< PreviousThe Egyptian architects look back on their design for Dubai’s Ismaili Centre and what they learned from their decade-long period working with Hassan Fathy Rami El Dahan and Soheir Farid Written by Aidan Imanova Images courtesy of El Dahan and Farid Engineering Consultants For more than a decade, the Ismaili Centre in Dubai has stood as a sym- bolic marker of the Ismaili community in the Middle East, serving as an ambassadorial building, a ‘jamatkhana’ or place of worship, and a space for social and cultural gatherings, intellectual engagement and spiritual contemplation. Commissioned by His Highness the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Is- maili Muslims, the building, like all Ismaili centres, follows spatial principles that coincide with the Islamic branch’s teachings. It also exemplifies the ar- chitectural principles of Egyptian modernist architect Hassan Fathy, as it was designed by the husband-and-wife team Rami El Dahan and Soheir Farid, who worked under the late architect’s guidance and mentorship for 10 years. Set on a corner site in Oud Metha, a small residential neighbourhood in Dubai, the monumental structure consists primarily of Aleppo limestone. While Syr- ian masons completed the stone work, an Egyptian master mason, whose father worked with Fathy, led the construction of the many brick domes that shelter the building. The Ismaili Centre in Dubai displays a meticulous devotion toward artisanal quality and detailing – an attitude El Dahan and Farid inherited from Fathy, and which serves as the driving force behind their own architecture. Although described in multiple publications as a structure inspired by Fatim- id architecture, the architects insist this is not true. “We have been asked many times what our reference is, and I always answer that we don’t have one – it all comes from within,” El Dahan explained. “Of course, the concept of the procession hall is very Fatimid, but the detailing is a modern interpretation of building with stone. We, as architects, don’t like the word ‘style’ because style is only the superficial layer. If you remove the superfi- cial layer, you remove the style, but you keep the architecture. MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT / 05.19 / WWW.MIDDLEEASTARCHITECT.COM 20 / COVER STORYMIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT / 05.19 / WWW.MIDDLEEASTARCHITECT.COM COVER STORY / 21“We always have to explain our references, [although] we try to avoid this because we don’t copy. I don’t open a book of Islamic architecture and say this feature is nice and copy it. We look at Islamic architecture almost every day; it’s become a part of us. So when we are designing, it is coming from in- side, and it could by coincidence look like something we have seen before, but it is never straight forward copying.” Much like Fathy’s work, Dubai’s Ismaili Centre is a bridge between tradition and modernity, suspended timelessly amid an environment cluttered with glass and concrete towers. And while the building features canonical elements found in Islamic architecture, like domes, vaults and corbels, the exe- cution and attitude toward materiality is principally modern. “[The building] is very modern in its thinking. A lot of mod- ern architecture is built with concrete and is left fare-faced and the structure is true. Everything here is designed with this kind of thinking. It is true to the material, it is not clad- ded or pretentious. We built in stone, and even without orna- ments or carvings, it is still impressive,” El Dahan said. The architects explained how working with Fathy gave them a certain attitude toward architecture, and life itself. “We took from him a kind of energy which I think, even af- ter many years since his passing, we are still working with,” El Dahan said. MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT / 05.19 / WWW.MIDDLEEASTARCHITECT.COM 22 / COVER STORYOpposite: Ismaili Centre, Dubai Opposite: Sultan Bey Hotel, El Gouna Dawar El Omda Hotel, El Gouna “In the beginning we used to try to think as he would think, and then with time we started developing our work. I don’t think the Ismaili Centre looks like Fathy’s work, but I am sure he would have been proud of it because it reflects his teach- ings,” he added. Having met at university, El Dahan and Farid joined Fathy’s architecture firm, the International Institute for Appropriate Technology, in 1979, a year after their graduation from Cai- ro University. And although the architects set up their own practice in 1985 under Rami El Dahan and Soheir Farid Archi- tects (which was changed to El Dahan and Farid Engineering Consultants, Ltd. in 1996), Fathy continued to play a mentor- ship role in their lives until his death in 1989. “We learned everything from Fathy,” El Dahan said. “He opened our eyes to the vernacular architecture of every country, and we have learned from this architecture to pro- duce our own.” He, however, argued that vernacular is more than the prod- uct of the architecture, and is in fact a state of mind. “We learn from the vernacular, but we cannot produce vernacular because vernacular exists beyond the architect,” El Dahan explained. “The Ismaili Centre is not a vernacu- lar