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University of Turin International Training Centre ILO
Mariam Elias
University of Turin International Training Centre ILO
Turning The Baron Palace Into a Site-Specific Museum & A Cultural District Democratizing Cosmopolitan Architecture of Egypt & Enhancing a Local Collective Memory by Using Abandoned Sites & Monuments to Create a Visual Chronology of Modern Egypt Mariam Elias
Abstract: Modern history in Egypt has been neglected and rarely documented, as both tangible and intangible heritage are neither part of the public discourse nor are preserved or conserved as touristic sites. Inspired by Yudhishthir Raj Isar’s book Heritage, Memory & Identity, Peter Tomlinson’s lecture on entrepreneurship, Walter Santagat’s on Cultural District & David Throsby on The Production & Consumption of Arts, this is a proposal for a series program that aims to renovate modern architecture such old palaces, cinemas, theatre halls, factories and turn them into site-specific museums that promotes narrative history of intangible heritage and cultural production in the socio-political context of modern Egypt. The Baron Palace is taken as a case study, as the project aims to turn the palace into a museum that displays the urban structure of the initial plan of Heliopolis district, its demographics and the private collection of its inhabitants. However the Baron project cannot be extracted from its context, for that it is suggested without depth study that the Baron is renovated in the context of redesigning the district by transforming Heliopolis into a touristic cultural district and creating an association for modern palaces in Egypt with a website. The area around the palace will be dedicated to several shops for young entrepreneurs working in the field of art & design and thus promote traditional Egyptian crafts with high quality and contemporary designs.
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Table of Contents Part One: Preservation of Modern Heritage In Egypt Through Community Involvement Introduction.…………………………………………………………………………….5 Background & Justification……………………………………………………………6 UNESCO ’s Convention of Modern Heritage……………………………………...12 Tourism Context In Egypt……………………………………………………………13 Economic Context In Egypt………………………………………………………….15 Cultural Context In Egypt…………………………………………………………….15 Diagrams For Overall Problems Analysis & Objective……………………………16
Part Two: Turning The Baron Palace Into a Site-specific Museum Surrounded by a Cultural District 1-Site Identification and Description of Property Governance For Project Implementation…………………………………………..19 Site identification……………………………………………………………………...20 Historic context of the city of Heliopolis…………………………………………….22 Social-Economic context……………………………………………………………..27 Historic Context of Baron Empain …………………………………………………..28 Cultural context………………………………………………………………………..29 Site Plan ……………………………………………………………………………….31 Summary of qualities characterizing the site/place………………………….........39 Present management of the site…………………………………………………….41 SWOT…………………………………………………………………………………..45 2-Problem analysis and Interpretations Core problem identification46 Core objective identification……………………………………………………………47 Stakeholder analysis…………………………………………………………………...48 3-Project Description General objective……………………………………………………………………….50 Target group…………………………………………………………………………….54 Strategies and priorities………………………………………………………………..55 Assessment Matrix……………………………………………………………………..56 Logical Framework…………………………………………………………………......57
Part Three : Project Planning, Financing and Monitoring Project Work-plan……………………………………………………………………….60 Finance & Economic Feasibility………………………………………………………..62 Monitoring & Reporting………………………………………………………………....68 Annex……………………………………………………………………………………..69 Appendix………………………………………………………………………………….70 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………....71
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Turning The Baron Palace Into a Site-Specific Museum & A Cultural District Democratizing Cosmopolitan Architecture of Egypt
& Enhancing a Local Collective Memory by Using Abandoned Sites & Monuments to Create a Visual Chronology of Modern Egypt
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Part One: Preservation of Modern Heritage In Egypt Through Community Involvement Introduction Rather than a single project, this proposal runs as a complex program or an integrated plan that aims to include several stakeholders and multiple initiatives with sustainable investment program. For the cause of this proposal, the Baron Palace in Heliopolis district of Cairo is taken as a case study. The project aims to use both tangible heritage to promote the intangible archive and vice versa by using both to enhance a local collective memory and promote modern Egyptian history of the twentieth century until recent times. The proposal aims to find a solution for several palpable problems one of which is the lack of documentation and censorship over history practiced by several regimes. Another problem is the abandon of several sites like palaces, theatres, cinemas that have a historical significance yet still don’t receive any care since most of funds and developments in Egypt goes to the ancient and old buildings rather than a 100 years old one. On the other side, these abounded spaces will be renovated as site-specific museums to promote the same period’s intangible heritage and create a visual historical chronology by using multimedia, interactive installations, augmented reality and private collections. These renovated sites of palaces, cinemas, theatres, factories and halls will be connected through an integrated online network and association. The project has four main outputs for two main goals: The first is an online web 0.2 site that aims to document and narrate lost socio-political modern Egyptian history through community involvement. The website aims to be an online display for lost information and personal documents of the people. The website is entitled www.egyptory.com (Dummy web on http://batatahoaa.wix.com/egytory). The second output is an association that aims to connect all modern buildings like palaces, factories and abandoned places by transforming them into sitespecific museums and creating a digital map on the web with other publications. In the second part, the Baron is taken as a case study to be turned into a site-specific exhibition that narrates the story of Heliopolis and developing its surrounding area to a cultural district. Although the project focuses on the Baron as a museum, however taking the Baron out of its context would be impossible. Especially the Baron Empain was the creator of Heliopolis district and all the historic buildings complement each other. After eight and nine months of planning the project two initiatives were discovered which are a local initiative entitled “ Heliopolis Heritage Initiative” and on the 29th of April the Belgium government proposed a collaboration project with Villa Empain in Belgium that is also constructed by Baron Louis Empain. Both initiatives were contacted for future collaboration with the proposal.
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Background and Justification Although Egypt is thrived with heritage that dates back to ancient times, documentation and historical analysis of recent history such as the remnants of late 19th and 20th century history remains lacking. In-fact, there are several restriction concerning finding an objective history of modern Egypt, one of which is the over dominance of physical archival research as the only reliable factual resource. This has made memories, oral testimonies and autobiographies always dismissed since 1 they fall under the auspices of fiction rather than informative knowledge. Another important issue has been the lack of transparency and accountability in the past authoritarian regimes that made many information censored. Especially during state-building era post the 1952 revolution, documents that did not promote a certain view of Egyptian history and the ruling new system were either discarded or destroyed. And with the continuation of the military rule over the past sixty years, the National Archive of Egypt continued to be run within the state’s coercive grip where the State Security (Amn-Al-Dawla) played as an arbitrator & collector of information, restricting the access of documents to everyone except few privileged using it as a 2 means for the state’s manipulation. For that, a huge part of the nation’s memory and conscious is kept in the hands of police officers who became gatekeepers of Egypt’s past and the regime’s professional historians that determine what should be revealed or what should be censored. Another issue is the eradication of huge collection of public and private documents due to several issues such as several cataloguing problems, disorganization, theft, conflict, lack of funding or interest. In fact, it is believed that the 1952 revolution was responsible for ending the Belle Epoque of late nineteenth, early twentieth century Egypt by ending the cosmopolitan elite and ensuing benefits for the proletariat. Apart from the classist segregation of this period into Effendi, Bek and Basha, many scholars thought that Egypt before the officers’ revolution had an enriched liberal experiment and was a hub for many foreign nationalities and workers like the Greek green grocer, the Italian cabinetmaker and the Armenian photographer. Still, references to this era are either too romanticized or in other cases demeaned to give credibility to the post-revolution’s project. This has changed the demographics and the urban structure of the city, downtown area for example that was built by khedive Ismail to be a commercial centre and a political nexus. Later many middle class inhabitants moved out of the city center and into more modern suburbs such as Nasr City, the process by which downtown lost its residential character. Generally speaking the foreigners that came to work in Egypt after the 1869 Suez Canal was built, l had their property nationalized later in 1956 by Gamal Abdel Nasser. This explains why most of the heritage that are remnant of pre-1952 whether tangible or intangible usually was left neglected with no preservation or documentation, as it was thought that acknowledging it would losen the new regime’s credibility and weakness its legitimacy. With the nationalization project, several palaces were transformed into governmental offices or schools and 1- Omar. Hussein, “ Making Memory History”, Speak Memory, 2010. 2-
IbidP.23.
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the open-door policy privatized again these palaces and replaced with huge residencies of multiple apartments.
A photo in newspapers post the 1952 revolution stating that the Egyptian peasant is now sitting on the thrown, the photo is taken in Abbadin Palace.
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Sarageldin Palace, Cairo, photo by Xenia Nikolskaya.
For that the aim of the program is to recognize these sites, declare them as a national heritage and renovate them to become a site-specific history museum for its context, such as: an old cabaret, a cinema hall from the 20’s, a theatre hall for puppetry. For example, Cinema Radio in downtown can be turned to a cinema museum that displays film posters and various objects from the Egyptian cinematic archive using the assistance of private collectors. Palaces like Abadin Palace, Champlion Palace, Seragaldin Palace, Muhammad Ali Pasha Shobra Palace, are among several important sites that are either not declared as antiquity, left empty or used by the state as governmental office as it is believed that they are valueless since they only date back to few years ago rather than ancient history.
Muhammad Alia pasha Shobra palace, designed with an island in the midst of the palace, Cairo.
On the other hand, several intangible heritage or historical archive are scattered in open markets, private collections, museum storage areas or galleries. For that, the project aims to create a context where both the tangible and intangible heritage of modern Egypt can be displayed together to formulate a narrative visual history for modern Egypt.
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Cinema Radio, photographed by Xenia Nikolskaya, Cairo
The urgency of this project was highlighted after the last civil appraising in Egypt, as the revolts opened the discussion for two major issues: the destiny of the presidential palaces and the continuous demolish of 20th century heritage that was faced with rejection from the citizens. In Mubarak’s era, many important palaces that are the remnants of Belle Epoque were under his grip, some were used for presidency and the rest were closed without any benefit. These palaces include Abadin palace (That was used as a monocracy palace from king Ismail to Farouk then later by Sadat), Ras El Tin Palace, Kobba Palace (That was president Nasser’s official Office), El Ethhadya Palace, Montaza Palace, El Ismailia Rest House, Qatar Rest House and Tahra Palace in Heliopolis.3 Several suggestions appeared to use only one to three palaces for presidency like the White House, while the rest of the palaces will be turned to touristic sites and hotels, especially that many candidates claimed that they would rule from their current houses. According to analysts, such as Mr. Mohamed Abd El Maqsood who is the general manager of the high antiquities, this initiative will help the presidency income to be reduced from unnecessary items like electricity, while it will help in increasing the national income and tourism.4 On the other hand, several initiatives on the social media network started to promote the idea of these presidential palaces as common goods that should become public to display the history of modern architecture and society in the modern era since it belongs to the human civilization at large. Another palpable issue is the continuous demolish of modern buildings with the excuse that “they aren’t all that 5 special”. This has caused to the disappearance of any evidence of early 20th century middle class Egyptian society with its cultural references, its economic or societal conditions and its cosmopolitan domestic spaces. Beside that, intangible heritage such as photography, film or culture is neither documented nor archived and scattered among several collectors which made memories and identities easily manipulated. Especially after 25th of January 2011, several historic places have been demolished such as the Greek Club and the Jewish business guru Chickoreil’s palace in Alexandria or being sold such as the century old bar George in Ismailia. It is said that Alexandria has been losing a lot of valuable historical buildings
3- Dakhakni.Fathia, “The Destiny of the Presidential Palace in the Second Republic of Egypt ”,Al Masry El Youm, Mon 07/05/2012 http://www.almasryalyoum.com/node/824221 4- Ibid.,P2. 5-El Shahed. Mohamed, “ On Heritage Landscapes”, www.cairoobserver.com.
