selected works // architecture + urban design 2022 by Karim El-Araby by karimelaraby

karim el-araby selected works // architecture + urban design 2022

karim el-araby

kme3kk@virginia.edu karim.m.elaraby@gmail.com /in/karim-el-araby-718059138/

design(+)research

about I’m a graduating Master of Architecture student with a background in ﬁne arts and urban design, with a multitude of educational and professional experiences locally, abroad, and at home. I’m a ﬁrst-generation American originally from Egypt where I spent most of my life and developed an interest in art and architecture. I was privileged to be exposed to multiple world cultures closely. My academic experiences in Jaipur, India, and Barcelona, Spain, in addition to my personal experiences both in the US and across the Atlantic inspired my design theses and ideologies. I am particularly interested in urban-scale spatial and social issues, including equity, spatial and cultural agencies, and socially impactful design on small and large scales. My graduate Thesis is at the intersection between Bedouin self-determinism and local history, tourism, and ecology in Egypt’s northwestern coast. My aspiration on the long run is to practice as a licensed architect, developing projects that tackle challenges that directly address community needs and aspirations. I believe in the power, beauty, and interdisciplinarity of architecture, especially in tandem with other design disciplines, and I aspire to translate my beliefs and ideologies into my future practice in professional and academic settings.

skills Sketching Photography Graphic design Design research Design thinking Art and Design Criticism Fine art Public Speaking / Oral presentation Academic writing / Written presentation Arabic bilingual proficiency German limited proficiency Spanish elementary proficiency Rhino Revit AutoCAD SketchUp LayOut Illustrator InDesign Photoshop After Effects Lumion Enscape VRay ArcGIS Microsoft Office Suite

education

international exposure

University of Virginia School of Architecture Master of Architecture [Candidate] _Urban Design Certiﬁcate [Candidate] Bachelor of Science, Architecture, Pre-Professional Northern Virginia Community College Associate of Arts, Fine Arts _Graduated Summa Cum Laude _GPA 3.91

2022 2020 2018

architecture practice Dialogue + Design Assoc. Architecture Intern [part-time] _Charlottesville, VA _Performing a variety of design and documentation tasks for residential, commercial, and educational, and landscape projects.

JAN 2019 - P

JUL-AUG 2020 (Freelance) Architectural Design Consultant _Remote _Developed the schematic and structural design, JUL-AUG 2019 material research, and submittal documents for a small duplex house in Charlottesville.

JAN 2019

academic practice AUG 2021 - P Student Research Assistant _Master of Urban Design Curriculum Development UVA School of Architecture SPR 2021

2020/2021

Student Research Assistant Rapidly Deployable Structures for Refugees _Prof. Earl Mark

Jaipur + New Delhi, India The Yamuna River Project // The Rajasthan Cities: Jaipur _10-day research visit _Conducted ﬁeld research and met goverment ofﬁcials as part of the cohort’s design research effort.

FAL 2019

recognition FAL 2021

UVA Study Abroad Scholarship _Barcelona, Spain Studio Prize // Sloan Award _The Yamuna River Project // The Rajasthan Cities: Jaipur

FAL 2020

Thompson Family Scholarship _Northern Virginia Community College

2017/2018

UVA Clemons Library Front Desk Assistant

JAN 2020

Student Instructor Assistant ARCH/PLAN 5614 Urban Strategies _Prof. Mona El-Khaﬁf

FAL 2021

community experiences

ARCHPLAN Architectural Intern _Cairo, Egypt _4-wk. experience performing construction administration and developing renderings for a service building in Egypt’s new Capital. UVA Externship Program Alloy Workshop _Charlottesville, VA Dialogue + Design Assoc. _Remote

Barcelona, Spain Architecture: Barcelona // BUVa Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona _Semester-long Study Abroad program _Learned about and experienced the city, its architecture, urban environments, and design lessons and strategies.

