334 Final project

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Alaa Khalil, Lobna Houta, Layla Sabri, Nuran Atef & Amira Badran

Fall '10

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Table of Contents: 1. Introduction

2. Methodology

• •

Analysis of Site Discussion of Results

3. Research Outcome

Design Brief User's needs, preferences list Space requirements Architectural style (Theme)

Space/Functional Program

• Zoning

Pre‐schematic Design:

• Conceptual design • 2D plan of Design

Schematic design:

• Details of design • General project layout • • •

4. Appendices

•

• •

Appendix I: Analysis pictures of site  Accessibility  Dimensions ‐ Current site ‐ Area after design  Sun/ Wind direction Appendix II: Questionnaire Appendix III: Analysis of Questionnaire results (with figures)

5. Conclusion

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

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1. Introduction: The AUC campus has certain places to which faculty and students relate specific activities. In addition these spaces have some sort of theme, which make them attractive. On the other hand, other places are considered rather isolated and uninviting. We believe that the idea of theme affects the students’ choices and preferences of certain spaces. One of these inefficiently used spaces is the area located behind the core building and between the library and the registrar building.

Our purpose is to redesign this place while coming up with a theme that would suit this area as well as its surroundings. We hope thereby to turn it into a useable and attractive place for students.

View from the Core building

Human‐eye view of the area

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

2. Methodology: We started off our research by observing and analyzing the targeted area, before choosing and forming our main research method.

• Analysis of site: The area is located, as previously stated, behind the core building and between the library and the registrar building, it can be accessed from three main points; the first is the steps opposite the SSE stairs, the second is through the core building, and the third is through gate 2. When entering through gate 2, there is a main passageway cutting our area to connect the gate with the core building as well as the spine of the campus. (Refer to Appendix 1, Accessibility) The area is about 65x68 m2, it is has main useable pieces, which are separated by passageways, one of these areas is clearly seen from the SSE building, and the other two are hidden by the core and the library building. The golf cars park in front of the library, which is to the right of the area. (Refer to Appendix 1, Dimensions) Currently, it is composed of randomly scattered trees that do not serve as shading elements, as they’re still in the first phases of the growth. There are some platforms also randomly placed without any shading elements or seating facility and the surrounding floor is mainly sand. (Refer to Appendix 1, Sun/Wind direction) As shown in the sun/wind direction figure in Appendix 1, the direction of the sun (south) is directly crossing the centre of the area, if looking from the corner joining the core building and the library (Google Earth). As a consequence, the wind is directed in the opposite direction of the sun.

The main passageway of the area is the one connecting it with the big garden close to gate 2; further illustrations could be seen in Appendix 1.

After observing and analyzing, we formulated our questionnaire in a way that would cover every problem faced within the area. We first started with general questions about the user, following it with questions addressing the accessibility and location of the site. We ended the questionnaire with a last part addressing the preferences of the user, in terms of shading, seating arrangements, and greenery. The full questionnaire with the exact format is in Appendix 1.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

• Discussion of results:

We started with general questions regarding student’s preferences of certain areas, activities and to clarify aspects of their daily life at university.

The first question we asked concerned the place most students favoured and spend their time at. The majority chose the area of the SSE stairs while a minority selected the area in front of CORE and the Tabasco food court. The American Food Court was only chosen by one participant. Refer to Appendix 3, question 1.

In regards to the gate students used, the Pepsi Gate was listed as the one most frequently used and a minority entered through Gate 1 and Gate 2. This entrance unlike the other two leads straight to the spin of the university, which connects all the major departments and buildings. Refer to Appendix 3, question 2.

We then chose to inquire about another relevant issue to our topic, which is whether students assign certain activities to certain areas. About half of the participants answered this question with yes while the other half refuted it. Refer to Appendix 3, question 3.

The following question was composed to determine the activities most and least favoured by students as to know which activity is mostly demanded by students.

They were supposed to rank 5 activities where 1 was least favoured and 5 was most favoured. Students were very indecisive about it since almost the equal number of students chose it as least as well as most favoured. The same number of students also chose it as average.

The majority rated Eating with 4 while relaxing the majority agreed on it being the most favoured activity. As to reading the number of students was equally distributed among all ratings.

Surprisingly the activity drawing was rated as most favoured by the same amount of students who chose Relaxing as most favoured. Refer to Appendix 3, question 4.

