Waleed Arafa is the founder and principal of Dar Arafa Architecture, Cairo, Egypt. Born in 1978, Arafa earned a B.Sc. in architecture, urban design and planning, from the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University, Egypt.
He joined the internationally renowned architectural practice based in Los Angeles; Naga Studio Architecture+Urbanism where he participated in a number of projects some of which include: The World Trade Center Memorial competition in Manhattan and The New Masterplan for the Giza Pyramids Plateau in Egypt.
Later, in 2006, Waleed Arafa established his own practice, Dar Arafa Architecture. In 2009 he received the Bibliotheca Alexandrina award for architecture known as the Hassan Fathy Award.
In 2010, Dar Arafa Residence, one of the very first projects of the firm, was nominated for the Aga Khan Award in its 11th cycle. Arafa earned his Post-graduate degree in the Conservation of Historic Buildings, from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, UK. His thesis was entitled: “The Mosque in Britain: British Heritage?” in 2015. Finally, Arafa keeps learning and researching to revive the essence of the architecture of Islam throughout his projects.
