THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO D E PA R T M E N T O F A R C H I T E C T U R E ARCH 4532 : URBAN DESIGN AND L ANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE © AUC ARCHITECTURE 2019
UR BA N DE S I GN
INTR ODUC TION
What is the pedagogical role of “Urban Design” in Egyptian universities in understanding public space, lively communities and empowering young students after people’s uprising in Tahrir Square and its demise post-2011? Classical urban planning relies on concepts of legibility, public space and image of the city after a taken-for-granted de facto for what constitutes a public realm. This is a battle yet to be won in the context of Egypt, not to say authentic empowerment of the youth. Despite that 2011-uprising took place in a public space, little did it continue as a public realm and Egyptians never fully experienced the values of public space. Taking this as a point of departure, the studio is an intellectual activist survey for exploring the genealogy of publicness under economic, social, political and environmental constraints. Moreover, it aims at becoming a vehicle to empower students to learn how to make change through tactical placemaking, and question the (mega) masterplans generated for new cities and enclaves created by developers and the state. As a starting point, the studio embarks on investigating the constituency of “the street” as a basic urban element allowable for public life in Egypt. Ethnography, inclusive communities and placemaking are emphasized through the analysis of visual elements, urban form, grain, texture, and social/economic fabric of lively streets. Urban acupuncture becomes a strategy of action and sustainable development. Students work in teams to present their ideas and design schemes. They are constantly provoked to question the role of the urban designer in relationship to people, economy, social life, and the ecosystems at play in the city. In retrospect, they develop people-centered masterplans for real sites and existing contexts by which they challenge the real estate market, how it operates and implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The course’s objective is to lead change through praxis; it aims at expanding students’ horizons to the infinite possibilities of the impossible.
- Momen El-Husseiny, Coordinator and Instructor of Architecture & Urbanism at AUC INTRODUCTION
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TA B L E OF CO NTENT
THE TEAM URBA N V I S I ON A L F U T A
S T
E L MOEZ STREET
NAZLET EL SE MMAN
ALMAZ A HELI O P OLIS
A U C
GROW A PLANT
BICYCLE
TOUR
TABLE OF CONTENT
EL - DAR B AL-A HMAR
R E F L E C T I O N S 7
THE TEAM
COORDINATOR & INSTRUCTOR DR. MOMEN EL HUSSEINY
INSTRUCTOR DR. SAMI SHAKER FALL 2017 - FALL 2018
INSTRUCTOR DR. ASHRAF BOTROUS SPRING 2019
TEACHING ASSISTANT AMR ABOU TAWEELA FALL 2018
TEACHING ASSISTANT FARAH SHOUKRY SPRING 2018
TEACHING ASSISTANT MARIAM AZMY SPRING 2019 - FALL 2019
TEACHING ASSISTANT MAYYADAH HAMEED FALL 2017 - FALL 2018
TEACHING ASSISTANT MOSHIRA AYAD FALL 2018 - SPRING 2019
TEACHING ASSISTANT MOSTAFA EL BAROODY FALL 2018
TEACHING ASSISTANT MUHAMMAD EMAD SPRING 2019
TEACHING ASSISTANT NADA GEMIEI FALL 2018 - FALL 2019
TEACHING ASSISTANT NOHA ABBASSY FALL 2017
TEACHING ASSISTANT NOUR HUSSEIN FALL 2018
TEACHING ASSISTANT OMAR ASSEM SPRING 2019 - FALL 2019
TEACHING ASSISTANT REEM KHALIL FALL 2017 - SPRING 2019
TEACHING ASSISTANT SALMA OSMAN SPRING 2019
TABLE OF CONTENT
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URBA N V I SION Studying incessant issues related to people and the built environment are key to the pedagogical development of the urban design studio. Rapid urbanization amid a struggling economy around historic monuments, central touristic spines, water lakes, and the Pyramids plateau have been a set of research inquires underlying the design studio.
