Ahmed Hassan Moustafa

Born in Alexandria in 1979, Ahmed Hassan Moustafa is an Egyptian architect, urbanist and academic, works as an assistant lecturer at Alexandria University. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Bauhaus University, Weimar in Germany; a co-founder and director of ’SAVE ALEX’ initiative; and a freelance architect.

Ahmed studied architecture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria University. Upon his graduation in 2001, he joined its faculty staff as a researcher and teaching assistant. After getting his MSc degree in 2009, he has been the major contributor in the development of a new curriculum of city planning at his academic department; and he led the teaching of this course for three years. During his time in academia, Ahmed has been actively involved in different extracurricular activities, persistently striving for initiating change in his academic community. He was an essential member in the initiation, preparation and implementation of several workshops, forums, exchange programs and other activities with different local and international institutions.

Parallel with his academic work, Ahmed has continued to be involved in professional practice. After graduation, he worked for ‘Shaboury & Associates’ for eight years. As a freelance architect, Ahmed participated in different projects and competitions; some of which were awarded. He also worked as a consultant assistant in some strategic urban planning and survey projects for the UN-HABITAT, GOPP and ISDF. In 2011, Ahmed co-founded ‘ENCODE’: a ‘design-by-research’ studio dedicated to explore innovative design systems on different scales.

In 2012, and as a reaction to the degrading urban situation of his home city, Ahmed co-founded ’SAVE ALEX’: a leading, nationally-influential, NGO committed to the safeguarding, protection and conservation of Alexandria’s built heritage and the development of its built environments. Since then, he has oriented most of his activities to related areas of interest; conducting research, workshops, lectures, articles and reports. With the goal of complementing his city activism with academic experience, Ahmed is currently doing his PhD research on the conservation of Historic Urban Landscapes in Alexandria.