ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO NADA EL ABD
SELECTED WORKS 2012-2017
NADA ESSAM EL ABD
EXPERIENCE
SKILLS
T: +201000071735 E: nada.eelabd@gmail.com
2013 | Ökoplan Consulting Engineers
AutoCAD Sketchup Rhinoceros Revit Grasshopper 3DMAX V-Ray Cinema4D Photoshop InDesign
EDUCATION 2012 | FUTURES LANGUAGE SCHOOL
Thanawya Amma
2015| GUC BERLIN
Semester Abroad
2017| GERMAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO
Architecture and Urban Design Cumulative GPA 1.3
LANGUAGES ARABIC ENGLISH DEUTSCH FRENCH 2
Learnt how to use AutoCAD, Revit and Sketchup. http://www.oekoplan.com.eg
2014 | Samcrete
Built digital models for Porto October villas. Designed facades for a social housing complex. http://www.samcrete.com
2015 | German University in Cairo
Junior TA for AutoCAD and Photoshop.
2016 | Dar Al-Handasah
Worked on patterns and 3D model for Masjid Al-Nabawi expansion. Worked on Damietta’s Furniture City Hangers. http://www.dargroup.com
Illustrator Microsoft Office
TABLE OF CONTENTS
04 URBAN MUSEUM IN BERLIN 10 COURTYARD HOUSES 16 CAIRO CENTRAL LIBRARY 28 LANDSCAPE RELIEF 32 GREEN BELT LUXOR
URBAN MUSEUM IN BERLIN Design Studio IV, 2015 Prof. Bernd Bess Located in the heart of Berlin across the museum island, a land with iconic surroundings that capture the cultural character of the city. To extend the museum island to the left bank of the Spree River, the task was to build a museum next to the archaeological center and museum, inspired from an object or material. The project was inspired by a feather, that is light weight and with the placement of its hairs, could offer various shadow effects and a see-through experience, which was wanted to be achieved in the building: irregular yet suspenseful views to the outside. 4
G L I M P SES T O S U R R O U ND I N G S
A shot showing the light effect on a feather and how the placement of the feather and also the layering of the feathers on top of each other creates different atmospheres. From that, it was concluded the building shouldn’t have a defined edge to emphasize on how the feather’s shape and motion envelopes a space. Wooden lamellas/planks were used to create the effect of the feather’s hairs, leaving the building with views from all around, with focus on certain areas where the lamellas are placed further apart.
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A
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
NORTH EAST ELEVATION
The building consists of two parts, the exterior lamellas shell and the interior blocks which form the exhibition spaces. These blocks are placed to form the circulation and create the inner piazzas or gathering spaces where the lamellas open up the most to offer a view to the outside. The lightweight and thinness of the lamellas leave these piazzas as inside-outside spaces, where the visitors experience the outside without any interruptions from inside the building.
SECTION A-A
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COURTYARD HOUSES Design Studio V, 2015 Prof. Florian Seidel Inspired by Islamic architecture, the studio was dedicated to come up with modern building typologies that lie within the criteria of historic courtyard houses. The plot is in a very diverse area, directly next to the Petrified Forest, which is one of Cairo’s protected lands, and across the German University in Cairo, a social housing complex and a gated compound. The studio came up with a master plan for the area and smaller plots were divided among students to develop housing units, Social Housing
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Gated Compound
Petrified Forest Protectorate
The plot is divided into private ecological villas for different family sizes, with a public space along the Petrified Forest where a restaurants area and a playground are located.
NORTH ELEVATION PLOT’S MASTER PLAN
A
A
SECTION A-A
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TYPOLOGY
B
B
GROUND FLOOR
SECTION B-B
FIRST FLOOR
Serving Served
ELEVATION
The building is characterized by a wind catcher on two of its sides to increase the efficiency of the courtyard in properly ventilating the building. It is planned according to the served/serving concept of distribution of spaces, where the serving areas are always located on one side while the served on the other.
SECOND FLOOR
EAST ELEVATION
Hot Air
Cold Air
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Prevailing Wind
30° One story above roof
Hot Air
Cold Air
Cold Air
The wind catchers are situated on the shorter sides of the building, they are long chimney like structures that work to attract and catch the wind and distribute it along the spaces of the buildings. Evaporative Cooling Systems are added to them to help cool down the air. Two systems are used: the traditional ‘Olla’ method where a porous material filled with water filters and cools the air, the other is a mechanical system where a wool sheet is rolled into a tank filled with water to also cool the air. WALL SECTION
CAIRO CENTRAL LIBRARY Bachelor Project, 2016 Prof. Florian Seidel
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The site is located in the center of Cairo, an area which witnessed many changes and has gained more importance over the years. It has become under the world’s spotlight after the 25th of Jan Revolution that took place in Tahrir Square and became a symbol of the citizens’ power. The plot that the library was to be built on used to be the home of the NDP’s Headquarters in Egypt which was burnt down as a sign of revolt during the revolution. However, the place became completely restricted to the citizens and once again became a place that showcases the capitalist buildings and their power. The project’s strategy is to bring the power back to the people, the power they have once experienced during the revolution, and attempt to restore the symbol of home the area once held. A library is not just a place to hold books, but it is also a public space and a cultural hub where knowledge and information are exchanged.
Analyzing the site unfolded many aspects. The library was to compete with massive concrete buildings that reflect the capitalist power and take over Cairo’s skyline and waterfront leaving the place a hub of private public buildings. The urban fabric was also analyzed as it has always been a place filled with people and gained more importance during the revolution as it was the people’s hide out from the troops. All that, called for creating a new public space along the waterfront.
