Curious to know what the future of housing will look like? Keep reading because we’ve got great news: Hend Almatrouk will speak at Architizer Future Fest this September!
As the lead architect of the A+Award-winning Studio Toggle, Hend will take part in the Future Fest to present her ideas on the future of housing in her talk on “Housing Solutions for the Middle East and Beyond”. The virtual live talk is scheduled to take place on September 15th, and is 100% free for attendees. Register to attend Hend’s presentation during our biggest ever celebration of architectural innovation:
Hend Almatrouk is the CEO and a partner of Studio Toggle, an architecture firm based in Kuwait which she co-founded with Gijo Paul George in 2011. Since the firm’s inception, Hend has been a central force behind the design, site supervision and planning of Studio Toggle’s numerous award-winning projects. Her work has been exhibited in multiple prestigious venues, including the Venice Biennale 2010, Essence 2011 at MAK, Vienna, and The Experimental Architecture Biennale Vol 01 in Prague.
In recognition of her achievements, she was named the Young Architect of the Year in 2017 by the prestigious Middle East Architecture magazine for the “undeniable strides she made in a short period of time, with projects that continue to positively contribute to the growing urban fabric of the Gulf Cooperation Council”. Before her firm’s founding, Hend graduated from the American University of Sharjah in Kuwait with a Bachelor of Architecture in 2008. She then received a Master’s in Urban Strategies from the Universität Für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, graduating with distinction in 2011.
Top right: Edges Al Barouk, Salmiya, Kuwait; bottom left: Khat, Al-Hijr, Saudi Arabia; photos by Studio Toggle and Aseel AlYaqoub
Established in 2012, Studio Toggle focuses on logical design and problem-solving techniques in architecture and urban design. Studio Toggle’s expertise includes public, commercial, residential and hospitality architecture and interior design, with an emphasis on simplistic, balanced and functional design. The firm is now 12-people strong with offices in Kuwait City and Porto. In 2022, Studio Toggle was chosen as the Best Firm in the Middle East & Africa by Jury vote, and the Best Young Firm by Popular Choice at the 10th A+Awards.
During her presentation, Hend will explore how architectural innovations are addressing housing problems in the Middle East and how those lessons can be applied elsewhere in the world. What are culturally relevant solutions to affordable housing? How do we adapt architecture to make housing more climate resilient? How can we draw from traditional Middle Eastern architecture to design sustainable housing for the future? How can architects outside of the Middle East learn from these solutions? Hend will seek to answer these questions and many more, drawing from some of her firm’s award-winning projects of the past few years.
For a running list of speakers and more information on upcoming events, check out the Future Fest website, and register to receive invitations to each live talk in September:
Top image: Ternion by Studio Toggle, Salwa, Kuwait; photo by Gijo Paul George