Manar Moursi, an Egyptian architect, last week represented Egypt in the annual ArcVision Prize. The brainchild of the Italcementi Group, Arcvision is a three-year-old award that recognises women architects. The idea is to reward female architects who present theoretical and practical design solutions for architecture in different economic, social and cultural contexts. Moursi is among a shortlist including 21 architects from 16 different countries. Her submission is a design that constructs walls out of traditional water pots (qollal), which act as a natural form of air-conditioning. Moursi is a graduate of the University of Virginia's undergraduate programme in architecture and holds a Master's degree in architecture and urban policy from Princeton University. Now in her early thirties, she lives in Cairo and works as a multi-disciplinary designer and artist. In 2011 she founded Studio Meem. “In Arabic, the letter meem, when added to a verb, makes it into a noun; in other words, into a kind of ‘place',” Moursi explains. While creating environmentally friendly architecture can be challenging in Egypt, Moursi has left her mark in the heart of downtown Cairo. She was part of a project providing stone benches with embedded lighting systems in pedestrian passages, among them the Kodak Passage on Adly Street. Moursi publishes regularly, participates in art exhibitions and conducts academic workshops. She keeps a close eye on opportunities in Cairo, despite the challenges. “One of the main constraints of smart construction of the sort I am interested in is the lack of awareness and priorities. But I am happy to be working in Egypt, despite the challenges,” she says. In 2014, her company collaborated with Mahatat for Contemporary Art, a gallery, on the design of a “Wonder Box,” a contemporary revival of the traditional peepshows that once were a familiar sight in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities. Moursi is currently putting the final touches to an art publication co-authored with artist David Puig and entitled Sidewalk Salon: 1001 Street Chairs in Cairo. The book is an exploration of Cairo through a single object: the street chair or pedestrian bench.
