AUC I A Sustainable Desert Community I Spring '22 I Mostakbal City I Technical Report

A SUSTAINABLE DESERT COMMUNITY

AN OPEN-ACCESS TOWN IN CAIRO

ARCH 468/4532: URBAN DESIGN AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

STUDENTS’ WORK

SPRING 2022

THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

ARCH 468/4532: URBAN DESIGN AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

SPRING 2022

© AUC ARCHITECTURE 2022

REPORT PREPARED BY: Dr. Momen El Husseiny

Fatima Abdelaziz

Sarah Abdelaziz

MADINATY

NEW ADMINISTRATIVE CAPITAL

CUNY ACTIVITIES

Slack Activity Group Meetups

CUNY & AUC LECTURES

SITE VISITS

NAMAA VISIT

FINAL JURY

COP 27 EVENT

MEET THE TEAM

Urban Instructor

Dr. Momen El-Husseiny

TAs

Amira Badran

Fatima Abdelaziz

Noor Al-Asadi

Omar Magdy Nasreldin

Reem Khalil

Sara Seyam

Student TAs

Aya Mohamed

Eleanor Soliman

Habiba Ayoub

Rana Ali

Sama Tarek

Yola Elwy

TATWEER MISR PROJECT BRIEF

The Project, a 30 feddans land plot with a possible extension to 50 feddan upon need, is a part of the College Town of ‘Bloomfields’ that lies along El-Mostakbal Southern Road, a strategically important road at the northern edge of the New Administrative Capital. As Tatweer Misr for Developments started the project ‘Bloomfields’ in Mostakbal City, the main concept for the project was to create the first Egyptian college town. The educational component had always been the heart of ‘Bloomfields, the educational plot is in the middle of the land.

Bloomfields project will accommodate for around 10,000 residential units, which means it will host about 40 to 50 thousand people, adding to that; this project is a part of a bigger development “Mostakbal City”, which is planned to accommodate around 1.5 million people. Thus, naturally the university campus will be one of the largest magnets in the full development. The high educational standard and the undergraduate education that will be located

within the project will also play a huge role in creating a huge synergy and a place making development.

THE VISION: College Town Concept

As the education scene is developing all over the world, TATWEER MISR is realizing that playing a role and contributing to this scene is huge addition to the market. Thus, creating a new concept in ‘Bloomfields’ project, this new concept is to prepare the full life journey in the project; and this will happen through an important connection between postgraduate life and undergraduate life. This connection is going to be formed by an entrepreneurial/ innovation hub in the educational zone, to be the first in the Middle East and North Africa.

TATWEER MISR’s

vision for ‘Bloomfields’ College Town extends beyond the educational aspect; as it integrates residential, retail and sports components to create a full journey/

experience to all users. The design exercise is to develop an innovative hub within the College Town that will include start-up companies and co-working spaces, cultural components of libraries, theaters, and art galleries, and retail and food & beverage corridor. It will be directly connected to the main plaza within the educational zone’s center. And it will also be directly connected to the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s (NJIT) labs located at the heart of ‘Bloomfields’.

GSACS COIL PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This project engages students from AUC and CUNY to investigate the urban-health challenges facing university students when accessing spaces related to physical and mental health at AUC (Cairo) and Guttman CUNY (NYC). Using online platforms for virtual exchange, students build a comparative analysis of how spatial, social and economic inequalities in campuses are constructed similarly and/or differently in both contexts. Semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, non-participatory observation, community focused groups, photos of the built environment together with mapping and visual graphics will be used to analyze, synthesize and propose solutions. The project addresses the United Nations’ SDG10 that emphasizes the importance of reducing inequalities within and among countries. The experiential learning project is twofold. First, it is a cross-cultural experience with group-work and teams created across the Atlantic between the global north (US) and the

global south (Egypt). Secondly, students are challenged to explore the inherited social, economic and spatial registers facing university-campuses when dealing with the pandemic and turbulent uncertainties at each respective community. At Cairo, students will explore students’ usage of open spaces and health-related facilities to maintain physical and mental health. At New York City, students will explore the utilization of open spaces and health-related facilities at Guttman College – CUNY in mitigating NonCommunicable Diseases (NCDs). At the end of the semester, both classes at AUC and Guttman College will participate in a student conference to disseminate their findings.