Teaching Assistant ARCH 1010 Lessons on the Lawn _Prof. Peter Waldman

FAL 2019

Northern Virginia Community College Tutor _The Math Lab

2017/2018

2019/2020

America Reads UVA Tutor _Walker Upper Elementary School

2018/2019

College Steps Peer Mentor _NOVA Loudoun Campus

2017/2018

afɆliations AIAS University of Virginia Member Secretary

2018 - P 2019/2020

NOMAS University of Virginia Member

2018/2019

Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Member

2017/2018

conferences

AIAS Quad Spring 2019 _Boston, MA

Boldly NOVA Spring 2018 _Sterling, VA

table of contents

aixecat

spectacle

wonderous land

jawahar nagar

parasitic architecture

parking+ market

precondition of the La Barceloneta, Barcelona

Th e i m p ac t o f t o ur i s m , a s t h e m a i n sou r ce of incom e for Ba r ce lona , ha s ca u s e d m aj o r t en s i o n s b et w een d o m est i c l i fe a nd tou r ists . La B a r ce lone ta , a s a be a chfr ont d i st r i c t , h as b een h ea vi l y af fec t ed . S e v e r a l a pa r tm e nts ha v e be e n bou g ht off a nd a d ver t i s ed ( i l l eg a l l y i n s o m e c as es ) a s tou r ist a ccom m oda tion, s om e tim e s e v e n fo r c eful l y s o . A d d i t i o n al l y, t h e ur b a n m a keup o f La Ba r ce lone ta is in a sta te of dis continu it y. Th e st r i c t h i st o r i c b ui l d i n g g r i d en d s a br u ptly in m a ny ca s e s , le a v ing pocke ts of un d er ut i l i s ed o r un d er d ef i n ed s p ac e a dja ce nt to the s e a fr ont . Th e p r o p o s al a i m s a t c o m p l et i n g and im pr ov ing the g e om e tr ic m a ke u p of La B a r c el o n et a t h r o ug h ar c h i t ec t ur a l a nd la nds ca pe str a te g ie s tha t ta ckle both o f t h es e ur b a n f r i c t i o n s . A s er i es of m odu la r hou s ing blocks , pu blic pr og r a m , a n d t o ur i st a c c o m m o d a t i o n s p ac es ar e pla ce d a dja ce nt to the be a ch. The e ntir e st r uc t ur e i s l i f t ed up , a l l o w i n g t h e la nds ca pe be low to r e s pond to pote ntia l en i r o n m en t a l p h en o m en a t o b e c ause d by s e a le v e l r is e . A dditiona lly, the str ict , n a r r o w s ec t i o n o f La B ar c el o n et a i s div e r s ifie d thr ou g h a s e r ie s of str u ctu r e s i n st a l l ed o n ex i st i n g b ui l d i n g s . Th e s e conditions cr e a te a be t te r u r ba nistic r el a t i o n s h i p b et w een La B ar c el o n et a a s a distr ict a nd the wa te r fr ont .

aixecat

An urban response to domestic and geometric frictions // Barceloneta

Graduate // Fall 2021 Architecture: Barcelona Study Abroad Program // Urban Geometry Frictions Manuel Bailo Esteve (TA: Maria Fandiño Iglesias 4

urban plan

The entire building is lifted up two stories above the ground, with a “dig” then created below the built footprint as a sunken landscape. The dig is less than adult human height (~1.2m) and accessible through a series of ramps, to provide an open space where people can gather below their homes and have a view towards the beach from there. The major performative asset of the dig is to allow stormwater (in future ﬂooding/storm events) to actually enter the landscape and sink into the dig’s porous soil and plantation buffers.

An existing artiﬁcial slope that provides an interesting moment of gathering and seating is incorporated into the overall landscape strategy, where the slope continues towards the dig down to its sunken elevation.

Manhattanville Educational Opportunity Center Apollo Theater

125th St St. Nicholas Park

127th St.

