Youssef Tohme graduated from the Ecole d’Architecture Paris-Villemin and subsequently taught architectural theory in the same institution in 2004.With a broad, international experience, he has sought, since the creation of his office YTAA to challenge a number of generally accepted ideas in the areas of contemporary architecture and urban design. Rather than focusing purely on esthetics or even theory, he has sought rather to express the world in which we live. Youssef Tohme states “The main themes explored by the studio in our project designs are the horizon, the atmosphere, collages, voids, envelopes, contrasts, dualism, uprooting, and landscapes. People are moved by architecture when it somehow embodies the world we are living in. This is a reason that we make all possible attempts to understand its social, economic, political and philosophical aspects. ”
Youssef Tohme carefully researches the context of his projects. He also studies his own clients and seeks to create “an infinite chain of exchange” between the builders and the users. ”
In 2008, he founded his own office, YTAA-Youssef Tohme Architects and Associates in Beirut with two partners, Roger Akoury and Anastasia Elrouss.
Anastasia Elrouss graduated from the American University of Beirut where she obtained a BA degree in architecture. She is currently a partner architect and the general manager of YTAA. She works on the evolution of the architectural concepts with Youssef Tohme and pushes for their conceptual development with the team.