Inquiry-based questions for design:

1) At times of pandemic, and beyond, what are the urban design elements for a healthy, inclusive and earthly-responsible college town to be developed at Cairo’s desert environment?

2) How is SDG10 related to urban-health

issues, depicted across universities campuses of AUC (Cairo) and Guttman CUNY (NYC)? What are the similarities and differences for the different students’ groups across class, race and gender between the two cities and the study-groups of the two courses (AUC vs CUNY-Guttman) in terms of accessibilty to spaces of workingout, fitness, physical activity, sports, mental health, relaxation and meditation?

3) How to stimulate the mind, body and soul of a student community when creating a healthy college town?

An online icebreaking activity in collaboration with CUNY

SITE VISITS

An excursion to Mustakbal City with TATWEER MISR.

Our team presenting the semester’s work at COP 27 event in Sharm El Sheikh.

“Climate Change Urbanism” presentation was shown in COP 27 event, which highlights the targetted SDGs in 4 projects from the Spring 2022 semester.

PHYSICAL MODELS

CHAKRAS

THE OASIS

STUDIO TALKS

THE OASIS

CAPER COUTH

JURY VISIT

SPROUT

PHASE 1: TACTICAL URBANISM

PHASE 2: MASTERPLAN

GROUP 1: CHAKRAS

Dianne Harevy

Hana Bayoumi

Ingy Bazan

Mennatallah Shebly

Nada Hady

Salma Hamoud

Yossra Mohamed

WHAT’S A COLLEGE TOWN?

PROBLEM STATEMENT

SURROUNDING CONTEXT

Enclosed walled communities

Solid and void analysis

CONCEPT

owing today’s youth to explore their inner self by providing a safe environment that unblocks various states of minds power our users, ‘chakras’ aim is to create spaces where energy can flow freely, manifesting a harmony between nd, body, and soul.

Consciousness,

CROWN CHAKRA Knowledge,

THIRD EYE

MASTERPLAN ANALYSIS

Legend

Residential

Event spaces

Retail Wellbeing center

Park Service apartments

Sports center

Entrepreneurial & coworking spaces

Legend Families

Students

Athletes Pets

Children Elderly

BUILDING TYPOLOGIES

ELEVATIONS

MASTERPLAN ACTION AREAS

Community Space

Indigo Tree

Social Hubs

Communal Zone

Bloom Bay

ACTION AREA 2: THE SOCIAL HUBS

GATHERING SPACE

BRAINSTORMING AREA

FOCUS AREA

GATHERING SPACE

BOARDS AREA

RELAXING SPACE

PHYSICAL MODEL

GROUP 2 A-NODE

NODES

GROUP 2: A NODE

Halla Waleed

Kanzy Nabil

Nadine Elnomrosy

Nour Anis

Nour Negm

Omar Mansour

Yousef Elkasaby

PERSONALITIES & WELLBEING

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

USER JOURNEYS

USER INTERSECTIONS

GRID ANALYSIS

ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

Legend

Primary road

Secondary road

Pedestrian walkway

Cultural Node

Entrepreneurial Node

Residential Node

Commercial Node

LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS

FORM GENERATION & STREET NETWORK

MASTERPLAN ACTION AREAS

Entrepreneurial Node

Cultural Node

Residential Node

Commercial Node

Adventurous Node

Recreational Node

ACTION AREA 7: CENTRAL NODE

EASTERN ELEVATION

PHYSICAL MODEL

GROUP 3

Farah Ramses

Farida Shawerby

Karin Ayman

Lina Teaima

Merna Mostafa

Merna Moussa

INTERACT THIS IS ARCHITECTURE NOT ART

ANALYZING AUC CAMPUS: INTERVIEWS

EDUCATIONAL ZONE MASTERPLAN

MASTERPLAN ACTION AREAS

Sensory Entrepreneurial Hub

Coworking Hub

Sports Complex

Cultivating Hub

ACTION AREA 1: CULTIVATING HUB

Elevation Section

ACTION AREA 2: COWORKING SPACE

PHYSICAL MODEL

GROUP 4

Alia Galal

Hagar Ahmed

Mehad Handbal

Mohamed Metawa

Nadine Shaker

Noha Tolba

Shahd Aly

Youssef Zawabaa

COGNITIVE ANALYISIS

SENSORY GARDEN

CONCEPT OF FARMING

SENSORY GARDEN

TRADITIONAL FARMING

VERTICAL FARMING

URBAN GRID CONCEPT

Remembracing the traditional way of farming by following the agricultural urban grid while creating walkable communitiies