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such as filmmaker Asia Dagher villa on the Glym tram tracks, Count Zogheeb Palace in Raml, Prince Tooson’s Palace near the Antoniadis Gardens, and Bayram El Tonsi’s house in Anfoushi.6
Demolition of Alexandria Greek Club that dates back to the 1920’s to be replaced with a shopping Mall, Photo by Emad Maher.
Post the downfall of the ex-president, many Egyptians felt that their continuous sense of defeat and self-accusation was broken and many started cleaning and painting the streets. This sense of belonging and responsibility has been always under attack from the authoritarian regime in order to dictate people and increase their sense of despair. It is said that the regime worked a lot to undo this sense of empowerment that January revolution inspired in the past 15 months. This surely had its implications in culture and heritage that although they have been always outside the popular discourse, only in the past year many people started to create an alternative way to protect and share their undiscovered legacy. For example during the eighteen days of the revolts, several civilians went to protect the Egyptian Museum In Tahrir Square from illicit. Also, recently several initiatives on the social media network appeared to restore the lost collective memory through old photos of the society. Some on the other hand, use web 0.2 applications to create an archive for the Egyptian Cinema such as www.elcinema.com by Bassem Hefny. There is no doubt that the events of 25th of January made many realize the effect of social pressure and demonstrations; some of these brought positive results. Like in the case of Alexandrian Chikoriel’s palace, were many citizens wrote a petition to the prime minster Mr. kamal El Ganzoury after he removed the palace from the list of B antiquities and give a command to demolish it to be replace with a shopping mall, yet because of this community objection the order was stopped.
Chikorielle Palace that was going to be demolished in 2012 by the government, Alexandria.
6-‐ Morayef.Soraya,“Demolition of disused Alexandria Greek Club highlights larger problems”, Egypt Independent, Sun, 29/04/2012http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/demolition-disused-alexandria-greek-club-highlights-larger-problems.
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Another good example of these initiatives is the group entitled “ Heliopolis Heritage Initiative” by Mr. Ahmed Mansour and Mrs. Dalia Nabil who were contacted also for cooperative collaboration with this proposal. The initiative was successful in attracting several volunteers who are Heliopolis residents and even in working with Heliopolis parliamentary representative Mr. Amr Hamzawy.
Logo for Heliopolis Heritage Initiative, & Facebook group.
For that local initiative and community based collectives’ form an important alternative for cultural rediscovery that is not based on the authority of the state or a business elite who might be interested in controlling heritage to their benefits. At the end of the series of program, a network or association will be formed to connect all these sites together using mobile application, or shared services. If this program is applied, the story of the recent history of each governorate will be narrated in its site-specific museum that was an abandoned palace. This is helps the local inhabitances of a place to understand its history they and become engaged in activities related to that space. Each museum will contain a section that is the result of community involvement through an interactive multimedia display of their testimonials and personal photos or the display of their private collections. The suggested program starts with Heliopolis, as it is the most neglected with a great potential. Due to its homogeneous design and specific story, can be easily turned into an urban historic area attracting several tourists and engaging its inhabitance. Heliopolis is the gate of Cairo and the first location a tourist passes by after arrival from the airport. Although it has many hotels, the district is only marketed as a residential area with no mention for its monuments. Another point, arts & culture spaces are mostly centralized in downtown Cairo and one hardly finds an ongoing event away from that place. However, with the creation of New Cairo, Heliopolis became another alternative for the city centre that still lacks any heritage, cultural or touristic activity.
Current View of Baghdad St. a central street in Korba, Heliopolis.
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UNESCO ’s Convention of Modern Heritage It was in early 2001 when UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the Working Party on the Documentation and Conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the Modern Movement (DOCOMOMO) started a joint program for the recognition, documentation and promotion of the built heritage 7 of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Internationally speaking, modern heritage has always been the most vulnerable as it has weak legal protection, low appreciation among the public and un-objective standards of evaluation and thus the least listed and conserved. In 1989, a proposal by a council of Europe stated a range of activities and recommendations that would raise public awareness of such neglected heritage. Even if its in the near past, the twentieth century is thrived with incidents and major changing points, especially with the introduction of modernism as a technical term in the 1950’s that accompanied the processes of individualization, democratization and industrialization that started in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Also from a geopolitical point of view it is said that the duration of the twentieth century is a mere seventy one years that is measured with the beginning of the modern age that starts with the end of the First World War & the Victorian Age. Another hinder that faces the declaration of modern inheritance as world heritage is the over representation of architectural sites in the list. Following several negotiations about the list, an expert meeting of UNESCO and ICOMOS was held in June 1994, which noted a severe imbalance with regard to certain categories of heritage and regions. One of which is “the over-representation of European-based heritage in relation to the rest of the world; historic towns and religious buildings in relation to other types of heritage; Christianity in relation to other religions and beliefs; historical periods in relation to prehistory and the twentieth century; ‘elitist’ 8 architecture in relation to vernacular architecture”. Later, the session that was held at UNESCO Headquarters in February 2001 started discussing the preservation of modern architecture in the context of the twentieth century considering the World Heritage List and its regional or state-oriented basis. Also because of the initiatives taken by ICOMOS, the World Heritage Committee and the World Heritage Centre, categories of ‘cultural landscapes’ and ‘industrial heritage’ started to be considered in the nomination of the World Heritage List. Also, there was a revision of the meaning of the authentic value to be more exclusive to include the authenticity of the idea, the form, the construction and the materials. It was said that the early years of the twentieth century in Egypt featured a great symbols of modernism and cosmopolitanism, as business elite had several urban planning development projects such as Ismail’s new downtown that he called “ Paris On the Nile”. Then after the 1952 revolution the new republic used cultrue and heritage to shape identities and edit history. The military regime held parades, created monuments, edited history books to promote their new military autocratic project. They established a ministry of culture that was called back Ministry of Guidance, signifying that the role of the government is to guide Egyptians towards the new cultural and national identity, which relied on 9 a certain understanding of past heritages. For that, modern Egyptian heritage was seen as colonial 7-Van Ores.Ron, “ Introducation to the Programme On Modern Heritage”, Identification And Documentation of Modern Heritage,UNESCO,P.8. 8-Ibid.,. 9- El Shahed. Mohamed, “The “ White City” and Egypt’s Modernist Heritage”, www.cairobserver.com.
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inheritance especially post the militarily regime. Because, artistic and historical value is subjective, preserving such legacy was not always a priority. Accordingly it was perceived that such national possession lacked any economic value too, which made many of these sites always neglected, mismanaged and even exposed to demolition. Although these buildings are documents that narrate the histories of a community, the government would give a legal permission to destroy them with the argument of that they lack any significance leaving no proof of early 20th century middle class Egyptian society with its cultural references, societal 10 conditions or domestic spaces. In 2003, UNESCO added Tel Aviv’s “White City” to its list of world heritage sites that was made of three zones of around 4,000 buildings built from the 1930s to the 1950s in various interpretations of the modernist architecture. UNESCO considered the White City significant for its authenticity in urban planning with a declaration, which states that “None of the European or North-Africa realizations 11 exhibit such a synthesis of the modernistic picture nor are they at the same scale”. In fact such statement that implies the lack of a precedent modernist heritage in both Europe or its geographical surrounding area of North Africa, will actually lead to disregard any modernist initiatives in that region. However, the case of Egypt has several proofs of modern movement in urban planning that is aware of the international discourse and was successful in creating its local individuality that was seen as a nationalist response to the previous three decades of ornamental architecture. It is then arguable that both cosmopolitan architecture and the later modern architecture not only were able to create an authentic narrative to the Egyptian recent history, but they were a method to create a national voice and an alternative to the colonial heritage. However due to the Eurocentric perspective of history, the Egyptian modern experience was always seen as unoriginal or less important. In later years, the modern project was demolished as the state used to perceive it as mundane and protecting it was unworthy and “unofficial heritage” like the ancient and Islamic. Between political agendas, capitalists greed, lack of preservation, Eurocentric narration and shortage of state protection, modern Egyptian heritage was easily exposed to loss and damage. Thus the rediscovery of Egyptian modern project can lead to the inclusion of such an important chapter in the Egyptian history that for sure will have an international significance if it was justified in the right context. It is then worth mentioning that the addition of Egyptian modern heritage in the UNESCO’s World Heritage list implies that the modern project was not only monopolized by the west or regionally represented in Israel’s White City only. However, it proves that the human modern legacy is diversified with several international versions. On the other hand, the only modern Egyptian site that is inscribed in the WHL is the “ New Gouna Village” that is designed by Hassan Fathy that is only incorporated because it accidentally is falls under 12 the boundaries of “Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis”. The Alexandria Bibliotheca is another modern property that has a potential of being represented under the title of “Alexandria: ancient remains and the new library ” that is currently on the Tentative List. It is then suggested that modern heritage can be classified among two groups, one of which is “Royal Family Heritage” or “Colonial Heritage” that includes palaces like Montazah Palace & Gardens and the other is “Earthen Heritage” which are Vernacular Architecture designed by Hassan Fathy and Ramsis Wissa Wassef.
10-Ibid.,. 11-Ibid.,. 12-Abdel Tawab,Ayman, “ Modern Heritage In Egypt : Significante and Outsanding Potentials”,P.5.
