knowledge of the contractors.

Urban congestion as seen from a balcony in Cairo. Photo: author Egypt is facing a housing crisis seen in all of its cities. Contractors buy pieces of land, or an old building, disassemble it to empty the land, then come up with a residential building 2, 3 or sometimes 4 times higher than the original building. The motive for this is purely business. These contractors see the land lots as assets, and all they work on is maximizing their business by creating as many residential units that will eventually payback for its expanses and create a profit in the end.

Sadly, the problem with all of this is that the contractors only have knowledge of structure and construction to build a huge structure, but not the architect’s mind that can design a space that is livable. Therefore, these new buildings come up with a wide range of problems, from lighting to ventilation, and even to inadequate urban density according to the local laws. All of these factors contribute immensely to the overall housing crisis in Egypt.

Vertical Urban Sprawl Cities are designed to digest a certain amount of people, which is determined by calculating the average number of people who can live in one apartment and multiply it by the number of apartments in the whole city. Of course, vthe number of apartments will insanely increase if every old building was doubled in size and capacity, even one

Full Article with photos: https://linesmag.com/egyptian-housing-crisis/ More Articles: https://linesmag.com/author/moe

Inadequate Building Materials A very common practice that we saw was finishing up the front elevation of a building, and leaving its back and sides with naked building materials.

For the owners, these sides are not really seen by anyone, and all they are thinking about is the attractive elevation. As for the external walls, we saw in some cases the outer walls are composed of single brick units, which in no way will be enough to prevent the summer heat or winter cold from seeping into our homes.

What the building owners don’t really know is the importance of the external coating, as this is working along with the external walls to protect the building from the weather.

Unsustainable Design

But sadly, architecture is not just some walls and doors, it requires a lot of critical thinking and knowledge to properly design an adequate space. Therefore, the lack of proper intervention from architects in the design process causes all these problems that are showing in these new buildings.

Due to the poorly designed exterior finishing of the building, each apartment in return will depend on external systems to maintain a livable temperature both in winter and in summer. The poor environmental treatments of the building will force its inhabitants to rely on air conditioning and electric heaters, which will significantly increase the energy use of the building, and all the buildings with similar conditions.

Inadequate Courts

Fire Escape Stairs aren’t According to the Law Standards

To maximize the net home area, the designers reduce the area of the courts that should provide lighting and ventilation for kitchen and toilets, as well as for some home spaces if needed. Yet, the constructors found a way to go around this issue and hide from the law.

Some owners see the law stating the need for more than one staircase is useless. When, in fact, it is very important to maintain safety regulation, because, in case of emergency, there will be no escape to certain disasters if we don’t take our precautions. The building owners have all sorts of creative solutions to go around this issue in their design. One owner completely removed the fire escape just after getting his license.

The funny side to the story is that he didn’t put a lot of materials in its construction because he designed it to be built and destroyed.

One very creative contractor built the court as stated by the law in accordance with the total height of the building. And after the owners finished the license and the officials approved their work, they closed more than two-thirds of the court.Thiswaythepaperworkisdone,andnobodyreallyknowsthattheyused the court to maximize the internal area of the building. It was very surreal when I was discussing with the owner and he was pointing out in mere space and saying this will be your living room when we close it after we take the license.

No Proper Lighting Or Ventilation Most of the rooms are getting their lighting and ventilation from a shared court with bathrooms and kitchens. While this on itself is a huge issue, the problem here is the size of the court, which makes it impossible for sun exposure to reach some rooms, especially on the first few floors of the building. On the other hand, the residents are constantly facing a lack of privacy in their own rooms, due to their exposure to their home’s services.

No Consistency In The Elevation Style; Urban Eclecticism Now that there is no respect for the laws, there is also no respect for the local style. Each building owner is free to shape, color, and decorate the façade as much as he likes, which leaves us in the end with a very inconsistent skyline for the city, varying from heights, to widths, to styles, etc. Some of these inconsistencies are severely eye-hurting.

The housing crisis of Egypt is getting worse day by day. The built environment is one of the most important parts of our life. We live, eat, work, and enjoy our time in architecture, that’s why we should all be concerned about its deterioration, and work together on finding solutions for it.

7/8

Fann-Tuss I enjoy creating design & art projects for university, through summer workshops, as well as through my spare time. I Like to learn new methods of designs and explore new realms within each project.

In my free time, I like to play sports, paint, draw, read, or play music.

Project: Location: Role:

H/I/Stories - MEDS Workshop Divercity Byblos, Lebanon Year: 2018 Participant designer & builder in a group of 10

V E G I

ΠΛΗΘΩΡΙΚΗ!

‫ﺳﺒﻴﺘﺴﺲ‬

Location: Spetses Island, Greece Year: 2019 Workshop: MEDS Memniso Letters of Spetses Greek lettering and typography design workshop

S W I R L Y Course: Creativity, Art, & Design

Project: Pavilion & Chess Design

Cairo University Year: 2017 8/8