Projects
Principal
Zak Ghanim, former member of:
OAA, RAIC, A. AIA, EES, ABO & TSA
staff
SENIOR ASSOCIATES
ADDRESS
31 Curzon Street
Toronto, Ontario, M4M 3B3, Canada.
Toronto, Ontario, M4M 3B3, Canada.
CELL
416-518-6444
Website
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION
B. Arch.. Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering,
University of Alexandria, Egypt
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Former member of:
Ontario Association of Architects (OAA).
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC).
American Institute of Architects (AIA), International Associate.
Egyptian Engineers Syndicate (EES).
Arab-Canadian Business Organization (ABO).
Toronto Society of Architects (TSA).
UN Development Program, Lecturer.
Alam Al-Benaa (World of Construction) magazine, Cairo, Egypt, Editing Advisor.
Vice President of Key to (Acquire Knowledge): A Federal Canadian-registered charitable organization
Ontario Association of Architects (OAA).
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC).
American Institute of Architects (AIA), International Associate.
Egyptian Engineers Syndicate (EES).
Arab-Canadian Business Organization (ABO).
Toronto Society of Architects (TSA).
UN Development Program, Lecturer.
Alam Al-Benaa (World of Construction) magazine, Cairo, Egypt, Editing Advisor.
Vice President of Key to (Acquire Knowledge): A Federal Canadian-registered charitable organization
EMPLOYMENT
HISTORY
Professional experience was obtained by working for various award-winning Canadian
International
Architects including:
Architects including:
- Arthur Erickson
- Crang and Boake
- Petroff Partnership
Publications
In the summer of 1996, Zak Ghanim started videotaped architectural interviews (to be published) with many internationally renowned architects/Designers including Kamal Amin, Mario Botta, Christo, Peter Eisenman, Arthur Erickson, Michael Graves, Philip Johnson, Bill Lishman, Ray Moriyama, Carlos Ott, Paolo Portoghesi, Paul Rudolph, Moshe Safdie, Ismail Serageldin, Paolo Soleri, Robert Stern, Stanley Tigerman, Eb Zeidler and Boris Zerafa.
Upcoming Book
COMMUNITY SERVICE
- Vaughan Hockey Team | Vaughan, ON | 1999
- End Breast Cancer | Toronto, On | 2003
- Portugal Soccer Club Team | Toronto, ON | 2007
- The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation | Toronto, ON | April 2010
Awards
- First outstanding progress and achievement award, The Arab Canadian Professional Organization, Toronto, ON, 1997.
- International Grand Prize, 99 Masterworks Contest, The Deihl Graphsoft, USA, for 1 & 3 Bond Ave, Toronto, ON, 1997.
- 2nd. prize, El-Shark Insurance Company’s International Competition as a consultant for CPAS, Cairo, Egypt, 1997.
- Award of Merit in excellence in design, Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto, ON, 1997.
- Trophy of Honour for a series of lectures and seminars at the Engineering Administration, Cairo, Egypt, 1998.
- Nominee for Man of The Year, American Biographical Institute, 2006.
- Award of Merit, Heritage Toronto, for restoration of Jolly Miller Tavern, Toronto, ON, 2006.
- A.R.E. (Association of Retail Environment), Outstanding Merit Award, Oliver Bonacini Café Grill, Oakville, ON, 2010.
- Nominee for Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Markham Mosque, Markham, ON, 2009.
- OAA Awards of Merit, Fort McMurray Islamic Centre, Alberta | 2013.
COMPETITION FINALIST
- OAA’s design excellence competition, Toronto, ON | 1988.
- Dream Home, National Home Show, CNE, Toronto, ON | 1991.
- Canadian Interiors Magazine’s “Colour makes a difference” for Maychell’s Cafe & Grill, (now Twilite), Aurora, ON | 1993.
COMPETITION ENTRIES
- Residential & commercial complexes, Abu Dhabi, UAE | 1984.
- Prix de Rome | 1990.
- Housing on Toronto’s main street | 1991.
- Canadian Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 1995.
- CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency), Restoration Projects, 1996
- Canadian Governor General Awards, Sep 20, 1996.
- Canadian Architect magazine, 1996 Awards of Excellence, Toronto, ON, Sep 24, 1996.
INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM
- In December, 1996, Michael Graves Architect, Eb Zeidler Architect, Zak Ghanim Architect, Yolles Partnership, ECE group, and CPAS of Egypt, established a joint venture team to deal with various projects in Egypt and the Middle East.
INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS
- Since its initiation, Ghanim’s office has produced hundreds of projects. In Canada and USA, his work includes office buildings, restaurants, community centres, mosques, churches, private homes and plazas. Globally, the projects include a hotel in Morocco; a private house in Ghana; a housing subdivision in Cleveland, Ohio; Restaurants in Michigan, a plaza in Mecca, Saudi Arabia; a restaurant in Singapore; an office building in Egypt; and a hotel and villas in St. Kitts and Antigua, both in the Caribbean Sea.
EXHIBITIONS
- Three Proposals of “Housing on Toronto’s Main Street” competition, were exhibited in Toronto, ON.
- Three projects were displayed at the “9th Pan-American Biennale of Architecture”, Quito, Ecuador, Nov, 1995.
- A poster of Country Style Booth was exhibited at RAIC Festival of Architecture, Calgary, AB, Oct 12-14, 1995.
- Country Style Booth, permanent collection, Archival Department, CNE (Canadian National exhibition), Toronto, ON, since 1995.
- A poster of Country Style Booth, CNE, Toronto, ON, was displayed at OAA Exhibition of Excellence Awards, Apr 28 – May 3, 1995.
- Five projects were displayed at OAA design awards celebration, Apr, 1996.
- OAA 1988 Ideas and Presentation Awards Exhibition, OAA, Toronto, ON, May 1 – Oct 31, 1998
- 3 Projects :1& 3 Bond Ave, Polyson, New Visions on Architecture were displayed at XI Biennale of Architecture, Quito, Equator, Nov 20, 1998.
- Toronto Reference Library, “Zak Ghanim Architect”, a brochure, TRL Stacks # 720.92 G34Z11
Five posters of ZAK Ghanim's Buildings, sponsored by "DuRock, Para Paint and Print-in" were displayed at:
- “Symposium on Architecture”, Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, ON, Sep 19, 1995.
- Metro Home Show, Metro Convention Centre, Toronto, ON, Jan 18-21, 1996.
- Toronto City Hall’s rotunda, Toronto, ON, Jan 22-27, 1996.
- North York City Hall, North York, ON, Jan 29 – Feb 6, 1996.
- DX (Design Exchange), Toronto, ON, Feb 12-23, 1996.
- Town of Markham’s Rotunda Gallery, ON, Feb 24 – Mar 8, 1996.
- National Home Show, CNE, Toronto, ON, Apr 1-14, 1996.
- City of Etobicoke’s Exhibition Gallery, ON, Apr 15-26, 1996.
- Maison d’Etre Gallery, Toronto, ON, 1996.
- Vaughan City Hall, Vaughan, ON, 1996.
- Region of York Headquarters, York, ON, 1996.
- Ottawa City Hall, Ottawa, ON, 1996.
- Ontario Association of Architects, Toronto, ON, 1996.
- Ottawa Society of Architects’ Week, Ottawa, ON, Sep 13-25, 1996.
- Word on the Street, Toronto, ON, Sep 29, 1996.
- Ideas Awards Program at OAA Headquarter, and The Arts & Letter Club, Toronto, ON, Apr thru Oct, 1997.
DIPLOMATIC LIAISON
- His Royal Highness Prince Bander Al-Saud (Heir Apparent of Saudi Arabia), was accompanied by Zak Ghanim, during his visit to Toronto, ON, July 3-8, 1995.
LECTURES
- UN lecture | Cairo, Egypt | 1986.
- Centre of Planning and Architectural Studies | Cairo, Egypt | Oct 20, 1999.
- Arab Association | Mississauga, ON | 2002.
JOURNALISM
- Besides being an architect, Zak Ghanim is a planner, an interior designer, illustrator, and editing advisor to the Egyptian architectural monthly magazine Alam Al-Benaa (World of Construction).
