Aya ElShantoury l Architecture Portfolio, 2015 - 2020

2015 l 2020 Graduate

P O R T F O L I O AYA ELSHANTOURY Selected Works + academic works

+ CV

Portfolio

The selection of these projects has the intention to guide through a brief journey from my years as a university student and a thesis student.

Aya ElShantoury

Bio Aya Sherif ElShantoury ( b. 1998), is a graduate student at the American University in Cairo, school of Engineering and Architectural Design. Aya has earned a B.Sc. in Architectural Engineering (High Honors, 2020) from there as well.

She has conducted internships with MHDH, Mona Hussein Design House in Cairo, Egypt and BAX Architects in Cairo, Egypt. She has also been nominated as a delegate in Lafarge Holcim l ReMaterializing Construction 2019 Forum addressing sustainable construction issues.

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DESIGN FOR ME The design process is a means to an end. It is the vehicle one uses to reach a destination. It is driven by past experiences, the advice from others or intuition.

For some, the destination is known before the journey even begins. For others, the destination is found somewhere along the way.

For me, the destination is in sight, yet it constantly moves just out of reach. Each new discovery demands further exploration. In the journey, this publication represents all of the discoveries made along the way. Each step forward is an attempt to reinforce that which the traveller has already discovered or to inform the traveller to change directions. Thus, what is important about a journey is not only how one gets there, but also what is discovered along the way. “...But desire is insatiable and you cannot ever know what it is. It is renewed all the time.�

Louis Kahn

Aya ElShantoury

content.

architecture

Morpho Minya Korba Specialized Hospital

02urban

Beyond the Rural Urban Divide

installation Performance Arts Pavilion Pavilion of Orchestration

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Aya ElShantoury Address: Rehab, group 98, building 4, New Cairo, Cairo, Egypt Tel: 01118983737 (Mobile), 26927023 (Home) E-mail: ayaelshantoury@aucegypt.edu

EDUCATION 2020

Bachelor of Science and Engineering, the American University in Cairo, Egypt, Expected to Graduate in Spring 2020 路 Major Architectural Engineering 路 Class Standing Senior 路 GPA 3.77/4.00 路 Coursework Environmental Conditions and Sustainability with respect to Architectural Design, Interior Design with respect to Human Need and Wants, Designing a Facility from Inside Out with respect to a well-studied User Group, Structure Design

2015

Thanawiya Amma, Mathematics, Egyptian Language School (ELS), Egypt, 2015 with score of 99.02%

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2019

2017-2018

Mona Hussein Design House MHDH, Cairo, Egypt Design Intern Developed design working drawings for corporate and governmental projects. Managed graphic design of proposals and client correspondence. Worked on detailed working drawings for construction sites. Engaged in professional networking and community outreach endeavors. Landscape architecture for a residence BAX Architects, Cairo, Egypt Design Intern In-charge of several residential and office buildings site work. Completed a set of working and shop drawings for interiors of several residential houses. Material choice with clients (Marble, wood, ..etc). Conducted a series of mood boards for several clients

WORKSHOPS 2019

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Lafarge Holicm Forum, ReMaterializing Construction, Cairo, Egypt Forum Delegate Collaborated in a series of workshops regarding sustainable construction in the century and methods of learning of the past to shift paradigms. Went out on a series of excursions with worldwide delegates to discuss the creation of desert cities amongst different generations

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EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES 2018

AUC Student Senate, Monitoring Chair, AUC · Served as the direct communicator between the executive and legislative branch of the university government in terms of revision and allocation of expenditures

2017

First Year Experience, Squad Member, AUC · Was responsible for planning registration of freshmen into the new academic year · Was responsible in planning both engagement and majors fair · Assisted in crisis management and entertainment

2016

Tedx AUC, Logistics Member, AUC · Served in executing all logistical aspects of the event (booth, stage, t-shirts, name tags, ..etc)

2015

The Festival by SU, Event Planning and Management Member and Assistant General Manager (AGM), AUC, · Assisted in planning the whole event · Helped in OSD permits and offices documents · Was responsible for setting the venue

2015

SU Homecoming, Ticket Sales Member, AUC · Assisted in issuing the tickets according to taxes rules and selling them

HONORS AND AWARDS 2019

AUC Architecture Exhibition Nominated for the Urban Design course (ARCH 468), Grade A

2018

AUC Architecture Exhibition Nominated for the Design I course (ARCH 351), Grade A

2017

AUC Architecture Exhibition Nominated for the introductory design course (ARCH 251), Grade A

TECHNICAL SKILLS AutoDesk AutoCAD, Revit Adobe Photoshop, InDesign

Modeling and Rendering Rhinoceros 6.0, Grasshopper, Sketchup, Lumion Microsoft Office

Info

architecture.

