ALI FAHMY
01 THE SWIRL Individual/ Undergrad/ 2019
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02 TOO BIG TO FAIL Individual/ Undergrad/ 2016
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03 MINUMENTAL Group of 3/ March/ 2021
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04 TOWARD THE LIGHT Group of 2/ Competition/ 2018
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05 BOX Group of 2/ Fabrication/ 2021
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06 L’ALTRE PARTE Individual/ Personal/ 2020 29
07 RFS Team/ Research (ADR)/ 2021
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08 PLANNING PACKAGE Intern/ Studio S Squared/ 2021
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09 CD SET Intern/ Studio S Squared/ 2021
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THE SWIRL TYPE: AUTHORS: SCHOOL: INSTRUCTOR: COURSE:
Mixed-Use Individual Ain Shams University, 2019 Prof. Ahmed El-Khateeb ARC311
The goal was to design a mixed-use building combining a shopping center with a naturally lit atrium with office space on top while maintaining a singular design to the form. The swirling tube subtracted from the middle of the building creates a wide opening from one side to the other, allowing natural light to reach the central atrium in the mall and offering the office spaces with expansive views. By joining the swirling tube with a tunnel running between the adjacent sides of the building into one large integrated gate, the result is a welcoming entrance that defines the design and serves its functionality.
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DESIGN PROCESS
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FACADE The Swirl The building envelope consists of 4 concave elevations and also a concave roof. The signature element of the design is part of its facade, the swirl. It connects between 3 adjacent facades in addition to the roof. The exploded axonometric of the facade below illustrates the relationship between the different facade components.
FACADE OVERVIEW
FACADE EXPLODED DIAGRAM
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SWIRL STRUCTURE
FORM
The Swirl form is a single continuous surface that runs through 3 sides of the building.
GEOMETRY
To optimize The Swirl’s geometry structurally, the tunnel consists of several arches that transfer the loads to the ground. The swirling tube consists of a series of ellipses rotated along its axis. The ellipses distribute loads along the rest of the form.
Roof Edges
Floor Edges
Ground
LOAD TRANSFER
PANELING
POSSIBLE ANCHOR POINTS
STRUCTURE DETAIL
The loads are transferred to the ground and to the spandrel girder on the slab edges that are in contact with the form.
These red points show the possible anchoring locations for the form with the slab edges.
The form is entirely paneled with structural members.
A typical detail shows the structural connection between the anchor point and the spandrel girder. The custom brackets are generated using unique parametric modeling to accommodate the variability in the angle between the swirl members and the girder.
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RENDER - FRONT
MATERIAL Ceramic Frit Glass Every floor requires a unique level of visibility; while not required for retail space, it is crucial for office space. To keep the continuity of the form and a seamless transition between a completely opaque and a completely transparent facade, a gradient pattern of ceramic frit is applied to the glass to transition between the required levels of visibility for each floor without adding any visual obtrusiveness.
