Storytelling in Architecture: A Spatial Narrative

Exceptional architecture is one that reels its audience in to tell a story. The materials chosen, the technology used to build, the transition from one space to another, the play of light and shadow, the relationship between the architecture and its surroundings, decoding the concept and the messages whilst moving between spaces – all these elements combined, convey a story, a concept, that the architect wants us to decode. For the past two years, GLC invited architects and designers to interpret their vision of its color trends, giving them total freedom to design whatever volume they saw fit. Each of these pavilions had a story. On this panel we are looking forward to discussing the vision of these architects and listening to their narrative. 

Panelists: Ahmad Fayyad is a pure formalist architect, who is passionate about minimalism. With 18 years of experience under his belt, Fayyad enjoys working on projects with specialized programs and finding solutions to challenging design problems. He sees every new project as an opportunity to meet and learn from new people and expand his understanding of how buildings change, who we are and how we work.

Dr. Ebtissam Farid is an associate professor and the course director of interior architecture and design at the Knowledge Hub Universities, Coventry University in Egypt. Dr. Farid is also the cofounder of ENCODE, a multidisciplinary design studio that challenges the conventional model of design production in Egypt. ENCODE offers its clients architectural, interior and product design services that investigate various digital and physical computational tools, which in turn explore opportunities for innovative designs. Dr. Farid is the recipient of various awards, including Egypt’s Entrepreneur Awards for the category of Architecture and Interior Design in 2021, the Tamayouz Excellence Award for Women in Architecture in 2018, and the State’s Excellence Award for Arts in 2019. In 2019, she was selected among the 50 most influential architects from the Middle East according to the Architect ME magazine.  

Raef Fahmi established ‘Raef Fahmi Architects’ in 1991, which later became recognized as one of Egypt’s most esteemed architectural firms. The firm’s philosophy, which Fahmi insists on implementing, is recognizing in its own projects the diversity and complexity of the society that has its own special characteristics as well as constraints, whether they be historic, social, economic or cultural. The aim of the company is to enhance architectural awareness within Egypt and the Middle East by encompassing the endless richness and diversity of the region and reinterpreting the region’s history in modern architecture. 

Moderator: Mohamad Baitie, who holds a master’s degree in interior architecture, has an expansive knowledge of color, color forecasting, color design and architectural coatings. With over 18 years of experience in marketing and communication in the paint industry, Baitie works for one of the top multinational paint brands. He has led the brand identity transformation of GLC Paints and is thoroughly involved in product research and development within the organization.