Skip to content
Haitham Abdelrehim

Giza, Egypt · Private villa · 2022 · Alchemy Design Studio — MF & Associates

SS Residence

Pilasters, cornices and a curved entrance canopy to the street; a loggia, a pool and a glazed pavilion to the garden.

The garden elevation extends domestic life into a covered loggia beside the pool.
Location
Giza, Egypt
Year
2022
Sector
Residential
Scope
Concept to IFC — façade, landscape and pool house
Status
Under construction

My contribution

My role
Senior Design Architect
Responsibility
Concept to IFC — façade, landscape and pool house

Key contributions

  • Led the design from concept to IFC under the Design Director
  • Set the classical façade language and the garden-side loggia
  • Designed the pool house and the landscape around the pool
  • Directed junior architects on planning, façades and 3D
  • Set exterior material and lighting direction

The project

The house faces the street in the classical manner: a symmetrical front of pilasters, cornices and tall windows, with the entrance set under a curved metal canopy between black double doors. Wall lights and tall planters give the front its rhythm, and at dusk the lighting picks out the order of the façade.

The garden side is looser. A covered loggia runs along the ground floor for outdoor dining, the lawn steps down to a long pool, and at the far end a glazed pool house closes the garden: a skylit lounge and a marble kitchen that open straight onto the water, so the garden is used as much as the house.

Upper terraces step back from the loggia, giving the garden frontage a layered profile.
The entrance sits on the central axis, framed by tall windows and paired pilasters.
Projecting cornices establish a common datum across the different heights of the street elevation.
A curved metal canopy marks the threshold without concealing the stonework above.
Across the water, the poolhouse offers a separate setting for gathering and entertaining.
The street composition uses symmetry to make the front door immediately legible.
Open metalwork makes the entrance canopy a lighter counterpart to the masonry façade.
The loggia connects the principal rooms to a continuous strip of sheltered outdoor space.
Lawn, pool and poolhouse form three parallel zones across the garden.

“Formal to the street, open to the garden.”

Outdoor dining occupies the depth of the loggia, close to the house and open to the garden.
Full-height glazing lets the poolhouse remain visually connected to the water.
A glazed roof brings daylight into the centre of the poolhouse lounge.
The long kitchen island supports informal dining as part of the poolhouse's shared living space.

Process

Plans

Four levels: a basement with garage and family rooms, the reception floor around a double-height stair hall, bedrooms above, and a roof level of family rooms and terraces. The pool and pool house take the far end of the garden.

  • Ground floor — reception rooms lead towards the garden, with the poolhouse facing the residence across the water.

  • First floor — bedroom suites gather around the central stair hall.

  • Roof floor — family living opens to terraces set back from the main façade.

  • Basement — the garage shares the lower level with living and support spaces.

Colophon

Location
Giza, Egypt
Sector
Residential
Typology
Private villa
Year
2022
Scope
Concept to IFC — façade, landscape and pool house
Status
Under construction
Role
Senior Design Architect
Client
Private client
Storeys
B + G + 1 + roof