arwa elrayes

architecture & art portfolio

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 arwa_elrayes@aucegypt.edu
Bachelor of Science
The American University in Cairo, 2019
Major: Architectural Engineering
Minor: Digital Media
Seoul National University, South Korea, 2018
Graduation project����������������������������������������1 *for graphic design and visual art portfolio, please visit behance

Environmental Design����������������������������13
Modeling &Visualization�����������������������15

TABLE F
Furniture Design���������������������������������������������21
software languages
Housing Design �������������������������������������������35
Contextual Design �����������������������������������38 AutoCAD English
Urban Design �������������������������������������������������40
Revit Arabic
Logo Design�������������������������������������������������������42
Digital Art���������������������������������������������������������������43 Rhino Korean
*please click on the title be redirected
to its corresponding page
Photoshop
Illustrator skills
InDesign drawing
3dsMax/Vray photography
Lumion videography
Microsoft editing

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 PEN BOOK graduation project

The thesis topic of my class was next architecture, and as a

means of exploring what future architecture is, each student in my
group chose one of different schools of thought that give shape to the
global discourse on the cities of tomorrow.
My studied notion was the creative city, a city “whose cultural
development is a complex adaptive system, ”says Comunian (2011),
which means that the interaction between the different components
of the creative city are characterized by features of the complex
adaptive system.
Creative clusters are one of the most prominent components of
creative cities. They are places of accumulation of creative and
cultural production and consumption that grow over time. Creative
clusters exhibit many characteristics of a complex adaptive system,
in that they are self-organized and self-emergent, as well as
unpredictable and therefore non-linear.

1
 THESIS STATEMENT THE
THE PROTOTYPE
PROTOTYPE
HOW DOES A CREATIVE CLUSTER EMERGE? SITE SELECTION AND ANALYSIS
The aim of the building is to ultimately
To learn more about the emergence and growth of creative clusters,
I studied the area of Hongdae in Seoul, South Korea. Hongdae is a
Due to a lack of consideration in how architecture bring about a creative city, thus it’s de-
signed in a way that can be repeatedly
neighborhood in Seoul that is popular amongst younger users for its flea changes over time, our cities are full of stagnant implemented in different locations.
markets, trendy shops, street performers, as well as 24/7 themed cafes, architecture that hinders the natural process of the
clubs and karaoke rooms.
emergence and growth of creative clusters, which
make up a creative city.
+

FORM
FORM GENERATION
GENERATION
The arcade building is designed
to be looping vertically with the
help of ramps, mezzanines and
THE LOOP ZONING intermediate floors.

The arcade building is

connected to the 2-storeys-high
cinema /theatre building which
also provides a looping journey.

The looping nature of the

building finally guides
its users to an outdoor
flexible structure.

The zoning
All 3 spaces are
was guided by the concept of a loop
connected together
because a looping experience allows for
chronologically with a
TYPOLOGY an educational-center-entertainment-center hybrid the transition between stages of growth
street-like feature.
that encourages the growth of a creative cluster which is required for a creative cluster.
3 4
 FLOOR PLAN

5 6
 CIRCULATION
Since the least sunlight reaches the
basement level, this level is where most
entertaining activities requiring little light
are located, such as karaoke rooms and
the bar.
ENTERTAINMENT
+ EDUCATION The upper floors are completely
educational. They have more walls
separating the spaces, unlike the ground
floor, whose spaces are separated by
railings or not separated at all.
EDUCATION

As you go up the levels, the spaces

become more educational by integrating
bookshelves and reading spaces into
the entertainment zone. For example, the
basketball area is surrounded by shelves
of books about sports or physics, so that
it is readily available for users who are
interested in learning more about what

ENTERTAINMENT they enjoyed playing.

ZONING
The “street” section of the building uses the same structural logic as the rest of the building.
This section consists mostly of landscape and has an open structure. This structure also
uses truss columns whose sizes are exaggerated to act as separators to the spaces
under the structure. This makes the spaces flexible so that they can merge into one big
space (for events like a stage performance, for example), or smaller spaces for kiosks
or popup shop, in which case, the columns could also be used as shelfing or display.