NAZLET EL-SEMMAN
AL MOEZ STREET
FALL 2018
FALL 2017
EL-DARB AL-AHMAR
SPRING 2018
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS
SPRING 2019
CITY OF THE DEAD
FALL 2019
AL FUSTAT
FALL 2017
In Fall 2017, the studio studied and proposed a set of urban solutions for El-Moez spine in Fatimid Cairo, followed by generating a masterplan to enhance the dilapidating conditions of pottery-craft communities living around water lakes in Historic Fustat. In Spring 2018, the studio worked on the greening impact of parks in the city, and how parks are fenced off after being developed and become an instrument for segregation rather than integration. The studio studied the influence of Azhar Park on its immediate low-income and middle-class community, and how to generate proposals based on bridging and connecting economies of scale; how thinking of greening the city in terms of hygiene and development needs to become inclusive for all rather than mutually exclusive; how it needs to be a right to the city. In Fall 2018, the studio investigated the power relationship and discursive dynamics between the Pyramids Plateau as a world heritage site with its surrounding informality of Nazlet El-Samman. In Spring 2019, Namaa, a real-estate developer requested the Urban Design Studio to develop sustainable strategies for creating lively communities with a mixed-use program as an alternative model to the market-driven segregated approach of gated communities. Students were exposed to the real context of Almaza at the edge of Heliopolis and New Cairo with an actual client visiting the studio every few weeks for design reviews. Students were challenged to defend their ideas of creating a responsive design to the SDGs and the adjacent working-class community, who were once the workers of the industrial factory that was demolished on the site. In Fall 2019, the studio shifted attention to the growing informality on the heritage site of the necropolis, where people dwell, build housing and economic activities on tombs at the City of the Dead — it is a case in time where those alive pay tribute and survive at the expense of the dead amid the everyday struggles to survive in a metropolitan city with growing rates of poverty. Amid these realities and challenges, the Urban Design Studio prepares students to interact with the growing complexities of the city, realize its multi-layers, and be prepared to become agents of change through surgical interventions that are human-centered and empowering citizens. TABLE OF CONTENT
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EL MOEZ STREET
FALL 2017
The development of Historic Cairo was centered on monuments and the physical built environment along the main streets. The regeneration focused on the tourist gaze and the experience of the orient. The spine or Qasaba has been museumified with little exposure to the everyday activities and local communities behind the street. Therefore the question becomes, what happens if we regenerated that spirit of playfulness and growth, and transmitted it into the heart of the community beyond the street in a sustainable manner? How can we integrate people with the museums and connect history with the community? And how can we construct spaces along the street using tactical urbanism as a methodology of intervention to preserve history together with engaging people and the community through social inclusion, diversity and economic growth? The objective becomes connecting communities along the Street and exploring the modes of growth and integration and studying the public life in the street spine running through Historic Cairo EL MOEZ STREET
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BEIT EL QADY STREET
GROUP MEMBERS: - HADEEL KOURA - SARA SEYAM - YARA ABDEL GHAFAR
EL MOEZ STREET
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SITE ANALYSIS SITE ANALYSIS
MAPPING ANALYSIS
EL MOEZ STREET: BEIT EL QADY STREET
CROSS SECTION ANALYSIS
SWOT ANALYSIS
ELEVATION ANALYSIS
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DESIGN CONCEPT
INTERVENTION 1
EXPERIENCE
INTERVENTION 2
EL MOEZ STREET: BEIT EL QADY STREET
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PHYSICAL MODELS BEIT EL QADY STREET
SARA SEYAM, HADEEL KOURA, YARA ABDEL GHAFAR
THE NEW AL HELMEYA STREET
DECADANCE OF HISTORY
EL MOEZ STREET
YARA EL MALKY, FARAH WAHDAN, MELISSA ASHRAF
MENNA ALY, MAHMOUD MAHMOUD, LINA SAID
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A L F U S T A T
FALL 2017