- As a journalist for The IIDEX (International Interior Design Exposition) in Toronto, ON, Zak Ghanim escorted architects Stanley Tigerman and Paolo Soleri during their stay in Toronto ON, on 17th & 18th of Nov, 1995.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Ghanim’s designs have been on the cover of 16 publications, and featured in numerous international newspapers, periodicals and books in different languages, including The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Canadian Architect, Real Estate News, Perspectives, Renovations and Decor, Now , Daily Commercial News, Tandem, Al Ahram International, ETC, Alam Al Benaa, Toronto Sun , Arab News Intl., Canadian Buildings, Style at home, and many others.
- At the level of community papers, he was featured many times, including Arab News International :”Zak Ghanim, an example for a community”, and in Al Arabi : “Zak Ghanim : The Artist Inside the Architect”, and in East Toronto community News : “Zak Ghanim From Pharaoh to Far-out”.
TV SHOWS
- 5 projects of Ghanim Architect were featured in a TV and multimedia show called Architecture : Frozen Music, in Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, ON, 1996.
- Home & Garden TV started documenting all construction phases of 1 & 3 Bond Ave, Toronto, ON, (2 houses of Ghanim’s design), for a weekly series program Let’s Build. 8 segments were filmed and aired between Oct 97- Sep. 1998.
- Real Estate Watch, CFTO TV, Toronto, ON, Jan 9, 1998.
- Real Life with Erica Ehm, Life TV, Toronto, ON, Feb 1998.
- Global TV, 6pm & 11pm News, Toronto, ON, Feb 18, 1998.
- Studio Aperto (Open Studio), Italian Show, CFMT TV, Toronto, ON, Feb 19, 1998.
- Cityline (10 am Show), City TV, Toronto, ON, July 30, 1998.
- CBC National News, Close Up, Toronto, ON, 6 &11PM News, Aug 12, 1998.
- Hart House Theatre, “I found Nothing”, stage set design, written and directed by Emad Nafeh, Toronto, ON, June 19 thru 21, 2003
- Abu Dhabi TV interview, Rogers cable, Toronto, ON, 2006.
- CTS, Interview with Keith Dunnet, Madina Mosque, Toronto, ON, June 5, 2009.
- CTS, Interview with Keith Dunnet, Ebenezer Church, Toronto, ON, June 5, 2009
RADIO SHOWS
- CBC Arabic Radio, Interview with Ahmad Marouf, Toronto, ON, Feb 2, 2010.
RANGE OF SERVICES
- Feasibility Studies
- Site Selection
- Development Studies
- Historic Building Assessment
- Building Survey
- Pre-design Budget Studies
- Design & Contract Documents
- Space Planning
- Interior Design
- Visual Merchandising
- Graphic Design Packages
- Urban Design
- Landscape Design
- Preparation of Specifications
- Arrangement of Tenders
- Project Management
- Material Research
- Community Involvement
- Renderings; colour and black & white
(All perspectives, photography and presentations in this site are personally created and rendered by Zak Ghanim except as noted).
TESTIMONIALS
Ghanim’s work was described by:
- Erving Boigon, chairman of OAA awards, Jan 1988. Re: Fluffy’s Restaurant “.. A very high standard of design excellence”
- President of Ontario Association of Architects in 1995, as “.. Elegant and shows what ingenuity can achieve..”
- Toronto’s mayor Barbara Hall in 1996 as “..Exciting, innovative with elements that are evocative or other times and cultural influences..”
- International architect Michael Graves as “..Truly impressive..”
- Chris Hume of Toronto Star as “an exhibit of affinity… worthy of celebrated architect of pleasure Frank Gehry..”
- Marilyn Denis of Cityline, CITY TV in 1998 as “Jewel..Gem in the street
- David le Blanc, Globe and Mail, Toronto, 2004: “Ghanim’s work got the sort of press other architects only dream about: local and international newspapers, magazines, a ten-part series on popular “design” show- You name it, they all came calling….”
- City Eye, Toronto, Mar, 2005. Re: Cest What Restaurant: “Old Town Toronto’s Hidden Gems…”
- Keith Dunnet, CTS TV, Faith Journal. Oct, 2009. Re: Madina Mosque: “ Zak Ghanim Architect of spirit. The tower and the mosque are defiantly the most impressive architectural Feature in the neighbourhood