THE STREET

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 STRUCTURE

The structure is composed of steel,

curvilinear column trusses that carry a
system of space frames that create the
form of the building. The slabs are carried
on horizontal main trusses and secondary
beams that are welded to the columns.
This structure acts also plays a role in the
space itself, in that the members can act
as bookshelves if left exposed or as space
dividers if closed up with gypsum.
SECTION B-B
9 10
 academic project
Structural Design

Shop Drawing
academic project
Since structure is a vital part of design, we
learned about its importance through a cardboard
project which required designing a stable and
structurally sound structure using only cardboard
and no adhesive. For this project, my team and I firstly
began exploring on a small scale with pentagonal
planes held together by two connecting joints on either
Ground Floor Plan Plumbing Plan Section 2
side using the notch method.
STAGE 1

Since the aim of this exercise was to build an

interactive structure that can accomodate a
human standing up, we then started increasing
the size as well as number of pentagonal planes.
However, this resulted in an unstable form and the
joints started breaking due to the unbalanced
weight. Finally, we arrived at a stable structure by
letting the form guide us rather than forcing the

Section 8 Reflected Ceiling Plan Section 5

tools to create a form that defies its rules.
STAGE 2

For every plane we attached, we noted the

In this project, the prompt was to direction towards which it is bending & added
design a building in an Egyptian another supporting plane there, thus arriving
context, inspired by a famous
at a geodesic dome structure. The
architect. The architect of my
structure was intended to represent varying
choice was Richard Meier, whose
buildings are famous for their intensities & therefore had 2 section: one that
intertwined geometry and white was closely connected & thus dark, and another
color. These are just a few of the full that was connected a lot more loosely to let in
shop drawings of this building. more light. STAGE 3
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 “Hope Oasis” Roof Fabric

Children’s Clinic + = Iterations

Hope Oasis is a children’s clinic which functions

purely on water & other environmentally friendly The plan was inspired by a more angular take on
material, like rammed earth and bamboo. the golden ration to represent the healing growth
Hydroceramic walls, which are made of 2 layers of that the small clients experience at “Hope Oasis”.
ceramics & a layer of hydrogel balls fully saturated

Environmental Design
with water, make up the interior walls of the building.
When the temperature inside increases, latent heat
gets absorbed by the balls evaporating the water water
curtain walls
inside them, which then gets absorbed by the
ceramics in a cycle maintains a cool temperature
inside.

academic work bamboo roof

rammed earth
exterior walls

hydroceramic
Ground Floor Plan interior walls

Source: https://www.detea.es/en/hydroceramics-future-in-construction/

Adjacency Diagram Bubble Diagram

Water feature located windward (water facade,

hydroceramic walls, a small pond, etc.) acting
Zoning Iterations as a coolant to the incoming air stream.
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 CityScape
Booth Design

Modeling &
CityScape is one the biggest
property exhibitions held
annually in Cairo where real
estate developers showcase
their projects through new,

Visualization
innovative booth designs that
attract investors and individuals
from all over Egypt. This is a
submition, and one of only 2
submissions that got short-listed,
of a booth design proposal
for Tabarak Holdings, who are
professional projects popular for their successful
developments including 90
avenue and Fantasia. The design
employed trendy and interactive
yet sleek and luxurious elements
and showcased a coherent
spectrum of experiences to
reflect Tabarak Holdings’ new
identity.

15 16
 90

+
Avenue
Lobby

Reception
Desk Photo
Booths Food
Zone
VIP Meeting
Room Room

17 18
 Various Exterior &
Interior Design Projects

Private Villas,
Saudi Arabia

Al Mubarak Hotel &

Resort, Saudi Arabia

19 20
 Furniture Design
professional projects

Labyrinth

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 specs:
3-seater
1 arm
10cm x 10cm teak wood

dimensions:
3.28m x 1.05m x 0.45m

15cm

10cm 15cm

This set is manufactured

mostly out of 10cm x 10cm
solid, teak wood beams
that’ve been bleached to
get this gorgeous muted
beige color. All the beams
are solid and connected to
one another using mortise
and tenon joints. This fact
along with the durable
nature of teak lumber
makes this set very sturdy
and able to withstand
extreme weather conditions.

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 Satin

Sketching

Modeling

Finalizing

In an attempt to challenge myself by pushing a rather rigid material like wood to

its full potential, this set was designed to be more curvilinear and organic than the
previous set (Labyrinth). Solid teak was used for the manufacturing of this 1 sofa, 2
chairs, 2 coffee tables set, which was designed to both stand out with its soft edges
but also blend in with its natural wood in the outdoor space.