125th St Business District Development

128th St. SITE 3

An old factory

Amsterdam Bus Depot

19 9

Amsterdam Ave

The old manufacturing district on 125th St. is set to become Manhattanville’s business hot-spot with multiple projects under construction, including the restoration of, and capitalization on, several historical buildings. Meanwhile, the immediately adjacent spaces that have long been characterized for its artistic scene will be fading away: a gallery called the Gavin Enterprise, which was on the same site as the business development, has already merged with another collection down south, while the popular Studio Museum in Harlem is set to move to it’s anticipated new building at 144th West 125th. The site is also adjacent to the busy Amsterdam Av. and is a block away from St. Nicholas park, one of the few spaces in Manhattanville that provide healthy walkable spaces, but one that lacks a real connection to the streets. This proposal aims to become a new cultural hot-spot for Manhattanville, revitalizing and expanding on the historical and artistic scene that has deﬁned the area for generations. More importantly, the public programs that are to be developed as a reaction to these conditions would be geared towards the provision of affordable and market rate housing, as well as residential spaces for young artists in Harlem. The proposal also aims to create open public spaces linking to St. Nicholas Park, as part of the overall neighborhood strategy to expand the green and walkable spaces from the Columbia Manhattanville Campus to the park.

spectacle A new art district as affordable housing //NYC

Graduate // Fall 2020 New York City Studio // RE:Public Ali Fard // Collaborator: Nathan Fitzsimmons 20

Massing Strategy

Site Plan

6th Floor

3rd Floor

1st Floor 25

Housing Layout

Housing Typologies

The topic of this studio was built on a ﬁctional public-private partnership, which required a high-density development in an area of Manhattan that is somewhat new to hig-density buildings. Our design involves a medium-rise development that then evolves into a tower that responds to the densely circulated Amsterdam Ave. The interior and exterior hyperlocal atmospheres are then allowed to be in tandem with the urban environment of Manhattanville, making possible the creation of moments of gathering and art display on the side streets and the interior courtyards.

Interior View of Classroom and Circulation in Arts Space

Interior View of Shared Domestic Spaces

Exterior View Towards Courtyard

Tower - Affordable + Market-Rate 192,850 sqft

Bar - Affordable + Market-Rate 201,000 sqft

Artist Live/Work Lofts 80,500 sqft

Digital Library 46,800 sqft

Small Business Corridor 33,500 sqft

Community Theater / Forum 12,000 sqft

Parking + Back-of-House 235,500 sqft

Ageeba (literally “Wonderous”), is a beach site in Egypt’s northwestern coast within the precinct of Zawiyet Umm Al-Rakham. It is part of the coastal plane inhabited by Bedouin people (descendants of Arab pastoralists) who were sedentarized since the mid-20’s century, and they continually resorted to ﬁxated homes and were integrated gradually into formal modes of governance. The site is a popular destination for Summer tourism for Egyptians, and the Bedouin community itself is highly involved in the tourism service and infrastructure. However, the services provided for the livelihood of Bedouin people is lacking, and one of the main services the community is in need of is a local school. Additionally, Ageeba displays opportunities to unlock potential other modes of tourism beyond the Summer season; it is a site with pure natural resources (geological formations, different soil conditions, agriculture and botany) in addition to scattered archaeological sites. This proposal aims to address both issues under one roof along one of the wadi’s that cut through the coastal plain. A school, a research center, and viewing platforms are placed consecutively, creating a series of modular units and courtyards that allow for gathering, plantation, and rainwater collection. The projects tests the potentials of construction with locally quarried sandstone, which has a substantial amount of climatic impact, with thickened walls and small windows potentially acting as natural insulators and ventilators.

