The Halawa House or Agamy Beach House is a house located in

Agami Agami ( arz, العجمى ', mostly shortened to , ;, ) is a city in the Alexandria Governorate of Egypt. west of Alexandria, the town is a popular destination for both local Alexandrians and tourists in Giza and Cairo. Overview The city st ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

that incorporates traditional Islamic and

ian prototypes. The project was completed in 1975 by

Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil ( ar, عبد الواحد الوكيل, born 7 August 1943) is an Egyptian architect who designed over 15 mosques in Saudi Arabia and is considered by many as the foremost contemporary authority in Islamic architecture. For ...

and was among the first recipients of the

Aga Khan Award for Architecture The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the field ...

in 1980. It is named after the project's client, Esmat Ahmed Halawa. The project was conceived as a method to bridge traditional forms and indigenous elements into a functional design for modern living.

History

Agami is a seaside resort near

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

. Most of the housing projects in the area were bungalows of a low standard of quality. Running water and electricity are available, but no sewage. As the area is generally populated by the

Bedouins The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and Ar ...

, who have limited knowledge of the construction trade. Over time, plot sizes have generally shrunk, leading to limits on privacy.

Design and construction

The house is built on a narrow plot of land, which is consistent with plot sizes in Agami. Although usually considered a disadvantage, the architect used the courtyard area as the focus of the house in order to maintain a level of privacy. The internal structure of the house is sparsely furnished in order to enhance a feeling of space within the narrow plot. The house is built from various materials, which re-enforce the theme of the bridging of the traditional and modern. These elements include reinforced concrete strip foundations, local limestone walls and red bricks for the arches. In addition to the courtyard and its fountain, the house has a

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

(a gallery or room with one or more open sides, especially one that forms part of a house and has one side open to the garden), a wind catch, alcoves, masonry benches and a

belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

(a summerhouse or open-sided gallery, commanding a fine view). The technology for the construction was low, with most of the workforce being local Bedouins. The only skilled labour on the project were the master mason, the plasterer and carpenter.

Timeline and cost

The project was initiated in 1972 and construction commenced in January 1974. The project was completed in April 1975 and first occupancy in July of the same year. The project encountered minor delays, due to labour issues and late deliveries of carpentry materials. The complete cost for labour and materials was US $29,000.

References

External links

* {{coord missing, Egypt Houses in Egypt New Classical architecture