I‘m joined today by a legend of from the world of architecture, Abdel Wahed El Wakil. I sat down with him a couple of weeks ago in Doha, where he now lives, to document his incredible journey, his vision for architecture as an industry, and Islamic architecture in particular.

Abdel Wahed has designed buildings around the world, including in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Paris and London. He also studied and worked under his mentor, Hassan Fathy, an architecture legend in his own right.

We’ll be continuing our conversation next week, where Abdel Wahed tells me about the evolution of architecture and materials, so stay tuned!

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Chapters:

0:00 Coming up

10:42 Architecture's Purpose

19:10 Materialism vs Spirituality

23:21 Cultural Revolution

26:34 Designing for the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies

37:58 Reviving Community Spaces

41:40 Lightning Round

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