PARAPET VISIBILITY NOT REQUIRED
8TH FLOOR OFFICE VISIBILITY REQUIRED
7TH FLOOR OFFICE VISIBILITY REQUIRED
6TH FLOOR OFFICE VISIBILITY REQUIRED
5TH FLOOR OFFICE VISIBILITY REQUIRED
4TH FLOOR OFFICE VISIBILITY REQUIRED
MECHANICAL FLOOR SOME VISIBILITY REQUIRED
100% VISIBILITY
70% VISIBILITY
3RD FLOOR SHOPPING CENTER/ FOOD COURT SOME VISIBILITY REQUIRED
10% VISIBILITY Column Shown in the Study
2ND FLOOR SHOPPING CENTER/ RETAIL VISIBILITY NOT REQUIRED
0% VISIBILITY
30% VISIBILITY
1ST FLOOR SHOPPING CENTER/ MIXED ENTRANCE SOME VISIBILITY REQUIRED
100% VISIBILITY
FRONT ELEVATION
FULL COLUMN
GRADIENT PATTERN
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RENDER - REAR (LEFT)
NO PATTERN
PATTERN APPLIED
FULL COLUMN
ENLARGED PANELS WITH PATTERN
1ST FLOOR ENLARGED PANEL
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Atrium Circulation Core WC Emergency Exit Meeting Room Cafeteria Lounge Office Space Quiet Space
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Atrium Circulation Core WC Emergency Exit Meeting Room Cafeteria Lounge Office Space Quiet Space 9
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Interior Render - 3rd Floor Looking at The Swirl
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TOO BIG TO FAIL TYPE: AUTHORS: SCHOOL: INSTRUCTOR: COURSE:
Pavilion Individual Ain Shams University, 2016 Prof. Rowida Rashed ARC113
The goal was to create a design for a temporary indoor pavilion to spread economic and investment awareness that can be re-purposed afterward for different functions and situations like indoors and outdoors. The space is defined by densely stacked columns that can change their heights and vanish entirely in the ground. The user experience mirrors that of investors who became victims of market bubbles. The irregularity in heights symbolizes the volatility of the markets that attract greedy investors for massive short-term gains that later became hostages of the market. While they are trapped in their investments, many bubbles are looming over their heads, waiting to burst.
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DESIGN PROCESS
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Thin Nylon Rope Inflatable Fabric Bubbles
Display
Spherical Seats
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Plan
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ELEVATION
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The Afterlife
This design can be re-purposed into a virtually unlimited number of functions, with its movable walls that can be installed indoors and outdoors and the bubbles that could be hung from the ceiling indoors or tied to the ground and filled with helium outdoors. That design can be adjusted based on the following parameters: columns height, number of bubbles, sizes, and color.
All Open
All Closed
Semi-open
Gradient
One On. One Off
Random
Stock Market
Stock Market
Economic Bubbles
Music Sync
Party
Exhibition
Booth
Multi-zone Pavilion
Responsive shading
Closed Space
Clock, 1:15 pm
Clock, 12:15 am
No Bubbles, Live Stage
Full of Bubbles
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Operating Mechanism
For the column to move up and down, it needs more deep space than the column is tall to house the hydraulic mechanism. This would be very challenging with tall columns and virtually impossible indoors.
Materials
Ideally, the mechanism would use a single mirror-like stainless steel column. Instead, I opted to use an all-in-one assembly that uses a telescopic actuator to move up and down. Multiple thin metallic threads define the column. To keep them straight, they have to be always in tension; therefore, I used spring reels to retract and pull the threads.
Challenges
The proposed telescopic actuator is an electromechanical actuator to eliminate hydraulic oil and simplify the mechanism. However, to avoid twisting the threads as the column rises, the assembly rotates the telescopic actuator in the opposite direction to keep the top crown permanently stationary around its Z-axis, and therefore the threads will always be vertical. Additionally, due to the number of stages and the maximum length of the telescopic actuator, titanium would be the ideal material due to its strength-to-weight ratio. To be utterly invisible behind the metallic thread, painting it with Vantablack would eliminate all reflections.
DETAIL
Physical Model
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MINUMENTAL TYPE: AUTHORS: SCHOOL: INSTRUCTOR: COURSE:
Library Ali Fahmy, Abdallah Kamhawi, Shilpa Pandey University of Michigan, Taubman College, M.Arch, 2021 Prof. Matias del Campo ARCH 552
The goal of this studio was to employ AI and Machine Learning to design a library for CERN in France. Neural Style Transfer was used to aid in integrating the industrial campus of CERN into the natural landscape and using Generative Adversarial Networks (Style GAN) to design the library starting from the section generated by the Style GAN based on more than 6,000 library sections collected by the studio to train the machine learning model. MINUMENTAL, A paradox of scale! For CERN to detect the most minute particle, it had to construct the largest machine humanity has ever built. So large that its scale became unfathomable. This is why from the beginning, our goal was to create a library that was an integral part of CERN and the Future Circular Collider(FCC) themselves. To create a library that would offer an immersive experience that attracts the public and takes them through a journey that tangibly represents CERN. This is why we decided to sculpt and carve the library in the adjacent mountain, to immerse the user in a state of tension between the natural and the man-made. To create a library that is so large yet so hidden.
