Unformed Design is a transdisciplinary architecture practice integrating architecture, landscape, narrative, and visual culture across its work. Founded in Milan by Hassan Elgendy and Nahed Zmeter, the studio explores design as a tool for storytelling, spatial experience, and contextual dialogue. Rooted in international experience across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, Unformed Design approaches each project with sensitivity to place, culture, and human perception. The studio has received international recognition through several award-winning competition entries, including first prizes for cultural, civic, and residential projects across Europe, Asia, and North America. Working across multiple scales, from intimate interiors to large urban interventions, the practice combines conceptual clarity with emotional depth, creating architecture that is both grounded and evocative. Today, Unformed Design continues to evolve as a platform for experimental thinking, engaging diverse geographies while maintaining a strong commitment to craftsmanship, narrative, and meaningful spatial experiences.
Via Verona 10
Milan, IT 20135
For all inquiries, please contact studio@unformedesign.com
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Hassan M. Elgendy
CO-FOUNDER
hassan.elgendy@unformedesign.com
Hassan is an award-winning Egyptian architect with a double degree in architecture from Cairo and London (2014). He has worked with renowned design studios across Egypt, China, and Europe, including Stefano Boeri Architetti. As co-founder of UNFORMED, he focuses on contextual design and visual narrative. His work, widely recognized by ArchDaily, Designboom, and other leading architecture publications, has earned multiple international awards, including first prizes in Michigan, Cyprus, Tianjin, Japan, and various regions in the Middle East. With a design approach that seamlessly integrates nature, materiality, and cultural context, his projects range from intimate installations to complex architectural compositions, redefining spatial experiences through innovation and site-responsive solutions.
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Nahed zmeter
CO-FOUNDER
nahed.zmeter@unformedesign.com
Nahed is an accomplished Egyptian architect and co-founder of UNFORMED, a Milan-based architecture practice. With a degree from a leading Egyptian university (2014), she has worked with prominent design studios across Egypt and internationally. Her work focuses on human-centered design, emphasizing the relationship between people, space, and environment. A notable project, the El Hiez Water Education Center in Egypt’s Western Desert, was realized after winning an architecture competition and constructed entirely with rammed earth, reflecting her commitment to sustainable, context-sensitive architecture. Nahed continues to explore how architecture can foster human connections and harmonize with nature.
awards and recognitions
2024 Not a Hotel - Kitakaruizawa, Japan - First Prize
2023 Puppetry Arts Centre, Stara Zagora, Bulgaria - 6th Prize
2020 Congress Center - Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Honourable Prize
2020 Hope Dental Center, Kigali, Rwanda - Honourable Prize
2019 17th La Biennale Di Venezia Egyptian Pavilion - Runner Up
2019 Lotus In Four Seasons - Changchun, China - Finalist
2019 Barjeel Museum - Sharjah, UAE - Third Prize
2019 Reviving NPAK - Yerevan, Armenia - Fourth Prize
2019 North Design Union Headquarters - Tianjin, China - First Prize
2018 Baghdad Design Center - Baghdad, Iraq - Shortlisted
2018 School in the Marshes - Marshes, Iraq - Honourable Prize
2018 Cyprus Lighthouse - Paphos, Cyprus - First Prize
2017 16th La Biennale Di Venezia Egyptian Pavilion - Second Prize
2017 Observatory Houses - Roccascalegna, Italy - Finalist
2017 The Pavilion - Utica Junction, USA - First Prize
2016 SBE16 Cairo Local Competition - Cairo, Egypt - Second Prize
2015 El Heiz Water Education Center, Western desert, Egypt - First Prize