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 Pergola Design
Inspired Product Design
is a firm that specializes in the manufacture of high-quality pergolas and outdoor furniture made mostly out
of wood. UMBRA uses a few simple tools that make its products both consistent and yet very innovative. The
most important out of these tools are metal connections that are designed to help assemble the pergolas in
This clock was designed for a furniture design the shortest time possible while making it also easy to dissemble it if needed. As the creative director of this
assignment that required blending two separate startup that was established in 2020, my role was to realize the full potential of these rather stiff connections
interior elements. An eccentric piece of furniture and use them to come up with new, innovative shading solutions that cater for clients of various needs and
was to be used for inspiration blended with one of requirements.
Morris Williams fabric patterns.

FINAL PRODUCT
MORRIS WILLIAMS
Materials & Finishes
Structure: walnut
wood
Upholstery: linen
Details: rattan

Custom sizes are achieved by the metal connections. The

joint that connects 2 beams, for example, can be switched
out for one that connects 3 beams to the column, thus
multiplying the pergola size.

Kilim Despite the main

grid system fabric system wooden beams
structure of all
Carpet Design pergolas being more
or less the same, the
system

Inspired by traditional shading department

Egyptian kilim design, these carpets had some room for
infuse the Egyptian traditional motif-the innovation. We, thus,
lotus-with modern geometric patterns. thought of 3 systems
secondary that could act as great
beams shading elements
for the pergolas we
provide.

main columns
beam
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 x

29 30
 For this specific collaboration
with the famous Design Haus by
ESORUS, a one-stop, creative initiative
that connects Cairo-based designers
to clients of all types, ESORUS requested
a bohemian-style pergola that would
transform the rooftop of Design
Haus, which overlooks an absolutely
gorgeous, lush neighborhood in Maadi,
to a well-shaded, dynamic space for
hosting various exhibitions, workshops
and design talks during a wide
range of different events.

1 2 3 4 5 6

0.09

0.09
A A

0.98 0.98

1.49
0.05
3.97 0.091.00 1.00 1.00 1.000.091.000.09
B B

C C

0.96
0.98
D D

0.98
1.00
0.09 3.00 3.66 3.19
E E

4.56
0.05

0.98
1.12
0.13
F F

0.96
G G
3.00 3.18
H H

1 2 3 4 5 6

31 32
 x
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Level 1 is at a height 2.7m from
997.9 the ground and is carried on
184.4 114.4 200.2 200.2 114.4 184.4
4 columns 4m apart. A 1m
A A
cantilever extends from all 4
152.4 sides carrying widely-spread
B B shading elements. Rather
114.4 than providing maximum
C C shade, this layer serves
an aesthetic purpose and
232.2
creates interesting shadows.

Skeleton
Pergola
Layout

Layout
Level 1
D 997.9 D

232.2

E E

114.4

F F

152.4

G G The shading elements in Level 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 5 10 15 20
Scale 1:100
are more closely distributed to
provide more shade than Level 1 while
still allowing for some light. It reaches a height
Pyramids Heights is a project of 3.5m and consists of 4 pergolas connected
by Samcrete Urban Developers together at the center with a column.
located in 6th of October and
over-looking the pyramid which
already had designs for all its Level 2
public gazebos. However, the
existing pergola designs did
not go well with the rest of the
project›s architecture, and we were
therefore asked to come up with a
Level 3 is the topmost level and also the
new design using the UMBRA fabric for layer which provides the most shade. It
the gazebos. To better match the style is basically just a 60cm extension added
of the buildings on property, which had onto the top of Layer 1.
a blend of Islamic and modern motifs,
frames that looked like mashrabeyas
and blazed reed were used in a 3- Level 3
tiered pergola that covered the
maximum area using the
least number of
columns.

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 This housing design project
is of a luxurious residential
building in one of New Cairo’s
compounds that is designed
to accommodate for different

Housing Design
types of users. The apartment
building incorporates three
different apartment types:
studios, duplexes and lofts. Ground Floor First Floor Basement

Analysis of Compound’s Pre-Existing Prototypes

academic project A
duplex
shared courtyard
loft
vertical core

UP
DN

DN DN

Unit Types Ground Floor Plan First Floor Plan

C:\Users\anime\Desktop\University\Spring 2017\Housing\FINALL\layout.dwg, 3/6/2017 12:28:41 AM, DWG To PDF.pc3

Typical Floor Plan Section A-A

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THE STORY OF A TRANSFORMATIVE DWELLING ELMOEZ HOSPITAL DESIGN
Contextual Design
academic project

EL MOEZ ST ANALYSIS
With inpatients accommodating
about a100 beds, it takes up to
50% of the area, while the ICU &
another floor of the outpatiets
occupy the 2nd floor.