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Morpho Minya Enterprise Hub Project Brief

Scaffold to Unfold; A concept that studies the possiblity of having alternate ways of reassembling the layers within the building . The concept proposes a new design solution to the problem of economic stagnancy and fixation within the Minya City which has a great impact on its community. The project is a business hub typology that also serves as a cultural platform for the city with its powerful riverfront location and corniche premium accessibility.

Spring 2020 Thesis Bachelor Project Instructor Prof. Amr Abdel Kawi Instructor Prof. Sherif Morad

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With the city being bound to industrialism, the architecture is mostly industrial architecture represented in factories and residential rhythmic architecture targeted towards university students.

The Minya University plays an important role in the citys development and growth, as well as its daily functions. It als has the grounds for the largest demographics in the city.

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the Minya university

the concrete jungle

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Problem Definition

residents

suitable for work age

unemployment rate

funding capacity by the SFD

SME landscape concentration

employment opportunity

Labour market requires skilled workers and is a primary source of income. This undermines the need and value of education. Opening a private business requires management skills and legal awareness, whilst education does not provide beyond the technical boundary. Whilst the city is expected to nourish with the human capital and the economic potentials, migration occurs due to the unemployment.

6M 50% 91% 3M 6% 470K Morpho Minya

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innovative ecosystem Portfolio

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Universities and Labour Market

Collaborating at a later stage with SMES to perform business models

Authorities and Funding

Co-operation on the allocation of funds and adapting its goals

Technical Cluster Interlacing roles that requires flow of knowledge back and forth between the cluster to grow

Civil Society

Multi targeted roles towards different users

Labour Market

Being trained and introduced to the pillars of the model

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scaffold to

unfold; unhinge transform unleash

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Thesis Statement A process of unhinging the context’s rigidly fixated entrepreneurial loop seeking a multiplicity of reassembly methods of the loop in an opening and engaging manner that sparks innovation.

Conceptual Approach Buildings should be capable of reacting to external stimuli by permanently reconfiguring themselves, through a game of mechanically moving parts.

Functional Typology A proposed solution for an emergent need of social networks and real spaces providing energetic ecology that evokes innovation.

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Tectonic Assembly;

Breaking through the Rigidity

The storyline starts with a basic scaffolding system composed of posts and bearers and connected through steel Disks that are the main joint where

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the posts and bearers are being hinged in each floor. The system chosen is the structural adaptation to the stagnancy of the people in Al Minya.

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Tectonic Assembly; Unhinging Connections

The energy fields of the users start to enhance as per the journey they are going through, which thus reflects on the language of the system.

The Scaffolding then undergoes a disruption in its members and connectors, and its components start to unhinge.

Morpho Minya

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Tectonic Assembly;

Transformation through Reconfiguration

The Scaffolding Posts and Bearers transform into pneumatic steel struts that are of adjustable length and are main stuctural elements in the tensegrity

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structure. The skin is bendable poly carbonate panels, and shares the same transformation notion through the wide range of spatial qualities it offers.

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Tectonic Assembly;

Reconfigurable Tensegrity System

The global structure scale offers alternate ways of assembly within modularity. The logic behind their grouping offers spatial variance across

the functional program, just by putting it together differently.

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layout The layout of the project shows the building as it connects and integrates all the site’s immediate surroundings ( the Nile, the Corniche, the opposing factory land and the adjacent middle class housing settlement ). The building is elevated on a +2.55m platform which bisects the building from its heart for the users to approach it from all its nodes. The plaza also offers a sense of immediate visual connectivity with the Nile. The scaffolding patterns appear in the layout responding to the context’s rigidity.

The scaffolding grids unlock a bit by bit uptil transforming in the heart to the reconfigurable system.

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Scaffolding Patterns The shot shows the shearness and lightness of the scaffold structure alongside the proportion of the steel posts and bearers. The structure portrays the feeling of being dynamic through having the capacity of unhinging its parts to be easily re-assembled.

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Morpho Minya

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Schematic Design Ground Floor Plan The floor is primarily composed of two parts bisected by the open public platform, housing an administrative component, a series of galleries and expos, a library, and meeting and counseling zones. The floor has two main entrances, one on the eastern side facing the riverfront, the other is on the western university side. There is also a pedestrian southern entrance targeted towards the community approaching from the corniche side.