FEELINGS CONCEPT ANALYSIS

CONCEPT OF ZONING

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

ADDRESSING INEQUALITIES

Plant - Grow - Develop

CONCEPT OF ZONING

SPLINE

Spline that’s inspired by the delta connects users all around the area

Center of plan is “heart” of the area where petals “bloom” from

LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS

HEIGHT ANALYSIS

MASTERPLAN ACTION AREAS

Serviced

Apartments

Kidzilla

Coworking Space

Residential Area

Hydroponic Farming

Botanical Gardens

Wellness Zone

ACTION AREA 1: BOTONICAL GARDENS

Action Area

concept

Is to create a connection between vertical farming and architecture design and show a representation of hydro farming to attract outsiders. As well as providing a healthy space for all users

Insp.

Retail/ commercial

students families

Bloomfield residents employees elevations elevations

Users

3D Night Shots

3D Day Shots

ACTION AREA 3: HYDROPONIC FARMING

West Elevation

3D Shots

ACTION AREA 4: SERVICED APARTMENTS

3D

3D SHOTS

3D SECTION

ACTION AREA 6: KIDZILLA

SECTIONAL ELEVATION

sensory and aromatic plants such as mimusa pudica

another hill

the hill

enclosure creates an in-between safe space

ACTION AREA 7: COWORKING SPACE

serviced apartments gardens connecting the two co-working space prime location: walking distance from service apartment

PHYSICAL MODEL

GROUP 5 THE OASIS

GROUP 5

Berihan Ashraf

Mahi Tawfik

Nada Youssef

Rokaya Motaz

Shada Ashraf

Shaza Gamal

Yasmin Hussein

forms an

a

opennes, flexibility, unity, balance , and densification through a dynamic networks and clusters Reviving the identity of blooming oasis through horticulture and oasis principles

CONCEPT

Having a diagnoal 2 axis directly from the grid to form the main streets that integarte all the clusters as

Building heights was formed based on privacy and the placement position is enclosed on the other forms and the back facing the outer

Street networks was determined from the 2 axis which is based on the original grid of the plan and. Forming 3 entrances

g the clusters as well as balancing the densificat on

All encompassing oasis

Building heights was formed based on privacy and the placement position is enclosed on the other forms and the back facing the outer.

pp

while the right cluster

THESIS STATMENT

The 2 axis formed a central spine connection between the 4 c usters and that is the commercia bui dings

dential clusters one entrance romote safety n through hin the left ost the ce through

s.

PROBLEM DEFINITION

is promoting privacy from the exterior streets through landscape.

The right residential cluster is promoting privacy from the exterior streets through landscape.

logies

s as y of connectivty, a uter view

gies as nd

Create enclosure, densification, and connection through clusters, networks, and openness.

The lower res dentia clusters that has only one entrance inbetween to promote safety

The upper left cluster of studio and co working spaces cluster is settled based on the upper context surrounding as the academic buildings is on the above land. while the right cluster is mixed use that is besides the 2 main entrances of 2 main streets

The right residentia cluster is promot ng privacy from the exterior streets through landscape

Site Issues

Horticulture landscape promotes the calmness air of the oasis as well as the enclosure of spaces forming a simple densification through plants

The right residential cluster is promoting privacy from the exterior streets through landscape.

Br dges between typologies are crucial as it serves as a way of connectivty, and an outer v ew

Create enc osure, densification, and connect on through clusters, networks, and openness

Shot between clusters

Create enclosure, densification, and connection through clusters, networks, and openness

se of the vacant land surrounding and the envrionment around so having ensification that will able all individuals to experience the uniqniess of ture landscape.

Bridges between typologies are crucial as it serves as a way of connectivty, and an outer view.

specific landscape viromnent.

e to revive the feeling of e modern urban life.

clusters provides safety and uring instead the

Users privacy is essential so as the forms are forming an inside private form.

ten and ventilate the areas through the axis and the diagonal grid of master plan.

DESIGN PHASES

Safety and connective enviromnent developed through landscape and vibrant ground floor uses

Densification through residential sky villas that forms an enclosure and a connection with other building typologies

Flexibility through the clusters that everything meets everything within few minutes.