The project aims to develop two main areas in El Fustat (Old Cairo) while guiding future development efforts in the area. To this end, the Project will conduct a review of the strategic vision of the whole Fustat area and update it if necessary in accordance with the current opportunities and challenges of the area. It will also highlight the implications of this vision on the overall planning rationale, as well as the correlation between this planning rationale and all the key planning elements including the road network, the key facilities and services in their different types and levels, and the integration with the new projects in the area such as the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat. The Project will, in line with the previous vision’s objectives, focus on creating accessible open spaces, thus allowing residents to have a breathing space and reducing pollution resulting from overpopulation and traffic congestion. The Project will also contribute to the implementation of investment projects aiming to support and finance economic development activities and will come up with innovative marketing ideas to attract major investors to become part of the area’s development and increase investments in the area. To make the area more attractive to investors, the Project will carry out tourism and recreational activities, and introduce services and new crafts commensurate with the area’s value and nature without imposing additional financial burdens on the State budget. TABLE OF CONTENT
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FUSTAT AS AN “OPEN AIR MUSEUM”
GROUP MEMBERS: - FARAH - ARWA - NADINE - MELISSA - SHAYMAA - SARAH - YARA AL FUSTAT
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SITE ANALYSIS
AL FUSTAT: FUSTAT AS AN “OPEN AIR MUSEUM”
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CONCEPT
DESIGN MASTERPLAN
ANALYSIS
AL FUSTAT: FUSTAT AS AN “OPEN AIR MUSEUM”
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DESIGN 3D SHOTS
ACTION AREAS
SECTIONS AND ELEVATIONS
AL FUSTAT: FUSTAT AS AN “OPEN AIR MUSEUM”
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PHYSICAL MODELS FUSTAT AS AN OPEN AIR MUSEUM
THE HEALER
S ARA SEYAM, HADEEL KOURA, YARA ABDELGHAFAR, AHMED KOURA, MOHANAD HAMDOUN, FARAH ABOUGAMRA, SANDY RAMLAWI
AL FUSTAT PARK
AL FUSTAT
ARWA, FARAH, MELISSA, NADINE, SARAH, SHAYMAA, YARA
AL FUSTAT ICARNE MENNA, MAHMOUD, LEILA, LINA, RANDA, MOHAMED, MAZEN,
THE TALE OF TWO DISTRICTS
RAWAN SOHDY, REEM DESOUKY, INJY ASHOUR, MARTINA MINA, SANDY ESMAT, NARDEEN SAWIRIS, MIRNA EL SAADANY
FARAH S., ETHAR, SARAH S., TUQA, REEM K., FARIDA
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E L-D A R B A L-A HMAR
SPRING 2018
In Cairo, urban parks have become green islands of enclosure and isolation from the rest of the community. Though much needed in dense and populated area cities, in many cases at the global south they are walled off and fenced only admitted through tickets. They act as enclaves and self-regulated organizations; they perform as spaces of exclusion with their own rules and regulations. Activities of different types and scale occur in them that are otherwise less possible outside. They have their own codes of conduct, values and opportunities that are not shared on equal and similar virtues with outside the wall of the park. Lives inside and outside the park operate on different levels; levels of cleanness, sanitization, and environmental equity vary significantly in some case. In some parks, not all, play and fun is coined with ecological merits that drive an atmosphere of joy to their visitors. Why isn’t that spirit transcended to the rest of its adjacent surrounding? How can we maintain a sustainable mode of connection, where the park can act as a catalyst of developing to the region? How can we democratize ecology and green environments beyond the territorial bounds of the park? TABLE OF CONTENT
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PROJECT 1
REVIVING THE BROKEN
GROUP MEMBERS: - MARIA DARWISH - JOY WASSEF - SHAZA ALI
EL-DARB AL-AHMAR: REVIVING THE BROKEN
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SITE ANALYSIS
EL-DARB AL-AHMAR: REVIVING THE BROKEN
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SITE ANALYSIS: STREET STRETCH
EL-DARB AL-AHMAR: REVIVING THE BROKEN
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STREET STRETCH INTERVENSION
EL-DARB AL-AHMAR: REVIVING THE BROKEN
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PHYSICAL MODELS REVIVING THE BROKEN
MARIA, JOY, SHAZA
DIGGING OUT THE HIDDEN TO ENCOUNTER THE UNKNOWN
EMERGENCE OF ATTRACTION POLES
MOHAMED, ROWAIDA, LORNA
HEBA, KARIM, RANA, LAILA
Scanned with CamScanner
EL-DARB AL-AHMAR: STREET REVIVING STRETCH THE BROKEN
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PROJECT 2
STITCHING THE CITY
GROUP MEMBERS: - MARIA DARWISH - JOY WASSEF - SHAZA ALI
EL-DARB AL-AHMAR: REVIVING THE BROKEN
- VERNA YOUSSEF - LAILA MEKWAY
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EL-DARB AL-AHMAR: REVIVING THE BROKEN
