Islam El Mashtooly Listed as 30 Influential Architects in MENA by Design Middle East

As seen in Design Middle East February 2023

“Islam El Mashtooly is a regionally and internationally recognized architect, urbanist, and educator with over 19 years of experience in the profession. He is committed to design that supports and enhances communities, with a philosophy emphasizing harmony within context, alongside the MENA region’s climate, culture, and traditions. His technical acumen and pioneering design approach has been proven through the success of small to large scale developments across several typologies.

In 2021, Mashtooly’s architectural concept for “JANNAT MASJID” won in the “Future Projects” category at the highly prestigious World Architecture Festival Awards. The project, designed as a place of peace that exudes unity, encompassing inclusion & diversity was named the winner in a category with over 550 finalists dedicated to celebrating excellence. 2022 marked the fourth year Islam has won a category at the WAF, following Residential Building of the Year in 2016 and Baghdad design center in 2018. which makes him one of the fast growing and well celebrated Arab architects on the region

Using his expertise in urban environments and willingness to push the boundaries in design, Islam was a leader in creating OBMI’s vertical resort concept, AERA, alongside the firm’s teams worldwide, as well as Instead of designing a horizontal experience, often found in traditional resorts, this ambitious vertical concept creates an oasis of a private island in the middle of a city. The vertical architecture also minimizes the footprint in areas where land is precious in value and availability, reducing the environmental impact on the surrounding land.  The innovative design for the future of hospitality was presented at noteworthy industry conferences and regional publications, which led to numerous award recognitions affirming his thoughtful approach.

In addition to Islam’s impressive portfolio of innovative works, he is a mentor and educator for the architects who work alongside him. His attention to detail and forward-thinking approach to design inspire his team and cultivate intriguing discussions about designing the built environment.

His work embodies a sense of the architecture vocabulary that fuses urbanism and design. Ambitious to dive into a contemporary rational interpretation that embraces sensibility, variety and sensitivity, his architectural vernacular has humanity at its heart with community, connectivity and the natural world organically evolving from a base in the personal.”