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Tourism Context In Egypt According to the American Chamber of Commerce’s report of 2005, tourism sector in Egypt has been always a major contributor to the national economy, whether through direct or indirect means by contributing with a major share in the GDP almost by 11,5 % and 15 % of the employment.14 According to the Ministry of Tourism, the number of foreign visitors between 1980 and to 2005 increased more than six times, reaching 8,607,810 tourists in 2005.15 There are two main categories of the Tourism in Egypt which are international (foreign) tourism and internal (domestic) tourism, however it is the international tourism that represent the most important source of foreign currency for the country which can be classified into three main categories: Traditional Cultural Tourism, Recreational and New Cultural Tourism. Historically speaking, Egypt was the first non-European country that was visited for tourism by the rich and educated elites. Some historians date back the rediscovery of ancient Egyptian heritage as a touristic hub, after the military and scientific expedition of the Napoleon invasion of Egypt in 1798-1801. Yet, it is said that the flourishing of the industry in Egypt came after the pioneer “tour operator” Thomas Cook and Son had set its businesses in the country in 1880’s.16 However, in the last two decades the Egyptian tourism industry has also been subject to several shocks caused by terrorist attacks and conflicts in the region. Still, all that was not as harmful as the recent events of the Arab revolutions, where Egypt became on the black list of several Embassies, while several countries restricted its citizens from going to Egypt. Also, the rise of the Islamic fundamentalists raises a major concern to the future of tourism in the country. By 2012 and due to ongoing street aggression, Tourism Industry was highly effected as it saw 32% drop in the number of visitors. The industry which was the main contributor in the GDP generating more than £8bn a year and was believed to employ one in eight of the workforce, has been a £2.5bn decrease fall in tourism revenue alongside 32% fewer visitors.17 In an Interview with the Guardian, minster of tourism Mr. Mounir Fakhry Abd El Nour said the following: “ We are living through an unprecedented crisis in the history of this sector," And continued explaining "We have faced tourism crises before following one-off events [such as the 1997 Luxor massacre in which terrorists shot dead 62 holidaymakers at an ancient Egyptian temple], but this is different because [the revolution] is a continuous state of affairs".18 To conclude, internal tourism has been always targeted for the beach resorts and usually cultural internal tourism is not frequent. On the other hand, ancient heritage and recreational trips are the main attraction for the international tourism. For that modern heritage needs a strong management plan in order to compete with the two other official categories, as it would have a different target group who are more from the creative class and visitors looking for experimental trip or experience tourism.
14- American Chambre Commerce Egypt, (2005),Tourism Sector Developments in Egypt. 15-Ibid.,. 16- Santagta,Baig,Bertacchini, “Cultural System and Local Sustainable Development”, P.16. 17- Shenker,Jack,“Egyptian Frustration As Tourists Atay Away”,The Guardian,19 january 2012. 18-Ibid.,.
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Economic Context In Egypt Before the last civil appraising, Egypt was run by a governmental cabinet of Businessmen guru who although were able to increase the GDP By 7%, they widened the gap between the rich and poor as the economy was designed to benefit few corrupt elite whose main concern is to sustain the regime. One year after the events, leaders at the 2012 World Economic Forum in Davos started to stress the urgent needs for a more accountable economic framework that promote broad-based growth while creating jobs, inclusive economic chances for youthful labor force and reducing the wide gaps between the rich and the poor.19 However, the continued discontent and violent unrest lead to the several counter results with lack of tangible economic developments. The Tahrir Square with the post- revolution government, proposed several ideas to solve the recurrent financial issues that included the establishment of a new minimum wage for government workers, tax exemptions for more government workers, and the retention of fuel, housing and food subsidies and significant funding for workforce training. Yet, it became impossible to recover from a steep postrevolution slouch. “ GDP growth has stalled, foreign reserves have fallen from $36 billion prerevolution to under $20 billion in January 2012, unemployment remains high and over 40 percent of Egyptians are either below the poverty line or perilously close to it,” writes Raymand Gilpin in his 20 article “ From Tahrir to Davos: Employment & Equity in post-revolution Egypt”. With all these stressing issues, the government refused to enter a program with the IMF in mid-2011and instead of using some political capital to pass through the transitional period of reform, it chose to delay taking decisions and only perform transitional work. On the other hand, usually polices of economic freedom and international cooperation’s fail to find acceptance within a post-conflict phase like the current situation in Egypt where business gurus are sent to jail, foreign NGO’s are kicked out with an accusation that they are secret agents for foreign agendas. For that, culture and heritage comes at the end of the state’s financial agenda and many projects has been stopped or suspended such as turning Abo El Elah Bridge into a museum and the Grand Egyptian Museum.
Cultural Context In Egypt As explained before in the background and justification section, modern heritage in Egypt is highly neglected. Especially its intangible heritage of photographic, filmic, musical, oral heritage, are always exposed of being lost, stolen, or damaged. It is enough to mention the illicit of several artifacts from the Egyptian museum during the revolts and the theft of Van Gogh’s “ Poppy Flower” from Mohamed Khalil’s Museum, to prove the very week management and security of these heritage institutions. On other level, several valuable objects are scattered among various collectors, dusted in drawers or preserved away from the accessibility of the audience. A good example of that is the valuable collection of the rare Books at the American University In Cairo that is neither exhibited and accessing it needs permission. Creswell, Hassan Fathy, Salah Taher, Waly El Din Sameh, Ramses Wissa Wassef are among the other precious collection that the AUC owns but is only available for its students on display in rare occasions. Museumlogy in Egypt is a neglected field to the extent that, not only there are no museums dedicated to its history of photography, its 100 years cinematic heritage or urban history of the city, but the genre is not even studied at universities and some research NGO’s are accused of using the money of the funds in brokerage rather than development.
19- Gilpin.Raymond, “ From Tahrir to Davos: Employment and Equity in Post-Revolution Egypt”, International Network for Economics and Conflict, http://inec.usip.org/blog/2012/jan/30/tahrir-davos-employment-and-equity-post-revolution-egypt 20-Ibid.,.
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Diagrams For Overall Problems Analysis & Objective Fig 1:Problem Tree of Overall Subject
Loss of valuable tangiable & intangiable heritage.
Loss of collective memory & unclear national identity causing increase of intolerance.
Egyptian Modern Heritage and History is not part of the hegemonic public discourse and dialogue.
Several important sites are neglected and abandoned.
Modern heritage is underestimated compared to the ancient heritage.
Several palaces , theartres, halls being nationalized and in bad condition.
Lack of documentation, historical data and accumulation of research
Memoirs, oral testimonies and autobiographies always dismissed
unadquate number of professionals in the ^ield.
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The exsitance of visual and textual chronolgy of modern intagiable and tangiable heritage & history.
Restoration of several abonded sites and declaring it as national antiques.
Egyptian Modern heritage & history becomes part of the hegemonic public discourse & dialogue
Restoring old buildings and turning them to a site -‐ spec^ic museums
Cooperation between urban planers, curators, artists and historians on each site.
Raising funds by creating a PPP models for and around the site.
Documentation of historical data and accumulation of research
Creating a web 0.2 platforms and centre for collecting oral history and private collections.
Creating a training centre to publish and devlop skills of R & D.
Objective Tree of Overall Subject
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Part Two Turning The Baron Palace Into a Site-specific Museum Surrounded by a Cultural District
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Part Two Turning The Baron Palace Into a Site-specific Museum Surrounded by a Cultural District 1.1Governance For Project Implementation Project name: The Baron Palace as Site-Specific Museum and restoration of Heliopolis as a Cultural District. Preparation Date: August 2011. Starting Date: March 2012 Tentative Duration For Museum: 3 years. Tentative Duration For Heliopolis Renovation: 7 years. Tentative Duration For Ongoing Project: 15 years. Starting Date (indicative) of Phase One: January 2013. Geographical Coverage P/1: Heliopolis, Cairo. Project Site Region P/1: Korba & Salah Salem Road Region Department Country P/1: Cairo Governorate Project Language: English/ Arabic Responsible Government Agency: Supreme Council of Antiquities Definition of Management Model: Public Private Partnership & International Cooperation. Executing Agency: Supreme Council of Antiquities Implementing Agency: Belgium Company for conservation assigned by Villa Empain in Brussels. Donors: The Belgium Government through the Belgium Embassy in Egypt. Other Suggested Cooperating Agency, Partners, Consultants: Heliopolis Heritage Initiative, Docomo International, Docomo Egypt, DEDI, Cultnat Rare Books of American University In Cairo, Institute of Cultural Affairs for Middle East and North Africa (ICA-MENA),
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1.2 Site Identification The program aims to restore several palaces and halls of the late ninetieth to twentieth century around Egypt in Cairo, Alexandria, Portsaid and Ismailia. The Baron Empain Palace was taken as a pilot & a case study for the program. Located in Salah Salem St. Heliopolis. Cairo The Palace is located in the main road that connect the city to the airport and exist out of Cairo. The palace was built between 1907-1910. Surface Area: 12,500 squared meters. Heliopolis City: Initiated by Baron Louis Empain in 1905 on a 6,000 feddans in the desert, 15 kilometers away from Cairo.
Baron Palace & Heliopolis District/ Google Maps
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Baron Palace & Heliopolis District/ Google Maps
Baron Palace On Google Earth
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1.3 Description of the Property Historical Context of the City of Heliopolis Heliopolis is an old lost Pharonic city, where the site of the ancient Heliopolis lies in the Cairo suburb of Matariya that straddles the metro line by the edge of the current modern Heliopolis city. The remnants of the ancient Heliopolis city is probably found fifteen or twenty meters beneath the slums 21 of Matariya district. The significance of Heliopolis city was because it was the place where some religious texts were written after which several myths about the universal creation appeared. Heliopolis means the “city of the sun” as it was named after the sun that was a god and the central figure of the creation myth. It is also said that Heliopolis was the place were the form of the obelisks were originated, as it was the gift by a king “ Son of Ra” to the universal creator the sun. These obelisks are currently scattered around the world and only one is left in Egypt. Then, in 383 the Christian Emperor Theodosius ordered the closure of all pagan temples throughout the empire as a new religion has appeared. However even in 1195, many statues were still standing high and Heliopolis was considered as an ancient city. Later Mataryia became an upscale suburb for new bourgeoisies and the British in the Nineteenth and early twentieth century. This continuously mounting metropolis has engulfed the city and Heliopolis had to be reborn elsewhere by the Baron Empain who invited Belgium Architect “ Ernest Jasper” to a trip and looked out of the desert off the Suez road and said “ I want to build a city here”.22 It is said that the Baron Empain who was one of the nineteenth century giants who pushed the innovations of industrial revolution to their limits, as he was one of the builders of the financial and technical bases for the age by constructing railroads and pioneering electricity powered transport system. He was then part of what the called the “ march of progress” that was hailed back then. By 1900’s Cairo was a flourishing modern town, as Khedive Ismail started to construct his own “ Paris On The Nile” since 1860’s, the posh district of Garden City was laid out, the Swiss started to upgrade the area in Zamalek on a Nile Island, while the Empain paid a mere Egyptian pound per feddan to buy the site of Heliopolis which was ten Kilometres from Cairo and close to road to Suez in Abbasiya dessert costing a total of five thousand pounds for the land alone.23
The distinctive NeoMoorish style created the urban architectural pattern of the city with an aesthetic sustainability that preserves its originality within different decades
21-Dobrowolska,Agnieszka&Dobrowolski,Jarostaw, “Heliopolis:Rebirth of The City Of The Sun”,AUC,2006,P15. 22-Ibid.,.P37. 23 –Ibid,.,P.45
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Several changes happened during the rule of Nasser who nationalized Heliopolis Company; even though most Egyptians didn’t look at Empain as colonialist but they saw him as a man whose life became attached to the country that he chose to be buried under the Basilica leaving a huge contribution to the Egyptian urban history. Heliopolis was designed to attract a well paying clientele and a special area of the city was designed to house services workers or servants to be a pioneer in “ Social Architecture” in Egypt. Later, the company started to develop a race track, an aerodrome, the Luna park amusement centre and other public spaces to act as a touristic attraction for the European clientele. The residential buildings around the Basilica were designed with faux minaret that has no other function except an aesthetic urban sense of the city of thousand minarets. These faux minarets were lost after 1992 earthquake as it is said that it was removed because it symbolizes a religious purpose. Eight percent of the districts were dedicated for public gardens, parks and playgrounds. The district offered four types of residential living: villas, bourgouis flats in apartment buildings, small apartments in blocks of flats or garden cities & austere bungalows for the working class. Thus, the original architecture of Heliopolis has much in common with art nouveau with historic Islamic architecture to create the Neo-Moorish style.