Building heights was formed based on privacy and the placement position is enclosed on the other forms and the back facing the outer

DESIGN

Having a di 2 axis direc the grid to f main street that integar the clusters well as bala the densific

The 2 axis fo central spin between the and that is t buildings

Horticultu of the oas a simple d

lusters

Horticulture landscape promotes the calmness air of the oasis as well as the enclosure of spaces forming

Bridges between typologies

Create enclosure, densification, and connection through clusters,

seasonal Bloom

snake plant basil

airborne toxins that impact sleep, mood and energy.

feel the breath

SEASONAL BLOOM

scenery path ach type generate differnt environment c h i o n o d o x a d a f f o d i l s e a r l y s n o w d r o p s f r i t i l l a r i a h y a c n t h i s s p a n i s h b l u e b e l l a l l i u m i r i s c a m a s s i a c r i n u m c a n n a l i l y c a l l a l i l i e s c r o c o s m i a oak tre

HORTICULTURAL IMPACT

Purifies surrounds of airborne toxins

body

Chinese Evergreen

Ho

host nitrogen in which creates a usable area

ress

OASIS SCENERY PATH Oasis scene

in which

African Sumac

Chaste Tree Acacia Bailey

bulbs blooming all seasons attracts butterflies bees and birds larkspur zinnia meadow sage sacculants King palm minimal water required Cycas (sago) increase moisture in air TACTICAL URBANISM THE OASIS

soul

blooming diferent senses all year long

dessert willow well shading and its a therapeutic blooms happiness and lower blood

lower blood pressure

asthetic experience rough landscape

im creativity and the

King palm minimal water required Cycas (sago)

dessert willow oak tre

ress y at tracts but terflies, bees and birds

increase moisture in air

meadow sage sacculants

larkspur zinnia

SECTION A-A

EASTERN ELEVATION

SCALE BAR 1:1000

MASTERPLAN ACTION AREAS

Apartments

Main Entrance

Kids Station

Vertical Village

Zen Garden

Makers’ Plaza

ACTION AREA 1: APARTMENTS 3D SHOTS SITE PLAN

SECTION

ACTION AREA 2: MAIN ENTRANCE

SITE PLAN CONCEPT

Bloomfield’s College Town Main Entrance

- Big and high buildings on both sides of the main axis of the college town to emphasize the main entrance.

- Have the high end brands in the entrance to attract people’s attention and follow “Tatweer Misr” vision.

- High palm tree to increase the vegetation in the upper floors of the building and create interesting experience to the user.

- Using natural materials such as wood.

3D SHOTS

ACTION AREA 3: VERTICAL VILLAGE

CONCEPT

The concept behind designing this area was to create a vertical village experience. The shape of the building allows for an interesting and dynamic indoor/outdoor experience similar to Nouba however, fits well with the context and architectural style of the overall project. While the design itself is humble creating a humble experience similar to ones found in the Oasis it accomodates most of the activities that people will be practicing daily. Moreover, the design allows people to shop, dine, work, train while connecting to the nature through the building’s architecture and experience.

3D SHOTS

SITE PLAN

ACTION AREA 4: KIDS STATION

CONCEPT

Bloomfield’s College Town Main Entrance

- Big and high buildings on both sides of the main axis of the college town to emphasize the main entrance.

- Have the high end brands in the entrance to attract people’s attention and follow “Tatweer Misr” vision.

- High palm tree to increase the vegetation in the upper floors of the building and create interesting experience to the user

- Using natural materials such as wood.

3D SHOTS

PLANS

ELEVATION

ACTION AREA 5: MAKERS’ PLAZA

ACTION AREA 6: MAIN ENTRANCE

CONCEPT

The beginning of the spline

- The area is mainly used by students

- Space that reflects the sense of comfortability and spiritual area through integrating zen garden within the oasis concept. zen garden is far east garden that have minimal elements within the garden that connects and create integration with users with nature and that reveal a comfortable feeling through the space.

