Waleed Arafa

Waleed Arafa is the founder and principle at Dar Arafa Architecture, a research and design firm that focuses on the essence of architecture in Islam, based out of Cairo, Egypt. He earned a B.Sc. in Architecture from Ain Shams University in 2011 and subsequently received a postgraduate degree in the Conservation of Historical Buildings, from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London in 2015. Alongside his architectural pursuits, Waleed remains steadfast in scholarly and educational work, lecturing and speaking at universities in Egypt and abroad, while conducting researching that focuses on reviving the interrupted architectural heritage of countries with a rich Islamic legacy—especially Egypt—exploring how to spark new architectures of Islam in entirely new contexts. As such, Waleed’s passion in research design and build approaches inform his vast and world-renowned portfolio. Waleed’s projects span multiple geographies, contributing to award winning projects in Egypt, France, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, to name a few.