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EL-DARB AL-AHMAR: REVIVING THE BROKEN
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EL-DARB AL-AHMAR: REVIVING THE BROKEN
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EL-DARB AL-AHMAR: REVIVING THE BROKEN
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PHYSICAL MODELS STITCHING THE CITY
MARIA, SHAZA, JOY, VERNA, LAILA
EL-DARB AL-AHMAR: MASTERPLAN REVIVING THE BROKEN
THE HERITAGE SPINE
RANA, YASMINE, DINA, KARIM, NADA
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NAZLET EL SE MMAN
FALL 2018
The Urban Design project takes place at the foot of the Pyramids Plateau towards the development and revitalization of Nazlet El-Semman in Giza. It falls at the intersection of rural/urban and historical/future sustainable development. The main design question is how to think of urban transformation and growth with people’s encroachment at the edge of heritage towards achieving the SDGs (sustainable development goals). The question becomes is there a space for urban reconciliation and remedying the disconnected social, spatial and economic disparities? Can we subvert the paradoxical emblem of our city, and renegotiate the terms of contradictions to generate spaces of hope that stitch the city? Can we imagine a different mode of urbanization and development that includes everyone and generate opportunities for all? Can we develop a third path of urban growth? And if so, how can we do it?
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SITE ANALYSIS
THE LIMINAL SPACE
GROUP MEMBERS: - NADA ABDELHAKIM - PASSANT AHMED - YASMINA EL GHEZEIRY NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE LIMINAL SPACE
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SITE ANALYSIS
NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE LIMINAL SPACE
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SITE ANALYSIS: STREET STRETCH
NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE LIMINAL SPACE
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SITE ANALYSIS: STREET STRETCH
NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE LIMINAL SPACE
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CONCEPT
NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE LIMINAL SPACE
DESIGN
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ANALYSIS
NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE LIMINAL SPACE
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SITE ANALYSIS
THE REBIRTH
GROUP MEMBERS: - AMY FAYEZ - CAROL HOSSAM - MARINA AMGAD - SHERRY BUSHRA NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE REBIRTH
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SITE ANALYSIS
NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE REBIRTH
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CONCEPT
NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE REBIRTH
DESIGN
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ANALYSIS
NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE REBIRTH
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ANALYSIS
NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE REBIRTH
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PHYSICAL MODELS THE LIMINAL SPACE
REBIRTH
NADA ABDELHAKIM, PASSANT AHMED, YASMINA EL GEZEIRY
AMY FAYEZ, CAROL HOSSAM, MARINA AMGAD, SHERRY BUSHRA
TURNING THE DIVIDER INTO AN ATTRACTOR
NAZLET EL-SEMMAN: THE REBIRTH
CLARA ADLY, HANIA ALAA, VERONICA ZAKY
MULTILAYERED CITY
RAMI ABDELRAHMAN, SALMA METAWA, YASMEEN HASSAN
ARTERIES OF THE CITY
URBAN SYNTHESIS
AYA ELSHANTOURY, HANA SARHAN, SARA FAHMY, SHAYMAA ABDELHAMID
FARIDA MAAMOUN, FATIMA HUSSEIN, SARA AFIFI, REEM EL MASRY
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ALMAZ A HEL IPOLIS
SPRING 2019
The project, a 7.5 feddans unique land plot, lies along Thawrat street, a strategically important spine that runs all the way through Heliopolis, Nasr City, heading to New Cairo, Sherouk City and the New Capital City. The land was originally the house for Olympic group household equipment factory, but long time ago the factory stopped operating since the area changed into a dense population district. This change has driven the owners to demolish the factory in order to make use of this very premium located piece of land. After demolition, it will now be assigned to be a mixed-use development land permit. This gives a unique opportunity for land development and establishing a unique project in an area that doesn’t have much competition in this form. Studying the market direction and surrounding competition, there is great potential and demand for a luxurious development in this original dense area. Studies show that there is great demand to luxurious residential apartments as well as luxury small hotel components. The vision for the project is to develop a fully integrated luxurious project that stands out in the area and meets a real need of luxurious living components within this dense area. TABLE OF CONTENT
