Dr Ehab Kamel Ahmed
Course Leader BSc (Hons) Architecture, Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Urban Design
School of Engineering
Ehab is a highly accomplished academic and practitioner. He has an impressive record of over twenty-four years of international experience. As the Course Leader of the BSc (Hons) Architecture program at the Grenfell-Baines Institute of Architecture, he oversees the academic direction of the program, ensuring that it is up-to-date with the latest industry trends and advancements.
In addition to his leadership role, Ehab has had an integral part here. He led Year One of the Master of Architecture course and co-led the Architecture Advisory Board. He also served as a Research Degree Tutor for four years. Here, he was responsible for leading postgraduate research degree programs.
Ehab's expertise is not limited to teaching and administration, as he is an active researcher and contributes significantly to the development of research at GBIA. His research interests span a broad range of topics, including design research, architectural education, and Architecture for well-being. Ehab is also keen to foster the next generation of researchers. As such, he is currently accepting PhD students.
Current Role
Ehab is a highly versatile academic in the field of architecture. Besides leading the Architecture Part 1 Course, he leads the Year 3 Design Studio, which focuses on community-focused architectural design. In addition to this, he also teaches Research Methods for Architectural Studies in the Master of Architecture program and contributes to various modules across different levels.
Ehab's research interests are diverse and reflect his commitment to sustainable urban development, well-being, and design studio pedagogy. His current research is centred on three primary strands. The first strand, stemming from his doctoral research, delves into the use of cultural heritage resources for sustainable urban development. This preserves and fosters the identity and spirit of the place. Ehab leverages digital documentation as a supportive medium to create a city-live museum that narrates urban memories at their original locations.
The second research strand is dedicated to exploring the concept of healthy urbanism and the well-being of cities. Ehab worked collaboratively with an international research team to investigate car-free city design, and their findings were published in a co-edited book in 2020. He is currently leading a research project on Healthy Ageing Preston City. This analyses the spatial urban qualities of Preston City to support people's health and well-being. Ehab has also established a joint project with Age UK to develop a research-by-design project, exploring the needs of the elderly in healthcare and community service building.
Lastly, Ehab's third research strand focuses on design studio pedagogy. Particularly on how it contributes to solving architectural, urban, and social problems through cross-disciplinary integrated design approaches.
Ehab supervises several PhD students and is currently accepting more students with relevant research topics.
Experience
Ehab's career spans three different continents and six countries. Thus, he has worked in both practice and academia. He currently serves as the General Secretary for the Association of Architectural Educators (aae) and is a member of the Steering Committee for the Architectural Humanities Research Association (AHRA). Ehab has participated in numerous programs' accreditation and validation processes, demonstrating his expertise in quality assurance and control.
Ehab played a pivotal role in establishing a new architecture program at the University of Nottingham's campus in China. As the Department's Exam Officer, he was responsible for setting up the course structure, curriculum, and coordination with the professional body (RIBA) for validation. At UCLan, Ehab contributed to two successful rounds of RIBA validation. His first task after taking over the responsibility of leading the BSc (Hons) Architecture at GBIA was to design a new restructure of the Course, to be applied starting from September 2023.
Ehab is an experienced design studio leader. He is particularly interested in live projects and architectural/urban design competitions, which allows him to apply his combined academic and professional practice expertise. He has practised architecture professionally for many years, leading various residential, educational, commercial, cultural, and healthcare architectural projects. Ehab has worked his way up from a junior architect to a design team leader, showcasing his ability to excel in different roles within the field.
Overall, Ehab's diverse experiences, commitment to quality assurance, design excellence, and innovative pedagogy is a testament to his passion for the field.