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Initial plan for Heliopolis was designed to be formed of two Oasis: Oasis 1 was designed for residential and touristic oasis, while Oasis 2 was an industrial & commercial one. However due to economic crisis in 1907 the construction of Oasis 2 didn’t happen and only Oasis 1 was completed to be the current Heliopolis that we know today. (Plan is a still from Heliopolis Heritage Initiative film)
The Basilica was designed to be in the central plan of Heliopolis as a message from Baron Empain who was also a Roman Catholic and from it there were four paths on its axis, one leading to the Baron Empain palace, other to the race track, to a Hotel and also to the market area & mosque. (Plan is a still from Heliopolis Heritage Initiative film).
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Historical Photos of Site & Palace
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Significant landmarks:
On the left, Mansion of Egyptian-Armenian businessman-statesman-diplomat Boghos Nubar Pasha which is currently a military headquarters and on the right the tomb of Baron Louis Empain under the Basilica.
On the left, the Hippodrome Club that used to host international horse race currently filled with restaurants and is called the Merryland. On the right, Luna Park that was the first amusement park in Africa and the Middle East, few buildings of its structure remains but it became a commercial area called Roxy with no evidence of the existence of the park.
Heliopolis Palace Hotel, used to have a 400 luxury rooms, later became the seat of central government in Nasser’s era and then the presidential palace in Mubarak’s era. Several discussions are recurrent now in turning the Palace to a hotel for the public again.
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1.4 Socio-economic Context With the existence of the Egyptian Military headquarters, The Egyptian Air Force headquarters, The Almaza Military Airbase and the site of Heliopolis Palace Hotel that became the Egyptian Republican Palace and the president's office, the district gained a special political and military importance in the country in recent decades. Also, the regional headquarters of some international organizations such as the World Health organizations and the Red Crescent are also located within the area. While it is said that the Israeli Air Force bombed the district during the Yom Kippur War, causing damage to some of its historical buildings.24 Heliopolis was designed to be a cosmopolitan area that hosts all religion sects as it had several landmarks such as: The Basilique Catholic church situated on Al-Ahram Street and the burial place of Baron Empain, numerous Islamic mosques, Christian Saint Maron and Saint-Rita church, a protestant church and the Jewish Al Missalah Street synagogue. All that, prove the morals of tolerance that the city established itself on. It was also the host of several international nationalities like the Armenians, the Belgium and Greek as well as several aristocratic Egyptians. Even after Nasser’s nationalization project in the fifties, it became home to Cairo's educated middle class. With the expansion of greater Cairo, the huge distance between Heliopolis and downtown has vanished to become integrated inside the city. Because of the increase in population, the original gardens that filled the city were replaced by construction and the district was designed to provide its inhabitance several pedestrian areas and that recreational places became crowded with cars and traffic jam. Entertainment and facilities were major elements in the creation of the place as from 1911 until 1915; Heliopolis had Luna Park, Africa's first amusement park, an airport, a hippodrome, a sporting club, hotels, cafes and an airport. Later, it hosted Normandy Cinema in Al-Ahram, Cinema Roxy, and Cinema Heliopolis along with the new cinemas in Horreya Mall and City Stars, the largest shopping mall in Egypt. Recently with the new parliamentary elections, Amr Hamzawy a liberal politician that was running in this region succeeded because of the educated class that still living in it.
An old overview of Heliopolis.
24- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliopolis_(Cairo_suburb)
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1.5 Historic Context of Baron Empain Palace Built in the early 20th century (between 1907 and 1910) by the Belgian-born industrialist, BaronGeneral Eduard Louis Joseph Empain (1852-1929), who was the owner of the palace & the initiator of the new city of leisure and luxury that was called Heliopolis. A district that has proven to be sustainable for 100 years with a high innovative urban planning that protected the niche demographics of its inhabitants until now. It was an ambitious project of converting the desert into a region with wide-open areas of residential masterpieces, villas, spacious roads, facilities and amenities to suit the royal elite and together with his Cairene socialite partner Yvette Boghdadli, they initiated the new district, building several facilities and services and fine residential housing for the elite. Eduard Louis Joseph, Baron Empain (20 September 1852 - 22 July 1929) was a wealthy Belgian engineer, entrepreneur, financier and industrialist, as well as an amateur Egyptologist, known for his extravagant lifestyle who in 1881 founded his own bank, Banque Empain, which later became the Belgian Industrial Bank ("Banque Industrielle Belge"). The Empain had a vast group of companies that expanded greatly throughout the 1890s, including electric urban tramlines in Europe, Russia, China, the Belgian Congo, and in Cairo, Egypt. 25 Aiming to be independent of electricity producers, Empain became involved in forming a number of electricity companies to power his projects. Eduard Empain arrived in Egypt in January 1904, intending to rescue one of the projects of his company S.A. des Chemins de Fer de la Basse-Egypte which was working on the construction of a railway line linking Mansourah to Matariya from Port Said and despite losing the railway contract to the British, Empain stayed on in Egypt.26 In 1907 he received the title of Baron, but he also suggested to Belgian Egyptologist Jean Capart that he would excavate at Heliopolis and made it possible for him to acquire some fine ancient artifacts for the Brussels Museum. He died at Woluwe, Belgium and was buried under the Our Lady of Heliopolis Basilica (known as La Basilique Notre-Dame d'Héliopolis) where he constructed a path from the church under which he was buried towards his Palace where he was resident. His palace hosted many prestigious guests such as the Belgian King Albert I. In 1906, Empain established the Cairo Electric Railways and Heliopolis Oases Company, which purchased a large land at the northwest of Cairo with a very low price from the colonial government and proceeded with the building of the new town of Heliopolis, in the desert ten kilometers from the center of Cairo.
Sample of the ticket for Cairo Electric railways Heliopolis Company.
25-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Empain 26-‐Bizzari.Heba,” The Baron’s Palace Fables, Legends and Controversies” http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/baronspalace.htm
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Inspired by Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Hindu temples of Orissa, the Baron Empain palace was designed by French architect Alexander Marcel with the assistance of the best Indonesian artists and sculptors to implement it spectacular façade. They built it on an artificial elevation to enable the Baron to watch the rising of Heliopolis. For the exterior, Marcel reproduced a motley of busts, statues, elephants, snakes, Buddha's, shivers and Krishna's, While Georges-Louis Claude created its sophisticated interior. It is also notable to mention, that this duo was responsible for the construction and decoration of the Oriental Pavilion attached to the Royal Palace of Laeken in Belgium.27 Other lofty palaces such as the Arabesque palace surround the Baron palace, which originally was the home of Boghos and Marie Nubar Pasha who assisted Baron Empain in purchasing the 6,000 Acres of empty desert at one pound each. The palace became later a military Headquarters after nationalization. Also, in an opposite view stand the former residence of Sultan Hussein Kamel, who reigned over Egypt between 1914 and 1917and was used in the past regime as a presidential guesthouse.28
27- Bizzari.Heba,” The Baron’s Palace Fables, Legends and Controversies” http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/baronspalace.htm 28-Ibid,.,
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1.6 Cultural Context of The Palace The palace is a subject to many legends and rumors more than any other monument in Egypt, such as the construction of the Palace around a type of turnstile that would rotate the whole building so that its windows were always facing the sun. In-fact, it is not a surprising fact for a Hindu style building in the urban structure of Cairo, to evoke all kinds of imagination among its inhabitance with fables that it was haunted by bats, stray dogs, and ghosts. These myths are varied from stories about the structure of the Hindi palace such as an enchanted chamber that was a pink bedroom in the basement and turned into red after the death of the Baron, or stories were narrated about the family of the baron such as his sister the baroness Helena that fell from one of the balconies or about his daughter Miriam committed suicide after a failed love affair at the service of the elevator.29 As far as it is an architectural appeal, it was also an attraction for the underground scene of youth & musicians who would sneak towards the palace and play their compositions, drink beer and smoke hash. In the late 1990’s, the police caught several youngsters who were believed to be practicing Satanism with odd acts like filling the place with tattoos, devil-worshipping, and writing their names in rats' blood on the palace's walls. Currently, its only through bribing the doorman at the front door then you can have access to the interior of the palace that remains mysterious even to its neighbors. One then will be surprised to discover that the huge spectacle facade contains only a small villa from the inside that consists of two floors with two additional subterranean floors. The underground floors contain a family mausoleum, a kitchen and the servant's room. There is an elevator and even a tunnel that connects with the nearby church built by the Baron.
A detailed view for the wall ornamentation and wood carving in the palace.
Baron palace Currently filled with graffiti that is said to be the remnants of the satanic parties in 1992.
29 -http://www.baronpalace-project.net/myths.html
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1.7 Plans and Sections of the Palace Site Plan
Site plan for Baron palace surrounded by 3 sides by residential areas & Salah Salem main road on the front. Plan copyright by: http://www.baronpalac e-project.net
Site plan for Baron palace & garden. Plan copyright by: http://www.baronpalac e-project.net
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Ground Floor:
The First Floor is surrounded by a balcony form all sides and has three entrances with most doors closed without restoration. The first floor is an entrance hall and is composed of three main sections, one of which has a chimney and the other has a door that leads to the rest of the floors of the palace. After opening the first floors, one will see a circular stairs, a room for an elevator, a small kitchenette and another stairway for the rest of the floors. Several antiques are stolen or broken and thrown with carelessness on the floor. Also, through the damaged top one can see the hanging ceiling and through a door that is blocked with two big stones, one can get to the other floors in the palace. (Plan copyright: http://www.baronpalace-project.net)
A detailed view from the ground floor showing the detailed ornamentation on the walls.
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From top to down: Main entrance at ground floor, the hall is open to two other similar halls .the hall on the left has a chimney and the hall on the right has a door that is blocked with stones yet allows the entrance to the other floors of the palace. The three has a door that views a balcony.
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First floor
A circular stairy tower, an elevator and a normal staircase connect the entrance hall with the first floor and the rooftop. A balcony also connects the rooms like a belt, where each room has access to this balcony and a separate bathroom for each. The old ceramics of the toilets with the bathroom ban do still exist with its rare tiles. ((Plan copyright: http://www.baronpalace-project.net)
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The second floor has 3-4 bathrooms for the rooms with some remnants of the bathtubs and ceramic tiles.