To determine the student’s preferences regarding an area we gave them 6 criteria and asked them to rate according to their most to least preferred. Quite was chosen by about one fifth as most favoured while about 7% only chose it as least favourable and the rest was divided between averages and less favourable.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Isolated was chosen by the majority as least favoured and for the criteria social meeting point about 36% chose it as most favoured criteria while the same number also selected it as least and average.

As for open air most of the student rated it with average while for shaded an equal number of students chose it as least and as most. However, this number was comparatively low. Regarding whether it should look attractive or not only few students found it an important criterion while about 30 % saw it as unimportant and 25% regarded it as average. Refer to Appendix 3, question 5.

We then addressed a very important issue for our design, which was whether the space should remain an outdoor space or whether we should enclose it. Almost all students agreed on preferring an outdoor space to an indoor one. Refer to Appendix 3, question 6.

After that the questions started targeting the area itself. When we asked the students about how frequently they use this area the majority of about 80% stated that the used it only 1‐3 times per semester. This is a very low number compared to a time frame of 3‐4 month of a semester. Refer to Appendix 3, question 8.

When we inquired about whether the students found the area to have a problem the majority found it to have. Refer to Appendix 3, question 10. According to those students the main problem concerning the area were 1. There were no seating’s provided and the few found in the area didn’t promote interaction 2. They found it to be a waste of usable space while other areas of the campus were very crowded 3. In the opinion of some students the area was too far located 4. One person argued that the area was unused, i.e. you rarely found people there 5. Some believed it to be too quite 6. Some students also said that there are no activities to be conducted there 7. Isolation was another problem raised by many The majority of students chose the problem of seating, of wasted land and of isolation. These problems are an important factor to use in our design. Refer to Appendix 3, question 11.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

We then chose to ask about the most preferred seating arrangement where the 7 majority of 75% selected a seating arrangement that promoted interaction. The least preferred seating was the one as workstation. Refer to Appendix 3, question 12.

Regarding the plants most of the students’ preferred colourful flowers to high trees that provide shade and desert plants. Refer to Appendix 3, question 13.

However, at the same time the majority, which was 82%, wanted constant shading element not removable or semi‐shaded devices. Refer to Appendix 3, question 14.

The following question inquired about the activities the students would do and preferred in the space. An equal number chose relaxing and socializing while few selected studying and only one person would use it as meditation area. Refer to Appendix 3, question 15.

From this we can conclude for our design that most of the students spend their time at the SSE stairs and enter to the main spine. As a consequence our main attraction of the area must be located in the part visible from the SSE to attract the most number of students. Moreover, since many students believed the area to be unused and they couldn’t conduct any activity there we chose a very important aspect to ad in our design. If we give the area a certain theme we thereby will provide a certain attraction to the place and can also give students the opportunity to assign an activity to the place. Thereby, it will become more personal to students since they can identify themselves and their activities with the place. In addition a theme will reduce the feeling of the area being too isolated since it becomes attractive and will thereby become used space not wasted space.

Apart from the theme the design will include the activities most preferred by the students to fulfil their wants. This however means according to the data we have collected that our design must combine the opportunity of socializing as well as quietness, relaxing and drawing. The seating arrangements must be comfortable but also promoting social interaction in the area dedicated for socializing. Most importantly since most students chose an outdoor area over an indoor one our design can’t be of the nature of a building but of a nice looking garden containing colourful flowers and must contain shading elements.

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

3. Research Outcome:

According to results and analysis we've came up with, we're going to thoroughly discuss, every stage of the design;

1‐ Design Brief Before forming our design we needed a list with all the preferences and information we gathered from the students in our questionnaire.

The list: • Main attraction seen from the SSE stairs and the spine of the campus to attract most people • The design must have a theme as to make the area more attractive to students and more appealing to them • It must have the opportunity to relax in sit in a quiet area as well as socializing • There must be comfortable seating for relaxation and also seating promoting social interaction • The space can’t be enclosed but must remain an outdoor space • It must contain shading elements for the seating and colourful flowers and vegetation

However, before starting the design we must become aware of the constraints within our site. Primarily, the area is intersected by a main pathway connecting Gate 2 with the spine as well as the CORE building. This pathway is used by all students and faculty entering the campus through this gate and therefore must be taken into consideration in our design.

Moreover, the parking of the golf cars is situated at the library wall, which is to the right of our site. This means that the availability of such a parking must be included in our design. In addition, the whole site is composed of 3 main pieces of land, which are separated from each other by pathways.