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NAMAA GROUP SPONSORED STUDIO Established in 1998 as a spin-off of Olympic Group to operate as their real estate and land bank arm, Namaa is specialized in real estate investment and related value-added services. For almost two decades, Namaa has played a pioneering role in Egypt in the corporate real estate industry; developing world-class properties of high-quality standards for a wide range of sectors and providing stateof-the-art innovative solutions that address the needs of the entire business community. Currently, Namaa has extended its expertise and developed its competencies to expand beyond serving the business communities and provide high standard residential and commercial properties that introduce new trends in service providing to the Egyptian market. Namaa is now merging its subsidiaries under the same brand that provides the various real estate properties: administrative, residential, and commercial; ensuring that all the projects reflect its integrated development perspective with the highest standards of hospitality and leisure. NAMAA GROUP
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PUZZLE 01 What are the characteristics of a lively street? Best practices of a spine? What is the Egyptian Urban Experience? In the first assignment of the course, the students are required to capture the present condition of urban vitality using a camera as seen in four moments of the city’s growth. Focusing on the districts of Historic Khedivial Cairo, Heliopolis, Nasr City and New Cairo in metropolitan Cairo, capture what is the experience of a small-scale, medium-scale, and large-scale street (S,M,L)? Generate a matrix of SML as the city grew historically passing laterally across these four city-centers. How has the urban design of streets changed? How does the street-scale affect and shape people’s interaction with the street-elevation and the built environment? What is the quality of urban life in these ‘once-upon-a-time’ city centers? What are the Egyptian characteristics of enclosure, and how have they influenced the everyday life of the street in these 4-city districts? What are the learning lessons of the Egyptian experience of streets over 100 years of growth? How did the expansion of the city inform the urban experience of streets? BICYCLE TOUR
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PUZZLE 02 What is Development? How to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs)? What is a network interdependent society on the meso-scale, macro-scale, and micro-scale? How can we preserve the history of place, people, and economic activities? What are the patterns of growth and urbanization in time? How can we design for sustainable and inclusive communities? How can our cities become human-centered and developed for empowerment on the economic, social and cultural levels? How can we reclaim back public life and the right to the city? How can we develop new architectural typologies that promote mixed-use development through social and economic interaction? How can we incorporate the 21 st century ethos of co-living spaces, co-working, co-habitation, co- development? How can we develop communities aesthetically but also responsibly in response to the environment, climate change and the need for a circular economy paradigm? Puzzle two of the semester’s project aims at tracing the growth of twocore centers that were designed as paradigm shifts of development in Cairo. BICYCLE TOUR
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PUZZLE 03 The vision for the project is to develop a fully integrated luxurious project that stands out in the area and meets a real need of luxurious living components within this dense area. The project should be a mixed-use development of high-end luxury residential service departments as well as a 5-star hotel with 100 -120 keys. The project should have inside it all the basic services needed for the residential and hotel components to operate efficiently, example: clubhouse, minimarket, wellness center, entertainment facilities ... etc. The land plot is almost flat. No topography change is available throughout the area. Setbacks: refer to the district regulations for the exact setbacks. All parking plots to be underground, no parking on surface is allowed. The number of parking floors shall depend on the required capacity for the achieved BUA. Entry to the project should be from the back or side street. Only hotel drop off is allowed from Thawra street.
