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M O S T A F A A H M E D Y .

PORTFOL I O

Table of Contents

Book Project

Two Stories Below Illustrated Novel

MiniMax MindMap

Illustrated Novel

Vertical City Illustrated Novel

ManMade Tree Everyday Doodle Miscellaneous

Photography

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Book Project

TWO STORIES

BELOW PAPER CITY STUDIO

PAPER CITY STUDIO – A theoretical design process through a book which is then developed to an architectural programmatic project. The stories and concepts of the designed book are based on literature and architectural theory books through which we were exposed to 20th century’s famous theories and how much they are related to the architecture of today. The aim of the project was to use literature as a mean of developing the design, writings and resulting proposals that could lead to a change for a better city and a better life. The studio was based on Italo Calvino’s [THE INVISIBLE CITIES] – A novel describes imaginary cities, each of which has its own distinguished qualities that say something about Venice.

M S c .

A R C H I T E C T U R A L D E S I G N T H E O R Y D E S I G N S T U D I O D E S C R I P T I O N

Studio Team - ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN THEORY Guest Professor Peter Staub, AA Dipl. Arch Teaching Assistant Christian Koch, MScArch

Summer Semester 2010 University of Liechtenstein

DESCRIPTION

W E N E E D T H E I N V I S I B L E T O L I V E T H E V I S I B L E A N D T H E V I S I B L E T O B E L I E V E T H E I N V I S I B L E . ”

MANIFESTO ... For centuries, the

wells have been an essential element in the Venetian daily life, an actual tool of living that is located in the middle of plazas and courtyards granting them the real type of water they need to survive, from the underground world that lies beneath Venice, that nobody is fully aware of how it is working or whether it is present or not. That underground world solves the fact, which not many know about, that all the water in Venice cannot help them to live. Wells, with its crucial role that goes back to its historical value and importance, should maintain more concern as a source of their life, thus these wells should be placed in a valuable place and be changed from just a silent artifact to a vital activity.

Based on my randomly picked city Isaura from Italo Calvino literature book INVISIBLE CITIES,

THE CITY OF THE THOUSANDS WELLS

Now, with water streams permeating everything even their own souls, they feel all the freedom and fun to play with it [UNUSUAL] and use it in all means of their life.

... As if by their departure they have captured the

spirit of the city leaving a lifeless body that by time turned darker and darker. Life’s emptiness filled out the touristic island Venice after the Local Venetians had left to inhabit another islands, one of them was the island of Giudecca where the project lies. Down from the sky, the cascading rain falls down into a basin which then transports this glistening fresh water to the water fountains, the suspended fresh water clusters and most importantly to the vast unknown : the underground world. Embraced with water all around through this transparent structure, people are able to view the mechanism of transferring water from down to up and up to down changing their perception of water as being only an element for survival.

C H A P T E R T H R E E

T H E W E L L S I N A C L E A R I N F R A S T R U C T U R E

... As the water leaps through the water columns

from the basin located above into a pool, the water streams reflect the glimmering sun rays coming from above providing light to the spaces underneath. And by the first drop of water touching the ground of the pool, the whole underground structure comes to life and starts to function introducing to the Venetians the underground public bath which will change their perception towards water. A core of mirrors within that pool is designed as a connection with what is above the ground, working like the periscope of the submarines transferring what is happening above to below which emphasizes the idea of co-existence. On the other side lies another pool that is directly connected to and receive its water from the upper water clusters.

C H A P T E R F O U R

P U B L I C B A T H I N T H E U N D E R - G R O U N D W O R L D

The wells existing in the upper world act as a reference beside which exist the channels [gates] transporting the Venetians from above to the underground world.