After clarifying those constraints we then came to choose a theme for the area.

When looking at the whole campus one finds that it is designed having a old Cairo style and Islamic style. Therefore, when we thought about the theme we agreed

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

that out theme must fit with the general design and theme of the campus. As a consequence we chose to have the theme “Old Cairo”. The Design theme will have Islamic features typical to old Cairo such as the mashrabeya pattern, typical Islamic seating as well as the typical Islamic star pattern as our watering system. This will be modified to suite the students’ preferences and thereby the design with its theme will be complete.

2‐ Space/Functional Program Function is one of the essential factors, which is always taken into consideration when designing. In landscape, it’s important to provide needed functions and place them in the area in order to reach the maximum efficiency of the space provided, which could be calculated using the efficiency equation. Our point of reaching efficiency is not for financial reasons, but for the optimization of the place, in other words, to provide as many functions as possible in the area. Zoning of the place is very important for further design procedures.

After analyzing the results of the questionnaire, we found that the major problem in this area lies in the fact that there are no specific zones that can accommodate people and encourage them to engage in certain activities. Thus, we thought that it could be divided into separate zones: a zone for socializing (Part I), and a quieter zone (Part II), for relaxation, studying, and reading. In the center, a fountain would serve as an element marking a clear separation between these two zones (as seen in the figure below).

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

The data analysis of the questionnaires and the interviews showed that the majority of people spend their time hanging out in the SSE steps. So, taking this factor into consideration, we found that the most efficient thing to do when it came to placing our different zones in the area itself was to place the social zone in the left part of the land. This would make it visible by the steps and therefore attract people to explore it. Placing the social zone in this area has two major advantages: first of all, it will give the quiet area some privacy and a relaxing atmosphere, because it is placed next to the noise producing areas (SSE); it is also directly accessible from the SSE, by the steps leading straight to the area (refer to appendix 1‐ accessibility). Moreover, this social zone will appear as a sort of platform, because we chose to make it more elevated than the rest of the area, with leveling done with the greenery, accentuating the attractiveness of this zone, because it will look unique and inviting to sit in.

As for the golf cars, we chose to shift their parking more towards the registrar building, because this is where most of the noise will be (social area in part I) and thus allowing those who want to sit in the relaxing zone to have some quiet and privacy. Next to it, a small area could serve as a kiosk serving refreshments, serving both zones, as it is placed in such a way that it is accessible from both opposite zones of the area (refer to appendix 1‐ accessibility).

Another problem that the area is facing is the distribution of the passageways. They do not “lead” to anything interesting or different. One feels as if they are just there because there should be some tiled parts in the area… So, we took this issue and tried to think of a way to make full use of every passageway we create (refer to appendix 1), in order to make it an exciting experience for the user. As seen in the picture, the quiet area is divided in itself into separate zones, creating smaller zones separated by pathways. This quiet zone also has the advantage of being placed next to the library (refer to appendix 1‐ area) thus maintaining a relatively relaxing atmosphere, allowing people to enjoy their activities. The pathway between the library and this zone was also put into consideration, as those who will walk through it will come either from the library or gate 2, and will therefore notice the area while reaching their destination.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

3‐ Pre‐schematic Design: Every successful design has its own characteristics and features that attract people to it. These characteristics are not limited but rather infinite, starting from climate to services and character implied. In our design, we decided that giving this area a theme that defines it and makes it different than any other interacting or quiet outdoor area on campus, would increase the flow of students and give the place a character. Due to the fact that the whole campus’s architectural style is derived from Old Cairo’s architecture, we had to choose a theme that is related. As one looks around the campus, one could find that the Islamic architecture of Cairo is dominant in the design of the campus; therefore we concluded that a theme of Islamic resemblance but from neighbouring countries would be very much related to the theme of the new campus.

Design Concept: When we decided to take Islamic architecture as our theme, we looked through the simple aesthetic elements such as seating and mashrabeya designs; we looked at the concept of Islamic buildings as well, and that was from where we decided that Islamic characteristics would suit the atmosphere we wanted.

The Islamic concept considers the public and private parts of every building. In other words, in Islamic buildings, there’s the concept of a quiet area separate from the public one. As an example, in a mosque one will find the design of the courtyard promoting interaction while the area on the sides are divided by columns to have more partitions in order for people to pray in silence, taking Al‐ Azhar Mosque plan as an example, we can see that it consists of four porticos surrounding an open courtyard, as shown in the figure below. As mentioned earlier, functions were highly considered while designing our landscape of the area. The division of the current site, we found to be, is inefficient (about 3%)1, that’s why we divided our area into two parts, as referred to in the zoning section.

