Bureau Gladys++ | Architecture Office
Who We Are
DALIA WAHDAN
Ph.D. in Urban Sociology
M.Sc of Art in Anthropology
Co-founder of Bureau Gladys, a joint venture for urban and architectural studies based in Egypt, and associate professor (adjunct) at the School of Public Policy, the American University in Cairo – AUC
With a Ph.D. in urban sociology, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in cultural anthropology, I study and design urban policies for international organizations, including UNICEF, UNDP, UN-Habitat, FAO, and GIZ. My expertise covers the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Egypt, South Africa, and the western parts of the European Union.
My field of practice includes gender mainstreaming of infrastructure, design of urban strategies, sustainable urban development, and national social infrastructural programs.
My publications include Planning Egypt’s New Settlements: The Politics of Spatial Inequities (Oxford University Press and Cairo Papers) and Warring Democracies (GLACSO-CODESRIA- IDEAs). The Global Compendium of Land Value Capture (OECD) and Marginality and Exclusion in Egypt and the Middle East (Zed) among others
// Some of my international engagements include:
01 Design of Guidelines for Gender-Mainstreaming in Infrastructure Projects for the Participatory Infrastructure Program of the GIZ, Egypt -2019
02 Designing the Strategy for the Urban Development Cluster of the GIZ, Egypt – 2019
03 Financial Sustainability Project for Protected Areas in Egypt, UNDP- EEAA -2017/18
04 Socio-economic assessment and design of master plan for Ghargana Village, Nabq Protected Area, UNDP-EEAA, Egypt -2017
05 Drafting a road map for implementing UN-HABITAT III New Urban Agenda in Egypt, GIZ, Egypt – June – September 2017
06 Design and Implement the National Strategy for Social Protection, Ministry of Economy and Planning, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – 2017
MARTINA ABUALAM
B.Sc in Architecture
Co-founder of Bureau Gladys, a joint venture for urban and architectural studies based in Egypt, and teaching assistant at the Architecture & Urban Design Department, the German University in Cairo – GUC
I am an architect, urbanist and graphic designer, graduated from architecture and urban design program in the German university in Cairo. I seek to understand and critically study the rapid urban changes taking place in the context of Egypt through the physical, environmental, socio-economic and cultural lenses. I currently work as a full time teaching assistant at the GUC, specializing in bachelor studios and pre-masters urban design studios. I also work as a graphic and data visualization designer.
Organized and coordinated the “Landscaping Egypt” conference at the German University in Cairo, 2017
Organized and coordinated the “Memorial Exhibition” of our dear late Prof. Holger Gladys German University in Cairo, 2022
Featured in “Formal – Informal Interface” chapter as part of research team:
Nagati, O., & Stryker, B. (2021). Formal-informal interface: Comparative analysis between three Egyptian cities. In Reframing the urban challenge in Africa: Knowledge co-production from the South. essay, Routledge.
YOMNA EL GENDY
M.Sc. in Arch & Building Tech
B.Sc in Architecture
Co-founder of Bureau Gladys, a joint venture for urban and architectural studies based in Egypt, and currently an assistant lecturer at the Architecture & Urban Design Department, the German University in Cairo – GUC
I have been an architect and urban researcher since 2015, with a master’s degree in architectural Engineering from the GUC. I have worked in the academic field for 8 years as a full-timer at the GUC and a part-timer at Nile University. I have extensive teaching experience in design studios specializing in pre-master design courses for Urban Design and Architecture majors. My research interests focus on an interdisciplinary approach that integrates various social studies of the built environment and urban development, intending to challenge the status quo and open new perspectives.
On account of being a part of a multi-diverse organization, I have curated two exhibitions from start to finish and was part of several others. My international engagements include a collaborative studio parallel between the GUC and the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture, working in Accra, Ghana. Additionally, I, along with a teaching team, guided and supervised students in two international architectural competitions in Mumbai, India (ArchOutLoud 2018, Schindler Student Competition & Global Award 2019), where a group from each round received a top 10 project award.