The road to architecture started with interior design
Sarah Fahmy knew early in her life that she wanted to design. Discovering where and how to direct her talent and energy has prompted a journey through interior design, environmental design, and finally architecture.
Growing up in the United Arab Emirates and then Burlington, ON, Fahmy enjoyed re-imagining spaces in the home. “Once I found out interior design existed as a job, my mind was set.” She completed an Advanced Diploma Interior Design at Sheridan College in 2010.
Sarah Fahmy
Sarah Fahmy has an Advanced Diploma in Interior Design from Sheridan College and a Bachelor of Design from OCAD University.
“I’ve become more confident in my design skills and have gained an array of knowledge I hadn’t received in my previous studies.”
However, after several years working in kitchen and bath design and at an interior design firm, she realized interior design would not be enough. “We would receive these building plans, and they were not well designed, and we would be forced to work on these interiors,” she recalls. “But the process had started before. I wanted to work on the process that was messing up the buildings we saw.”
Her next step was the four-year environmental design program at OCAD University, which includes interiors, architecture, urban planning, and landscape design. Fahmy graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Design (BDes)) with Distinction.
She landed an “extremely fun” job as an architectural designer for a company using shipping containers to make useable structures. This experience helped her decide that she wanted to further her knowledge of architecture, and in 2020, she entered the three-year Master of Architecture program at Carleton University.
Project Title: Parallel Societies, by Sarah Fahmy
Course: MArch 1 Studio 2
“I’ve become more confident in my design skills and have gained an array of knowledge I hadn’t received in my previous studies,” says Fahmy, whose extracurricular activities include serving as editor of Building 22, the annual publication showcasing student work.
An extraordinary aspect of her studies was taking part in the Options Studio Threshold Landscapes — Desert Futures, coordinated by Malkit Shoshan, founder of the architectural think tank FAST (Foundation for Achieving Seamless Territory), an experience she describes as “intense.”
Projects produced by nine students in the studio, including Fahmy, were shown at the exhibition Desert Futures: Scenarios for Decolonization at the International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam last fall.
Project: Threshold Landscapes, by Sarah Fahmy in collaboration with Natasha Lemire-Waite and Cameron Penney
Course: Desert Futures - Options Studio 2022
Now in her final year of architecture school, Fahmy is working on her thesis, Building Hope: The Forgotten People of Gaza. It seeks to ameliorate conditions in the Gaza Strip, providing a new model of stable utilities and service provisions while simultaneously offering social spaces of refuge. Her thesis advisor is Assistant Professor Suzanne Harris-Brandts.
Looking ahead, she imagines a future where “I can use architecture and publication as a tool for social justice and change.”
What led you to architecture?
I had previously studied both Interior Design and Environmental Design, and I came to a realization that I wanted to explore architecture further, as that was the aspect I enjoyed the most in my previous studies.
Image: Mapping of Israeli and Egyptian Siege and Blockade, by Sarah Fahmy
Thesis: Building Hope: The Forgotten People of Gaza
What surprised you when you started studying architecture?
The extent of sociological and psychological impact architecture can have.
How would you describe your experience of the MArch 1 program?
Intense but enriching. Having already studied design and dabbled in architecture, I thought my studies may be somewhat repetitive, but the MArch 1 program has highlighted many theoretical and technical aspects of architecture that I had not encountered in my previous studies.
Project Title: The Community, by Sarah Fahmy
Course: MArch 1 Studio 1
What has been the biggest challenge/obstacle?
Juggling my studies while dealing with my ailing father and his eventual passing prior to starting my thesis year.
How did you overcome it?
The community at Carleton has been integral in helping me navigate through it all. Whether it be my peers, professors, or my thesis advisor, they have all been extremely supportive and understanding throughout the years.
What is the best part?
I think the supportive environment with students and faculty is by far the best part of Carleton. Whether it be personal or academic, we’re all there to help each other out.
Sarah Fahmy served as assistant editor and editor of the student publication Building 22
What extra-curricular activities have been involved in?
I joined the Building 22 team as an assistant editor in the summer of 2021 and became editor in the summer of 2022. It’s a lot of work but worth it to see a physical creation that celebrates the amazing work that comes out of our school.
Tell me about your master’s thesis
My thesis takes place in the Gaza Strip. I’m exploring hydroelectric, ecological, and social interventions to aid the community beyond sustenance in order to build hope for a more prosperous future. I’ve wanted to bring attention to and attempt to aid in the Palestinian plight. The thesis has provided me the opportunity to explore and learn about the region further and try to provide proposals of meaningful change.
How is the master’s program enriched by having students from diverse backgrounds, not only undergraduate architectural design?
The diverse range of backgrounds has aided everyone in the program as we have direct access to diverse bodies of knowledge. This has been crucial, especially during thesis year, as you’ll always find someone that at the least can provide you with an introductory snapshot on a variety of topics.