Our social / interacting area 1, as shown in the figure, is intact, while, the quiet area 2 is divided into several curved parts that if connected, from a full shape. By separating the initial landscape form of the quiet area and connecting those shapes by narrow passageways, we are forcing the flow of students to be limited. View of Al‐Azhar Mosque 1

1 Efficiency was calculated using the equation, (Used area/Total area) x 100.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

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4‐ Schematic Design The design of the area was made in such a way to serve different functions by having different seating areas with different styles. The whole area as previously mentioned was designed under the theme of Old Cairo; the old Islamic Architecture. Also, as mentioned previously that students had different interests and needs, we were determined to fulfill most of them if not all; and accordingly, we have fixed seating areas, movable seating areas, areas promoting social interaction by a socio‐petal design and areas preventing this interaction, areas for large gatherings and noise while still having other areas quite for relaxing, areas shaded, areas in the sun and some are semi shaded. We managed to fit most of the requirements to fit in one place that will easily blend with the atmosphere of the campus, the Islamic Designs and the environment of social interaction or relaxation. This was achieved through different elements in the designed area such as the elements that will be discussed later on in the schematic design.

N.B The layout below is not to scale, the passageways are much smaller, as well as the outlined greenery.

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5 2

3

1

11 6

9

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

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Area 1: The Platform:

It was noticeable that the New Cairo Campus was missing the touch of the old Greek Campus steps, that for many years, have been an important landmark and a significant gathering spot for many students that held many memories for many generations that passed by it. Therefore, we decided to bring back a piece of the Old Greek Campus here to the New Cairo Campus by designing steps similar to the old ones with greenery around it.

The platform is a wide space of approximately 60 meters width and a number of 2‐3 steps that are wider than the normal range since that the design is curved as seen in the figure (Please refer to Appendix 1 for numbers). On the last step, the large platform, are many movable seating areas whereas, the plat themselves don’t promote interaction unlike the top since the width of the plate isn’t ergonomically convenient for a person to use a seat but rather as a method of reaching the higher seating areas.

The seating distribution is done in a way to promote social interaction and flexibility in modifying the seating pattern to suit the preferences of the students using it. Some of the seatings are in the shade, others are in the sun while the rest is inbetween both so the same seating spot has both shade and light; semi‐shaded, and thus suiting most of the users. This place can be used for a gathering area, it will not be a very quite place since that it’s an outdoor area.

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Area 2: Seating area with different seating styles: As noted from the previous element, we provided a seating area semi quite for relaxation and gathering for perhaps studying, we also provided another seating area for gatherings and hangouts for the students to enjoy their free time. This seating area is different than the previous one in different aspects that will be discussed separately Firstly, the design of the area is in a shape of a line to have it separated to increase privacy and not be seen from every angle, seating areas are different where they are fixed to the ground with movable chairs around. This design of seats is inspired by the Moroccan design of seats, where they are built from bricks, fixed to the ground with cushions on top of it for comfort. This way, we will be maintaining the sense of the Arabian Culture relating to the main theme shaping the design of the selected areas that goes back to the Old Islamic Cairo.

These seating designs will promote interaction yet maintain privacy as the interaction will be only among people seated close to each other; in other terms at the same seating area or table. Students sitting far from the table won’t be able to overhear a conversation or have a direct vision of the people’s activities and thus, it’s a private territory in an open public space.

Another aspect is the shading elements; they are not there. This seating area is mainly designed to be used more during winter rather than summer where students seek a way to escape the cold and the chilly weather of New Cairo by finding seating areas in the sun. Thus, we have provided an area with no shading for students to benefit from the sun the most.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Area 3: The Club Cars’ parking spot:

The area at which the Club Cars were parked at on campus would have been inconvenient regarding the design proposed. It would have been situated interfering with the design and intersects with the students passing to and from the designed area, and thus, we have developed a system for parking the Club Cars, to fit without affecting the designed place as shown in the diagram that will be similar to this one Accordingly, we will have a separated place for the Golf Cars at the side rather than in the middle of the area and thus, the golf car track or passage way and route will be away from the seating areas provided for the students to prevent disturbance.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Area 4: Scattered Seating area with Kiosk: As we have promoted two different seating areas previously; one shaded and one completely in the sun, we have promoted a third seating place with optional shading devices and services around it.