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B

A

B

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The first floor acts as the start of the ideation phase for the small and medium enterprises. Thus, the functionalities within the floor respond to that notion offering a wide range of variance of office and studio sizes. Also, there are in between open workspaces and pitching platforms that give the hype and dynamic essence that support the building nature.

Structural Interplay As we move in the journey towards the first floor, the growth of the tensegrity system is evident and dominant within the spaces, having a dramatic effect on their nature and energy levels. The system not only contours the heart at this stage, but also cracks the floor where the zones start responding interms of their alignment and grid sizes.

A

First Floor Plan +6.45m

schematic design

Functional Storyline

1st floor.

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Morpho Minya

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B

A

B

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The floor acts as the most mature phase in the entrepreneurial cycle and business creation. It offers larger offices and incubators for the users. The mega working spaces are essential in catering for corporates that are eager to be a part in the building story.

Structural Interplay The uppermost floor portrays the same notions of the tensegrity system growth and dominance over the scaffolding base.

However, the notion is even more accentuated through the vertical shafts within the floor that allow the propagation of the system vertically connecting floor together.

A

Second Floor Plan +10.35m

schematic design

Functional Storyline

2nd floor.

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Morpho Minya

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B

A

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B

To the left of the heart, the floor offers a series of workshops, training halls, intermediate open working zones, and an adminstration and maintenaces compartments. The right wing is mainly composed of the auditorium, adaptable rental rooms, and offices. The floor is naturally lit and ventilated through the series of pockets that connects it to the upper plaza.

Structural Interplay Landing from the heart of the building to the sub 1 floor, the tensegrity system is found to be encompassing the intermediate adaptable workspaces zones. The design of the spaces complies with the rules of the tensegrity system, which is shown in the furniture design and circulation space alignment. The spatial experience thus differs than the scaffolding experience, which is more static, rigid and orthogonal.

A

Sub 1 Floor Plan -1.35m

schematic design

Functional Storyline

-1 floor.

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Morpho Minya

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B

A

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B

Having a parking floor designated for the typology was integral because it is meant to be catering as a node for the whole city being placed on its riverfront.

The parking serves to about 270 parking slots which are suitable for the employees and employers of the building based on its functional capacity. The parking houses all the MEP rooms, alongside with the food and beverage control of the building.

Structural Interplay Due to its depth underneath the zero level, there has been a structural shift to concrete beam and column structure, where the loads of the scaffolding have been distributed upon the concrete structure.

A

Sub 2 Floor Plan - Parking -5.25m

schematic design

Functional Storyline

-2 floor.

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Morpho Minya

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Visualization Blending the tensegrity into the site surroundings Since the project’s main concept revolves around two main systems; where one of them unhinges and reassembles its joints to transform into the other, this requires a strong emphasis on their interplay in the layout.

Therefore, the landscaping of the layout shows an integration between the scaffold system represented in the outdoor furniture cabinets alongwith the urban steps that are in harmony with the tensegrity shell. This interplay talks directly to the users whom are unleashing their capibilities within the space,

Riverfront Main Entrance Eastern Elevation Portfolio

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Morpho Minya

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University Main Entrance Western Elevation

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Materiality Tectonic Language The concept of unhinging and transformation shows in the 3D. The skin is composed of three panel types; transparent glass panels, translucent poly carbonate panels and opaque sandwich panels. The materials chosen complement the nature of the typology and gives it the dynamic essence it is expected to portray.

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Main Section A - A

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Interplay of Systems Horizontal and Vertical The section shows that the building is not only about the central atrium, but also uncovers the various instances at which the tensegrity system breaks through the scaffold one creating uniques internal experiences and spatial qualities,

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Adaptable Offices The use of the poly carbonate panels alongside with the scaffolding structure offered the notion of playfulness within the spaces.

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Morpho Minya

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Adaptable Offices Shots Portfolio

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Experience in Interiors Adjustable pivot poly carbonate panels that add a dimension of flexibility to the spatial definition. Rooms thus become easily transformed in their sizes and privacy levels. Also, the structural details of the scaffold posts sustain the rhythmic industrial feel of the city.

Envioronmental Consideration Sicne the adaptable offices sector is mainly in the sub 1 floor, thus natural lighting and ventilation considerations have been ensured through a series of pockets that are used as open networking spaces for the users to blend and interact.

