Kuwait: Hend Almatrouk
Born in 1983 in Kuwait, Hend Almatrouk is co-founder, CEO, and partner of Studio Toggle, an architecture and design firm in Salmiya, Kuwait (2012), with a second studio in Porto, Portugal (2016). Almatrouk holds a bachelor’s of architecture from the American University of Sharjah in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and a master’s in urban strategies from Universität Für Angewandte Kunst, Vienna, in Vienna, Austria. Almatrouk’s architecture firm, Studio Toggle, was named the “Emerging Firm of the Year” by Architizer A+Awards (2023), the “Best Firm in the Middle East and Africa” by Architizer A+Awards (2022), the “Best Young Firm” by the Architizer A+Awards (2022), and the “Boutique Firm of the Year” by the Middle East Architect Awards (2018). Studio Toggle was also featured on the “AD50 Middle East” list (2021), long-listed for “Emerging Architecture Studio of the Year” by Dezeen Awards (2021), and featured in the “50 Most Influential Architects in the Middle East” by the Middle East Architect Magazine (2018), in addition to receiving numerous awards for their designs. Almatrouk was awarded the “Young Architect of the Year” by Middle East Architecture Magazine (2017), and she exhibited at the Venice Biennale (2010).
References
“Arena Venom Opera House.” Tuvie. Accessed March 4, 2024. https://www.tuvie.com/arena-venom-opera-house-by-hend-almatrouk/.
“Hend Almatrouk.” Arabian Business, December 29, 2020. https://www.arabianbusiness.com/tags/hend-almatrouk.
“Hend Almatrouk.” Archnet. Accessed March 4, 2024. https://www.archnet.org/authorities/7089.
“Hend Almatrouk.” Middle East Architect, February 11, 2018. https://www.middleeastarchitect.com/tags/hend-almatrouk.
“Hend Almatrouk – Studio Toggle.” Accessed March 4, 2024. https://studiotoggle.com/team/hend-almatrouk.
Hogue, Pascal. “Hend Almatrouk to Speak About the Future of Housing in the Middle East at Architizer’s Future Fest,” Architizer, August 5, 2022. https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/industry/future-fest-hend-almatrouk/.
Jordan, Eliza. “Hend Almatrouk: How Studio Toggle Focuses on Form and the Future.” Whitewall, April 14, 2020. https://whitewall.art/design/hend-almatrouk-how-studio-toggle-focuses-on-form-and-the-future/.
Killigrew, Rebekah. “Interview with Studio Toggle.” Architecture Magazine, April 25, 2023. https://architecturemagazine.co.uk/2023/04/25/interview-with-studio-toggle/.
“MGA Accepts Revolution in Design Award.” MGA. October 23, 2023. https://mg-architecture.ca/mga-accepts-revolution-in-design-award/.
Morris, Olivia. “Kuwaiti Architect Hend Almatrouk on the Need for Change for Women.” Emirates Woman, January 24, 2021. https://emirateswoman.com/kuwaiti-architect-hend-almatrouk-need-change-women/.
