Before joining GUC in February 2023, Ayham was a postdoctoral researcher at the CNRS; he worked at the Collaborative Research Centre “Re-Figurations of Space” at TU Berlin; and was a visiting fellow at the University of Oxford. In addition to consultancy work, he taught at different universities in Germany, Oman and the USA.
In his research, Ayham focuses on urban space, informality, resilience, culture, power dynamics, and identity politics. In particular, he is interested in the socio-spatial practices and transformations of space and how they can be mapped and visualized through mixed media and illustration techniques. His research is driven by strong interest in ethnography, anthropology, cultural studies and urbanization theories and how they can be linked to architectural design and contemporary urban practices. In his book “From Shelters to Dwellings” he looks at the intersections between the production of space, home, identity and the refugee camp. From the macro to the micro, he utilizes ethnographic observations, co-mappings, narratives, 3D modeling and detailed architectural drawings to explain processes ranging from camp planning to spatial transformation, social grouping, and the representations of identity, homemaking and the social coding of space.
In Cairo, Ayham’s research focuses on the impact of different global crises on the built environment and how they engender new forms of top-down strategies and bottom-up practices and tactics, with special focus on displacement, housing, neoliberalization, and the right to the city.