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Structural Components 1. Bolted Steel Base Plate 2. Rigid Clamp 3. T-Angle Bolted Connector 4. C-Section Slab Edge 5. Steel Angle Skin Frame 6. Bracket Base Connectiom 7. Welded Steel Bracket 8. Moveable Strut Joint 9. Runner Scaffolding Member 10. Bearer Scaffolding Member 11. Post Scaffolding Member 12. Diagonal Brace

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Technical Assembly; Portfolio

3DSection

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Wall Section

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Roof connection with skin, water control system and tensegrity hinge

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Structural Components 1.Metal Coping -Drainage System 2.Scaffolding Bearer -15 CM 3.Glazing Strip -Aluminum 4.Curtain Wall Panel -External Sheet 6MM 5.Curtain Wall Panel -Internal Sheet 6MM 6.Air Gap -Thermal Insulation 7CM 7.Glazing Strip -Aluminum 8.C-Section Steel Frame for Cladding 1CM 9.Steel Disk -Scaffolding Connector 3CM 10.Steel Clamp 3CM 11.Glass Panel Frame -Aluminum 12.Glazing Strip -Aluminum 13.Metal Deck Slab 14.Bendable Poly Carbonate Panel 6 MM 15.Screw Bolt -Allowing Panel Rotation 6MM 16.Welded Steel Plate -Water Control 17. Steel Bracket -Main Connector of Tensegrity Struts with Scaffolding Pipes 18. Flexible Coping -Water Control 19.Sandwich Panel Roofing System Morpho Minya

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Structural Composition

Actuators Logic

Reconfigurable System Nature

The system consists of compression struts which are the pneumatic actuators and tension cables with a bendable poly carbonate skin.

The actuators are hollow steel pipes with possibility of elongation. This allows the system to reconfigure itself through a wide range of varriance.

The reconfigurable system thus affects the spatial quality of the spaces underneath and starts to respond to the user behaviour and external climatic factors.

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Integrative Hall Shot Morpho Minya

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Structural Components

TensegrityStructural Details Portfolio

1.Steel Angle 1CM 2.Steel Bolt 6MM 3.Internal Adjustable Rod 7CM 4.BendablePoly Carbonate Panel 20MM 5. External Panel Metallic Glazing 6.Pneumatic Steel Strut 120 MM 7.Steel Angle 1CM 8.Steel Bolt 6MM 9.Pneumatic Steel Strut 120 MM 10.Steel Bracket 11.Steel Bolt 12.Steel Plate 13.Steel Plate 14.Steel Plate

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Atrium Shot Morpho Minya

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l C O M M U N A L

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P L A T F O R M l

Morpho Minya

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Project Brief

Hospital design in one of the most historic and rich districts of Heliopolis, Al Korba. The design aims at providing the users with sense of dwelling rather than the mere focus on the functional aspect of the hospital

Spring 2019 Course ARCH 4557/456 Instructor Prof. Basil Kamel

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AL - KORBA SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL

Al Korba Specialized Hospital

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Form Generation

Figure 01 A rectangular regular shape

Ground Floor Court open on landscape

Figure 02 An angular cut resulting from the site form

First Floor Court responds to surrounding hospital functions

Figure 03 Applying a conceptual form of a dwelling

Typical Floor Court is a series of open balconies for in patient residents

The whole concept of the project lies within designing a built environment that simulates the context on a smaller, more intact and more intimate level. After series of analytical site visits, it had been clear that its essence lies within its inclusion that beholds and invites all types of users. This inclusion is crowned by another more sophisticated level of semiotics that identifies its dwellers.

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Page l 59 Ground Floor Plan

First Floor Plan

Al Korba Specialized Hospital

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Third Floor Plan

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Page l 61 Ground Floor Plan Basement -1 Floor Plan

First Floor Plan Basement -2 Floor Plan

Al Korba Specialized Hospital

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l H O S P I T A L M A

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I N E N T R A N C E l

Community Courtyard as a Dwelling The court is considered the end of a dwelling journey that takes the users from being outsiders through the experience of the hospital.

The court is a tool of communal engagement simulating the Korba model on a smaller scale. Thinking about the court experience in 3D as a shape shifting element that is a reflection of the surrounding functions creating a multitude of outdoor and indoor spaces Al Korba Specialized Hospital

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East Elevation

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West Elevation

North Elevation

elevation as a reflection to the context

Al Korba Specialized Hospital

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01 Administration and Main Hospital Entrance

The Court A new set of therapeutic standards offered in the heart of the building, giving wholeness a new edge.

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Outpatient Wa Outdoor

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2

ard with direct r Access

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Section A - A

Emergency and Diagnostics Hospital Components

North Elevation

Al Korba Specialized Hospital

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l A L K O R B A S P E C I

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A L I Z E D H O S P I T A L l

Al Korba Specialized Hospital

urban.

