Karim Mekhtigian & Mohamed Fares on building a brand that became a movement

This week, we're continuing the conversation with Karim Mekhtigian and Mohamed Fares, where they tell me about their design philosophy, and their new destination in Downtown Cairo, Tamara Haus, which is where we recorded the episode.

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Karim & Fares, alongside Emy Hussein, are the visionary architects behind Cairo's premier design firm, Alchemy Architecture. Together, they have spent years shaping the architectural landscape in Egypt, setting new standards of quality, style and craftsmanship. 

On our previous episode, Karim and Fares told me how they joined forces to create a partnership that spans two decades.

I’ll be back next week with my producer, Chirag Desai, to look back at the year so far.

00:00 - Coming up
03:43 - Local aesthetics, global influence
14:57 - Building the Alchemy ecosystem
18:00 - Tamara Haus

WEBVTT

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<v Malak Fouad>The Cairo of your childhood was a melting pot. So we've always had an exchange of cultural...

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>With the exception that we are this melting point, because when you are in Italy,

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>it's extremely Italian. Yes.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>When you're in France, it's French. In Egypt, it's everything. It's everything.

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<v Mohamed Fares>Alchemy Experience, we design, we own, and we operate.

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<v Malak Fouad>This episode is brought to you by EFG Hermes One, your one app for investing

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<v Malak Fouad>in more than 35 stock markets worldwide. Welcome again to What I Did Next. I'm Malak Fouad.

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<v Malak Fouad>This is the second part of my conversation with Karim Mekhtigian and Mohamed Fares of Alchemy.

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<v Malak Fouad>I want to talk about a lot of different things today.

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<v Malak Fouad>I want to talk about the philosophy of design.

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<v Malak Fouad>You are partners in Alchemy and various businesses together,

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<v Malak Fouad>but you have very distinct aesthetics.

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<v Malak Fouad>You have very distinct ways of looking at the world.

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<v Malak Fouad>I want to discuss those differences. Obviously, there is a commonality between

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<v Malak Fouad>you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have come together.

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<v Malak Fouad>Or what, Fares?

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<v Mohamed Fares>No, no, of course. Of course, a lot of things we are, we are,

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<v Mohamed Fares>I mean, there is a lot that we agree on, but there is some

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<v Mohamed Fares>differences. It's what made us continue throughout the 25 years.

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<v Mohamed Fares>I learned from Karim a lot of things, a lot of things. He's my mentor.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>And I learned from him.

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<v Mohamed Fares>It was really, really, I mean, something that I completed with each other throughout

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<v Mohamed Fares>the journey. I learned a lot of things from him. I mean,

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<v Mohamed Fares>I continued with him a lot of things, but along the journey,

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<v Mohamed Fares>you have to have a few differences. Definitely.

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<v Malak Fouad>When you started, when you began your work together, what would you have said

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<v Malak Fouad>was your design aesthetic? What was your philosophy then?

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<v Mohamed Fares>For me, I feel that design, it is the act of creating meaning,

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<v Mohamed Fares>atmosphere, and memory.

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<v Malak Fouad>And memory.

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<v Mohamed Fares>This is what I always think about design. I want also to move from different creative practices so

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<v Mohamed Fares>there is no barriers between design, art, fashion, photography, filmmaking. So,

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<v Malak Fouad>Is that a new way of looking at at the world of design years? 20 years, ago 50 years ago, people were in a box

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<v Mohamed Fares> Yes, yes. So I think Alchemy created something out of the box 25 years ago.

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<v Malak Fouad>When you would walk into a space 25 years ago, how would you want to change it?

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<v Malak Fouad>What is it that you wanted to see in that space?

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<v Mohamed Fares>I always think about the space itself, how people will move, how people will react

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<v Mohamed Fares>So, for me, when I design space, I start with a plan.

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<v Mohamed Fares>The plan. Everything around the architecture is cosmetics after that. Yes.

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<v Mohamed Fares>But the plan and the space and the volume is really, really what you have to

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<v Mohamed Fares>tackle inside any space in any architecture project or anything.

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<v Mohamed Fares>So I always think about the plans and the volume and the space and the experience

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<v Mohamed Fares>inside the space in every single project since 25 years ago

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<v Malak Fouad>that hasn't changed

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<v Mohamed Fares>Yeah, that hasn't changed

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<v Malak Fouad>Yeah, hasn't changed. And you, Karim, when you began, what was the the look and feel

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<v Malak Fouad>you wanted to achieve with the spaces you worked in?

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>I'm a bit different from Fares

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<v Malak Fouad> When I think of you, I think of Italian. Italian? Italian aesthetic. No.

