Known for his expressive, organic buildings, acclaimed Cairo architect Mohamed Badie is fascinated by design that explores physical freedom. Since founding Badie Architects in 2014, he has proved himself a master at conjuring cavelike forms that somehow feel both ancient and contemporary – whether a villa surrounded by nature in Giza, or a restaurant with bird’s eye views of the city. His latest project, a new Egyptian beach club and restaurant called ESCA Playa, is a follow-up to the latter, located on the Playa shoreline on the north coast.
Like its forebear, ESCA Playa’s morphology is characterised by undulating plaster-clad forms, which shift from cavities and sheltering canopies to soaring open arches, as if carved out by nature over millennia. Despite its seemingly ancient look, though, the building was created using cutting-edge digital technology, a key tool in Badie’s arsenal. Advanced digital modelling was central to the design process, with high-tech software used to “sculpt and refine” the building’s geometries. “Subdivision and panelling techniques allowed the complex surfaces to be rationalised into buildable, prefabricated components, enabling precise control over curvature, structural behaviour and environmental performance,” explains Badie. “This ensured the architecture could be fabricated efficiently, while retaining a sense of natural irregularity and continuity.”
The design was also inspired by its natural setting. “It draws from biomorphic principles found in shells, sedimentary formations, and catenary geometries [natural curves formed by hanging ropes or chains],” says the architect. However, these were used as structural and spatial tools, not as visual references. “The building is conceived as a continuous shell, thickened and carved to regulate light, ventilation and movement.”
Like natural rock formations, the Egyptian beach club is also responsive to its surroundings, designed to evolve with climate and ageing. “The architecture responds to environmental pressures through variations in thickness, porous boundaries and shading, with light and shadow shifting across the curved surfaces throughout the day,” adds Badie. “The site sits at the meeting point between land and sea, where wind, light and tidal movement actively shape the environment. This exposure was essential to the project, allowing the architecture to engage directly with elemental forces rather than exist as a detached object. The surrounding context is minimal, giving space for the building to merge with the coastal landscape.”
ESCA Playa's structure is organised as a continuous spatial sequence, rather than as distinct rooms, reflecting its function as an events space, as well as a restaurant, bar, and lounge. Spaces move fluidly from open to enclosed, seemingly carved from the terrain, and circulation is intuitive, guided by geometry, light and curves. “The interior and exterior blend seamlessly, reinforcing the idea of the form as an inhabited landscape,” says Badie, who also created custom furniture for the space to match its tactile architectural finishes. “Gradients of enclosure allow the architecture to support both intimate moments and larger gatherings.”
ESCA Playa’s muted sand and mineral tones were chosen to echo the hues of the beach and rocks that surround it, and to allow light and shadow to naturally define the architecture. In the bathrooms, however, there’s a tonal shift, with deep-blue pigmented plaster cocooning visitors in exhilarating colour. “This choice responds to our attraction to the blues of nature, referencing water, depth and immersion,” says Badie. “The intention was to transform the bathroom into an experience rather than a purely functional space, offering a moment of sensory shift.
This project, Badie concludes, reflects his belief in architecture as “an ecosystem rather than an object”, something that places materials, space and environment in constant dialogue. “We don’t just design buildings,” he reflects. “We sculpt living, breathing spaces that resonate with harmony, liberate the human spirit and forge profound connections between people and place.” @badie.architects