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CAMPUS LAYOUT Neural Style Transfer
Different photos with different characteristics are used with the project site until predetermined set of criteria are met with the resulting images. To integrate the buildings within the landscape, opensource Deep Learning models(Google Colab & RunwayML) blend similar industrial buildings’ features with the site to create a stylized image of the site.
Criteria
High-Quality Sharp Lines High Contrast Identifiable Features Site Integration Suitable For Industrial Buildings 200 Style Transfer Experiment
Selected Style
The selected style used an aerial photograph of the Gwangyang Steel Works in South Korea by Maxar to stylize the site. The industrial characteristics of the steel plant are visible in the generated stylized image but conform to the site topography.
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Style
Stylized Site
Layout Interpretation
Layout Line work
Data Interpretation
We used the stylized image to extract the line work that would be the basis of the layout. The lines were chosen based on their relations and similarity to shapes of the required buildings and spaces, all while conforming to the site topography.
Buildings Interpretation
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Covered Electrical Substation Covered Parking Hall Assembly Storage Specialized Storage Cryogenic Plant Residential Restaurants Administrative Storage Research Labs Gas + cooling Storage Shaded Court Cafes & Restaurants Visitor Center Library Entrance
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STYLE GAN Data Set
We collected over 1,500 sections of libraries and other buildings with exciting features to build a data set to train a model to generate new completely new sections.
Initial Dataset (1,500 Sections)
Inflating Data Set Size
We needed a much larger data set to train the Style GAN model better. Therefore we inflated the initial one using cropping, mirroring, collaging, and distortion to increase the data set to 6,000 sections.
Final Dataset (6,000 Sections)
Generated Sections
We generated hundreds of new sections, some were traditional, and some contained interesting features and errors. We were looking for these features to explore new, completely new ideas that we could never think of using the traditional design process.
Generated Sections
Collage
We Identified 4 sections with interesting features and collaged them into one section.
Selected Sections
Collaged Section
Neural Style Transfer
We ran the collaged section into style transfer using the same style image used in the layout to unify the design language.
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Stylized Section
Section Line Work
We extracted the line work from the stylized section to start the library design process.
Stylized Section
Line Work
Final Line Work
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DESIGN PROCESS
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EXPERIENCE Usable and Non-Usable Volumes
Not all the volumes are usable spaces, the red volumes are usable spaces, and the rest are rock formations in the mountain. The red volumes are selected based on the program, required spaces, and their relation.
Usable Volumes
Main Reading Hall Interior
The function of each space is based on the required program, circulation, required proximity to other spaces. All spaces revolve around the central circulation; each volume is matched with the function that requires the same volume, are, and proportions.
Children’s Library
Vault
Rare Book’s Library
Main Reading Hall
Exhibition
Lobby
Circulation
Entrance
Mechanical & Services
Research Library
Restoration
Gift Shop & Cafeteria
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Main Library Hall
The main library hall will be the most visited space by the public in the entire library. The following diagrams illustrate the philosophy of how each space will be designed internally.
Exterior View
Interior View
Entrances
Interior Volumes
Stairs
Elevators
Book Shelves
Accessible Roof
Materials
For the users to fully experience nature’s sheer scale and balance, these volumes had to have a sense of monumentality. In order to achieve that, we opted to expose the ceiling, walls with their raw stone material. We wanted most of them to be hanging and supported from above to complement the experience for the volumes and spaces. The interior of the spaces still uses raw materials like concrete and wood but in a modern way to offer visitors a stark juxtaposition between both environments.