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<v Malak Fouad>That's what I think of when I think of.. when I think of your work especially..

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>I'm Egyptian, I'm Egyptian.

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<v Malak Fouad>But the early years, that was what I always felt with Karim. He had an Italian aesthetic.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>maybe the surface. Maybe, we had to do this so people.. we needed to grasp the the attention of everyone. Yes.

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<v Malak Fouad>Yes, but for you, what was the look you wanted?

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>No, no, no. My aim was as because like Alchemy and alchemist and etc, so it was all about how,

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>to elevate the quality of everything that we are doing in our life.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>This, through architecture, art, design, product, etc. This was the only thing.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>We started doing projects. In the meantime, we used to design the furniture.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>We did the lighting and the products.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>We managed the exhibitions.

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<v Malak Fouad>We still have at home two couches you made for us 25 years ago.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>25 years ago.

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<v Malak Fouad>And they're unbelievable, they're still the same.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>Amazing. From day one, Fares knows, I wanted to create a brand and to have an

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>Egyptian product and to have an Egyptian message and to have,

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>a local presence which can be global.

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<v Malak Fouad>You both completely revolutionized the design world when you started.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>We lost our hair.

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<v Malak Fouad>When I talk to people who have worked at Alchemy and have left since then,

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<v Malak Fouad>started their own businesses, they talk about Alchemy like it's the P&G of design.

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<v Malak Fouad>P&G is known as the marketing school, the best marketing school in the world.

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<v Malak Fouad>Alchemy is the same first-class education that all of these people have and now have become...

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<v Malak Fouad>part of the ecosystem, and you've seeded all that. You've seeded these people.

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<v Malak Fouad>You've provided an education that they themselves say very openly,

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<v Malak Fouad>I learned how to draw, how to scale, how to, whatever it is that they need to

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<v Malak Fouad>do, from Karim and Fares. And it's a school.

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<v Malak Fouad>You've created a school, actually. Was it intentional?

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<v Mohamed Fares>No, it wasn't intentional at all. It was organic all over the years.

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<v Malak Fouad>But you're a perfectionist, both of you.

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<v Mohamed Fares>Yeah, kind of.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>We have to. We don't have to be. We have to be.

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<v Mohamed Fares>Work for us is not work. Work is our life. Work is our passion.

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<v Mohamed Fares>So even when we are with colleagues and people working with us, they are family.

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<v Mohamed Fares>They are really family. We invest in people.

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<v Mohamed Fares>We want them to learn every single detail that we learned before I remember Karim 20 years ago

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<v Mohamed Fares>We were not a lot. We had about 10-15 people. So we started to,

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<v Mohamed Fares>Karim, say, let's do the Bible of Alchemy.

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<v Mohamed Fares>It's the guidelines, standardize.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>Our job is related with, we work in spaces.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>So whatever is going to serve us and our colleagues and designers in the office, etc.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>You need SOPs, like sort of standards that you don't...

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>So according to the relation of these details,

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>It's all about details, standards, and a way of thinking.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>you know. Because we talk about always Alchemy, the alchemists etc, so it's

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>we became branded.

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<v Malak Fouad>And there was a look and feel to an Alchemy

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>product. Yes, it's a way of thinking. It's a culture. It's a.. so you build

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>up a sort of a culture which belongs to to us and who are whoever, our community

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>which are the designers, our colleagues etc.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>So we wanted to create sort of this standards. We are doing this till now. Yes.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>And we renew it and we do and for the experience, for the hospitality, etc, we do

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>our own standards. We don't follow other standards. Of course, there are basics

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>and we have to have it but,

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>we, this is very important. We create our own,

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>details of like the door, our doors, our passages, our skirtings, our lighting method.

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<v Malak Fouad>How has your, you Karim, how has your style evolution evolved?

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<v Malak Fouad>How have your, how would, what is the difference between what you would do in

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<v Malak Fouad>a space today to what you would have done 25 years ago?

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>And to start with, I don't have a style. okay.

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<v Malak Fouad>A lot of people think Alchemy has a look, that you walk into a house and you

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<v Malak Fouad>know Alchemy did the house, in some houses, yes.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>No, in general, what we believe in is, no, it's like it's.. you have to.. there is an

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>evolution. There is an evolution and this evolution comes by,

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>by living, by watching, by experiencing new things, by seeing what's going

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>what's happening in this world and what's happening around you, your society.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>The society 10 years ago, 15 years ago was not the same.

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<v Malak Fouad>That's right. The taste level has improved dramatically in Egypt

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>Yes, of course.