The outpatient, strategically

situated were it is easy to access
diagnostics, lies on the quieter &
less crowded street.
The inpatients is situated along
the main street with a staggered
exterior towards the North for
good air-ventillation.

Since quick access to the ER is

vital, the ER is situated away from
the busy Muizz Street.

Ground Floor Plan First Floor Plan Second Floor Plan Third Floor Plan
37 38
SITE ANALYSIS
Elevations

Plans

Urbanacademic
Design
SWOT ANALYSIS
WEAKNESSES
WEAKNESSES Rough
A
local market
STRENGTHS
STRENGTHS
project
More The
urban texture than 42% of buildings on along the street

The
main street
& inconsistency
of building setbacks
create awkward
the larger buildings
in this site (17 out of 40)
have courtyards, which
the site are mostly
multi-use buildings,
with shops in the ground
provides the
locals necessities,
thus supporting
REDESIGN PROPOSAL
is very narrow & pockets that create a close relationship level & residential units economically.
accessible to tuktuks allow extended between the locals on upper floors, making
& lorries, which park mid- territoriality despite so close to a
street to load/unload market touristic site visited
the most out of the
limited space. For our urban design project, my team
The
products, thus creating
severe congestion, & the
by outsiders.
site lies in and I were assigned a strip of street in
street is not walkable
with no curb.
Fatimid Cairo,
extending from a
the Moez area called Al Surugiya Street,
popular, touristic
site, with very rich
which stretches from the touristic streets
history & 3 historic of Al Moez, but which is a lot more resi-
monuments.
dential and less visited by tourists. After
THREATS
THREATS thorough studying of this street through
visits during different times of the day
There Most
are no buildings
and conversations with its locals, we
The
emergency are not collected the data needed to build a
exits. Due handicap
closely-knit
nature of the to the narrow accessible.
self-sustainable redesign for Al Surugiya.
locals combined with street, the extended
territoriality & the market
OPPORTUNITIES
the privacy that the
courtyards & narrow streets
provide can be employed
OPPORTUNITIES nature of the site that
forces vendors to set up
in the creation of their carts on a big portion
independent of the street, accidents
communities. More are very likely to
than 83% of Vendors happen.
the buildings on the & shops’ owners
main steet are less than mostly do not reside
15m high and 73% of in this site. Therefore, if
those are more than 4m locals were to be employed
high with accessible There’s
in a cycle that connects their
roofs that could residency with the sellers’
a lack of
accommodate roof workplace, the site can hygiene, which
activities. benefit both outsiders is dangerous
& locals socially & for a food
economically. market.

39
 professiona
project
REDESIGN PROPOSAL Since many trucks
unload products in the
The strategy used for redesigning Al Surugiya was middle of the main street
thus causing traffic, in our
to utilize the exiting market & enhance it by using redesign proposal we narrowed
the main street enough to stop
the opportunities that the site provides to create a trucks from accessing it &

source for the products which are sold in the street.

designed parking spots for
Typography Project

Logo Design
these trucks in the wider
secondary
streets.

During my semester abroad at Seoul National

University, one of the world’s top ranking universities,
not only was I engulfed in the richness of the Korean
architecture, but I was also introduced to other
aspects of the culture, including the Korean language
and calligraphy. Inspired by the history of hanguel
(the Korean alphabet), I wanted to delve into the
beautiful possibilities of intertwining hangeul with
my mother tongue, the Arabic language. As a
result, I’ve designed a set of hybrid words that
overlay a word in Arabic and it’s definition in
Korean. The one below shows the word hope.
The new redesign divides the main
street into a 4-5m wide vehicular
road and a 2-3m wide pedestrian
path which provides a place for
people to walk as well as street
vendors to sell their goods.

Since
Real Estate
Project Branding
the historical
monuments in this
site were abused by the
residents, we decided not
to close them up but rather
redirect their usage towards
creating a self-sustainable
community, where
aquaponic & hydroponic
farming can take
place. Trio is a residential project designed and
constructed by M Squaed in New Cairo. Before
the commencement of this project, M Squared
requested that I propose a new concept for the
branding of this project that reflects its ingenuity
and adds a playful twist to it.
4-5m 2-3m 1m

41 42
Digital Art
personal project

lavender loses her

passion
a children's book

43 44
 arwa elrayes
architect, graphic designer, artist

https://www.linkedin.com/in/arwa-elrayes/

behance.net/arwa_elrayes

@arw.aaa

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