wonderous land

A school and research center by a Wadi: More than a Summer Tourist Site

Undergraduate // Spring 2020 Thesis Studio Advisor: Prof. Peter Waldman 34

Model Showing the Overall Design Strategy

35 Elevation View of School, Mosque, and Palm Tree Plantation

Perspective View of the Potentials of Landscape Interventions

36 Section Through the Ageeba Canyon

Modular Design and Expansion Strategy

1st Floor / Classrooms

2nd Floor / Research Cubes + Viewing Platforms

Roof Plan

Wireframe Studies of Space and Construction

240 sqft 22 sqm

363 sqft 33.7 sqm

144 sqm 10 sqm

187.5 sqft 17.4 sqm

121 sqft 11.2 sqm

62.5 sqft 5.8 sqm 276 sqft 25.6 sqm

16.3 sqft 1.5 sqm

Jawahar Nagar is a large informal settlement in Jaipur, India. The formation of this settlement resulted from massive amounts of people migrating to Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan, from neighboring rural areas, where they created small informal houses for themselves with substandard sanitation, building safety, and water security, and the settlement is also consistently threatened by the monsoon season when runoff water comes down from proximate mountain ranges. One unique aspect of Jawahar Nagar is that most of the people living there are craftsmen and women that have adapted their living spaces as workspaces to produce multiple products from different tasks. These workspaces usually are on the outside of the living spaces. To take on such a monumental task, whereby the project attempts to create better living conditions at Jawahar Nagar, four architectural prototypes were developed and tested as a kitof-parts that would adapt to existing buildings and be developed in an incremental manner. A garbage dump site is ﬁrst cleared out and that extra space is then used as a means to elevate the living conditions of the inhabitants without relocating them away from the place they’ve considered a generational, social, and personal home. This project is the result of intensive research and a 10-day visit to India, as part of the awardwinning Yamuna River Project studio.

jawahar nagar Testing a strategy of rehousing people in informal settlements: craft drives livelihood

Undergraduate // Fall 2019 The Yamuna River Project: The Rajasthan Cities: Jaipur Pankaj Vir Gupta + Maria Gonzalez Aranguren (Research Fellow: Darcy Engle) The Studio Prize / Sloan Award 2020 48

PHASE #1

PRECONDITION

PHASE #2

Water collectors

Latrines

Dumpyard

Commercial / Storage enclosure Developed unit

Wall

Revamped street Revitalized edge

Storage enclosures

STEP 1 18 units built (housing for 108 persons) ~ 176 m2 commercial / storage enclosures 20 public latrines in 5 facilities

PARAMETERS

Avg. 5 persons/unit footprint 2-4.5 m2/tenant For each phase: 6 persons/unit 4-8 m2/person

100

200 ft.

STEP 1 21 units built (housing for 126 persons) ~ 80 m2 commercial / storage enclosures 8 public latrines in 2 facilities

STEP 2 95 persons housed from 19 units Avg. moving distance ~100m

100

200 ft.

0 5 10

STEP 2 125 persons housed from 25 units Avg. moving distance ~150m

100

200 ft.

0 5 10

PHASE #5

PHASE #4

PHASE #3

Pedestrian pathway

Revitalized urban edge; denser housing units + commerce/storage Roadway / soft buffer

STEP 1 36 units built (housing for 216 persons) ~ 64 m2 commercial / storage enclosures 8 public latrines in 2 facilities STEP 2 105 persons housed from 21 units A i di t 80

STEP 1 44 units built (housing for 264 persons) 4 public latrines in 1 facility

STEP 1 77 units built (housing for 462 persons) ~ 120 m2 commercial / storage enclosures 16 public latrines in 4 facilities 10

100

200 ft.

PHASE #?

STEP 2 400

STEP 2 ~200 persons housed from 40 units Avg. moving distance ~60m

SOLID WASTE COLLECTION Inside developed complex 10

100

200 ft.

0 5 10

Minor collection spots // Hand labor Major collection spots // Mechanized Collection paths

STEP 1 62 units built (housing for 372 persons) 4 public latrines in 1 facility STEP 2 ~200 persons housed from 40 units Avg. moving distance ~200m

100

200 ft.

0 5 10

100

200 ft.

0 5 10

WATER + SEWER NETWORKS 10

100

200 ft.

0 5 10

Municipal water supply Water pipes into neighborhood Sewage network / into treatment plant Sewage pipes / from public latrines Collected rainwater

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Housing Cluster Typologies

4m 8m Individual Unit Typologies

3'-1"

4'-0"

10'-4"

6'-0"

15'-0"

parasitic architecture Analysis and application of the concept of parasitic architecture

Graduate [seminar] // Fall 2020 ARCH 5500 Minimal Domestic Space Maria Gonzalez Aranguren 60

analysis // homes for the homeless

analysis // plug-in city 75

project // garage pods

parking+ market creating open public space on Toronto parking lots

Undergraduate [Seminar] // Spring 2020 ARCH 5614 Urban Strategies Mona El Khaﬁf // Collaborators: Hythus Hu + Biyu Chen 68

karim el-araby kme3kk@virginia.edu karim.m.elaraby@gmail.com