Interior Render - Main Reading Hall
Interior Render - Library
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Natural Lighting Inside the Mountain
Because natural lighting is crucial for a public library, which would be challenging, especially when building inside a mountain, huge skylights with solar collectors on top concentrate sunlight and transfer it down to be diffused again inside the library, so the length of the skylight will not be an issue when the angle of the sun is shallow.
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LONGITUDINAL SECTION
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PHYSICAL MODEL Concrete To test and get a sense of the desired monumentality and proportions, we built a 1:400 physical model using concrete. The corners were hand-carved to sharpen them. The model consists of multiple parts combined with a self interlocking mechanism using joints without adhesives or any mechanical fasteners. To reduce the model’s weight, the model is made out of layered Styrofoam and covered in a layer of concrete; a superplasticizer is added to the mix to improve the workability and the bonding of such a thin layer of concrete. This technique proved to have another advantage over concrete cast. We tested a concrete cast, which cracked easily. The foam covered with concrete proved to be very strong even when thrown on a concrete floor 6 feet high. The interior foam absorbed the shocks and prevented the thin concrete layer from developing cracks.
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1. Testing different mixes using a superplasticizer
3. The model’s wall piece.
2. Test unit with a 3mm thick layer of concrete to the foam surface.
4. Roughening to increase the bonding between the foam and the concrete mix.
5. Applying a rough primer layer of concrete.
6. Applying final thin layer and hand sharpening all the corners with paint knife.
7. Insulating the connections between different parts.
8. Filling the gaps to create tight joints between the parts.
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TOWARD THE LIGHT TYPE: LOCATION: AUTHORS: ORGANIZER: JURY HEAD: RESULT:
Pavilion, Competition Senegal Ali Fahmy, Abdallah Kamhawi Kaira Looro, 2019 Kengo Kuma Finalist, Top 30, 600+ Entry
This international competition asked for proposals to build a pavilion in Senegal with a minimal budget of €8,000 and employ the locals to build it with locally sourced materials. A detailed cost calculation and structure and construction reports were required with the proposal. Our goal was to use the light as a language to tell the history of the war and the journey to peace and make the visitors not only see it but feel it too, from darkness to light and disruption to tranquility. Toward The Light features a long path that starts with an uncomfortable dim, tall and thin entrance to emulate pain and war. The entrance gradually widens and shortens in height to become a serene, comfortable contemplation space that emulates peace and calm.
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DESIGN PROCESS
Building Volume
Start & End
Stairs
Layered Wall
Variable Layering
Gradient Roof
Exit on Both Sides
Completing the Enclosure
Water Collection
Exterior Render - Front (Right)
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Exterior Render - Rear
EXPERIENCE The user experience of this pavilion is achieved by adopting three distinct design features using light, shadows, geometry, and materials. Each has a unique purpose but complements the other to deliver the desired user experience. The pavilion is built entirely out of locally-sourced bamboo with basic construction techniques familiar to the locals
Distress To Tranquility
Darkness To Light Desired light gradient
Tall, narrow, and uncomfortable entrance to wide comfortable contemplation place.
Pavilion envelope is loft between the starting and the end, creating a transitional experience in between,
Wall elevation shows a gradient of openings in the wall due to using multiple layers. The Wall plan shows different layers with different lengths, each with different bamboo sizes. The roof is created using woven bamboo with the same layering as the wall to reduce weight.
Cross-sections to the human scale.
The resulting lighting condition inside the pavilion.