building, but it has some of the teachings of a vernacular attitude. However, we used the materials in different ways, as well as the space and height. This is how you contemporise.” El Dahan and Farid’s commission for the Ismaili Centre was preceded by a competition for Al Azhar Park, organised by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture to convert a dusty area in Old Cai- ro filled with rubble into 30 hectares of expansive greenery. It also included the restoration of the site’s surrounding Islamic heritage. The architects’ proposal for a monumental struc- ture for the Hilltop Restaurant won them the competition, as well as the appreciation of His Highness the Aga Khan. The two projects are cited by the architects as two of their most important pieces of work. However, there is one particular project that the architects identify as the defining start to a steady stream of commis- sions: Kafr El Gouna, the centre village of El Gouna Develop- ment in Egypt, a man-made resort town owned by Samih Sa- waris. Located along the Red Sea, the coastal town has a total land area of 36.92 million m2 – 15 million of which have so far been developed. The project received an honourary prize for the Hassan Fathy Prize in 2009, as well as an Aga Khan Award for Archi- tecture nomination. “They thought it was too much like Fathy’s work although this is not fair,” El Dahan said of the Aga Khan Award nomina- tion. “It was a very important project at a very important time MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT / 05.19 / WWW.MIDDLEEASTARCHITECT.COM COVER STORY / 23in Egypt when the country was transforming into a tourist destination in the late 1980s and early 90s. El Gouna marked the turning point in Egypt’s tourism and in our career, so I think it [deserved] a better look from the Aga Khan Award jury.” The architects cite Sawaris as a visionary client unlike the majority of clients across the country who, they said, ne- glect architectural consultation and solely focus on building in bulk. Contrastingly, the client behind El Gouna was able to create a harmonious urban landscape through his choice of complementary architects, like American architect Michael Graves. “Since Fathy, working with the vernacular became fashion- able,” El Dahan said. “When Graves started working on hotels in El Gouna, he liked our work and chose us to become his lo- cal consultants. He imitated our work in his own way.” With three exemplary cultural projects under their belt, El Dahan and Farid went on to complete a large portfolio of hotels along the Red Sea and the Gulf, as well as other com- mercial and residential projects, predominantly in Egypt. Yet, regardless of the sector, Fathy’s teachings, techniques and energy are visible throughout their body of work. “Fathy would always tell us, ‘in our work we search for the implicit, not the arbitrary’, which means there is always a right solution,” said Farid. “It is not the only solution, but it has to be the right one. It has to have a ‘raison d’etre’, a reason for being.” MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT / 05.19 / WWW.MIDDLEEASTARCHITECT.COM 24 / COVER STORYOpposite: The Cove Rotana, Ras Al Khaimah Opposite: Dawar El Omda Hotel, El Gouna Sultan Bey Ho- tel, El Gouna Left: Rihana Re- sort, El Gouna Right: Ayman Taher residence, Cairo MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT / 05.19 / WWW.MIDDLEEASTARCHITECT.COM COVER STORY / 25Opting for variety The residential market in the UAE is currently facing an oversupply, and architects say it’s time for developers to diversify their product Across Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the residential market is fac- ing an oversupply of units and UAE-based architects advise developers to diversify their products in order to maintain buyer interest. According to a report released by Jones Lang LaSalle, the value of residential properties in the UAE declined by 25 percent since its peak in 2014, and a further five to 10 percent decline in property value is expected in 2019 due to the sup- ply of homes currently exceeding demand. Prime residential prices have also declined, stated the report, which fell by 11 percent in 2018. Despite the resi- dential market slump, though, the residential sector life- cycle and upcoming Expo 2020 are indicators that property prices may experience an upswing in the mid to long-term. “Large residential developments, where hundreds of vil- las are sold off-plan are definitely slowing down,” said Lee Nellis, managing partner at the Dubai-based XBD Collec- tive. “Clients realise they can buy plots and build something suited to their needs at cheaper costs than buying off-plan homes. However, the biggest problem is the oversupply of apartments, and this has put a lot of pressure on develop- ments under construction, as developers may not be able to sell their apartments at the calculated rate.” According to Martin Dufresne, design principal at U+A, the country’s residential market is currently sales driven, meaning sales teams within the developer companies are MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT / 05.19 / WWW.MIDDLEEASTARCHITECT.COM 26 / SPECIAL REPORTactually driving what the architectural