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Roof Plan
The best way to access the rooftop is through the circular wooden stairs that is currently worn out, the rooftop has many sculptures and seating areas and looks over the whole city of Heliopolis that the Empain built. Yet the most significant thing on the rooftop is the circular room that echoes the sound and has an opening in it’s ceiling which was created to endure the sun like in the ancient Heliopolis city. Plan copyright: http://www.baronpalace-project.net
Circular stairs tower son the side of the palace.
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Circular Sunroom with an opening enters light continually, Below: the rooftop full of sculpture.
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Section
Section copyright: http://www.baronpalace-project.net
The door for the elevator service room, however the main body of the elevator is not hanging.
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1.8. Summary of Qualities Characterizing The Site/ Place The area surrounding the palace has several qualities, one of which its relative quietness and surrounded by posh shops like Azza Fahmy, 5 stars hotels and fine residency area. The existence of several hotels in this area, like the Meridian, can be a good guarantee for the area to turn into a cultural district and a touristic site. In previous years, there have been several successful attempts to close the near by Bagdad Street of korba area and turn it into a pedestrian only path to organize a street festival for the celebration of 100 years of the creation of Heliopolis. Such an initiative can be also repeated in the same st and in the area surrounding the palace. A new line of underground is also being constructed in order to connect Heliopolis with the rest of Cairo in few minutes. The Palace is a true enchantment that continues to be a rare reminder of a significant era of grandiose proportions, leisurely celebrations, exotic decorations and grand balls of royal presence. A legendary palace of mysterious reflections and architectural elements that stir one’s imagination, as it stands today in the modern district Heliopolis to echo the magical period of the Baron and early Twentieth century Egypt. It has a unique architecture that mixes the orient with the art nouveau aesthetics, to create an original masterpiece that has no resemblance in the entire Egypt. Alexander Marcel’s design inspired by Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Hindu temples of Orissa, still had an eastern oriental inspiration to it. As even with its Asian style, an oriental style can still be depicted to make the palace fit to its surrounding area. It still stands today, remaining one of the finest examples of early creative use of concrete, of which it was entirely built. The construction of the exterior and interior of the palace was assigned to specialized teams to enable the professional execution and recreation of a residential Hindu temple.
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The open courtyard surrounding the palace is landscaped with several pathways, while the main and largest pathway, wide enough to accommodate several vehicles, leads to the grand staircase of the palace. On either side of the main pathway are statues of snakes, elephants, Buddha and Krishna’s that are frozen in time with skillfully created expressions. Today, some of the sculptures remain in good condition, the majority however are fragments of the statues, but are more than enough to invoke the most vivid of legends. Unfortunately, the grand size of the palace and open yards exist today as deserted rubble and guarded grounds that were once filled with lush greenery and foliage, creating an exotic contrast to the mythical stone sculptures. The palace building itself has two main floors, with other underground divisions. The exterior of the building is ornamented with chiseled stone, relief architecture, with the focal point being a Hindu style dome. As the palace was located in one of the most prestigious locations, so were its neighbors, who included kings and pashas of the time. The guests of the Palace that Empain hosted were of course of equal stature, among who were King Albert and Queen Elizabeth of the Belgians. The Palace itself accommodated the Baron's entire family, ending with his grandchildren who sold the Palace to Saudi buyers. Both the Baron and his son in full effect enjoyed the splendor and excessiveness of the Palace. The Baron's grandchildren however weren't so keen on the lifestyle or architectural tendencies of there parents, and thus handed over their mythical home to their buyers of choice.
Detailed view on the ornamentation of the façade of the building.
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Baron Surrounding Area & potential Cultural District The Baron Palace is currently surrounded by few shops that sell Egyptian crafts; Such as the international jewelry designer Azza Fahmy and Orange Square, which is an Egyptian brand for suits tailored especially for the costumer. The proposal of the culture district aims to bring other Egyptian brands and restaurants for the area around the palace. An Example of that would be the Egyptian restaurants Abo El Sid (http://www.abouelsid.com) and Zooba ( http://www.zoobaeats.com ) Another suggested Egyptian brands are Nagada (http://nagada.net/clothes_egypt_fashion_egypt.htm), Tanis, Amina K (http://www.aminak.net), Ramsis Wisa Wassif ( http://www.wissa-wassef-arts.com) and Sami Amin Leathers http://www.sami-amin.com.
Arts & Gems Currently located around the Baron Palace
Orange Square, Egyptian fashion brand around the Baron
Azza Fahmy, International Egyptian accessories around Baron.
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1.9. Present Management of the Site: (Institutional Frame, Agencies, Tools) In the past years, the palace had several problems with the owners, as a lawsuit was raised by Eduard Empain, grandson of Baron Empain, claiming to have rights to his grandfather's property, the Baron's Palace in Heliopolis, after it fell under the control of Nasser Social Bank.The Empain family continued to host parties in it until two more generations, until they sold it in 1956 to a Syrian and Saudi business partners who tried to turn the palace into a hotel or casino but never the permission of the authorities, causing to the deterioration of the garden and building. Not until the 100 anniversary of Heliopolis city in 2005, the Egyptian government brought the palace and started renovations to bring its gardens back to life. Renovation of the house from inside has not started yet, and it will be difficult and very costly. For now the garden is used for TV events, conferences and musical concerts. Prior to 2005, it was not allowed for anyone to enter even the courtyard except through bribing the guard. Today, the Palace is registered as an antiquity, yet still the Egyptian government didn’t do any restorations form inside or opened the palace for visitors. It remains as a silent architectural masterpiece on one of the most used motor-highways in Egypt on one side and a quite area from the other, but still it continues to invoke new and old legends, stories, fairytales, and mythical imaginations that spread along as rumors, echoing the morbid silence of its walls, while several will entre in the night to damage it and fill it with their graffiti. In 29th of April of 2012, the newspapers announced the discussions between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the Belgium ambassador to collaborate in doing a joint project with villa Empain in Brussels that was also constructed by Louis Empain, to turn the baron palace in Heliopolis into a cultural centre.30 In an interview with Mr. Mohsen Ali Al Sayed, head of Sector of Islamic Monuments, he explained that the Belgium government is ready to finance the project in case it guarantees economic sustainability.
A furniture exhibition held at the garden of the baron palace, as the state was used to generate money through renting the garden for events after 2005.
30-http://www.almasryalyoum.com/node/804161
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The palace is full of graffiti that is said to be the remnants of the satanic parties in the 1990’s and cardboards that cover the windows or doors to protect the palace from the sun.
The garden is neglected and left only for a policeman and a doorman that uses the garden for personal duties like washing the cars. On the other side, a banner that dates back to 2005 with logos of involved parties and a statement that declares the auspices of Mrs. Susan Mubarak (who is the first lady of the exEgyptian president that the court declared the removal of their names from governmental properties) for a 100 years celebration of the creation of the city.
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Only in 2005, the government did some renovation of the palace’s garden as well as Korba district. And for the celebration of 100 years of founding Heliopolis district, Bagdad Street was turned into a pedestrian to host a street music festival with parades and exhibitions. This festival was repeated couple of times annually and was organized by Heliopolis Development Association and visited by the ex-president’s wife. While several concerts started to take place in the Baron garden. All these were stopped later and currently the Bagdad st host the construction of another underground metro line and the palace became neglected again.
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1.10 SWOT Analysis •
Strengths
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Convenient location in a high profile district area, surrounded by villas, hotels, cafes & shops and on the main road leading towards Cairo’s gateway and airport.
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Recently declared as national antique with some renovation made for the Castle’s garden.
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Opportunities •
• Possibility of forming PPP with several stakeholders and parties.
The Palace is characterized by a distinct fusion of architectural styles between the Hindu, gothic and Arabian. It can also be seen in the context of an early 20th century Cairene revival of various historical styles. The new city of Heliopolis also represented the first large scale attempt to promote what later came to be called the "modern Arab style", known in its own day as the "Moorish style".
Weaknesses • Turning the site into a mass touristic area might find objections from the surrounding neighbors and inhabitants who would seek a calm resident area. • Its location on al Oruba st. can also be a weakness as it’s a high-speed connecting road and practicality concerning parking and traffic jam can be a problem? • High Costs of interior restoration. • Problems with inheritance on the sites.
Some local Egyptian brands like Aziza Fahmy Jewelry designs are already located in the area surrounding the palace, can give chance to other brands to be located in the same area and turn the space into a cultural district of shops for artisans, local designers and entrepreneurs.
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Turning the area surrounding the palace to a pedestrian area can be an option since it is not a crowded area and it can be managed.
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With a distinctive architecture that invokes new and old legends, stories, fairytales, and mythical imaginations & rumors, the palace can be an attraction that serves the curiosity of locals and tourists.
Threats Unstable political circumstances of the country, makes any plan uncertain. • Decrease of foreign tourism to the country. • Lack of funding especially with an international economic crisis and local downfall of the economy. • Lack of interest to support heritage and culture in the transitional period of state building. • The current military rule and the increasing influence of religious influence in the parliament can affect future of arts, culture and heritage in the country. • Rejection of PPP models by the public due to previous history of corruption involved in the privatization process. •
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2-Problem Analysis & Interpretations Fig 1:Problem Tree General Public is not aware of the value of palace. The palace is destroyed over the years and exposed to illicit.
Unemployment in the local heritage sector.
lack of local cosmopolitan cultural identity. Modern Heritage of Heliopolis remains undiscovered.
The palace is not used as a touristic site.
Baron Palace is abandoned and unutilized.
The cultural and economic value of the building is unknown.
Egyptians are not educated about their modern history .
Problems with the legal statues of the palace and its inheritance.
Potential pro^it for the palace is uncalculated.
lack of a proper management plan for the palace.
Lack of ^inancial resourses to buy and conserve palace.
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Objective Tree
General public is sensitized about the value of the palace.
Cosmopolitan cultural identity is strengthned.
Baron palace is preserved and conserved for future generations.
Modern heritage in Heliopolis is rediscovered.
Employment in heritage management sector.
Baron palace becomes a visted touristic site.
Baron palace is utilized and managed. The cultural & economic value of the palace is well estimated.
Creating Educational Programs about modern heritage for Egyptians.
Baron is declared on the A list of the national heritage.
Potential pro^it for the palace is calculated. Development of a proper management plan.
Financial rescourses becomes accessible.
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2.3 Stakeholder Analysis: Stakeholders
Myself Cultnat http://www.cultnat.org / Arteast http://www.arteeast.or g/ Docomomo Egypt www.docomomoegypt. com)
http://www.villaempai n.com
Ministry of culture
Funding organization
Characteristic
Interest & expectations
Potentials & Deficiencies
Implications & Conclusions
Idea initiator Freelance writer & curator.
Cooperation with other stakeholders.
Not related to an institution.
Intermediates between various stakeholders. Joint festivals together, provide services for publications for their exhibitions.
