Dar Arafa Architecture

Dar Arafa Architecture DAA is a design and build studio, established in 2006, Cairo, Egypt by principal architect Waleed Arafa. In 2001 he earned a B.Sc.

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+20 102 6000669 Dar Arafa Architecture is a design and build studio, established in 2006 by principal architect Waleed Arafa. Waleed Arafa is the founder and principal of Dar Arafa Architecture, Cairo, Egypt. in architecture, urban design and planning, from the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. He then joined the internatio

nally renowned architectural practice based in Los Angeles; Naga Studio Architecture+Urbanism, where he participated in a number of projects such as the World Trade Center Memorial competition in Manhattan, the Oqyana man-made islands in Dubai and The New Masterplan for the Giza Pyramids Plateau in Egypt. In 2006 he established his own practice, Dar Arafa Architecture, where he designed and built his first solo project; Dar Arafa Residence, which was nominated for the Aga Khan Award in its 11th cycle in 2010, as well as the Bibliotheca Alexandrina award for architecture known as the Hassan Fathy Award in 2009. In 2015 he earned a Post-graduate degree in the Conservation of Historical Buildings, from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, UK. His thesis was titled: “The Mosque in Britain: British Heritage?”
Waleed continues to research, design and build with an aim in mind; understanding the essence of the architecture of Islam. He is hoping that one day he may be able to revive it and relink his practice to its forgotten chain of transmission. He believes that Islam can inspire new approaches to architecture offering the world ways out of its spiritual, intellectual and creative deadlock. His approach is based on finding ways to continuing the discontinued architectural past of countries with an established legacy in the architecture of Islam, such as and especially Egypt. But equally, looking into how to bring forth new architecture(s) of Islam in completely new contexts, which have their own time-honored architectural traditions, nonetheless have no precedent in producing architecture of Islam in particular, such as that of Britain and/or the Occident at large.

NADIM NADIM Foundation - مؤسسة نديم Photography by: Daniel Sam Kaldas
14/08/2026

NADIM
NADIM Foundation - مؤسسة نديم

Photography by: Daniel Sam Kaldas

Hanaa Dahy 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾Ahmed Atef Faggal 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
27/07/2026

Hanaa Dahy 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Ahmed Atef Faggal 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

Join us for an inspiring public talk with Prof. Dr. Hanaa Dahy, Architect, Researcher, and Innovator, as she shares the untold stories behind sustainable architecture, groundbreaking innovation, and the future of the built environment.

📅 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
🕕 𝟔:𝟎𝟎 𝐏𝐌
📍𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐬

Don't miss this opportunity to gain insights from one of the leading voices in sustainable innovation.

يسرنا أن نعلن عن إطلاق كتاب “ترجمة: العمارة Translating Architecture”، والذي شارك في كتابته وليد عرفه بمقال قصير باللغة ...
14/07/2026

يسرنا أن نعلن عن إطلاق كتاب “ترجمة: العمارة Translating Architecture”، والذي شارك في كتابته وليد عرفه بمقال قصير باللغة العربية ردّاً على سؤال: ما العمارة؟ ثم ترجمه بنفسه إلى اللغة الإنجليزية مع كتابة تعليق قصير يناقش الفرق بين كلمتي العمارة بالعربية والأركيتكتشر بالإنجليزية. وترجمت ريبيكا جيمس المقال إلى الفرنسية، وذلك إلى جانب ٢٤ معمارياً آخرين من أنحاء العالم كتبوا باللغات الآتية:

‎الباسك
‎الكاتالونية
‎الصينية
‎التشيكية
‎الدارجة
‎دينه بيزاد (لغة السكان الأصليين لما يعرف الآن بأمريكا الشمالية)
‎الانجليزية
‎الفنلندية
‎الفرنسية
‎اليونانية
‎الهندية
‎الآيسلندية
‎اليابانية
‎الكورية
‎النرويجية
‎الفارسية
‎البولندية
‎البرتغالية
‎الرومانية
‎الإسبانية
‎الماورية (لغة السكان الأصليين لما يعرف الآن بنيوزيلندا)
‎التايلاندية
الفيتنامية
اليوروبا

الكتاب صادر عن دار النشر الفرنسية “بافيليون دي لآرسنال” للمحررين كيتي فيليك ومارك-أنطوان دوران.

We are pleased to announce the release of Translating Architecture, a publication featuring a short essay by Waleed Arafa, originally written in Arabic in response to the question: What is Architecture? He subsequently translated the essay into English, accompanied by a brief commentary reflecting on the distinction between the Arabic word ʿImārah (العمارة) and the English term architecture. The essay was translated into French by Rebecca James, alongside contributions from 24 other architects from around the world, written in the following languages:

* Basque
* Catalan
* Chinese
* Czech
* Darija
* Diné Bizaad (the Indigenous language of the people native to what is now North America)
* English
* Finnish
* French
* Greek
* Hindi
* Icelandic
* Japanese
* Korean
* Norwegian
* Persian
* Polish
* Portuguese
* Romanian
* Spanish
* Te Reo Māori (the Indigenous language of the people native to what is now New Zealand)
* Thai
* Vietnamese
* Yoruba

The book is published by the French publishing house Pavillon de l’Arsenal and edited by Kitty Velick and Marc-Antoine Durand.

Photographs by: _kariman

بقلوب مؤمنة بقضاء الله وقدره، ينعى وليد عرفة، المؤسس والمعمار الرئيس لدار عرفة للعمارة، السيدة الفاضلة المعطاءة، كريمة ا...
05/07/2026

بقلوب مؤمنة بقضاء الله وقدره، ينعى وليد عرفة، المؤسس والمعمار الرئيس لدار عرفة للعمارة، السيدة الفاضلة المعطاءة، كريمة الحسب والنسب وسليلة آل أبو ستيت، الحاجة آيات علي حسن (ابنة قرية باصونة، مركز المراغة، محافظة سوهاج).

​التي تكرر ذكرها على لسانه في لقاءاته الإعلامية بالشكـر والعرفان؛ لدعمها الكريم له أثناء تشييد مسجد باصونة، حيث تبرعت بمساحة نفيسة من منزلها الملاصق للمسجد، مما كان له أثر كبير في تحسين تصميم المدخل والتوسعة على المصلين.

​ونسأل الله تعالى أن يوسع مدخلها، ويسكنها فسيح جناته، ويتقبلها في عباده الصالحين، وأن يجزيها خير الجزاء عما قدمت، ويرزق ذويها ومحبيها الصبر والسلوان، إنه ولي ذلك والقادر عليه.

​إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون.

26/06/2026

At a time when communication and understanding — across borders, bodies, Institutions and disciplines — seem more urgent than ever, Ziad Jamaleddine’s short meditation on translation positions architecture between meaning and time.

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Al-Narges 7/New Cairo
Cairo
11385

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Monday 9am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Sunday 9am - 4pm

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