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<v Malak Fouad>Partly because you guys have

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>introduced.. not only us. Not only you. Because you have also internet and there's

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<v Malak Fouad>a much more sophisticated client today.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>There was an exposure people they were seeing everything happening in the world

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<v Karim Mekhtigian> so it was and when I came, it was like 1998. There was no this internet,

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>So, I mean, when you do something, it's like you have to convince and you have

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>to put a lot of effort. You were saying, Karim.

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<v Malak Fouad>that when you began, you were very focused on trying to develop the local industries,

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<v Malak Fouad>the local manufacturing, all the local elements.

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<v Malak Fouad>But I know that both of you travel a lot. How much are you influenced by what you see elsewhere?

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<v Malak Fouad>I know, Karim, that you've fallen in love with Japan. I've fallen in love with

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<v Malak Fouad>Japan. Some people are purists. They don't want anything to influence their thought process.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>No, we can't close this. I mean, you always learn.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>And this cross-pollination of different cultures, different understandings.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>I go, I learn how Japanese they think and how they produce.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>I go to Italy, I see the way and the process of their production,

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>and I learn, and I bring whatever I can bring here, and I communicate with the

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>local producers. And this work we have done for five, six years.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>We used to bring experts from Italy and do workshops with international designers

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>and bring them and to make them work with local designers.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>This doesn't mean that I am being Japanese or being Italian.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>I am doing this because I need to understand also who I am and how I can think and how I can produce.

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<v Malak Fouad>And you said also Cairo of your childhood was a melting pot.

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<v Malak Fouad>So we've always had an exchange of cultural...

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>With the exception that we are this melting point because when you are in Italy,

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>it's extremely Italian. Yes. When you're in France, it's French.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>In Egypt, it's everything. It's everything. It's a mix, everything is mixed together.

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<v Malak Fouad>But that's the Arab world, actually. This is our reality also. Yes, it's our reality.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>I mean, this is also our reality since the pharaohs.

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<v Malak Fouad>But if you go to Sicily, you have an Arab influence. It's a Mediterranean experience.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>That's an influence. Yeah. That's an influence, which is different.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>Like Alhambra or Spain or whatever.

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<v Mohamed Fares>That's part of us, too. There's a lot of curiosity.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>It's not influenced here.

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>It's Egyptianized.

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<v Mohamed Fares>Yes, yes. Even in language as well. Yes. There's a part that is curiosity of that

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<v Mohamed Fares>you make yourself That you have a passion to see a lot of things

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<v Mohamed Fares>different cultures. And then when you get back, you put it in your mind and then

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<v Mohamed Fares>there is a mix that produces a different product with your heritage, with your life in Egypt

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<v Malak Fouad>But also for you,

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<v Malak Fouad>Fares, I know you did a filmmaking course in New York. Yeah,

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<v Malak Fouad>yeah. And you did a photography and you did a couple of exhibitions in London. Yes.

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<v Malak Fouad>How do these avenues of creativity feed you now?

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<v Mohamed Fares>First of all, to me,

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<v Mohamed Fares>the architecture and the design is like a movie scene. So this is why I studied

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<v Mohamed Fares>New York Film Academy, filmmaking.

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<v Mohamed Fares>And it helped me a lot. It helped me a lot.

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<v Mohamed Fares>I think it was like 38,

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<v Mohamed Fares>37. I started to feel that I'm back to

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<v Mohamed Fares>20 years. That's a nice feeling. But I was

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<v Mohamed Fares>very afraid. I was very afraid and there are people who are who

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<v Mohamed Fares>are 22 years and I'm 38. I'm not used to this after all these years. But it was a

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<v Mohamed Fares>very very nice experience. I learned a lot. I learned a lot from the people I

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<v Mohamed Fares>went with, the whole group who are making like the final project.

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<v Mohamed Fares> There were people who were 20 and 22 years old and I'm 38 years old.

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<v Malak Fouad>When you interact with people of a much younger age, this is the future for us as

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<v Malak Fouad>we age. We have to work with younger people.

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<v Mohamed Fares>Yes, but by the way, Alchemy always, now, after 25 years,

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<v Mohamed Fares>the generations are passing by

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<v Karim Mekhtigian> I'm

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>I'm young at heart because

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<v Karim Mekhtigian>I'm surrounded by young people

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<v Mohamed Fares>We have people who are

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<v Mohamed Fares>21 years or 22 years after they graduated. It keeps the energy of Alchemy completely different

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<v Malak Fouad>And it keeps you in tune with what people want to do as well. Stay tuned because

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<v Malak Fouad>after the break we're talking in depth about Tamara Haus. This episode is brought

00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:31.049
<v Malak Fouad>to you by EFG Hermes 1 your one app for investment across more than 35 stock markets worldwide.