These designed seating are not fixed or designed for studying, but rather for relaxation and grabbing a snack; it’s mainly for gathering and as noted from the survey, students gather mostly at areas where their needs and services are found. Accordingly, we will add a small kiosk or outlet near it to sell their needs like beverages or snacks, this way they will have their essentials close to them without having a large food court that will result in smell generation and turn the place into a crowded area rather than a peaceful semi‐quite space.

The shade and seats will be optional, by the use of umbrellas; they can either be opened or closed according to the users’ preference and convenience. Regarding the seats, they will be scattered so that the number of members in a group of people can be adjustable. This way, more chairs can be added to a certain spot providing a large gathering seating area, or eliminated to provide a more cozy, smaller seating area for a fewer number of people.

Since the Cilantro Kiosk beside the library works as a great element for social interaction and led to the usage of the green area surrounding it after being abandoned, it was highly noticed that the more needs are easy to reach, the more ergonomically and socially successful the design is. And accordingly, we managed to fit both the services and the adjustable seating designs for optimum satisfaction of the user.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library Area 5 and 11: Shading Devices:

The shading device used in this area can both be considered permanent yet adjustable. This shading device is always opened to shade a huge part of the platform however; it can rotate and be adjusted to different positions according to the users need and the sun movement.

We have studied the sun movement of this area (please refer to Appendix 1) and noted that this device will act as a sun blockage to protect the students from the heat in summer and sun glare at better weather times.

The shading elements are as well supported by a number of 9 columns to fix it to the ground so that it does not fall or cause injuries due to strong wind. The columns will be needed because as noted that the materials need to be fixed properly to the ground as the wind forces acting on it may result in breakage of the columns due to the high moment exerted on them. and thus the columns cannot be wooden, but rather a stronger material that can suit the Ancient Islamic Design and include some Mashrabeyya designs that are very well known in Old Cairo and particularly the Down Town AUC Campus.

Regarding area number 11, this is a 4 meter wide shaded area (refer to Appendix 1) joined to the library acting as a cantilever shading device to shade the passage way from the library to the designed area. This passage way had always been in the sun and the area lacks wind in the summer and thus acted as a drawback preventing the students from using the new designed zone.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Area 6: Reading area beside the kiosk:

This area is designed to have seats that will promote isolation and prevent interaction through benches that are designed in an S‐shape. These seats prevent the readers or the users of the area from being able to see each other, as they are being seated beside one another on the bench in a sunny area.

This area is designed in the middle of the narrow passage ways that prevent interaction, so as a whole, this is a quite zone, for reading mainly as it doesn’t have any tables to prevent having the students gather in it and cause noises that will thus prevent us from having the quite area needed for people to read and clear their minds.

There are as well green areas around so that people can relax better since it has been proven as a scientific fact that the greenery surrounding people helps clear the air around them and the sight helps people feel relaxed and in contact with nature.

Another relaxing seating element that is used and has been absent on campus is the use of Bean Bags. Bean Bags are usually a preferred seating device by many of the students since that they are comfortable, and easy to carry from one place to another. Thus, we have added them at the corners, in the green areas so that they will be as if seated on the grass but without getting dirt on their cloths from the soil.

Area 7: Reading area: This seating area is for reading or studying, it is much like the seating area mentioned before in the other zone but the difference is that this area is a more quite place since that the seats are not a lot and some of the seats are in the green areas.

This area is designed with no shades and same as the previous one mentions, it has bean bags for relaxation.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

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Area 8: Hangout spot:

This area is designed with wooden benches with mashrabeya designs between green spots for a nice sight and view. However, as the rest of the areas in this zone, it does not promote interaction as much as for example the area at the Platform in the other zone.

Area 9: Relaxation on grass area:

It has been recognizably noted that many foreign students on campus prefer using the green areas as a relaxing and reading spot rather than the other areas provided on campus. Therefore, we have provided an area solely to serve them and whoever prefers relaxation on grass under the sun for reading or even relaxing by lying down on the grass.

The seats provided are very minimal since that it is not designed for gathering on chairs and tables, but rather we provided bean bags, to give the sense of being seated on the ground. So this area is very close to how nature is in general with no chairs or shading devices, just a direct contact between the user and nature.