BICYCLE TOUR
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BEAUTY WITHIN THE SUBLIME
GROUP MEMBERS: - NOURAN SOLIMAN - SALMA EL-SHAFEY - SHROUK MOHAMED - ZEINA HAZIM ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: BEAUTY WITHIN THE SUBLIME
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LARGE STREET
MEDIUM STREET
SMALL STREET
LARGE STREET
MEDIUM STREET
SMALL STREET
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: BEAUTY WITHIN THE SUBLIME
NASR CITY
SUBLIME VS. BEAUTY
NEW CAIRO
HELIOPOLIS
DOWNTOWN
PUZZLE 1
LARGE STREET
MEDIUM STREET
SMALL STREET
LARGE STREET
MEDIUM STREET
SMALL STREET
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ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: BEAUTY WITHIN THE SUBLIME
CAIRO: DESIGN FOR INCLUSION
ANALYSIS
PUZZLE 2
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ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: BEAUTY WITHIN THE SUBLIME
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PUZZLE 3
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: BEAUTY WITHIN THE SUBLIME
BEAUTY WITHIN THE SUBLIME
SITE ANALYSIS
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CONCEPT
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: BEAUTY WITHIN THE SUBLIME
DESIGN
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ANALYSIS
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: BEAUTY WITHIN THE SUBLIME
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THE HOLISTIC
GROUP MEMBERS: - MARAM NAZMY - NADA ADAWY - RANA GEITH - SHEHAB EL-SHAZLY ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: THE HOLISTIC
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PUZZLE 1
HELIOPOLIS
NASR CITY
NEW CAIRO
SMALL STREET
MEDIUM STREET
LARGE STREET
DOWNTOWN
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: THE HOLISTIC
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ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: THE HOLISTIC
REVIVING WALKABILITY
ANALYSIS
PUZZLE 2
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ANALYSIS
ANALYSIS & INTERVENSION
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: THE HOLISTIC
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PUZZLE 3
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: THE HOLISTIC
THE HOLISTIC
CONCEPT
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SITE ANALYSIS
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: THE HOLISTIC
DESIGN
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ANALYSIS
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: THE HOLISTIC
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PHYSICAL MODELS BEAUTY WITHIN THE SUBLIME
THE HOLISTIC
NOURAN SOLIMAN, SALMA EL-SHAFEY, SHROUK MOHAMED, ZEINA HAZIM
MARAM NAZMY, NADA ADAWY, RANA GEITH, SHEHAB EL-SHAZLY
TRANSCEND AHMED SELIM, ESRAA ASHRAF, OMNIA ABDEL-HAY, SALMA AL-MASRY
ALMAZA HELIOPOLIS: THE HOLISTIC
LIFE THROUGH LUXURY OF CHOICE
MAHMOUD EL-KADY, RANA KHALED, SHAHENDA IRAQI, ZEINA ABDEL DAYEM
A PLACE IN BETWEEN FARAH NOUR, MAY EL-GHAWAS, NADINE NAZMI, YARA IBRAHIM
DYNECT
AMINA ASHOUR, HANA AL-MANADILY, NOUR EISSA, NOURAN KOTRY
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FINAL JURY AUC architecture students participated in the sponsored studio “Creating Lively Communities,” where they presented urban design proposals to a jury for a site owned by NAMAA Real Estate. For the studio proposals, the students presented their urban and concept designs for an actual site owned by Namaa, offering an alternative vision and a business model for the site that would connect with the city and the community in a socially sustainable and economically balanced system. “The support of the Developer to allow this opportunity to take place and listen to outsidethe-box solutions reflect the bright side of future collaborations that can reciprocally change how the market operates and produce a city-for-people that is not solely driven by profit but also driven toward sustainable, lively and interconnected communities,” El-Husseiny added. Winning Teams First Prize Team Maram Nazmy Nada Adawy - Rana Geith - Shehab El-Shazly Second Prize Team Ahmed Selim - Esraa Ashraf - Omnia Abdel-Hay Salma AlMasry Third Prize Team Nouran Soliman Salma El-Shafey - Shrouk Mohamed - Zeina Hazim APPROACH 08: TIME AS A MODERATOR OF SPACE