00:14:31.049 --> 00:14:35.589
<v Malak Fouad>With EFG Hermes One, you can buy and sell orders in real time for immediate

00:14:35.589 --> 00:14:38.355
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00:14:38.553 --> 00:14:42.209
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00:14:46.309 --> 00:14:49.829
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00:14:49.829 --> 00:14:54.459
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00:14:54.459 --> 00:14:58.274
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00:14:58.483 --> 00:15:00.029
<v Malak Fouad>Talk to me about Alchemy Experience.

00:15:00.609 --> 00:15:04.584
<v Karim Mekhtigian>We grew throughout the years organically

00:15:05.469 --> 00:15:12.340
<v Karim Mekhtigian>And he sees something that has to be done. He's doing it. I see something has to be done. At the end,

00:15:14.046 --> 00:15:18.055
<v Karim Mekhtigian>when you look back, it's almost

00:15:20.115 --> 00:15:25.365
<v Karim Mekhtigian>we can have an ecosystem. You have to combine them. They can serve each other. I mean,

00:15:25.365 --> 00:15:29.842
<v Karim Mekhtigian>I have the Alchemy, I have the production, I have the architecture, I have the designers.

00:15:30.248 --> 00:15:33.635
<v Karim Mekhtigian>We are creating our spaces, we are creating, we are doing events.

00:15:35.295 --> 00:15:38.095
<v Karim Mekhtigian>We were named the best event designers, etc.

00:15:38.810 --> 00:15:43.855
<v Karim Mekhtigian>We're doing our branding, we're doing our, we had started our product

00:15:43.855 --> 00:15:50.055
<v Karim Mekhtigian>products, production, a scalable business, which is like analog.. how to combine all of this under one

00:15:50.755 --> 00:16:00.575
<v Karim Mekhtigian>and the toys business, and then why we don't start to have all this to serve each other in one space.

00:16:00.955 --> 00:16:06.035
<v Karim Mekhtigian>And it's easy for us to create, because we have done all the elements.

00:16:06.035 --> 00:16:10.184
<v Malak Fouad>But with experience, the concept was to move into hospitality.

00:16:11.184 --> 00:16:12.175
<v Mohamed Fares>Yes. No. Yes, yes, Karim

00:16:12.175 --> 00:16:12.995
<v Malak Fouad>No and yes, which one is it?

00:16:13.855 --> 00:16:18.215
<v Karim Mekhtigian>No, hospitality is one of the services that you are offering.

00:16:18.695 --> 00:16:19.695
<v Malak Fouad>Okay.

00:16:19.695 --> 00:16:20.635
<v Mohamed Fares>Of course, to make money.

00:16:20.635 --> 00:16:21.824
<v Karim Mekhtigian>It's not an hotel, but...

00:16:22.956 --> 00:16:24.343
<v Mohamed Fares>Yeah, yeah, it's not hotel, but...

00:16:24.535 --> 00:16:27.519
<v Karim Mekhtigian>It's hospitality as in F&B or whatever.

00:16:27.979 --> 00:16:30.861
<v Karim Mekhtigian>Okay, these are the services that it calls like this.

00:16:31.182 --> 00:16:37.219
<v Karim Mekhtigian>But all our struggle is, what is the difference and what is the different experience

00:16:37.219 --> 00:16:39.579
<v Karim Mekhtigian>that they are going to live in this building?

00:16:39.579 --> 00:16:46.095
<v Malak Fouad>So let me ask you if this is a comparable, like, if this is what I can compare it to.

00:16:46.635 --> 00:16:49.479
<v Malak Fouad>Soho House. I'm a member of Soho House.

00:16:49.479 --> 00:16:49.759
<v Mohamed Fares>Me too.

00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:55.125
<v Malak Fouad>You go to any Soho House in the world, You know what you're going in for. Is that the idea?

00:16:55.619 --> 00:16:59.369
<v Malak Fouad>Regardless of whether it's a hotel, whether it's a restaurant

00:16:59.682 --> 00:17:05.149
<v Mohamed Fares>It's like the Egyptian narrative of Soho House. Yes,

00:17:05.149 --> 00:17:08.883
<v Malak Fouad>yes which we don't have in Egypt Yes, we don't have We don't have it

00:17:10.090 --> 00:17:13.608
<v Karim Mekhtigian>We have a lot of things that you can use for that, I mean,

00:17:14.061 --> 00:17:15.329
<v Karim Mekhtigian>your heritage, your history.

