Masonry Magazine March 1981 Page. 12
Egyptian Stone Mason
Shares in Aga Khan
Award for Architecture
Abdul Wahed El Wakil, an architect and graduate of Ains-Shams University, and 76-year-old master stone mason Aladdin Mustapha are the recipients of the first Aga Khan Award for Architecture presented recently at ceremonies in Lahore, Pakistan.
They were cited for their efforts to design and build a two-story summer house for Esmat Halawa, a Cairo businessman, at Agamy. Both men shared a prize of $35.000.
Wakil made special use of Egyptian archetypes-alcoves, belvederes, windcatches, vaults and domes-to provide natural ventilation and to reflect traditional Islamic forms. It was built with limestone walls and sandstone floors to remain cool in summer and retain thermal insulation during winter. Mustapha's skills as a mason proved to be the critical element in the house.
Architectural Excellence Sought
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established in 1977 by His Highness the Aga Khan to encourage a resurgence of true excellence in architectural design throughout the Islamic world. Projects completed and in use between 1950 and 1977 were eligible for the 1980 award. Hereafter projects will have to have been in use for at least two years to be eligible.
The award is the first to be established under a special Foundation set up by the Aga Khan to encourage exceptional achievements in the arts and sciences. The foundation is considering awarding a prize fund of $500,000 every three years. At the discretion of the master jury, which is composed of eminent architects and scholars from nine countries, the fund may be divided among architects, other design and construction professionals, craftsmen, clients and institutions whom it judges most responsible for the project's present success and potential for catalytic development.
Aladdin Mustapha, 76, an Egyptian master stone mason, shared the Aga Khan Award for Architecture for his craftsmanship in erecting a summer home in Agamy, Egypt.
The award process is designed to include projects throughout the Muslim world representing a variety of building types and architectural approaches. Approximately 200 nominations, representing some 30 countries from Morocco to Indonesia and ranging from single family houses to multi-use complexes, were considered for the 1980 award.
The Aga Khan Award office is based in Geneva, Switzerland: another office is in Philadelphia, Pa.
Stone mason Mustapha and renowned Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy, FAIA, recently came to the United States to give demonstrations in adobe vaulting and dome roofing to a large group of North and Central American builders seeking to learn the method of erecting roofs of adobe brick without relying on costly wood beams and centering. Mustapha and two Nubian (Upper Egypt) masons demonstrated their skills in erecting a small mosque near Abiquiu, New Mexico. The structure is capped with six Byzantine domes, one larger Sassanid dome, and two barrel vaults.
12 MASONRY/MARCH, 1961
His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan (2nd from right) greets the members of an Egyptian team honored for building a summer home in Agamy. Egypt. Pictured (from left) are Esmat Ahmed Halawa, the client who commissioned the house; Aladdin Mustapha, the master stone mason who realized the design, and Abdel Wahed El-Wakil, the architect who designed the house.