SITE PLAN

3D SHOTS

PHYSICAL MODEL

GROUP 6 CAPER COUTH

GROUP 6

Andrew Nader

Lara Akram

Lara Moustafa

Mahmoud Tarek

Sama Tarek

Sarah Tarek

Zeina Sayed

JOURNEYS ACROSS COLLEGE TOWN & LAND USES

STUDENTS

ADULTS/PARENTS

ENTREPRENEUR

GARDEN MAPPING

OFFICES

CO-WORKING

GARDENS

SENSORY GARDEN

RELAXATION GARDEN

LANDSCAPE

COGNITIVE MAPPING

SECTION A-A

SUSTAINABILE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

SECTION B-B

MASTERPLAN ACTION AREAS

Caper Couth

Portal

Cultural Zone

Kids Kocoon

The Sensory Garden

On Edge

Nexus

ACTION AREA 1: CULTURAL ZONE

Concept Space Program

CONCEPT

Concept:

3D Shots

Concept:

The main concept is to bring different people from different backgrounds together in one place (on the edge) Showing this through using different colors, heights, and curved paths shows the different approaches of people towards gaming (some take it for fun & others as competition)

ACTION AREA 3: THE SENSORY GARDEN

CONCEPT

Sensory engaging environment to enhance the funtions of the mind, body and soul.

SITE PLAN

3D SHOTS

ACTION AREA 4: KIDS KOCOON CONCEPT

Creating a zone for children to learn and be looked after when their parents are busy. It focuses on the wellbeing and development of the children through the use of various games. It’s placed in an inner section of the college town, protected by residential zones around it and beautified by the landscapes and gardens (sensory) around it.

FORM GENERATION

SITE PLAN

ELEVATION

ACTION AREA 5: CAPER COUTH PORTAL

CONCEPT

INSPIRATION

TARGET USERS

DAY ACTIVITIES

NIGHT ACTIVITIES

ACTION AREA 6: NEXUS CONCEPT

The cubical structure is bonded to each other through a structural system of columns reflecting on the focal point where people meet and bond together using the tool of games.

ELEVATION

PHYSICAL MODEL

TECHNICAL REPORT

INTRODUCTION

AUC Urban Design students of Spring 2022 participated in a collaborative studio with Tatweer Misr real estate and CUNY university. The studio was divided into 6 groups consisting of approximately 7 students each which were named Chakras, A-Node, Interact, Sprout, The Oasis, and Caper Couth consecutively. Each group from AUC collaborated with a group from CUNY to investigate the urban-health challenges facing university students when accessing spaces related to physical and mental health at AUC, Cairo and Guttman CUNY, NYC.

The main aim of the AUC studio was to design the first open-access college town in Cairo, Egypt. The site, owned by Tatweer Misr (TM), was located in Bloomfields, Mostakbal City. The students presented their work through two main checkpoints to a jury from the TM team. This comparative analysis will analyze how well each proposal tackled the inquiry-based design questions discussed in the project brief. Inquiry based questions:

• At times of pandemic, and beyond, what are the urban design elements for a healthy, inclusive and earthly-responsible college town to be developed in Cairo’s desert environment?

• How is SDG10 related to urban-health issues, depicted across university campuses of AUC (Cairo) and Guttman CUNY (NYC)? What are the similarities and differences for the different students’ groups across class, race and gender between the two cities and the study-groups of the two courses (AUC vs

CUNY-Guttman) in terms of accessibility to spaces of working-out, fitness, physical activity, sports, mental health, relaxation and meditation?

• How to stimulate the mind, body and soul of a student community when creating a healthy college town?

We will focus our study on analyzing how well the students considered the UNs’ SDG10, (which emphasizes the importance of reducing inequalities within and among countries) through the lens of mind, body, and soul, while analyzing the other SDGs tackled. We dissected the inquiry-based questions and developed a framework of how we’re going to carry out this study. We will compare the students’ work through the topics of educational facilities, physical activity, sustainable transportation, landscape, solid and void, services, community engagement, recreational activities, views, and safety. Finally, we will rank the groups based on how well they addressed SDG 10 in their design proposals.

MIND

In this category, we want to analyze the spaces that inspire mental growth and learning in each project. We deduced that these spaces classify under educational facilities, which include but are not limited to coworking spaces, museums, and entrepreneurial hubs.

EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES

Having the educational district on the north side of the plot, we want to analyze how well each proposal allocates their educational facilities in response to the context. We will study how well they invited students from the educational district, while considering the rest of the community. In order to achieve SDG 10, students should accomplish a design which engages the students from the neighboring educational district, as well as the rest of the community.