00:17:15.339 --> 00:17:22.171
<v Mohamed Fares>Yeah We have a certain place we also think about it out of Alchemy Experience. We also think about it

00:17:23.883 --> 00:17:31.279
<v Mohamed Fares>and say: Alchemy Experience: we design, we own, and we operate. The operational part that we've been building for 3 years

00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:37.606
<v Mohamed Fares>we built this. This is fine. The other two are fine

00:17:40.319 --> 00:17:43.539
<v Karim Mekhtigian>The one of the operation, this is we are building it from scratch

00:17:43.539 --> 00:17:49.889
<v Malak Fouad>but this is where both of you, your perfectionism comes in

00:17:49.889 --> 00:17:54.019
<v Malak Fouad>you want to be in control of the entire experience, the entire product.

00:17:54.439 --> 00:17:55.309
<v Karim Mekhtigian>There is no other way.

00:17:55.309 --> 00:18:00.829
<v Mohamed Fares>What we agreed on that we need to build our own operational ecosystem within the whole thing.

00:18:00.829 --> 00:18:05.057
<v Malak Fouad>So let's talk about the space we're in. We're in Tamara Haus. It's been five years?

00:18:05.190 --> 00:18:06.979
<v Karim Mekhtigian>No, four years. Four years.

00:18:07.479 --> 00:18:11.119
<v Mohamed Fares>Okay. When Karim saw the building

00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:15.019
<v Karim Mekhtigian>I went to Karim Shafi. I said, I'm interested. Let's do something.

00:18:15.019 --> 00:18:16.759
<v Karim Mekhtigian>He said, okay, what are you going to do?

00:18:17.059 --> 00:18:22.239
<v Karim Mekhtigian>I told him, give me one month and I'll come to you with what I want to do.

00:18:23.470 --> 00:18:28.412
<v Karim Mekhtigian>And then I prepared all the presentation, etc. I didn't say anything to Fares

00:18:28.412 --> 00:18:31.982
<v Karim Mekhtigian>at that time. And then when I finished the presentation, I told Fares,

00:18:32.422 --> 00:18:34.900
<v Karim Mekhtigian>I want to talk to you. Fares told me, no way.

00:18:35.370 --> 00:18:36.676
<v Malak Fouad>Why? No way. Why?

00:18:37.245 --> 00:18:38.322
<v Karim Mekhtigian>You were overstretched?

00:18:38.322 --> 00:18:39.412
<v Malak Fouad>All of you were overstretched?

00:18:39.812 --> 00:18:40.282
<v Mohamed Fares>No, no.

00:18:40.282 --> 00:18:41.082
<v Malak Fouad>Too much going on?

00:18:41.082 --> 00:18:42.132
<v Mohamed Fares>No, no. Karim,

00:18:44.532 --> 00:18:49.972
<v Mohamed Fares>the whole… At that time, the program was different than the final program.

00:18:50.372 --> 00:18:57.939
<v Karim Mekhtigian>We changed it. Throughout the four years, we want to find a formula.

00:18:58.972 --> 00:19:02.712
<v Karim Mekhtigian>We want to bring this place to life.

00:19:02.712 --> 00:19:07.332
<v Malak Fouad>And what's the formula now? If someone was to tell you today, what is Tamara haus? What would you say?

00:19:07.332 --> 00:19:16.812
<v Karim Mekhtigian>It's a destination. With a platform that is catering for creative industries, community.

00:19:17.872 --> 00:19:23.237
<v Karim Mekhtigian>We want to engage the new generation, new energy,

00:19:24.032 --> 00:19:29.862
<v Karim Mekhtigian>giving a sort of forecast, what

00:19:29.862 --> 00:19:34.818
<v Karim Mekhtigian>is living in downtown and how you can live in downtown and how you can,

00:19:39.652 --> 00:19:41.912
<v Karim Mekhtigian>reuse this downtown building.

00:19:41.912 --> 00:19:44.948
<v Malak Fouad>And renew the neighborhood. And we all know this now.

00:19:45.598 --> 00:19:50.422
<v Malak Fouad>People want experiences when they travel. They don't want a five-star hotel that

00:19:50.422 --> 00:19:55.947
<v Malak Fouad>looks the same everywhere. They want the individual, personalized, local feel

00:19:56.243 --> 00:20:02.162
<v Mohamed Fares>Experience is different. We always say that it's not a hotel. Throughout Alchemy

00:20:02.162 --> 00:20:08.962
<v Mohamed Fares>experience we have other vision for things similar to Tamara Haus

00:20:09.948 --> 00:20:16.258
<v Mohamed Fares>other projects, Inshallah, are coming soon. Yes. But we're not a hotel.

