Dar Arafa Architecture (DAA) is a design and build architecture studio, established in Cairo, Egypt, 2006, by Egyptian architect Waleed Arafa who proudly leads a team of young Egyptian architects. In 2001, Arafa earned a B.Sc. in Architecture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. In 2015 he earned a post-graduate degree in the Conservation of Historical Buildings, from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, UK. His thesis was entitled: “The Mosque in Britain: British Heritage?”. He is currently an MA researcher in Islamic Art & Architecture, at the American University in Cairo. Dar Arafa Architecture’s first project; Dar Arafa Residence, earned a nomination for the Aga Khan Award 2010 & the Hassan Fathy Award, 2009. The Basuna Mosque project, completed in 2019, has been internationally celebrated as a finalist and winner of many international awards, such as Archmarathon Stone Award, Italy, 2019, Construction21 Green Solutions Award, France, 2019, AFAMA 2020. DAA’s principal Waleed Arafa has also been selected as a finalist for the Middle Eastern Architecture Personality of the year by the Mohammed Makkyiah Tamayouz Award 2019, the Architectural Digest Middle East 50 Power List, as well as being one of the honorees of the Arab & African Youth Forum, 2019, handed to Waleed by H.E Abdel Fatah al-Sisi President of Egypt. In its first international collaboration, DAA has also won the La Maison d’Egypte international architectural competition in the International University City in Paris (CIUP), adjacent to the renowned Pavilion Suisse by Le Corbusier.
