Charles Ayrout
Charles Habib Ayrout (Arabic: شارل حبيب عيروط-) (1905 Cairo, Egypt - 1965 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]
Charles Habi | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charles Habib Ayrout |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings |
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Family
His father, Habib Ayrout, was a Syro-Lebanese Egyptian architect and contractor practicing in Cairo. After being educated in Paris as an engineer-architect, Habib Ayrout participated in the planning and construction of Heliopolis.[3]
Charles Ayrout had two brothers, the Jesuit priest Henry Habib Ayrout and Max Ayrout, who was also an architect practicing in Cairo.[3]
Style
Ayrout was part of a movement of French educated Syrio-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.[4] 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
- Bldg, 26 July/Hassan Sabri, Zamalek
- 25 Mansour Street, Bab al-Louk
- Ayrout Bldg, Cherif Pasha Street
- Bldg Shawarby Street
- Ayrout Villa, Zamalek
- Mosseri Building (now Mofti) on Shagaret Al Durr St., Zamalek
- Bishara Bldg, Nile Avenue
- Halim Doss Bldg, Midan Shafakhana
- Ibrahimieh Secondary School, Garden City
- Kahil Bldg, Kantaret al-Dikka
- Bldg Gamal el Dine Abou El Mahassen, Garden City (1951)
- Villa Valadji, Heliopolis
References
- Mercedes Volait Le Caire-Alexandrie: Architectures Européennes 1850-1950 (co-edition IFAO/CEDEJ 2001)
- Volait, Mercedes (2006-09-01). "Mediating and domesticating modernity in Egypt : uncovering some forgotten pages". Docomomo Journal.
- Timothy Mitchell Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity, University of California Press, 2002, pg. 332
- R. Stephen Sennott (editor), Encyclopedia of 20th Century Architecture, Vol. 1, Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 2004, pg. 202
- Cairo's Belle Époque architects 1900 - 1950, compiled by Samir Raafat
Further reading
Studies where Ayrout's work is discussed:
- L’identification d’un ensemble urbain du XXème siècle en Egypte: Héliopolis, Le Caire. by Mercedes Volait and Claudine Piaton.
- L'inscription du discours occidental dans l'architecture et l'urbanisme orientaux by M Zakarya.
- Jaroslaw Dobrowolski and Agnieszka Dobrowolska, Heliopolis: Rebirth of the City of the Sun, American University in Cairo Press, 2006.
- Le rêve fou d’un baron belge by Nabila Massrali and Amira Doss. Al-Ahram Hebdo, 27 April 2005, Issue No. 555.
- "A Change in Looking" (on Bauhaus style) by Sonali Pahwa. Al-Ahram Weekly, 22–28 April 2004, Issue No. 687.
On the Belle Époque architecture in Cairo:
- Cynthia Myntti, Paris Along the Nile: Architecture in Cairo from the Belle Epoque, American University in Cairo Press, 2003.
- Trevor Mostyn, Egypt's Belle Epoque: Cairo and the Age of the Hedonists, Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2006.
- A list of Cairo's Belle Époque architects 1900 - 1950, compiled by Samir Raafat.