Charles Ayrout

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Charles Habi
Born
Charles Habib Ayrout

OccupationArchitect
Buildings
  • Mosseri Building
  • Ayrout Villa, Zamalek
  • Halim Doss Bldg
  • Villa Valadji

Charles Habib Ayrout (Arabic: شارل حبيب عيروط-) (1905 Cairo, Egypt - 1961 Cairo, Egypt) was an architect practising in Cairo and is considered one of that city's 'pioneer' generation, as well as a Belle Epoque/Art Déco (1920–1940) architect for his landmark buildings and villas,. [1] and was one of the most active builders in its Heliopolis district. [2] He summarised his approach in 1932 as to “bring to Heliopolis the principles of modern architecture, but not of avantgarde architecture." [2]

Contents

Family

His father, Habib Ayrout, was an Egyptian architect and contractor, born into a family originally from Aleppo, Syria. [3] After being educated in Paris as an engineer-architect, Habib Ayrout participated in the planning and construction of Heliopolis. [4]

Charles Ayrout had two brothers, the Jesuit priest Henry Habib Ayrout and Max Ayrout, who was also an architect practicing in Cairo. [4]

Style

Ayrout was part of a movement of French educated Syrian-Lebanese Egyptian architects, who were strongly influenced by the French 'modern classicism' of Michel Poux-Spitz and Pol Abraham. This movement also included Antonine Selim Nahas and Raymond Antonious. [5] However, he stressed on learning the principles of Modrnist architecture, and reapplying them in Egypt as opposed to copying them. [2]

Works in Cairo include

[6]

See also

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References

  1. Mercedes Volait Le Caire-Alexandrie: Architectures Européennes 1850-1950 (co-edition IFAO/CEDEJ 2001)
  2. 1 2 3 Volait, Mercedes (2006-09-01). "Mediating and domesticating modernity in Egypt : uncovering some forgotten pages". Docomomo Journal.
  3. Héliopolis, création et assimilation d’une ville européenne en Égypte au xxesiècle https://books.openedition.org/pufr/3077?lang=en
  4. 1 2 Timothy Mitchell Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity, University of California Press, 2002, pg. 332
  5. R. Stephen Sennott (editor), Encyclopedia of 20th Century Architecture, Vol. 1, Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2004, pg. 202
  6. Cairo's Belle Époque architects 1900 - 1950, compiled by Samir Raafat

Further reading

Studies where Ayrout's work is discussed:

On the Belle Époque architecture in Cairo: