Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil
| Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 7, 1943 Cairo, Egypt |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards | Aga Khan Award for Architecture 1980 for the Halawa house (Agamy, Egypt), Aga Khan Award 1989 for the Corniche Mosque (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), Driehaus Architecture Prize 2009 |
| Buildings | Corniche Mosque (Jeddah), Quba Mosque (Medinah), Qiblatain Mosque (Medinah), King Saud Mosque (Jeddah) |
Abdel-Wahed El-Wakil (born 7 August 1943 in Cairo) 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 designing in traditional styles, he is also a representative of New Classical Architecture.
El-Wakil’s early education in Egypt was at the British schools of Victoria College and the English School. In 1960, he obtained his GCE and graduated with a distinction in Applied Mathematics, Art, Physics, and Chemistry.
In 1960 he joined the Faculty of Engineering at Ain Shams University and in 1965 acquired with Distinction and First Honours Degree a BSc in Architecture. It was while studying for his degree that El-Wakil became acquainted with the writings of English critic John Ruskin. Ruskin's descriptions of what he termed an "arborescent" quality in architecture (where a bold structure of decoration, legible at a distance, reveals ever-finer sub-structures as you approach it) had a lasting effect upon El-Wakil.
From 1965 to 1970, he was appointed as Instructor and Lecturer at the Architecture Department of his Faculty.
In 1967, El-Wakil’s whole approach to architecture was altered when he met with his mentor Professor Hassan Fathy. Having previously built three apartment buildings in the idioms of his former education in Modern Style Architecture, El-Wakil decided to become an apprentice to Hassan Fathy. As with Frank Lloyd Wright, Hassan Fathy’s mention was taboo at the Ain Shams Department of Architecture and that forced El-Wakil to end his teaching post at the Faculty and begin his new education with his mentor.
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