Non profit Organizations that aims to promote Egyptian heritage, arts Culture & modern history
Conflict of interest and competition is palpable.
Boghossian Foundation is a Center of art and dialogue between the cultures of the East and the West in the famous Villa Empain, Brussels that was also made by the Same Baron Louis Empain.
Cooperation Funding & Joint projects
Lack of interests or funding
Joint program & exchange of residency and educational programs, marketing and promotion campaigns.
The oldest organization with several halls around the country.
Cooperative and joint work, be part of the ministry’s agenda.
Bureaucracy and closedminded way of looking at the arts.
Implementation of PPP model
Yatf, Moured, Ford…etc. Have specific agenda for their funders
Finding projects that they can fund in their interest. Several cooperation with travel guides/ directory or distribution in bookstores.
Lack of interest, Economic depression. Favoritism. Competition and lack of interest.
Essential for the beginning of the project and should have return benefit Joint projects & researchers, translations, co-‐ op in travel guide & distribution.
Publishers and print Most of them are houses like AUC English press. press or Phaidon / Taschen and Gestalten
Find opportunity for cooperation and joint exhibitions.
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Young & established entrepreneur and designers (Ex.Azza Fahmy- Amina K ) Local Audience & Tourists Artists, architects and researchers.
Travel Agencies
Local governorate of Egypt
Supreme Council of Antiquities
Belgium Embassy In Egypt
Ministry of Tourism
Lack of finances to rent a shop in the area.
PPP Model can be implemented to help the young entrepreneurs
Good initiatives to promote local brands but still needs recognition and venues. Mostly young people or Works in the arts
Promotion of their brands and crafts.
Some are established with international arena and others are young and emerging.
Find place to exhibit and be published about.
Lack of information, inability to provide artist Fee. Inability to limit choice.
Looking after profit, and competitive edge between each other.
Be part of the touristic program and create knowledge.
Inability to provide monetary benefit.
Advertisemen t in print and audio media, travel guides. Provide artists studios, Recognition through prints & training. Cooperative work through shared benefits. Well-‐managed plan for the area and the Site.
Find Not reaching knowledge and wider entertainment. audience.
Currently unstable with several political changes.
Develops the surrounding area.
Beraucracy and lack of interest.
The main legal responsible party for the development of the project & the owner of the palace.
Positive interest in improving the structure of the palace to generate income for the state.
Local Representative of the Belgium government in Cairo and the bridge between the two formal entitles.
Positive interest to preserve Belgium Heritage in Egypt & the inheritance of their community.
Lack of financial means, especially after the revolution where the budget for heritage has been cut off. Economic Crisis around Europe and setting other local priories
Currently headed by Mounir Fahkhry Abd Al Nour.
Seeks to enhance tourism especially after the drop due to political disability.
Lack of finances
Cooperation with Other donors to provide funding for the project.
Cooperation with legal government with a guarantee for economic sustainability and share benefits. Promote the project in its brochures and programs.
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3-Project Description 3.1 General Objective As it was described before, the project runs as a program of projects rather than a single initiative. It aims to enhance the local knowledge of arts, culture and heritage of modern Egypt by using abandoned places like old cinemas, theatres, palaces and turning them into a site-‐ specific history museum that displays immaterial heritage of arts and culture of the period in integration within the socio-‐political context and in the shadow of a historical monument. The Baron Palace in Heliopolis district was taken as a case study for the initiative. The main aim is to turn the Baron palace into a history museum for Heliopolis district, the resident that he developed with special exhibition for the French architect and famous artists of that time like Van Leo the Armenian photographer. The area around the Baron Palace will be transformed into a cultural district that aims to promote young entrepreneurs and professionals working in the field of art, design and heritage. 3.2 Diagram of the series of the program:
1-‐Promoting Modern Heritage
2-‐Program to develop modern palaces to touristic sites.
3-‐Developing Heliopolis city to a heritage site 4-‐Developing area around Baron into a cultural district
5-‐ Developing baron to a site-‐specific museum
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3.3 Overall Program Description As explained before, extracting the Baron palace from its context can be difficult and will weaken the project if it stood alone as the only cultural & touristic site in the peripheral Cairo. Also, the Baron palace cannot be extracted from its bigger story, especially that Baron Louis Empain is the reason behind the existence of Heliopolis and his existence in Egypt has historical indication to that modern period in the Egyptian history that left several cosmopolitan heritages. For that, its better to develop the baron palace within an overall program for developing modern Egyptian heritage by reusing abandoned buildings and another of turning the city of Heliopolis into a cultural district that would be composed of historical hotels, touristic heritage sites and art centres. Both programs are only suggestions that are not studied in this proposal, yet they compose the outer framework after which development of the Baron place will be more valuable and justified. After the project’s presentation at the ITCILO in Turin in December 2011, a collective group on facebook entitled “Heliopolis Heritage Initiative” started announcing about its activity at the beginning of 2012 and aims to transform several historical places into touristic areas, by engaging the surrounding community This initiative had several similarities and overlapping ideas with the project presented to the thesis masters of WHW that lead to a collaboration between the two. By tracing the suburb’s history, it becomes clear that several important landmarks were the creation of the Baron Empain or his company Cairo Electric Railways and Heliopolis Oases Company developed most of them, such as: the palace, the Notre Dame Basilica, the tram, Heliopolis Palace Hotel, the Hippodrome and Luna park. There are also some important villas that dates back to the same period such as Sultan Hussien kamel palace and Mansion of Egyptian-Armenian businessmanstatesman-diplomat Boghos Nubar Pasha which now a military headquarters. The program will map out these places by developing an interactive visual chronology as the following: The Tram: Several historical photos of the old tram will be exhibited inside the cabinets with an MP3 connection or narrates the history of the suburb or an interactive sound installation designed by a Multimedia artist. Also, the banners on the front body of the tram can become a moving exhibition for Heliopolis landmarks. An example of that was done in this photomontage to illustrate the idea.
The Baron palace: The palace will turn into a site-specific museum that documents the history of Heliopolis, the palaces mythical stories, narrative testimonials of the old inhabitants and a cultural centre with the collaboration of villa Empain in Brussels. Project is described in details, further in this document.
51
Sultan Hussein Kamel Palace: The palace has been used as an experimental local school that led to the damage of several parts of the palace. However according to Mr. Mohsen Ali Al Sayed, head of sector of Islamic Monuments, the Supreme Council of Antiquities registered the palace as an antiquities and emptied the school for the student by constructing another building for them in 2011. The plan was to return the palace to its original form, yet due the financial crisis post the revolution the work on the project has been delayed and the palace would only receive few maintenances or few repairs of damaged objects. It is suggested the palace would turn into a museum for the work of modern Architects in Egypt, such as Alexander Marcel, Ernest Jasper, Leon Rolin, Habib Ayrout, Ramsis Wissa Wasef , Hassan Fathy and others. It can also host several modern artistic productions of that era such as fine arts, plastic arts, music or photography. All that beside several halls for ongoing exhibitions, cultural activates or joint events with the Baron Empain.
Korba District/E-korba Few years back, Bagdad Street has been turned into a pedestrian street to host the annual Heliopolis Spring music festival; such initiative has been successful and is advised that it would be repeated in the future. Especially after the completion of the underground metro station, this area can be a touristic attraction that hosts Basilica Church under which the Baron is buried, the mosque on Haroun Al-Rashid Street and a Jewish synagogue. However, many local and kitsch shops would ruin the aesthetics of the façade and erase its historical value. It is suggested the through a microcredit program and the contribution of young Egyptian architects, there will be a redesign for the shops scattered around the area so that it won’t exceed the limit of protuberance with their ceramic banners and also to create a coherent urban experience in the area. It is suggested to be a touristic booth or centre that has maps and sound guides through mobile applications or other means of digital walking tours similar to the services available in e-Brussels (http://www.brussels.be/artdet.cfm?id=4220).
52
Heliopolis Palace Hotel: It seams impossible to reuse the Heliopolis Palace hotel, since its currently the presidential palace that is widely known as Kasr al-'Uruba (Arabian Palace) and at times Kasr al-Ittihadiya (Federation Palace). Although there is currently a discussion about opening several presidential palaces to the public, the 400 rooms hotel doesn’t seam to be a priority in the plan even if listed as a monument. However, public pressure and community petitions can contribute in making the authorities reconsider such a valuable space with that capacity to become a public place. Merryland & Jewish Synagogue: The Merryland that now hosts several international brand restaurants was previously a hippodrome for horse races that is used for attracting international elites. It is suggested that the old entrance and façade would be rebuilt, while the garden will start hosting again bazaars and international events like before. Another suggestion is the Jewish synagogue that is currently closed and abandoned. The synagogue can become a museum for the history of the Jewish community in Egypt or even a restaurant. The Project Description: For the sake of this research, the framework of the overall program will be mentioned and explained, however the study will focus on two outcomes to be analyzed in this document: One of which is creating a website that is inspired by http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/, the web aims to collect the information created after the first phase of R& D in the project and act as an educational program that precedes the augmentation of the Baron Museum and other suggestions in the overall program. The Website will be entitled “www.egyptory.com”( Dummy web : http://batatahoaa.wix.com/egytory )and aims to have partnership with several entitles like the rare books at AUC which owns important archive for Van Leo’s, other private art and antiques collectors, personal photos of people, history and sociology departments and many others. A dummy website will be created to attract audience and advertise for the project with a goal to find sponsors or a fund from an NGO. The Website aims to be the first product of the project as it can be the most feasible for being cheap and adaptive for continuous updates. The second outcome of the project is turning the Baron palace into a site-specific museum that displays the history of the Baron Empain and his re-born Heliopolis city. Although the palace has a spectacle façade, in-fact has a relatively smaller interior that will not be able to contain several exhibitions or displayed object like expected. There are several suggestions for the exhibitions such as: A 3d model for old Heliopolis, photography exhibition of rare photos of the suburb, interactive map, multimedia installation for the myths of the palace and a sound installation for the testimonies and narration for its old inhabitants. It is suggested that several video artists will be involved in the creation of the installations such as the case of peter Greenaway’s films in La Venaria Reale. Other halls can host an ongoing exhibition or a joint even with villa Empain in Brussels. The garden will also be renovated to host big cultural events after the closure of the exhibition at night. Such events and music concerts will be used to generate income and money for the palace to guarantee economic sustainability for the project and thus its continuation.
53
3.4 Target group The main target group of this program is the local Egyptian citizens at large as it aims to make narrative history, national heritage part of the hegemonic public discourse. It aims to search for the lost and found in the historical archive and analyze the socio-‐political context of its creation. In specific, The Baron Palace cultural district aims to attract tourists seeking for a high edge contemporary local designs and quality products and also who aims to know more about Egypt in the 19th/ 20th century. Residences of Heliopolis area should also be involved in the decision making of the renovation of the site, as they will be affected by any development on it. The project will be implemented by the ministry of culture and the ministry of tourism and funded by the government & through possibilities PPP partnership. Other Involved Parties: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Local hotels around the area. Governorate of Cairo. Private collectors. AUC print house. Entrepreneurs working in the field of art & design. Travel agencies and Guide Books Heliopolis residents. Youth & creative class Tourists & expats. Heliopolis Company (http://www.heliopoliscompany.com) Villa Empain In Brussles Aga Khan / Rare Books AUC/ Collector Amgad/ Ismailia Company. Contemporary Artist & writers Architecture, design & film students.