OFF

SKETCHBOOK PROJECT EXPERIMENTAL SKETCHES

Durbirn 2010

OUTSTANDING

ARTIST AWARD EXPERIMENTELLE TENDENZEN IN DER ARCHITECKTUR

EXHIBITION / HONOURS

... Outstanding Artist Award Exhibition incorporated

projects with the most architecturally challenging and daring content. Participants were selected by an international jury of 50 submissions throughout Austria in addition to the University of Liechtenstein, The jury was comprised of > Professor Wolfgang Tschapeller Professor Hugo Dworzak Professor Andrea Hofmann Professor Matthias Stocker

The Architectural Design Theory Studio at the University of Liechtenstein Paper City Studio projects were nominated to that award and got an honourable mention at the event. Besides, the projects were published in the exhibition’s forum magazine - [ARCHITEKTUR & BAU FORUM]

MINI I MAX MINIMAL DRAWINGS MAXIMUM STORIES TO TELL

Illustrated Novel

NOVEL... A story of a man who finds himself

trapped a midst of a society where everything surrounding him seems secluded; each person has his own mindset with no one ever accepting the others’, places are becoming demarcated by these different mindsets which start to manifest themselves physically and further extend to affect the nature as well. It isn’t long before he notices there is something wrong taking place; that is when he feels that he does not fit in this society anymore and decides to escape. As he keeps walking away, he feels that the city is endless; he can’t see its borders as if the more he proceeds with his steps, the more the city expands. Although he meets new people and places, he still sees these absurd things, these blobby shapes, these CAPSULES. He then starts to see the uselessness of escape, and realizes that his sole savior is his mind.

... A street view from the capsule city, Where

everybody is so busy and so concerned about himself only. Each sets his own standards and believes that no one is worthy of that quality of living except certain people who comply with those standards. Each has been entrapped by his own conceptions and judgments inside a bubble. Not only does that bubble effect alter the way they interact with each others, but it also reaches to their surroundings; the nature, the houses, the trees, the public spaces and even the fresh air, all of these have been capsulized. They become exclusive to a certain category of people who believe they are the ones to define how everything surrounding them should be. On the other hand, the people who are lucky enough not to allow themselves to be controlled by capsules are viewed as a minority and therefore, they are stripped off the right to get the same quality of living; to live in the capsule city. Those people, however, pertain the real essence of the society because they are left to understand, communicate and engage freely with all what the society offers them without setting any standards they would have to abide with one day.

Illustrated Novel

MINDMAP NARRATIVE

Illustrated Novel

VERTICAL CITY

... the vertical city contributes to the fast

disappearing crafts and industries where they are all gathered to form one structure. The interdependence of these functions sustains the city by holding it together, and their roles are reflected within the architecture of the structure itself. The more the city continues to expand and incorporate abandoned crafts, the more complex the relationships between its functions become forming a kind of labyrinth which can only be understood by the city’s inhabitants.

Illustrated Novel

MAN MADE TREE

... and they decided “let’s build our own tree”.. The

idea might have first seemed impossible, but they actually had what it needed. They knew it was also their right to have a tree in their neighborhood like others, and that they are even more worthy. They used to see how the people in the capsule cities control the spontaneity of their trees, only caring about trimming the leaves to fit inside the capsules and become uniform. And that was how the idea was initially triggered, why don’t they collect these leaves, and “build our own tree.” Although it is not a living tree and is made of scaffoldings which hold the leaves together, it represents a really important icon to them that they are always persistent to make it grow even bigger depicting their endless ambition.

Minimal Illustrations

EVERYDAY DOODLE OF COMMON USED WORDS AND STEROTYPES

... A series of minimal absurd illustration in the

form of postcards which question our daily routine starting with our acts, expressions, words we repeat that carry different meanings or sound like others by their rhymes, compound words and facts that we took for granted without paying attention to their hidden meaning. This series was also considered a means to explore and question the society we are living in with its habits and customs. Some of the postcards are exaggerated in order to drive the people to stop and really think of these habitual things they say or do without paying attention to its meaning or origin which may later lead them to change their perception towards these things.

MISCELLANEOUS SKETCHES AND PRODUCTS

Off Sketchbook

ARCHITECTURAL SKETCHING SAINT GEORGE THE BAPTIST CHURCH

Off Sketchbook

SUSPENDED HOUSES ARCHITECTURE EXPEIMENTAL SKETCHES

PHOTOGRAPHY TRAVELS / PLACES AND PORTRAITS

MOSTAFA AHMED YOUSEF mostafa_ahmed@windowslive.com