Area 10: Meditation and relaxation:

This area, unlike the rest, is mainly for meditation and relaxing, it’s a place for the users to enjoy the greenery, the views, the sun and the quietness and peacefulness of the spot.

There have been designed seating spots for individuals or maximum of 3 people sitting together on small rugs and Arabian bean bags to give a sense of the Arabian Seating and get them connect to the Old Cairo Designs and thus provide them the atmosphere necessary for mediation.

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library Finally, the Passage Ways:

The passage ways of this design are divided into two parts; the social interaction part which its elements were discussed above and the quite part which is the other side from the design as seen from the diagram shown previously at the start of the Schematic Design.

The passage ways for the social area is wide in order to fit the large number of students who will be visiting it and especially that in AUC sometimes the students are moving in large groups and thus the narrower the passage, the more inconvenient it is for the user and the less people coming to the place. Therefore, we have provided wider passage ways for the students, some of them are shaded while other is not.

On the other side of the designed area, the quite zone, we have provided narrower passages for less number of people travelling together to prevent noises and crowds gatherings at the passages, this will serve to decrease the accessibility to the place for large gathering and will thus promote the place as a quite zone for relaxation, reading and mostly, for a small number of students sitting together unlike the other part of the design that promotes for large number of students grouped together.

The passage way will be designed in an Islamic way where the flooring will be used in bricks and different tiles, like ancient Cairo, it will not be of the modern tiles as those used currently at the area, also there are the long fountains going from the start of the passage way from one of the entrances of the areas up until almost the other end, or the half of the area designed. This fountain looks more like the fountain in front of the main portal gate beside the SSC and the PVA building near Gates 5 and 2 on Campus in New Cairo.  Points to be considered:

• All greenery areas will be covered with ornamental, colorful flowers to give a good aesthetic image of the place.

• Every space with seating arrangements will be enclosed by a partition of walls (height is about 50 cm), that will provide electricity.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

5‐ Design development: After discussing all the design stages, with elaborations, the coming phase that is not required in this paper is the design development; this is when the project is in real process to reality. In this phase, engineering disciplines get involved in the structural, construction and electricity features of the project. This requires engineering drawings such as detailed sections and elevations with dimensions, illustrating finishing materials, piping details, and other major detailed aspects.

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

4. Appendices: Appendix I: Pictures of site (Figures) (With illustration using arrows and signs.)

• Accessibility

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• Dimensions (i.e. Area)

o Current Site:

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

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o Dimensions of the Area after design:

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

• Wind/ Sun direction

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

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Appendix II: Questionnaire We are a group of architecture students in our second year. For a project about the area behind the library we kindly ask you to fill out this survey to help us redesign this area to suit your preferences.

NOTE: All information given in this survey is only used for the purpose of an academic project and will not be used for any other purpose.

Sex: Male Female Age: 16‐19

20‐23

24‐28

above 28

Student: Yes

No

Major: Sciences Arts Undeclared I. General Questions 1‐ Where do you like to spend most of your free time on campus? (choose one selection only)And why? a) Food Court (Americana)

b) Tabasco food court

c) SSE steps

d) Area in front of CORE e) Area in front HUSS

f) Greenery beside cilantro

g) Other Please specify:

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

2‐ Which Gate do you use to enter the AUC campus? a) Gate 1 (At the PVA)

b) Gate 2 (entering through the back of the library)

c) Gate 4 (Pepsi Gate)

d) Gate 5 (Gate entering at HUSS)

3‐ a) Are there certain areas on campus that you assign specific activities to?

Yes No

b) If your answer to question 3‐a) is yes, please name the zones with their activities 1‐ Zone: 1‐ Activity: 2‐ Zone:

2‐ Activity:

4‐ Please rate the following activities:

(1) Least preferred (6) Most preferred

a) Meeting with friends b) Studying

c) Eating

d) Relaxing

e) Reading

f) Drawing

5‐ Please rate the following environment : (1) Least preferred (6) Most preferred a) Quiet

b) Isolated

c) Social meeting point d) Open air

e) Shaded

f) Attractive looking

6‐ a) During your free time, do you prefer an outdoor space or an indoor space?

Indoor Outdoor

b) Please give reasons for your selection in 6‐a)

i. _______________ ii. ___________ iii. ___________

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

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II. Location & Accessibility of the Area

Library

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

7‐ Do you know this area? (picture) Yes No (skip qu. 8, qu. 9) 8‐ If yes, please rate how frequently you use it 1‐3 times per semester 4‐7 times per semester more than 7 times per semester

9‐ Do you find it easily accessible?