Expected Contributors:
• NGOs • Collectors • Young Ehnterprneurs • Heliopolis residents • artists • architects • Intiative of heliopois heritage • parliment candidate
Local Community
• Doners • Private enterpneurs • Belgium Government • Egyptian Government • Fundraising Foundation (Ford) • Banks ( Bank Audia)
Fundrasing Sector
• Hotels around area like Le merdian • Travel agencies • Tourists • Tourism websites • Minstery of Tourism
Tourism Sector
54
3.5 Strategies & Priorities The objective mentioned above will be implemented by the following strategies Respect of Cultural Values: The project’s main priority is respecting cultural values by renovating, documentation, archiving and promotion. By displaying the multicultural cosmopolitism environment of early twentieth Egypt and showing the effect of political circumstances & polices on the production intangible heritage, the project aims to promote ideas of tolerance and liberalization of Egypt in the past. Economic Sustainability: Many young designers and entrepreneurs appear in Egypt every day with new innovative ideas, however most of their projects don’t continue due to lack of funding, sustainability or marketing skills. By turning the area around the baron into a cultural district, the project aims to encourage young entrepreneurs working in the area of crafts and design. Sustainable Usage: Due to its neglecting for The Baron site has been subjected to several restoration, young people, for example, used to enter without permission and write graffiti on its walls. Another point is its location on the highly dense street of Al Oruba St. might harm the façade of the building. Sustainability of the district if turned to a pedestrian one or the palace renovation and conservation is one of the main priorities of the process. Data Collection & Archiving: A process of data collection and archiving of intangible heritage, scattered abandoned sites, and private collections will be done through a team of researchers and historians. Later, workshops and trainings will be held to develop the skills of writers in the field of research and development. Documentation & Publishing: After archiving, documentation and publishing of the researched data will take place. In joint venture with publication houses several books, brochures, maps will be published. E-Promotion & Awareness: The project will be structured around the usage of multimedia in display and promoting the project through social media and interactive Web 0.2. Tourism: Organization with travel agencies, travel guides and websites will be arranged to promote the palace as a heritage site and monument. Public Integration: Since the palace will turn into a site-specific museum about the district, it is important to integrate the locals both in the archiving and curatorial process of the museum and the formation of the district.
55
3.6 Assessment Matrix Assessment criteria
Weighting factor
Would the project find support from the local government? Would it promote the palace as a heritage site and touristic area? Would it increase knowledge of the place, its creator and the historical era?
20
Does it include economic, environmental and cultural sustainable plan?
15
5
3
5
4
Is it feasible in within a five years plan?
Option A Option B Turning the Creating a web 0.2 palace into a platforms for museum & a collecting oral cultural district history and private collections 3 2
5
35
20
5
3
Option C Creating a training centre to publish and develop skills of R & D. 1
3
2
4
2
3
3
3
5
2
3
295
275
Can the project adapt to a PPP management or attract private or international funds? Total
100
440
From the total, Option A receives more weight than the other two.
56
3.7 Logical Framework
Intervention logic Overall objective
Modern Egyptian tangible & intangible heritage & narrative history becomes part of the hegemonic public discourse.
Project purpose
At the end of the project Heliopolis will turn to a touristic areas with a strong infrastructure for accumulative research and public awareness. The Baron Palace becomes a well-‐ visited site and touristic area. Local tourism and engagement of heritage, arts and culture increased. Intangible heritage becomes known & Part of historical discourse. Illumination of deconstruction of valuable sites to be replaced with profitable resident buildings.
Results
Objectively verifiable indicators
Source of Assumptions verifications
Increase of knowledge awareness among the public about these palaces as national sites. Increase of intangible heritage and cultural production of the time. The Baron site receives X number of visitors each day. X Number of sites in Heliopolis will be renovated by 2015.
Data collection of visitors through entrance fees. Surveys and focus groups will be conducted before and after the program/projects. Surveys on social media, focus group/entrance fees. Evaluation & reports
A stable political context of the country and a desire to invest in heritage.
Cooperation of several stakeholders such as travel agencies, publication houses, directory websites, government and companies. Enhance educational programs and training workshops.
Yearly database collection, evaluation, reports, focus groups.
Economic crisis will not effect the purchase power or tourism to Cairo.
People would be still interested in heritage development in Egypt with the current political instability.
57
Local entrepreneur Finds a venue to sell their products and crafts. Community awareness with the history of their place.
Activities
Create a Fiscal plan to develop a site each year. Cooperative project with schools and universities. Training a team of researchers and curators Develop web 0.2 models for the project to write an interactive social modern history. Usage of multimedia and new media to the site specific museum Monthly activity of cultural events to enhance the area as a cultural district. Create a community based collective to develop the suburb as was in the past. International art fairs would be held at villa empain and baron palace at the same time. Develop e-‐ programs, mobile applications, 3d interactive games website and others to promote the city.
PPP models with ministry of culture & ministry of tourism, supreme Council of antiquities and other non-‐ state organization. Work with young designers web and graphic.
Costs include recruitment & employment salaries, transportation costs, renovation costs, renting costs of the place.
Restrictions on PPP law. The renovation of the site might not be in the state’s priorities. Lack of financial means. Disinterest of the Belgium government. Continuous unrest within the country.
58
Part Three Project Planning, Financing & Monitoring
59
Part Three Project Planning, Financing and Monitoring
3.8 Project Work-plan Phase
Duration
Six Month Duration From Jan 2012-‐June 2013
Phase One: Research & Development
Phase Two
From Jan 2012 till ..ongoing.
Creating The Web 2.0 Website
Phase Three Renovation of the interior of Baron Empain Palace
From Jan 2012 till Jan 2014
Main Activities
Interview and research with locals around the area develop a team of researches Translate interviews into English Research old maps and data of old Heliopolis Research and interview private collectors Create a team of architects, curators, and designers. Collect Funds. Find Young entrepreneurs of designers.
Organize with other institutions like Cultnat, Docomoegypt, Docomointernational, Cairobserver and other organize from Web 0.2 site from modern history of Egypt. Organize with a web developer and Graphic designer. Bring a team of writers and researches. Organize with universities and academic Institutions.
Bring team of conservators, architects and designers. Work with team of workers. Renovate lighting & accessories, paper paint.
Main Output
Encyclopedic Data with photos, names, Maps, historical information, videos, & personal belongings. …….etc.
www.egyptory.com Dummy example on : http://batatahoaa.wix.com/egytory
Interior of Baron Empain is renovated to accept visitors.
60
Phase Four Developing The Exhibition
Duration One year & Six Month From June 2013-‐Jan 2015
Assign exhibition roles within museum team Conceive exhibition ideas and specify new media designers Appoint specific staff of admistration and curation.
Phase Five Brand Identity, Marketing & Opening Ceremony
Phase Six Collaboration activities with Villa Empain .
Duration 3 Month From November 2014 till Jan 2014
Design and create website. Create an audio Electronic guide to Publicize and market palace in website & tour guide books. Create Logo and Cooperate identity. Connect advertising campaigns, magazines, Billboards for advertising. Organize opening ceremony.
The inside palace of the Baron turns into a museum and ready for accepting visitors
A well recognized identity & broad market Exposure.
Jan 2013 till ongoing
Exchange program, stuff, website and Publications.
An international culture centre that promotes dialogue and cross culture.
Duration one year From Jan 2015 till Jan 2018
Create workshop for contemporary local design and handcrafts. Open small shops for young designers in fashion such as Amina- K or furniture design such as alchemy. Create a pedestrian area around the baron Work with hotels around the area to promote the district. Work with a team of architect, conservators, and designers to develop Heliopolis into a preserved heritage site.
Baron surrounded by A cultural district that display young talents & Contemporary local culture.
End of Project & Beginning of Overall Program phases Phase Seven Developing a Cultural District Around Baron Palace
Phase Eight Renovation of Heliopolis &
korba to be a touristic heritage site.
Jan 2013 till Jan 2020
Conserved buildings and better urban planning of the district.