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A U C BICYCLE T O U R The AUC cycling tour is a tradition brought forth by the urban design studio as part of understanding the cycling infrastructure in the city. The session has taken place over the past three semesters and hope it develops as a tradition across our student body around campus. The activity has a positive impact on the students’ health and well-being, as well as integrating it pedagogically. In the session, students will learn the bike-lane standards and right of way by practicing them themselves. The activity also demonstrate several scenarios for the design of street intersections to allow for pedestrians, and bike-riders simultaneously at the prescribed and already existing bike lanes of campus. There will be an inner tour around the back route of SSE reaching to the Gardens, then we will explore the campus’s bike lanes that exist in the parking area and plateau in front of the PVA. This session adopts the active-learning pedagogy. BICYCLE TOUR
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BICYCLE TOUR
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GROW A PLANT As part of the AUC wide approach in developing creative methods in teaching, optimizing learning spaces, student engagement and experiential learning, the Urban Design and Landscape Architecture course asks the students to bring an indoor plant into the department, keep it along its walls and corridors, take good care of its well-being till the end of the semester. Each of the 42 students in class is to learn about their plant’s watering methods and living conditions, and post a display-table describing these conditions on the wall. Students are required to reflect on and share this experiential knowledge with their colleagues in the department to encourage them using plants in their design projects while being aware of their growing conditions and any recurring challenges. Consequently, the class will build their landscape design database quickly, in a short time period, and through hands-on experience. Additionally, the department corridors, walls and in-between spaces will become aesthetically appealing, psychologically refreshing, more lively, green and informative. BICYCLE TOUR
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R E F L E C T IONS
“ I started contemplating all the good that urban design can do. The way it can use its power to truly change the world that we live in bit by bit “ CLARA “ Model Model Model Model Model Model Model Model Model Mode” SALMA “ Where do I start from, it’s really been an urban roller coaster like Dr. Momen said in the very first time he emailed us for the first studio, and ofcourse we still had to prepare a reading. I have always been told that urban studio is the most hectic work load in the entire department, but no one told me about the feelings ... ready to clean up the city’s urban mess ” OMNIA “ It is different than all the other courses in the architectural program as it not only teaches us how to design a master plan but also it opens our minds to experience and deal with different situations every studio ” ESRAA APPROACH 08: TIME AS A MODERATOR OF SPACE
“ A game changer mainly in this puzzle were the readings. They affected my perspective on how I look at things when I investigate or search for solutions to the problems of a site ... our hard work and sleepless nights, giving it all our thought and time, in addition to the instructors and the TAs constant help and guidance, we could win and actually could understand that we can meet real life clients and communicate professionally with them ” RANA “ With all its ups and downs, I am glad for the results that we came out with at the end of the course. The course was without doubts enlightening and beneficial, as it was our first time to encounter an urban design course, and creating a masterplan on our own ” SHROUK “ The journey is one of the finest educational journeys I have experienced ... this is an acknowledgment letter to our professor, Dr. Momen El-Husseiny “ VERONICA 133
TEAM LEAD BY DR. MOMEN EL HUSSENY
Cover and Template Design Nada Gemiei Photography and Images Nada Gemiei, Muhammed Emad Student Photography BICYCLE TOUR