Yes No Please give reasons for your answer: i. ___________ ii. ___________ iii. ___________

III. Usage of the Area 10‐ Do you see any problem concerning the use of this area?

Yes No (skip qu.11)

11‐ If yes, what are these problems?

i. ___________ ii. ___________ iii. ___________

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

12‐ Which seating arrangement do you prefer? (1) Most preferable (2) Second best (3) Least preferable

a) Promoting interaction b) Workstation type of seating

c) Not promoting interaction

(A) (B)

(C)

13‐ Which plants do you prefer? a) Desert plants

b) Colourful flowers

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

c) Green area only (palm trees, shading trees) (A) (B)

(C)

14‐ Which shading system do you prefer?

31

a) Full shading

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library b) Removable shading

c) Semi shaded areas

(A)

(B)

(C)

15‐ How would you use this area?

Studying Relaxing Socializing Reading Meditating Other: Please state two i. ______________ ii. ______________

Appendix III: Analysis of Questionnaire

32

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

The Questionnaires were conducted on Campus, where the categories of the people answering were as follows: • • • • • •

36% were Males 64% were Females 64% were between the ages of 16 and 19 32% were between the ages of 20‐23 3.5% were between the ages of 24‐28 Referring to the first set of General Questions in Index I:

Male 36%

Female 64%

Range of Ages 16‐19

20‐23

Question 1:

4% 32% 64%

24‐28

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

According to the number of people, the majority, 15 out of 28 people have chosen the SSE Steps to be the place where they hang out in most of the time while the rest was divided to 4 choosing the area in front of the CORE Building and 6 choosing the Tabasco Food court and only 1 person choosing the Americana Food court.

16 14 12 10 8

Series1

6 4 2 0 SSE Steps

Question 2:

Core

Tabasco FC Americana FC

34

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

67% selected that they use the Pepsi Gate as their main entrance.

35

18% selected the gate at the PVA, Gate 1 15% selected the gate at the back of the library, Gate 2

Pepsi Gate PVA Library Gate

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Question 3:

13 out of 28 people agreed that they have certain areas on campus with activities assigned to whereas the remaining 15 disagreed to this.

15.5 15 14.5 14 Series1

13.5 13 12.5 12 Activities assigned to area

Question 4:

No area assigned

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

According to the students rating the activities conducted in the areas from the most to the least favored, Studying: the results were rather contradicting; 6 chose it as the least activity while 8 chose it as most favoured and 7 ranked it as average.

Eating: the majority ranked it 4, 8 people ranked it least.

Relaxing: 12 people assigned it as most favoured, 6 assigned it average whereas the rest assigned it as least favourite.

Reading: almost equal percentages were assigned between the students from least to most, they were distributed evenly among it.

Drawing: 12 people have chosen it to be an average while 6 chose it for most, 5 chose it for less and 3 for least.

14 12 10 8

least

6

most

4 2 0 reading

studying

relaxing

drawing

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Question 5:

38

For rating the environments of the places (referring to Table 2 (index III): Quiet: 29 percent chose quite as an average answer, 7% selected it as least and 21% agreed that it be less favourable as other 21% who chose it to be most preferred.

Isolated: majority chose it to be least and high rankings were to average and most preferred.

Social meeting point: 36% chose this criterion as the most, while same number of people selected it to be least, average. And the remaining people were divided equally (3 out of 28 people) to select neutral and other rankings Open air: highest rankings for this was for average, 16 out of 28 people selected it Shaded: 7 out of 28 people selected shading for least and 7 also selected it to be important, thus, it seems that the number of students is similarly divided to those who want shade and those who don’t Attractive looking: 29% of the students chose the image of the place to be of not much importance, 25% chose it to be of average importance, few people chose it of high importance as well as not of great importance.

9 8 7 6 5 most

4

least

3 2 1 0 quiet

isolated

Question 6:

social open air meeting pt

shaded attractive looking

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

23 out of 28 people prefer outdoor spaces while only 5 people prefer indoors.

30 25 20 15

Series1

10 5 0 Outdoors

indoors

Referring to the second set of questions about the location and accessibility:

Question 7: 21 students knew about the area beside the library, only 7 didn’t know about it.

25 20

15

Series1

10

5

0

know about the area

do not know about the area

Question 8:

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

For those who knew about the place, 79% have used this place between 1‐3 times per semester, 11% have used it between 4‐7 times and 3% only have used it more than 7 times.