00:20:16.891 --> 00:20:21.641
<v Mohamed Fares>Even we have experiences and some of the buildings that we will do,

00:20:21.641 --> 00:20:23.602
<v Mohamed Fares>Inshallah, that will have bedrooms.

00:20:24.182 --> 00:20:28.961
<v Mohamed Fares>This kind of bedrooms that we create different experiences within the lobby,

00:20:28.961 --> 00:20:30.981
<v Mohamed Fares>within the restaurants, within, you know.

00:20:30.981 --> 00:20:35.271
<v Karim Mekhtigian>And it's related with the location also. Yes. I mean, I'm in downtown,

00:20:35.271 --> 00:20:40.331
<v Karim Mekhtigian>so I have all the stories of downtown, the untold part of downtown.

00:20:40.331 --> 00:20:44.894
<v Karim Mekhtigian>And this was a bank. This was the headquarters of Tamara.

00:20:45.161 --> 00:20:47.951
<v Malak Fouad>So you're keeping the history alive this way.

00:20:47.951 --> 00:20:53.091
<v Karim Mekhtigian>Something that history is a part of it. Yes. And we make use of that.

00:20:53.948 --> 00:20:58.308
<v Karim Mekhtigian>And all our projects, more or less, it's sort of a time travel thing.

00:20:58.894 --> 00:21:03.211
<v Karim Mekhtigian>It's like you don't know. You are in history. You are here. You are tomorrow. You are in the future.

00:21:03.671 --> 00:21:09.211
<v Malak Fouad>You told me a very nice story. We had come here for lunch a couple of years, a year ago maybe.

00:21:09.211 --> 00:21:13.631
<v Malak Fouad>You mentioned that you had spent a lot of time going to the antique stores of

00:21:13.631 --> 00:21:18.851
<v Malak Fouad>downtown and you're rescuing old pieces that you're going to include.

00:21:19.014 --> 00:21:23.031
<v Malak Fouad>I love this story because you're keeping the stories of the community alive. And we're still looking

00:21:23.711 --> 00:21:30.595
<v Karim Mekhtigian>You know, memory and history is something very important in our environment.

00:21:31.001 --> 00:21:36.651
<v Karim Mekhtigian>this is and commercially also. Whatever is with history is like really.

00:21:37.571 --> 00:21:40.771
<v Malak Fouad>It means more. It means more, it means a lot more

00:21:41.091 --> 00:21:44.881
<v Karim Mekhtigian>Memory is very important in interiors and in architecture in our life

00:21:45.629 --> 00:21:50.581
<v Malak Fouad>So, Tamara Haus is going to have an aesthetic whatever project comes next whatever

00:21:50.581 --> 00:21:57.227
<v Malak Fouad>property you then develop will it be the same or will you be looking at each

00:21:57.796 --> 00:22:00.441
<v Malak Fouad>property with its own soul

00:22:00.441 --> 00:22:05.801
<v Mohamed Fares>Tamara Haus now, to answer your question, we have the building is 4000 square meter.

00:22:06.765 --> 00:22:11.861
<v Mohamed Fares>We have the first floor that will be the bank.

00:22:12.773 --> 00:22:21.138
<v Mohamed Fares>The bank is a cross-pollination of design, fashion, food, art,

00:22:22.177 --> 00:22:25.979
<v Mohamed Fares>so nothing before was created like this.

00:22:27.082 --> 00:22:32.481
<v Mohamed Fares>And part of the ground floor will be Tamara Afandy, which is our department store.

00:22:33.810 --> 00:22:37.328
<v Mohamed Fares>Also, we have a gym. We created our own gym, which is called The Vault.

00:22:38.570 --> 00:22:43.631
<v Mohamed Fares>And the first floor that we are sitting in now is the designer's area.

00:22:43.770 --> 00:22:48.996
<v Malak Fouad>Let's say for someone like me, I live in Cairo. Would I become a member of Tamara

00:22:48.996 --> 00:22:51.556
<v Malak Fouad>Haus if I want to use facilities here?

00:22:51.556 --> 00:22:52.236
<v Karim Mekhtigian>Yes, you can.

00:22:52.236 --> 00:22:55.126
<v Malak Fouad>Or just book a date, a restaurant booking and come?

