The Knowledge That Was Never Written Down
Artificial intelligence systems are trained exclusively on documented, explicit human knowledge, leading them to overlook tacit knowledge. This unwritten understanding,…
Author: ibrahim Fawakherji
Articles published under the pen name Ibrahim Fawakherji, an ArchUp columnist with a professional background in architecture, design and building management. This archive brings together his original writing across these fields and urban life. For the column’s editorial focus and essays, visit the Fawakherji Column. Contact ArchUp about reuse permissions; unauthorized republication may be referred for removal.
The Earring Clasp Principle: On Theft, Waste, and the Invisible Economy of Construction Sites
Ibrahim Fawakherji — ArchUpI was eight years old when I first understood that small things stolen at scale become large…
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Astra: Could This Make You a “Maestra”?
AI design agents mark a shift in architectural practice by autonomously executing spatial tasks, massing, and circulation from design briefs….
The Flight That Left Pregnant and Returned Newborn
I noticed it before the plane even pushed back. Boarding, I counted the pregnant women, and I stopped counting at…
The Pattern That Nature Also Solved
Islamic geometric patterns share deep structural and generative mathematical logic with natural systems like quasicrystals, plant growth, and cellular structures….
London After Twenty Years: The City That Grows While Standing Still
A twenty-year photographic comparison reveals how London evolved between 2006 and 2026. While iconic landmarks like Big Ben remained preserved,…
The Yards, Covent Garden: The City That Whispers
The Yards is an urban design project occupying over five acres in London’s Covent Garden. Rather than acting as a…
The Building’s Other Footprint
Buildings possess both a physical ground footprint and a dynamic annual shadow footprint created as the sun moves throughout the…
Old Trafford Before the Whistle
An architectural perspective on Old Trafford highlights how the stadium balances operational demands with its historical legacy. Key features include…
Prospect Place: When Gehry Learns to Live Within a Grid
Ibrahim Fawakherji — ArchUpI recognized him before I knew he was there. Battersea Power StationSouth bank of the Thames, London…
Battersea: When the Machine Becomes the City
Battersea Power Station in London has undergone a major urban transformation, converting a long-disused industrial landmark into a mixed-use neighborhood….
Between Two Films
Media and professional industries face a major shift as artificial intelligence automates routine production tasks. While automated systems make generic…
Before You Draw the House, Study the Pack
Residential architects must understand a family’s social structure to design effective homes. Drawing from behavioral ecology, household dynamics often reflect…
The Bank That Hired a Geomancer
Feng shui combines practical environmental design with metaphysical superstition. While the Compass School relies on unproven astrological calculations, the Form…
The Studio That Was a Person
Design studios often function as extensions of a founder’s personal judgment and tacit knowledge rather than as formal organizations. This…
The Rent You Pay After the Rent
Beyond basic rent, housing costs include hidden expenses driven by architectural and planning decisions. This poverty premium forces low-income households…
The Architecture of Not Enough
Architecture serves as an economic ledger for low-income families, reflecting and reinforcing their financial status. Land costs and tenure security…
An Elegy for Architecture
Ibrahim Fawakherji reflects on the significance of personal digital archives through an old hard drive containing twenty years of work….
The Building That Could Not Find a Tenant
I watched a building fail in slow motion. It was finished on time, it was structurally sound, its facade photographed…
The Louvre Without the Mona Lisa
A visit to the Louvre highlights the overwhelming cultural and physical influence of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Despite its…
I Went to See Calder, and Found a System Trying to Escape the Canvas
The exhibition traces Alexander Calder’s transition from representational paintings of industrial life to the development of kinetic sculpture. His early…