Usage 1‐3 times/ Semester Usage 4‐7 times/ semester usage more than 7 times/ semester

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Question 9: Referring to the accessibility to the place, 19 out of 28 people have found the area visible and easy to access whereas only 5 people found it rather difficult or inaccessible.

Figure 1‐ Pie graph Questions 8 and 9

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Referring to the third set of questions about the usage of the area:

42

Question 10: 23 people have found problems regarding this area while 5 have found it with no problems at all.

25 20 15 10 5 0

Problem yes

Problem no

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Question 11: The majority agreed that the main problem was the arrangement of the seating areas, it is either not there or the arrangement doesn’t promote interaction, others said it was isolated and no one stays there thus they will feel abandoned sitting there; the rest said that it’s far from the usual paths to classrooms and it has no activity or entertainment; it was viewed as an abandoned boring place.

Results for Question 11 ∙ No seating area or seating arrangements don’t promote interaction ( IIII ) ∙ Waste of usable land (while at spaces university very crowded) ( III ) ∙ Far location ( II ) ∙ Not used, i.e. don’t find anyone there ( I ) ∙ It is quite ( II ) ∙ There are no activities to be done, i.e. boring ( II ) ∙ Isolated ( III ) ∙ Blank (no answer) (11 left this why part of the question)

Table 3‐ Question 11

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AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

Question 12:

44

75% of the students prefer a seating area that encourages interaction, 7% chose it to be a workstation type of seating, 18% chose it to discourage interaction, to be an isolating area

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

Series3

0.4

Series2

0.3

Series1

0.2

0.1

0 1

2

3

4

5

6

1: Encourages interaction 3: Prefer a workstation type of seating 5: Discourage interaction

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

45

Question 13: 25% chose the plants to be of high trees for shading The majority of 64% chose it to be of short colorful flowers, And finally 11% preferred desert plants to suit the environment

0.7

0.6

0.5

Series4

0.4

Series3

0.3

Series2

0.2

Series1

0.1 1

2

1: High trees 3: Colorful flowers 5: Desert plants

0

3

4

5

6

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

46

Question 14: 82 % of the students would rather have a constant completely shading device above them 14 % prefer the removable shading systems such as umbrellas 4% chose semi shaded areas

0.9

0.8

0.7 0.6

Series4

0.5

Series3

0.4

Series2

0.3

Series1

0.1 1

2

3

1: Constant shading device 3: Removable shading device 5: Semi‐shaded areas

0

0.2

4

5

6

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

47

Question 15: Based on the students preference of using the area, An equal number of 10 students chose the use of the area to be either for relaxing or socializing 5 students prefer the area for studying 2 chose meditation And finally 1 chose it for reading

12

10

8 Series1 6 4

2

3

4

5

6

3: Studying

7: Reading

5: Meditation

Series3

0

1: Relaxing and socializing

7

Series2

2

1

8

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

48

5. Conclusion:

As a group of students, we have noted that the area beside the library and the registrar building is huge to occupy numerous activities with different needs and styles, however‐ it was not properly utilized. Accordingly, we started studying the area to figure out the reason behind the misuse of the area.

We started by analyzing the place from our points of view to identify the problems or issues preventing people from using it and placed them in questions that were presented to many people on campus whether students, professors or workers. Our research was mainly done in questionnaires virtually through websites or by distributing papers. From there questionnaires, we got an essence of how students view the area, why they do not use it, why they use other areas and what will make them consider using the area in term of services and design.

We carefully analyzed the students needs, and thought of the activities that can be conducted in the place and how to provide the perfect setting to it in terms of design aesthetically and ergonomically. Therefore, we had to study the area in terms of sun, wind, topography and relate our design to the campus architecture to perfectly blend in. thus, we chose a theme to follow, which was, Old Islamic Cairo.

The area has been divided into 11 areas of different uses that were scattered in two zones; the socializing zone for gatherings, studying with a large group, hanging out and grabbing refreshments and the quite zone which was mainly there for relaxation, reading and meditation purposes. As a result, we managed to fulfill the requirements of a large number of students who will later on be using the place.

Finally, we reached a better understanding to the needs of the students, how to promote social interaction when needed, how to prevent when avoided, how to make the design appealing to them, and how to utilize an unused area.

AENG 334: Final Project‐ Redesign of the area behind the library

49