00:22:55.126 --> 00:23:00.896
<v Mohamed Fares>This will evolve within one year, because in the third floor and the fourth

00:23:00.896 --> 00:23:06.346
<v Mohamed Fares>floor we are having our 28 keys which they are like, 26 suites and there are

00:23:06.810 --> 00:23:10.363
<v Mohamed Fares>two suites, among them are two bedrooms, and there is a rooftop with a restaurant

00:23:14.996 --> 00:23:21.566
<v Mohamed Fares>called 1910 restaurant, on the rooftop which it will be the all day dining concept

00:23:21.990 --> 00:23:26.733
<v Mohamed Fares>People can come and enjoy the breakfast and lunch and dinner

00:23:27.784 --> 00:23:30.656
<v Mohamed Fares>And, of course, we have Tchai Teahouse here in this floor.

00:23:30.996 --> 00:23:33.583
<v Malak Fouad>So you'll have three F&B outlets. Yeah.

00:23:33.734 --> 00:23:39.672
<v Mohamed Fares>Yeah, okay. Three F&B outlets and the department store and the gym and the bedrooms.

00:23:39.910 --> 00:23:44.346
<v Malak Fouad>And looking ahead, looking to the next project, because I know that there is

00:23:44.346 --> 00:23:50.375
<v Malak Fouad>one or two things in mind, are you going to be having the same offerings?

00:23:51.397 --> 00:23:54.526
<v Mohamed Fares>Yeah, sometimes within the building, sometimes we don't have bedrooms

00:23:55.159 --> 00:24:00.756
<v Mohamed Fares>but we will create experiences which will be like F&B and some cultural space

00:24:00.756 --> 00:24:05.606
<v Mohamed Fares>for events and everything. We are doing a project with the partners. they have

00:24:05.606 --> 00:24:09.596
<v Mohamed Fares>the land in Soma Bay and we own 20 out of this land

00:24:10.484 --> 00:24:13.589
<v Mohamed Fares>to create something which is called House of Ardea

00:24:13.804 --> 00:24:16.496
<v Karim Mekhtigian>Ardea is the bird the name of the bird that yes yes.

00:24:17.116 --> 00:24:19.746
<v Mohamed Fares>And we are calling it the Red Sea Chatter.

00:24:19.746 --> 00:24:20.526
<v Malak Fouad>It's a hotel?

00:24:20.526 --> 00:24:26.776
<v Mohamed Fares>It's a branded residence and not a hotel, it's like bedrooms and experiences

00:24:27.336 --> 00:24:30.871
<v Mohamed Fares>and the gym and it will be related to

00:24:33.123 --> 00:24:35.222
<v Mohamed Fares>experiences and wellness. This is

00:24:35.222 --> 00:24:38.432
<v Malak Fouad>very needed in Egypt, a high-end wellness experience

00:24:39.372 --> 00:24:41.692
<v Mohamed Fares> Yes and it will be in Soma Bay.

00:24:42.152 --> 00:24:47.744
<v Malak Fouad>Will I know as a customer that it's the same people behind Tamara Haus and

00:24:47.993 --> 00:24:50.838
<v Mohamed Fares>Of course. Of course you will know. How?

00:24:51.227 --> 00:24:57.122
<v Karim Mekhtigian>Because you have the same brand of the haus, the haus is the brand of the hospitality

00:24:57.122 --> 00:25:05.200
<v Mohamed Fares>The same. Yeah. But you will see and you you will feel that these people, that it's our project.

00:25:05.752 --> 00:25:08.002
<v Mohamed Fares>You will feel it. You will feel it. With the name.

00:25:08.002 --> 00:25:08.468
<v Malak Fouad>Yes.

00:25:08.572 --> 00:25:11.122
<v Mohamed Fares>With the storytelling. And with the teaser.

00:25:11.353 --> 00:25:15.862
<v Malak Fouad>And also with the experience within the space. Yeah. Right?

00:25:15.862 --> 00:25:24.532
<v Karim Mekhtigian>As I told you, it's like you are going to live in a time travel. You don't know you are in 1910 or 2026,

00:25:27.027 --> 00:25:35.182
<v Karim Mekhtigian>or 2050. So we are cooking certain situations that will happen,

00:25:35.182 --> 00:25:39.941
<v Karim Mekhtigian>certain scenarios that will happen during, it's not only,

00:25:42.008 --> 00:25:43.976
<v Karim Mekhtigian>the

00:25:44.742 --> 00:25:48.895
<v Karim Mekhtigian>The staff is, they are performers, they are performing, they are performing

00:25:48.895 --> 00:25:51.899
<v Karim Mekhtigian>their acts, they are performing, there is a story.

00:25:52.565 --> 00:25:57.885
<v Karim Mekhtigian>And each space and each level,

00:26:04.285 --> 00:26:08.485
<v Karim Mekhtigian>has its own story. And things will happen. And I mean, as I told you,

00:26:08.945 --> 00:26:14.690
<v Karim Mekhtigian>we are creating a sort of lobby, and we name it, Meet Me at the Lobby.