61
3.9 Financial & Economic Feasibility Estimated budget: Expenses
Units
No of Units
Unit Rate In Euro
Costs in Euro
First Output: Website for Modern Egyptian Heritage Entitled “www.egyptory.com” Phase One: Research and Development for Modern Heritage 1.1 Project Manager
Per month
1
2000
2000
1.2. Project Assistant
Per month
2
1000
2000
1.3. Office rent
Per month
1
1000
1000
1.4. Office consumables
Per month
20
300
6000
1.5. Curator of project
Per month
1
1000
1000
1.6 Driver and logistical team
Per month
2
625
1,250
1.7 Accountant
Per month
1
1000
1000
1.8 Fundraising Executive
Per month
2
500
1000
1.9 Marketing & PR Executive
Per month
1
700
700
1.10 Team of Historians
Per month
3
1,400
4,200
Sub Total Phase One
20,150 Per month
6
20,150
120,900
Once per project
1
1000
1000
2.2 Graphic Designer
Once per project
1
1500
1500
2.3 Writer
Once per project
2
1000
2000
2.4 Photographer
Once per project
2
1000
2000
2.5 translator
Once per project
2
1000
2000
Total For 6 month of Phase one Phase Two: Creating Website to Promote Egyptian Modern Heritage 2.1 Web Designer
62
2.6 Social Media Executive
Per month
1
700
700
2.7 Web Developer
Once per project
1
800
800
2.8 Obtain Image Copyrights
Once per project
1
1000
1,000
11,000
Total Phase Two Phase Three: Website Launch & Event Hall Rent at Baron garden
Per Event
1
2000
2000
Catering & Reception
Per Event
N/A
4000
4000
Flyers & Publication
Per event
1000
3
3000
Conference & Panel Discussion Equipment
Per event
N/A
1000
1000
Total Phase Three 10,000 Total First Output: Website for Modern Egyptian Heritage Entitled “www.egyptory.com” Second Output: Turning Baron Palace into Site-specific Museum
141,900
Phase One: Research & Development For Heliopolis & Baron Palace 1.1 Project Manager
Per month
1
3000
3000
1.2. Project Assistant
Per month
10
1000
10,000
1.3. PR Executive
Per month
1
1000
1000
1.4. Exhibition Curator
Per month
1
1500
1500
1.5. ICT expert
Per month
1
700
700
1.6 Driver and logistical team
Per month
5
250
1,250
1.7 Accountant
Per month
1
1000
1000
1.8 Fundraising Executive
Per month
1
800
800
1.9 Marketing Executive
Per month
1
800
800
1.10 Architects, Designers & Urban Planners Team
Per month
5
1000
5000
63
1.11 Team of History Consultant
Per Month
2
1000
2000
1.12 Team of Writers & Researchers
Per Month
3
1000
3000
Subtotal For month
12 month
30,050
Subtotal per year
12 Month
360,600
1.11 Identify/hire oral/video history producer/crew
Per Project
5
1000
5000
1.12 Identify/hire video researcher/script writer
Per Project
1
1000
1000
1.13 Supplies and Equipment Rent
Per project
2000
2000
1.14 Contract Consultant &writer
Per project
Included under item 1.11 1
750
750
Subtotal for per project items
Total for Phase One For One Year
8750
12 month
394,400
Phase Two: Turning Baron Palace into a sitespecific Exhibition 1-Human Resources Cost Management Committee: 1.1. Project Manager 1.2. Project Assistant 1.3. PR Officer 1.4. Museum expert 1.5 Museum Curator 1.6 Historian 1.7 Architect/ Constructor 1.8 Urban Planner 1.9 Display / Interior Designer 1.10 Conservator 1.11 Community collection curator 1.12 New Media designer 1.13 ICT expert 1.14 Accountant 1.15 Financial Expert 1.15 Tourism Expert 1.15 Secretary 1.16 lawyer -------------------------------------------------------------------Subtotal For Management Committee One Year Total Management Committee Advisory Committee 1.16 Representative from Ministry Tourism 1.17 Representative from Ministry of Culture 1.18 Representative From University of Cairo / Architecture department 1.19 Historian of Modern Egyptian Era 1.20 Representative from Belgium Embassy 1.21 Representative Of Villa Empain in Belgium
Â
Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month
1 10 1 1 1 3 3 5 2 2 4 1 1 1 1 1
5000 1000 1000 2000 2000 2000 2000 1500 1500 1500 2000 1500 1000 2500 2500 800 2000
63,800 765,600
12
Honorarium Honorarium Honorarium Honorarium Honorarium Honorarium Honorarium
5000 10,000 1000 2000 2000 6000 6000 7500 3000 3000 8000 1500 1000 2500 2500 800 2000
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000
3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000
64 Â
1.22 Representative Of Rare Books at The American University In Cairo Subtotal For Advisory Committee Operation Committee: 1.21 Security 1.22 Office boy 1.23 Receptionist 1.24 Bookshop seller 1.25 Employees 1.26 Trainer 1.27 Technian 1.28 Conservator 1.29 Set / Display Designer 1.30 Driver & logistics 1.31 Cleaning Stuff 1.32 Gardener 1.33 Office Boy
21,000 Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month
10 1 2 2 10 2 2 2 2 5 10 4 4
500 200 900 700 1000 1000 500 1500 1000 300 150 150 150
Subtotal For Operation Committee
30,600 367,200
First Year Operation Committee
Subtotal For Human Resources 2-Equipment & Supply Costs 2.1. Office consumables 2.2. Office maintenance 2.3. Telephone 2.4 Internet 2.5 Electricity 2.6. ICT hardware 2.7. Insurance 2.8 Security and Fire protection 2,9. Operating software 2.10. Application software 2.11 surveillance cameras 2.12 Furniture 2.13 paint 2.14 lighting
5000 200 1,800 1,400 10,000 2000 1000 3000 2000 1500 1500 600 600
1,153,800
Per month Per month Per month Per month Per month Per project Per project Once per project Once per project Once per project Once per project Once per project Once per project Once per project
15 1 1 1 1 1 10 10 10 10 10 N/A N/A N/A
1000 1000 300 300 300 700 2000 6000 1000 1000 6000 200,000 100,000 50,000
Subtotal For Equipment & Supply Costs
15,000 1000 300 300 300 700 20,000 60,000 10,000 10,000 6000 200,000 100,000 50,000
473.600
3-Palace Conservation & Exhibition Installation Preparation I 3.1 Team of Conservators
Per month
20
1500
30,000
3.2 Conservation Supplies
Included In 3.2
N/A
N/A
50,000
3.3 Purchase Insurance
Once
N/A
N/A
20,000
3.4 Purchase Storage Equipment
Upon request
Misc
To Be Calculated
25,000
3.5 Packing and Shipping
Upon request
Misc
TBC
20,000
Â
65 Â
3.6 Obtain Image /Object IP Rights
Once
N/A
N/A
15,000
3.7 Purchase Heliopolis Antiquities
MIsc
TBC
TBC
200,000
3.8 Design/ Purchase Display Objects
Misc
Misc
Misc
70,000
3.9 Contractors & Builders
Per Month
40
140
5,600
3.10 Documentation & Site Architects
Per Month
3
500
1,500
3.11 Mechanical & ventilation Construction
Per project
TBC
TBS
200,000
3.12 Internet & Networking
Per project
TBC
TBC
1 10,000
3.13 Install Fire Protection System
PP
TBC
TBC
40,000
٣۳ 3.14 Install Security Alarm System
PP
TBC
TBC
60,000
3.15 Install Lighting System
PP
TBC
TBC
100,000
3.16 Light Designer/ Engineer
PP
1
15,000
15,000
3.17 Acoustic and Sound System
PP
TBC
TBC
200,000
3.18 Sound Designer/ Engineer
PP
1
15,000
15,000
3.19 Building maintenance
Per month
1
2000
220000000000
3.20 Carpentry workshop
Per project
4
1000
4000
3.21 Purchase Multimedia Equipments
Once
TBC
TBC
80,000
3.22 Multimedia Designer
Once
2
3000
6000
Total For Palace Construction & Exhibition Installation
1,169,100
4- Brand Identity & Marketing 4.1 Designer For Baron Logo & Cooperate Identity for publications –tickets
PP
1
3000
3000
4.2-Creative Team For Print-Outdoor Advertising Campaign
Per project
3
3000
9000
4.3 Purchase Banners & Magazines Slots
PP
TBC
TBC
5000
4.5 Website Developer Team
PP
3
1200
3600
Subtotal For Brand & Marketing
20,6000 66
Total For Phase Two
2,817,100
TOTAL For Baron Palace
3,043,702
Overall Total Of Project
3,211,500
Expected Return of Investment
Enhancing Tourism
Increasing research & development abt the suject
Creating more jobs
Entry fees pro^it
Increasing enterprneurship
67
3.10 Monitoring and Reporting After the completion of the project, the project management committee will conduct monitoring reports after each three-month then annually and at the fiscal year. During the process of developing the project especially in the first phases, evaluation will be monthly and after each phase. In the first phase of research an external evaluator and an advisory committee will review the results. The second phase of website will be monitored by both the users of website through a web 2.0 format and an external evaluator and the project management. The project manager, which will assess the progress of the project, will also prepare a quarterly report of the difficulties or problems faced by the project and recommend any actions to be taken to improve the quality of the project. The Project manager will also conduct meeting with each department of the implementing committee on a weekly basis to update the advisory and management committee on the progress of the project.
Every three month
Annualy
Every ^iscal year (5 years)
Quality Factors 1-Participation & Ownership by Beneficiaries: Main beneficiaries and Heliopolis community would participate as partners in this project whether through the creation of the exhibition, its activities or by suggesting ideas and community services for their suburb. 2-Financial & Economic Sustainability: Project succeeds in generating income that covers its costs, create revenues from tourism and also would by able to finance itself to sustain its maintenance and ongoing activities. 3-Policy Support: As it’s a state property, the project should receive policy support in seeking donors and defining the relationship with the partners and other stakeholders. Also, projects of microcredit and cultural district need to be backed up by a strong rule that can by only applied by the government. 4-Environmental Protection: Restoration of Baron palace and other buildings should be keen on abiding to preserving old worn out materials, save open spaces and landscapes, doesn’t interfere in the organic lifestyle of the inhabitance so that changes are received with acceptance and the usage of eco-friendly local materials. 5-Socio-cultural Aspects: The main cause of the project is to create awareness on a neglected period in the Egyptian history to reestablish morals of liberal or cosmopolitan local identity and enhancing social cohesion & aesthetic appreciation.
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Annexes: No
Name
Institution
1
Dalia Kamel
Former Architect at Aga Khan Housing Foundation
Mohamed El Shahed
Bloggger at www.cairoobserver.com & Architect & phd candidate
Shaimaa Samir Kamel Ashour
Cairo University, Department of Architecture
Monica Hanna Ahmed Mansour Khaled Fahmy
Egyptologist & Heritage Worker
2 3
4
5 6
7 8 9
Heliopolis Heritage Initiative Historian & head of history department at AUC.
Mohsen Ali El Sayed Ola Sief
Head of Islamic Monuments sector Head of Rare books at AUC. Responsible at boghossian Foundation However no answer or reply on:
Mrs. Diane Hennebert
diane@boghossianfoundation.be,
10
Amr Kafrawy
Artist & graphics designer
69
Appendix: A petition was circulated on the social media Networks and facebook groups such as “save Alex”, requesting the preservation of Chikorial palace in Alexandria. The social pressure was successful in forcing the government not to demolish the building. Another announcement for a strike occurred recently to stop the state from pulling down Villa Agion in Alexandria. (https://www.facebook.com/events/372678249462937/ )
Gentlemen The rule of Field Marshal / Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed ForcesDr / Kamal Ganzoury the Prime MinisterDr / Saad Katatni head parliament Peace and mercy of Allah Egypt is one of the richest countries in the architectural and urban heritage, which is one of the oldest in the world, to its prestigious civilization, which is represented in architectural excellence and buildings that tell the history of civilization and pride and distinction. But unfortunately - more recently - and in the midst of democratization of the state, this heritage is being threatened as destroyed on a daily basis buildings of value to the towers in lieu thereof, which Evading not only the architectural heritage unique, but we lose also an opportunity for the life of urban cream together, when is replaced by the villas and buildings of old buildings giant the same streets and the same facilities, in addition to cutting down trees and build on green spaces, which was among the old properties, happens necessarily throttling traffic by increasing the number of cars each property as well as deterioration of the network infrastructure of sewage, electricity and water, all of this falls on the cities and streets, as well as for congestion and increasing environmental pollution as a result of the increased densities without the governor, And on the foregoing, we the undersigned urge you to pass legislation in the form of a law or decision of a sovereign's1 - stop issuing licenses to the demolition of villas public2 - to stop issuing licenses for the demolition of buildings that were built before the fiftieth year of the previous decision3 - imprisonment penalty on violators where the punishment is limited to a fine not enough4 - limiting building permits replace the buildings have been demolished already - before the issuance of this decision - for buildings similar in height and Responses. That specific legislation is one year from the date issued until the conditions of stability of the country Help us to preserve our heritage and the quality of life of Egyptian cities April 23, 2012
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Bibliography •
Omar. Hussein, “ Making Memory History”, Speak Memory, 2010.
•
Tomlinson, Peter, “ Evolution of Theories of entrepreneurship”, ITCILO.
•
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