Zeinin Market

REPORT Zenein Market

Supervisor , Researcher, Institution

DR. Mona Abdelwahab; MOhamed ElMesawy; AASTMT

JANÂ 2020

(PHOTO)

W

omen’s experiences in urban public spaces are often different to those of men. Women and girls may experience repetitive acts of sexual violence in public spaces and may fear such violence, which are barriers to women’s access and enjoyment to city spaces.

At the same time, public spaces, services and infrastructure are overwhelmingly designed by men, for men, with little consideration of women’s needs and concerns, with a lack of gender responsive planning of urban and rural spaces. Making cities and communities safe requires measures to support women and girls’ social, economic, cultural and political participation.

In Egypt, where around 14% of women were employed in 2018, versus 63% of men,1 markets represent important livelihood options with the potential to reduce poverty and increase women’s economic empowerment. The Zenien market was built in the mid-1990s in the low-income neighborhood of Boulaq El Dakrour, in the Egyptian Gover-

norate of Giza. The market lacked signage, ventilation, electricity, water or sanitation facilities, while its deteriorating infrastructure and scattered waste raised hygiene and safety concerns. Although the majority of vendors were women, the lack of lighting forced them to close their shops early, A dark, waste-laden back-alley also included a presence of drug users, sexual harassment of women, and physical violence. Customers dwindled, reducing women vendors’ sales and opportunities, and pushing many vendors to close their shops.

Participating cities commit to ensuring that women and girls are socially, economically and politically empowered in public spaces that are free from sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence. In Cairo, the programme targets low-income neighborhoods – namely Imbaba, Manshiet Nasser, Elhagana and more recently Boulaq al-Dakrour. It is implemented in partnership with the National Council for Women, Ministry of Social Solidarity, Giza Governorate, Care Egypt and three local NGOs based in the intervention areas.

A B O U T

The Zenien market was built in the mid 1990s: THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The re-design of Zenien market with a gender approach contributes to achieving several SDG targets such as SDG 5, CAIRO SAFE CITY WITH WOMEN AND GIRLS

The Cairo Safe City and Safe Public Spaces Programme was launched in 2011 and is one of the founding pro-

19 90 Z

enien market was built in the mid-1990s Boulaq El Dakrour. Although the majority of vendors were women, the lack of lighting forced them to close their shops early, a dark, waste-laden back-alley.

Also included a presence of drug users, sexual harassment of women, and physical violence.

Following recommendations from women users, the Zenien market has been made much more accessible to women, youth, and children, including those with disabilities. Aawareness-raising sessions have been provided on women’s rights as well as market vendors’ rights and responsibilities.

The Zenien market was expanded by 750 m2 and another 800 m2 of well-lit tree-lined sidewalks were added, transforming unsafe and unused areas into safe, functional spaces for residents and market users. A firefighting system was installed, and concrete and ceramic building materials were used to ensure cleanliness and reduce fire hazards. At least 118 vendors, 65 per cent of which are women – who primarily sell vegetables, herbs, meats, fish and poultry – now have clean stalls with proper ventilation, waste disposal sites, electricity and running water.

VISUAL SENSORY

VISUAL COMPONENTS

Line and Shape - Line Is A Perceptual Fact. It Exists Only In Our Heads And It Result From Compositing Other Visual Components Which Allow To Perceive Lines. This Perception Was Clear Through The Linear Passage Of The Market And Rectilinear Ratio Of The Plan.

- Shape Goes Hand In Hand With Line, Thus All Shapes Constructed From Lines. The Shapes Constructed In The Space From The Geometrical Composition Of The Vertical Wall With Voids Constructing The Shops Intersecting The Horizontal Planes Of The Floor And The Ceiling Which Has Irregular Planes In Different Elevation To Have A Gateway To The Sun Rays.

Space

- According to the visual space, it consists of the whole composition of the different geometries in different colors referenced to the products in the shops rather than the colors and the geometries of the inner market itself and there was a huge diffenece in the color schema in the two markets.

Color - There is a clear contrast in the color of the elements of the market specially the brightness of objects in the morning hours where the sun rays casting on the objects.

Nevertheless in the closed shops, wheh the sun reflects on the rubbish it makes almost the same color schema in the new market as shown above. You can make good or bad composition with the same color schema!!

The design of the interior market including the walls, floor and ceiling has yellowish colors but a bit monotone rather than the products have different colors.

VISUAL SENSORY

Texture/Pattern

-The touch of the grains in the walls with bumps has the feeling of roughness and also the floor which may be convincible to the function of such an open market.

Movement

- I think it is the first visual component to attract the eye and It is perceived through the linear plane with different products on the both sides. As show the deep length and vertical planes -i.e walls- intersecting with horizontal plane - i.e the ceiling and the ground.

Scale

It takes a ratio of 2:1 in the width and height with the same depth rather than the distribution of the seats in zones along the space made it felt shorter in linear composition. So we think, it is more closer to the human scale rather than the old one.

Repetition

- Repetition is found in the elements of the faรงade with the street components and in the walls and it is clear in the ceiling component.

VISUAL SENSORY

PERSONAL PERCEPTION

SPACE NARATION

The Old Market

LEAVING THE LIGHT

I didn’t want to enter this SPACE!! I saw a neat elements distributed in a rubbish with dirt and bad colors. The first thing I remembered when I entered is Jewish museum and how can you make someone feels bad and feels disturbance through architectural space.