typologies of the residential products need to offer. “Challenges are within their organisations in terms of trying to find new ideas with the help of us as architects to come up with the typologies,” Dufresne added. “It’s an aggressive market, but developers are trying to present at- tractive new products.” Dufresne further noted that these new typologies re- flect new lifestyles that developers are focsuing on to attract a different category of investors and buyers. “We’re working on a number of very efficient and down- sized residential developments,” he said. “Townhous- es, rather than villas, are the way to go at the moment. They’re quite cost-effective for both construction as well as for investors. At the same time, they offer a product for individual families that satisfies an individual dwell- ing kind of category without being on a large piece of land which might cost a lot of money. So it seems like a good middle ground.” Nellis agreed, noting that more affordable housing is necessary in the country. According to him, “the major- ity of the UAE’s population are unable to afford the luxury apartments and villas that [populate] the current market. Family homes that cater to the blue and white collar work- Q&A with Andrea Zoumboulis Partner architect at Remy Architects As a firm that delivers many residential projects, why did you choose to open an office in the UAE? During the implementation of the award-winning private residence KH Villa in Abu Dhabi, we had the opportunity to interact and understand the local culture. Fascinated by this experience, we chose to open an office in the UAE to expand our design philosophy and create contextual architecture. What were you hoping to gain from being based in the UAE (in terms of residential output)? We hope to implement several integrated contextual designs that take into consideration sustainability, local culture and technology. As design and construction activities continue to evolve in the region, finding the balance between physical and eco- nomic growth is important to create unique liveable places. Our vision is to broaden our design language and develop projects of varying scale within the region. Our designs emphasise user experience and sensory stimulation. Often these concepts are overlooked to the detriment of a unique user experience. Our aim is to produce designs that will ben- efit private clients and the public for generations to come. What types of residential projects are moving ahead? Which are slowing down? On one hand, we can see that all the residential investments related to EXPO 2020 are moving forward. We also see that private residential high-end projects are moving ahead. There is evolution in the mentality of the new generation and there is an interest toward creating unique contempo- rary private residences. MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT / 05.19 / WWW.MIDDLEEASTARCHITECT.COM SPECIAL REPORT / 27ers, not just the wealthy, need to be developed. Many expats are unable to buy a home, even though they have lived here for many years.” While developers are currently looking at ways to offer what Dufresne called “highly efficient, smaller sized units” to compensate for the oversaturated luxury residential of- fering, many architects are also expecting the market to witness an upturn following Expo 2020. NEWS, DATA, ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FOR ARCHITECTS IN THE GCC 91%of readers use Middle East Architect to make purchasing decisions “The UAE is building for the future,” said Nellis. “Perhaps we see the current market as slow, but with Expo 2020 next year, it has the potential to turn around quickly.” Dufresne added, “Developers will need to come up with new typologies because it seems that this is, in terms of the sales-driven market, just like coming up with a new prod- uct to sell in a supermarket….And these new developments will be very much lifestyle-driven. That’s quite the centre Previous: Private villas by XBD Collective Private vila by XBD Collective Opposite: Private property de- signed by Remy Architects MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT / 05.19 / WWW.MIDDLEEASTARCHITECT.COM 28 / SPECIAL REPORT98%of readers consider Middle East Architect editorial to be good or better than other publications that focus on the architecture sector in the region CONTACT OUR TEAM TODAY TO REACH THE GCC’S ARCHITECTURAL MARKET DAVID BENTLEY Sales Manager T: +971 4 444 3396 M: +971 50 4541321 E: david.bentley@itp.com line and the backbone to all these new products coming out. “What’s really exciting though is that the developers are actually willing to push the limits of the standard ways of living in Dubai. It’s not just about having a different typol- ogy. It’s also about having a different inhabitant and way that they live and interact with their neighbours. That’s going to attract living investments, meaning people will come here and be more attracted to live here because the city offers their lifestyle. It could have an interesting impact on the population in Dubai.” Written by Rima Alsammarae Images courtesy of Remy Architects and XBD Design MIDDLE EAST ARCHITECT / 05.19 / WWW.MIDDLEEASTARCHITECT.COM SPECIAL REPORT / 29Next >