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“ARTERIES OF THE CITY” BEYOND

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R U R A L URBAN DIVIDE People Heritage Built Environment

Project Brief; An urban/landscape project re-imagining a vital historic and touristic district that surrounds the Giza Plateau. The project aims at providing the residents with quality life studying the “in-between” spaces, where life actually happens, keeping “the WALL” which is essential to protect the holistic zone

Fall 2018 Course ARCH 4532/468 Instructor Prof. Momen ElHusseiny

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Beyond the Rural Urban Divide

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Nazlet El Semman Giza , Egypt

After the completion of the construction of the High Dam, the area around Giza Plateau appeared as a potential for the nearby residents to become their housing district. As a result, they migrated from the hill top to Nazlet El Semman. In the mid 20th century, the place was originally housed by Arabs coming from Libya and Morocco which forced into the tourism field because of the site. After 1967 war, the government also started migrating canal residents to Nazlet El Semman, and the urban evolution of the space started at that point reaching what is called “Al Haram� district today

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Beyond the Rural Urban Divide

76 l Page A DIALOGUE BETWEEN NATURAL FORCES AND URBAN GROWTH

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Beyond the Rural Urban Divide

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Page l 79 This schematic ideological masterplan was the basis upon which locations of the main attractions, landmarks, softscapes and commercial zones was used to be laid upon. Helped in the shift from the schematic design phase to the more detailed one

Beyond the Rural Urban Divide

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LAND USE

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Beyond the Rural Urban Divide

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Landscape Masterplan Portfolio

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Experience in Landscape Equipping Nazlet El-Semman with landscapes and hardscapes that can endure the natural environment without demanding additional costs and excessive care and maintenance. This will be achieved using Xeri-Scape. Open spaces created between building blocks to reduce the density and create communication and interaction between different users.

Beyond the Rural Urban Divide

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Arteries of the City;

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Generating a planetary multi-scalar design; where infrastructure networks are overlaid to generate urban catalysts where vividness emerges . The conventional separation between urban and rural, between what is inside as opposed to what is outside is against the concept of organic growth. A“fluid� context where build-up areas and their operational landscape are connected to one another according to mutual transformations

Beyond the Rural Urban Divide

intstallation.

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_____

PAVIL ION ____

OF O R C H E S T R A T I O N

Project Brief; Incorporation of parametric and digital modeling methods into the design of an extension to the Architecture Department of AUC, Cairo, Egypt. A study of a natural phenomenon that influenced the form parameters and dictated the desired user experience

Spring 2019 Course ARCH 3522/473 Instructor Prof. Sherif Morad

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Aya ElShantoury

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Form Generation; Submergence VS Uplift Harmony within Balance

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Page l 91 Ground Floor Plan

Concept Arises from the study of Sailing Stones natural phenomenon

Site Correspondence Form responds to forces created within the site due to massing and materiality

Form A simulation of ground water forces; submergence vs. uplift

Cladding and Materiality Thermo Bi-Metals as a skin with pre-programmed panels that strengthen the concept of balance

First Floor Plan

Pavilion of Orchestration

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Layer 01 Thermo Bi-Metals Skin

Layer 02 Thermo Bi-Metals Grid

Layer 03 Main Structure

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Grasshopper code designed to parametrically manifest the motion of the thermo bi-metals linking each two opposite ones together to create the desired harmony Pavilion of Orchestration

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MOKATTAM

PERFO RMANCE ARTS PAVILION Project Brief; Inspired by Bjarke Ingles Pavilion, this structure was designed to give Al Mokttam residents the extroverted type of a performance arts hub . Promoting sociability and youth engagement, the form also is developed upon a series of acoustics studies to be able to carry its designated function

Fall 2017 Course ARCH 4553/352 Instructor Prof. Mohamed Noaman

Mokattam Performance Arts Pavilion

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Figure 01 FORM DERIVATION Form is derived from the sound frequency diagram elaborating on its function

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Figure 02 SOUND TRAVEL Boxes act as sound reflectors and inlets of sunlight preventing steel from echoing

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Fabrication

The design was basically based upon the form which implied emphasize on fabrication. Steel was the main used material . Box units were made out of staples and the landscape was made out of malleable steel rods

Mokattam Performance Arts Pavilion

thank you.

Aya ElShantoury

Tel: 01118983737 (Mobile) 26927023 (Home) ayaelshantoury@aucegypt.edu

©All rights reserved, Aya ElShantoury, May 2020