00:26:15.119 --> 00:26:20.805
<v Karim Mekhtigian>because you don't know who you're going to meet, but there will be certain...

00:26:21.265 --> 00:26:24.205
<v Karim Mekhtigian>We are going to provoke certain meetings, certain happenings,

00:26:24.205 --> 00:26:32.265
<v Karim Mekhtigian>people that they might add something in your story and in your life.

00:26:32.265 --> 00:26:36.385
<v Malak Fouad>Fares was just telling us before we started recording that you were in the

00:26:36.385 --> 00:26:41.763
<v Malak Fouad>UK for an important meeting and you were staying at one of the most fabulous

00:26:42.291 --> 00:26:44.230
<v Malak Fouad>global brands that we all love.

00:26:44.927 --> 00:26:49.060
<v Malak Fouad>and they had a butler that was provided for you.

00:26:49.675 --> 00:26:55.385
<v Malak Fouad>These are the touches, not necessarily the butler, but it's these one-off gestures

00:26:55.385 --> 00:26:56.795
<v Malak Fouad>that you don't get anywhere else.

00:26:56.795 --> 00:26:57.703
<v Mohamed Fares>Here we have the depot.

00:26:58.267 --> 00:26:59.465
<v Malak Fouad>You have the depot? Yeah.

00:26:59.465 --> 00:27:04.405
<v Karim Mekhtigian>What is that? The depot is our toy. It's our person, he's our character.

00:27:04.945 --> 00:27:07.065
<v Karim Mekhtigian>The character that we build up throughout years.

00:27:07.065 --> 00:27:12.129
<v Malak Fouad>Yeah, but what will I come away from staying at Tamara Haus

00:27:12.756 --> 00:27:16.710
<v Malak Fouad>and I'll think I have to go back to Cairo and I have to stay again at the Tamara

00:27:16.710 --> 00:27:19.620
<v Malak Fouad>Haus. What is going to be that hook?

00:27:20.300 --> 00:27:25.860
<v Mohamed Fares>I think because of the, first of all, this place will be.. it's already

00:27:25.860 --> 00:27:31.060
<v Mohamed Fares>unique and the experience inside it will be unique as well. Hundred percent.

00:27:31.560 --> 00:27:37.600
<v Karim Mekhtigian>What we are trying to do here in our context, in our in downtown Cairo,

00:27:37.896 --> 00:27:41.425
<v Karim Mekhtigian>it's not just a room that you're having.

00:27:41.838 --> 00:27:48.260
<v Karim Mekhtigian>you have stories inside, you have bedside stories you have you have all of a

00:27:48.260 --> 00:27:53.210
<v Karim Mekhtigian>sudden, you have a show, you have the DJ, you have the music, you have the library.

00:27:53.210 --> 00:27:57.480
<v Malak Fouad>And how are you going to connect people to the neighborhood? I know are you going

00:27:57.480 --> 00:28:01.510
<v Malak Fouad>to have preferred maybe guides for the area?

00:28:01.510 --> 00:28:06.260
<v Mohamed Fares>Telling you about this we had a sort of partnership with Abu Ghali Motors

00:28:06.962 --> 00:28:15.257
<v Mohamed Fares>to have this kind of mobility service around all over Egypt or Cairo in general, yeah. And now so

00:28:15.826 --> 00:28:20.520
<v Mohamed Fares>your driver will be your butler you will be your concierge and we are going

00:28:20.520 --> 00:28:25.760
<v Mohamed Fares>to connect some of the tours to have like an art tour to have like a fine dining

00:28:25.760 --> 00:28:27.660
<v Mohamed Fares>exactly to have like street food tour

00:28:27.660 --> 00:28:28.910
<v Malak Fouad>And the downtown tour

00:28:28.910 --> 00:28:31.440
<v Karim Mekhtigian>You have a lot of things yes you can see you have.

00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:36.500
<v Malak Fouad>But you will provide those experiences for the guests. That's what I mean. Yes, for sure.

00:28:36.900 --> 00:28:38.460
<v Mohamed Fares>Yes, 100%.

00:28:38.460 --> 00:28:41.470
<v Malak Fouad>Thanks for joining me today. It would be really great if you would share the

00:28:41.470 --> 00:28:44.652
<v Malak Fouad>episode with friends and family, because that's how we can grow the show.

00:28:44.803 --> 00:28:49.280
<v Malak Fouad>Stay tuned for next week when Chirag Desai, my producer, and I sit down and

00:28:49.280 --> 00:28:51.984
<v Malak Fouad>look at the first half of the year. Please join us then.