But Daniel designed it intentionally. How come we found a neat space like this and I thought about how can anybody lives there.

God with them! It was a bad moment but it happened. I think the most horrible thing I saw is the entrance, may be the forward things were worst but my mind made me think negatively, so I had to complete the journey. I passed through the three old steps entering the old market. I saw a rusty wrought iron gate holding a banner as advertisement.

SPACE NARATION

I felt uncomfortable with the unhuman ratio of the space specially it was narrow with low height and what made matters worse is the almost complete darkness of the space. I felt unsafe in this space and I thought it would be ended with no hope. There weren’t any suitable landscape, neither soft scape nor hard scape and there was dirt everywhere, simply you can call it a hanger.

I saw a spider net everywhere and the ceiling was horrible specially with the circumstances conditions. The shops were fully with components, some of them were the products and the others were rubbish in the fully closed shops. It was totally mess specially the contrast in the color and the unbalanced composition. You can feel the chaos everywhere. I think I have forgotten one special thing in that composition, there was a light hanging from the ceiling and covered with a spider net in a horrible scene. In that moment it wasn’t fully dark and there was beams of light coming from the semi-opened semi-closed shops but I again I didn’t want enter!

Passing by ElMoezz’s shop for proteins and the damaged car, I saw a beatiful little girl playing with a bubby. She was cute and the bubby too. I think that made me feel happy regardless what I have seen before during the journey.

At the end of the old market, there was a banner for Zamalek Club. It is good to find fans for this club but it was in the past with the old market too!

SPACE NARATION

The New Market

BACK TO LIGHT Thanks to Allah, I reached the other side going upward through five steps to enter the refurbishment one, the shiny market. The composition of the life went back and I felt some beauty of the visual elements of the space. May be I am exaggerating about the new one, and it was the effect of entering the old market first but that’s it. Totally, it was nice rather than I don’t feel comfort with too much yellowish color in the scene.

There are two entrances in an orthographic arrangement: one between the old market and the new one; and the second entering from the street. I still saw the Toktok from the inner space of the new market through a horizontally striped gate which is similar to the ladder to any stranger!!

It was ironically enough to see another Toktok inside the market. I meant it literally! What made me wonder and think about the culture of this region.

You feel the fabric of the space through the grains in the material of the wall and the bumped floor.

The ceiling was so nice, I loved the penetration of the sun rays through the origami shed but the bad side was it still totally lightened naturally, So that, once the azan of magerb raised, all the shops closed. It turned into almost dark again.

At the begining of the enterance there are a colored car made from wood and steel to be used in cooking. I found the lovely prefered photo for Mohamed ElShaarawy. It is familiar to find this photo in any market.

Egyptian people used to put it in their market place. They consider it an element of the space.

Contnuing further, I found a cat which sudden me and took a while looking at me in creepy and weird look. I passed this step to meet new scenes in the new market. I think the rythm was not good. It is all about repetition in boring way. I didn’t feel any motivation to continue to the other side of the new market. Everything is repeated in different and bad colors. There was a contrast in the the three stages of this market resembling the function of its shops.

SPACE NARATION

The New Market

INSIDE OUT

One thing I loved so much, is the integrating between the elements inside the market and the outside environment through the openings in the ceiling and the gap between the vertical shift between the wall and the ceiling. So, you can see the sky as a part of the ceiling element and so the trees casting shadow and shaping the walls.

Color of the merchants is in a color scheme similar to what is used in the vertical elements but the too much hue in the scene was a somehow annoying to me.

SPACE NARATION THROUGH FILM

FILM

SPACE NARATION

Since the aim of the visual study and descriptive details is to allow sensory recreations of the narrator’s experience. I chose the narration through film scenes. I mean the objective is to bring the nearest composition in popular films or video clips to tell the receiver the message as it is almost the same perception when you saw this scene I had perceived in this place.

The interior scenes of the market look like many movies and memes I have remembered throughout my journey. So, analyzing the interior space of the market through the mentioned visual aspects will help in relating these shots to popular media have most likely the same perception.

SPACE NARATION THROUGH FILM

AWAKENING

/// FEAR - LOST CONFUSION [ Straight lines - Linear - Dark Space - Vertical Elements on both sides ]

01 JEWISH MUSEUM /// FEAR - SUFFERING [ Dark - Narrow Space Damaged Elements ]

02

Taylor Armstrong MEME

/// ANGER - COMPETITIVE - DOUBT

04

PRISON /// BORING LOCKED IN [ Linear - Narrow Space Repetitive - Small Units ]

SALAM YA SAHBI

03

/// POTENTIAL - OLD - DAMAGED

05

CONCLUSION

REPORT

CONCLUSION Studying the similar factors of a scene or a popular event corresponding to the composition you passed throughout the space, helps in the describe the pace in narrative storytelling as humans relate their emotions to specific spaces watched in films or any media. Perceiving the space through emotions and moods interpreted the relation between emotions -i.e. visual space- and physical space. Finally, I beleive that Art is Composition! Therefore, it makes the sense of place thus the perceived emotions.

REFERENCES https://issuu.com/dhruv.patel/docs/ui1014_dhruv_patel_thesis https://issuu.com/joaskadzadzaska/docs/ma_thesis

Article : Redesigning the Zenien Market with Women Girl