Kotn Turns the El Gouna Waterfront House Beit Noura Into a Creative Residence for the Film Festival

The Egyptian clothing brand Kotn has turned Beit Noura, a waterfront townhouse with five bedrooms in El Gouna, into a temporary creative residence for the ninth edition of the El Gouna Film Festival, in a partnership with El Gouna Red Sea. The design magazine AD Middle East reported the project.

The house was designed by Farah Metwally and Mohamed Arshed of Time Design Studios, with creative direction and on-the-ground production by BYNK Media. The starting brief was to carry the surrounding landscape into the building, through architectural curves, sand-toned palettes and heritage. El Gouna's chief executive, Mohamed Amer, told the magazine that "authenticity guided every decision in our design process", and that of the Nubian references, "the domes are the clearest expression of that heritage" — along with soft curves and earth-toned walls on buildings meant to sit in the landscape rather than dominate it.

Inside, an indoor terrace is built with perforated lattice façades inspired by mashrabiya screens and clad in warm terracotta, which keeps the space private while letting light through. The outdoor area runs down towards the lagoon, with Zellige tiles in mustard and maroon laid across the terrace, and the house shows Kotn's home collection, made from Egyptian cotton.

Kotn's co-founder, Rami Helali, said the aim was "to create something that felt at home in El Gouna while still carrying the identity and spirit of Beit Kotn", the brand's creative residence in Shoreditch in London. Kotn buys its cotton directly from farmers in the Nile Delta and Faiyum.

The report describes Beit Noura as a guest experience for the run of the festival. It does not give the festival's dates, does not set out any programme, and does not say whether the house is open to the public or on what terms.