- PhD Architecture, The University of Nottingham, 2011
- MSc Architecture, 2005
- BSc (Hons) Architecture, 1998
- Healthy Ageing as a life course
- Humanising the City
- Cultural Heritage Sites Management
- Urban Regeneration
- Sustainable Urban Development
- Design for Users' Wellbeing
- Critical Contextualism
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
- RIBA Affiliate Membership
- Steering Group member at the Architectural Humanities Research Association (AHRA)
- General Secretary of the Association of Architectural Educators (AAE)
- Member of the Federation of Arab Engineers (FAE): Chapter of Architecture
- Member of the Egyptian Syndicate of Engineers (ESE)- Section of Architecture
- Member of Forum UNESCO- University and Heritage Network
Ehab's research on the development strategies for culturally rich historic cities is highly commendable. His work led to the creation of a comprehensive 5-pillar strategic interpretive plan called UNCAP [Understanding people, Narrating stories, Conserving the spirit of place, Architectural intervention, and Preserving the built environment]. This strategy has been successfully applied to various contexts beyond the built environment, thanks to its flexibility and adaptability.
Ehab's expertise in managing mixed research methods (qualitative and quantitative) is noteworthy, as is his critical thinking ability and his social personality that enables him to work easily with people and for people. He has a wealth of experience in employing evidence-based methods at different levels of his research, teaching and practice, which have grounded his work and helped to predict the best scenarios in advance.
Ehab's research focuses on the relation between city cultures, architecture, and users' perception and wellbeing, investigating how design for culturally rich sites can learn from the past to create sustainable environments. His research is applicable to both small-scale functional spaces such as offices, schools, and houses, as well as cultural cityscapes. Recently, he collaborated with The Harris Museum, Library, and Art Gallery of Preston on the Re-imagining the Harris project, which demonstrates his commitment to research and teaching collaboration with international researchers and universities.
Currently, Ehab's research is mainly focused on community-centred architecture and urban design, with a particular emphasis on healthy ageing as a life course and design for the elderly. His work in this area promises to provide valuable insights into how urban environments can be designed to support healthy ageing and promote well-being.
Publications
- Turner, Robert, Kamel Ahmed, Ehab and Ramadan, Amal (2020) Confronting the Conundrum of Shared Space Street Design. In: Humanizing Cities Through Car-Free City Development and Transformation. IGI Global, Hershey, USA. ISBN 9781799835073.
- Doheim, Rahma, Farag, Alshaymaa and Kamel Ahmed, Ehab (2020) Humanizing Cities Through Car-Free City Development and Transformation. IGI Global, Hershey, USA. ISBN 9781799835073.
- Ramadan, Amal and Kamel Ahmed, Ehab (2019) Spatial Design Stimuli to Promote Wellness through Buildings’ Design. International Journal of Architecture, Engineering and Construction, 8 (4). pp. 1-12. ISSN 1911-110X.
- Kamel Ahmed, Ehab (2015) What to Conserve? Heritage, Memory, and Management of Meanings. ArchNet International Journal of Architectural Research, 9 (1). pp. 67-76."
Use the links below to view their profiles:
- Researchgate
- View their unique and persistent identifier on the ORCiD registry
- Full list of publications and articles on CLoK
- Google Scholar
- Academia
- Institute of Citizenship, Society and Change (ICSC)
- Centre for Sustainable Transitions (CST)
- Healthy Ageing Preston
- City Memory
- Age UK Dementia Centre of Excellence
- The 6th International Conference: Archaeology and Heritage: Authenticity, Risks and Challenges, 2018
- Streets of Change: Beattie’s Preston and Beyond. Exhibition of an interactive map of Preston. 30 Sep- 26 Nov. The Harris Museum, 2017
- Architecture Connects: Strategies for the Co-production of Knowledge International Conference, 2017
- The 2nd International Workshop: Critical Planning for Chinese Cities (CPCC), 2013
- MAEC 2012: The Future of Architectural Education, 2012
- The 3rd International Symposium on Low Carbon Building (ISLCB), 2012
- Conservation: Principles, Dilemmas and Uncomfortable Truths Symposium,Royal Academy of Arts, 2009
- AESOP 2009- Why Can’t the Future Be More Like the Past?, 2009
- ISAAC International Conference: Promoting Cultural Heritage Tourism through Integrated e-Services, 2009
- 12th International Seminar of Forum UNESCO - University and Heritage, 2009
Telephone:+44 (0)1772 895394
Email: Email:Dr Ehab Kamel Ahmed
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