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Shadow Gradient Simulation Using Physical Model
To test the proposed gradient of light and shadows, we created a physical scale model out of wooden straws similar to bamboo and tested them in natural sunlight. The result is
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Plan
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FLUSH BOX TYPE: Dimensions: AUTHORS: SCHOOL: INSTRUCTOR: COURSE:
Box 8”x4”x3” Ali Fahmy, Mitch Klecan University of Michigan, Taubman College, M.Arch, 2021 Tsz Yan Ng, Mark Meier ARCH 537 - Fabrication
Inspired by the Japanese puzzle Himitsu-Bako, the goal was to create an intricate box design with entirely flat sides and joints that make it hard to figure out how to disassemble it without any adhesives or mechanical fasteners. We designed clamping joints that clamp the layers together. The third piece locks the entire box together and flushes entirely within the box surface. The third piece needs to be pushed outwards from one of the holes on the side to disassemble the box. While the box is entirely flat from the outside, a contoured design is subtracted from the interior that can be seen from the large on one of the sides.
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Parts
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#2
#3
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#5
#6
#7
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#9
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#9
Assembly Instructions
Stack the pieces 1 through 6 in the shown order.
Insert pieces 7 & 8 from the top and bottom to hold the layers together.
The assembly is still loose. Insert pieces 9 at each side to lock the entire Box together.
The Box is complete!
To disassemble the Box, insert a wooden piece in the hole shown and push-piece 9 outwards.
Photos
Locking Mechanism
Box Components
View From Inside
Final Box
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L’ALTRA PARTE TYPE: AUTHORS: YEAR:
Art Sculpture Individual, Personal Project 2020
Initially drawn in 2016, in 2020, I explored transforming my sketches into digital sculptures. Manually created with Sub D modeling, it was challenging to create a sculpture with continuous surfaces from a sketch that represented only one side that was not drawn initially to be transformed into 3d object. I created the backside by extrapolating the direction and curvature of the surfaces and curves. Currently, I am exploring its fabrication, including metal 3d printing, machining it out of a single piece of aluminum, and anodizing it.
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ROBOTICALLY FABRICATED STRUCTURE TYPE: Research, Construction SCHOOL: University of Michigan, Taubman College, 2021 ROLE: Construction Assistant PROJECT CREDITS: • Principal investigator and project lead: Arash Adel, assistant professor of architecture, ADR Laboratory • Core research, design and fabrication assistants: Ben Lawson, Ryan Craney, Sarah Nail, Gabrielle Clune, Andrew Hoover, Juliette Zidek • Construction assistants: Abdallah Kamhawi, Tharanesh Varadharajan, Elliot Smithberger, Qian Li, Nadim Hajj Ahmad, Joshua Powell, Ivan Gort- Cabeza de Vaca • Students (MS in digital and material technologies): Ruxin Xie, Daniel Ruan, Xinran Li, Jingwen Song, Mehdi Shirvani, Mackenzie Bruce, Chris Humphrey • Industry partner: Robert Silman Associates Structural Engineers • Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan • Supported by the Herbert W. and Susan L. Johe Fund
I was working with Arash Adel on RFS as a construction assistant. My role ranged from installing earth screws and the superstructure to installing the floor, wall, and roof modules and fastening them together according to the design. I was responsible for double-checking all the connections between the modules to ensure the visitors’ safety and any gaps between the modules.
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CONSTRUCTION PROCESS
Protecting construction from rain.
Fixing wall module to floor before final assembly.
Support for cantilivered roof before fastening.
Clamping the floor to eliminate the gaps between it and the rest of the floor and the super-structure.
Strapping the roof together to eliminate any gaps before screwing them together.
Finished pavilion.
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ROWE RESIDENCE CATEGORY: TYPE: FIRM: ROLE: JURISDICTION:
Single Family Residence Renovation/Addition Studio S Squared Architecture Planning Package and Permitting Santa Cruz, CA
As this project was the first in Santa Cruz jurisdiction for the firm, I led the exterior design and the planning and permitting process and coordinated with the owners, planners, consultants, and the interior design team.
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XU ADU CATEGORY: TYPE: FIRM: ROLE: JURISDICTION:
Detached ADU New construction Studio S Squared Architecture Interior Design, CD & Building Permit Menlo Park, CA
My role was to develop the interior design and the construction documents set for the building permit in Menlo Park and get all the required consultants on board.
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