The distribution of masses and the spaces inside the library were inspired by the public spaces in West El Balad, where the main reading halls in the library resembled the squares and the more private streets are the quieter and smaller areas in the library. 18
PLATFORM PLAN
The library’s interior is designed to put focus on the main reading halls on each floor, where all the shelves are placed pointing towards it to create the circulation of the visitors. The main halls are characterized by large double heighted spaces with huge clear opening that offer a view to some of the iconic surroundings. Mezzanines are designed along the hall for quiter and more individual seatings. SECOND FLOOR
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THIRD FLOOR
EAST ELEVATION
SECTION A-A
SECTION B-B
GROUND FLOOR
The platform’s ground floor became mainly for the storage area, which is a completely private area. The concept of the building tried to achieve maximum publicness in the building, so a path was designed along the storage which treats the storage as an exhibition a visitor could experience, ending with reaching the platform’s courtyard.
To stand out in the skyline and create a the surrounding buildings, the main libr a completely glass mass that shines alo front. The material used is OKATECH glass with a copper mesh that reflects t angles that creates and opaque yet glo ance in the daylight but becomes transl when the building is lit up.
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OFFICE BUILDING
a contrast with rary building is ong the waterH triple glazing the sun at high owing appearlucent at night
WALL SECTION
WEST NIGHT ELEVATION
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LANDSCAPE RELIEF Elective, 2016 Prof. Inès Schröder
‘A PATH LINKS PLACES BETWEEN HUMAN ACTIVITY AND REST’
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The elective discussed how people perceive Utopian spaces uniquely. These spaces are defined with the user’s interaction. We were assigned with a philosophical text about Utopian Spaces and a brief definition for the words space and activity. Each student was to choose a certain phrase, description or word and work with it to develop a conceptual space and find an adequate location for that space. This project deals with the journey between activity and rest where rest is visualized by a thin fabric that encloses the space and journey. It is located on Mokattam Hill to create a contrast between the lightness of the fabric and the roughness of the hill: ie. Activity.
PLAN WITH MATERIAL
DETAIL SECTION
PLAN WITH CONTOURS
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SECTION WITH MATERIAL
DETAIL MODEL
INNER SHOT
JOURNEY AT NIGHT
POSSIBLE USAGE
GREEN BELT LUXOR Design Studio VII, 2017 Prof. Cornelia Redeker The studio targeted creating a Green Belt Urban strategy for Luxor, a city characterized by its great historic heritage sites and also its agriculture. The project deals with Luxor on 3 different scales, first the connection of the monuments on the west bank by enhancing a main street, then focusing on Hassan Fathy’s neglected village New Gourna and try to solve some of its problems and revive the old iconic buildings, then offering an architectural intervention in the village, that would help revitalize the area and attract users. 32
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STREET PLAN
The bus stop is made from local materials, mud bricks, to go in harmony with the surroundings.
Organizing the street’s lanes and introducing a new bike lane brings the street closer to the pedestrians. Moreover adding bus stops along the street to avoid traffic and better connect the neglected monuments along it to the River and the Valley of The Kings and Queens.
ORGINAL MASTER PLAN
Hassan Fathy built New Gourna in 1952 and designed it with 3 main axes. However, the master plan was never finished and only a small part of the village was realized. The project’s aim is revive the village starting with creating two new axes in the village that bring people together and enhance the circulation. These axes would connect INTERVENTIONS AND ORiGINAL BUILDINGS the historic buildings of Hassan Fathy and thus, make use of them once more. New interventions along one of the axes are designed according to the original master plan to further define the promenade and enclose it. A public space was also designed at the main square for people to gather in and meet. Other aspects of the original master plan are brought back like the main entrance to the village, the functions of the buildings and fields. NEW AXIS AND PROMENADES ALONF THE VILLAGE 36
PLAN AND SECTION A-A
PLAN AND SECTION B-B
B
A
B
A
MASTER PLAN
SECTION THROUGH PUBLIC SPACE
One of the biggest problems in New Gourna is the rise of the groundwater and the deterioration of the mud brick foundations of the buildings. To solve this problems, drainage of the ground water surrounding the buildings is proposed by adding a layer of gravel around the foundation to redirect the water towards the filtration tanks beneath the public space.
KHAN BEFORE
The public space is located between the Mosque, Khan and Theatre. It was meant to be a gathering area for the inhabitants in Hassan Fathy’s original master plan. A green public space is designed to be a cool area in the high heat. It is irrigated by the groundwater collected in the tanks from the buildings. Shaded seating elements are also placed along the public space, created from local materials of bricks and wood. The two new axes pass by the public space and are also cladded by local sustainable materials. In the process of reviving the village, the iconic buildings are restored and maintain their original functions. 38
KHAN AFTER
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ARCHITECTURAL INTERVENTION Housing Complex
Green Roof
Malkaf idea and Landmark
The site is located on one end of the main public promenade in New Gourna along the canal. It connects the residents and tourists to the waterfront going through a path that show cases the beauty of New Gourna neighborhood and its tight bond. The village is currently inhabited by 1800 residents and due to the resident’s close connection to the place and their inevitable family expansions, the village is facing a shortage in housing units that are structurally stable and able to accommodate the residents.
Courtyards
Housing Path
Shops Restaurant Storage
SITE PLAN
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NORTH EAST ELEVATION
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