A. Gabr & A. Ghaffar
A consultancy of two professors of architecture, working from Cairo since 1985 across urban, architectural, landscape and interior design.
01 — The practice
A consultancy that stays with a project from the first sketch to the last site visit
At the board · Cairo studio
AIIGII provides consultation through a wide spectrum of expertise, from the formulation of a concept to the specifications a contractor builds from.
The firm was originally associated with Connect Architects and Planners. Since the year 2000 it has been a separate entity, run by its two principals, Prof. Dr. Aly Hatem Gabr and Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mostafa Abdel Ghaffar.
Over more than thirty-five years the work has covered administrative buildings and developments, health care, hospitality and recreation, industry, commerce and education, historical renovation and conservation, and private residences — alongside reputable partners and collaborators, and individually.
Founded
1985
Independent
2000
Studio
Cairo, Egypt
Work in
Egypt · KSA · UAE
Scope of service
01
Concept formulation
Reading the site, the brief and the people who will use the building before any form is fixed.
02
Design development
The scheme resolved in plan, section and material.
03
Construction working drawings
Documents that communicate the project to everyone executing it.
04
Detailed drawings
Junctions, finishes and fittings drawn to the scale they are built at.
05
BOQ & specifications
Quantities and specifications prepared for tender and for site.
02 — Principals
Senior partner
Cairo University · Faculty of Engineering, Department of Architecture
Prof. Dr. Aly Hatem Gabr
Ph.D. in Architecture and Social Sciences from Edinburgh University, U.K., and B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Architectural Engineering from Cairo University. He is currently professor of Design, History and Theories of Architecture at the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University.
A partner in Connect Architects and Planners and later senior partner of A2G2, his practical experience is extensive: architectural, landscape, urban design and development projects, alongside a reputation as an interior designer. He has numerous publications in architectural journals, and has edited department journals at both Cairo and Edinburgh Universities.
Appointments
Part-time professor of Architecture, The American University in Cairo. Member of the Documentation group for Egyptian Royal Palaces, CULTNAT. Member of the Architecture Board, Supreme Council for Culture.
Selected roles
Commissioner of the Egyptian pavilion, 2002 Venice Biennale for Architecture. Editor in Chief, Madina Magazine of Architecture, Interiors and Fine Arts. Auditor evaluator for urban development projects in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Founding partner
Cairo University · Faculty of Engineering, Department of Architecture
Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mostafa Abdel Ghaffar
Associate Professor at the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, where he leads several subjects including the graduation project. He has authored multiple publications in prestigious conferences and journals.
His professional experience extends over the past thirty years and spans multiple facets of the field: from perfecting the details of interior design, through a large number of diverse architectural projects and planning and urban design work, to the supervision and execution of buildings of many typologies. He brings a unique experience, having held leading roles in both industry and academia.
Appointments
Formerly part-time lecturer of Architecture at The American University in Cairo, and at the Department of Architecture, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, Cairo branch.
Before A2G2
Worked in reputable firms and with prestigious figures on projects varying in typology — administrative buildings, landscape and urban design, historical renovation and conservation, health care and residential projects.
03 — Design approach
Pluralism, not a house style
In an age of rising pluralist tolerance, ideologies are fragmented: there is no clear-cut “my way” or “your way”, but rather a richness of many ways. AIIGII advocates that pluralism in both its philosophy and its design approach, and the firm’s architecture and interiors reflect it wholeheartedly.
The approach in every project is based on the where, the what and the who — rather than a choice of style.
Where
Site context — what the ground, the climate and the surrounding fabric will allow and reward.
What
Building typology — the programme, its technical demands and the standards it answers to.
Who
Client preferences and social target groups — the people who will use the building daily.
This appropriateness inevitably results in outcomes that are both aesthetically pleasing and highly functioning, taking into consideration the requirements of this age.
04 — Forty years
Projects completed
0
Years of practice
0
Typologies
0
0
Countries
0
0
05 — A2G2 life
The studio behind the work
Architects, designers and engineers working alongside the two principals in the Cairo studio.
