Cairo, Egypt
I am an architect fluent in computational tools, yet I sketch as much as I code, using both to make architecture more human, thoughtful, and profitable (yeah, money actually matters, your college professors lied to you). My career has been a steady descent from the ivory tower into the real world. I navigated the theoretical landscape as a tenure-track Teaching Assistantt Ain Shams University, where I spent a couple of years teaching students complex computational things that, if I’m being honest, I probably didn't fully understand myself at the time. Then came the reality check. My work at MASIV grounded me in the tactile reality of fabrication. There is a specific, intuitive beauty you only find when a "perfect" Grasshopper script finally stops being a bunch of wires on a screen and becomes a physical joint you have to weld together. Currently, I approach the profession through a practical lens at AECOM, managing complex coordination and data-driven strategies for large-scale urban projects. It’s a shift from the theoretical "what if" of academia to the corporate reality of "how much." You can’t pay a contractor in poetic metaphors, though they are very helpful for the project’s Instagram. Though these environments (the lab, the shop, and the global firm) differ immensely, a singular friction unifies them: the design of systems. I’m still building those systems today, they just happen to have a much better ROI now.
AKA Architect At AECOM I work across U+P and B+P, moving between disciplines and scales. One day it’s master planning and urban design, the next it’s façades and details. I like to keep a balance between computational tools and traditional methods, sketching as much as I code. My director calls me the Swiss army knife, and that’s how I see my role, versatile, hands-on, and always adapting to what the project needs.
AKA Teaching Assistant I was essentially the "logic police" in the design studio, making sure architectural vibes didn't break the laws of physics. My job was helping students realize that good design usually has a data-driven receipt. We spent our time drafting buildings through numbers, running lighting simulations, structural logic, and performance analysis to prove that those complex sci-fi forms actually worked. Honestly, I spent half the time explaining scripts that the students and I were probably figuring out together in real-time, but we made it look intentional.
AKA Computational Designer I spent this era turning "cool-looking" digital geometry into things you could actually touch without them falling apart. My job was to take complex, messy models and rationalize them for fabrication, converting the geometry into the precise data needed for the shop floor. I was the bridge between the idealized world of digital models and the unforgiving reality of the physical workshop. I spent my days making sure those two worlds actually talked to each other.
AKA Teaching Assistant