Most groups were able to achieve that connectivity between the students, but few considered how to involve the community. Having analyzed the educational facilities’ distribution, we deduced that Sprout has the largest area of educational facilities amongst all proposals, while The Oasis doesn’t have any.

Sprout’s design was able to accomplish the most inviting layout to allow students to engage with the college town. Meanwhile, Caper Couth was the most accessible for the students from the educational district. However, their educational facilities act more as a barrier and don’t encourage students to further explore and engage with the college town.

As for the community involvement, Sprout and Chakras were the most inclusive, by including diverse types of educational facilities as well as spreading them across their plot. On the other hand, Interact was less inclusive in terms of community involvement due to their educational facilities being located on the edge of the plot, and the functions merely serving the neighboring students, illustrating the division from the rest of community.

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

BODY

In this category, we want to analyze the spaces that inspire physical health and wellbeing. We’ve encapsulated these spaces into a few main categories; physical activities, sustainable transportation, landscape, services and facilities to cover topics such as air quality, walkability, physical activity and accessible facilities.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

Based on the research focus, the students should focus on the availability and accessibility of physical activities to the community, while including a diverse range of these activities for the internal and external community. Incorporating these physical activities throughout the design shows a good representation of SDG 3 “Good Health and Well-Being”.

All groups have incorporated a variety of physical activities through their proposals. However, Caper Couth has the highest concentration of these activities. In order to seamlessly connect the internal and external communities, they placed their physical activities on the main pedestrian spine and the external road. Meanwhile, The Oasis has the lowest concentration of physical activities which are located in

the heart of the college town. In spite of being located in the town’s center, it’s less accessible within the internal community as there’s no direct pedestrian path from the residential areas to these activities.

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

SPATIAL DENSITY

In this point of study, we calculated the ratios between solid and void for each proposal to deduce the building densities, which has a significant impact on the heating and cooling effect of the space; also targetting SDG 3.

All projects have controlled the ratios of solid and voided areas, which are well above the minimum range of 40-50%. All proposals also used similar solid-to-void ratios throughout their designs. However, Interact and Chakras have the highest percentage of voids in their layout. They both have a more uniform distribution of these voids throughout the layout, allowing for better cooling. Although the percentage of voids in A-Node is not low, it has the lowest solid to void ratios when compared to the other groups. Additionally, the density of some areas in the plot are relatively high which

could be the cause for some unnecessary heating in the space.

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

The Oasis

Caper Couth

GREENERY

In this point of analysis, we measured the amount of outdoor greenery in the projects. To achieve SDG 10, it is critical to emphasize the space’s usability and efficiency in terms of air purification, cooling, and shading to demonstrate the impact on the users’ physical health and wellbeing which also tackles SDG 3.

The Oasis and Interact have the largest surface area of outdoor greenery in their projects. While Sprout came in second in the largest surface area, they also incorporated vertical farming as their key design element. Moreover, A-Node encompassed the smallest amount of greenery in their proposal, and while they included it along the main spine in one way or another, it wasn’t well integrated with other functions

along the site.

As for the shading of pathways, Sprout included the most amount of trees along the main and subpaths to increase shading and enhance cooling and walkability. Although Interact has the highest percentage of greenery, it has the least amount of shading throughout the design along the pathways as they relied more on green cover than trees.

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

1. Chakras

2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout

5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION

Incorporating sustainable transportation in a city helps achieve SGD10. We will study the types of sustainable transportation available in each proposal while analyzing their walkability and proximity between the facilities within the town, which also targets SDG 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities”.

We deduced that Sprout is the most walkable project, with the most pedestrian paths and bike lanes throughout.They strategically placed vehicular access on the site’s periphery, relying on pedestrian paths as their primary mode of transportation that could easily connect between the majority of the facilities. Meanwhile, A-Node is the least walkable, as it relies on vehicular roads as their primary mode of transportation, which could segment the facilities from the community.

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

To achieve a self-sufficient college town, it’s important to include diverse services and facilities throughout. These services include but are not limited to hypermarkets, hospitals, pharmacies and retail areas. This point of analysis also targets SDG 17 “Partnerships for the Goals” which highlights a self sufficienct city. We’ll analyze the percentage of services throughout each proposal, while discussing their diversity in that regard.

The Oasis has the highest area of services, while A-Node and Caper Couth have the lowest. However, both The Oasis and A-Node lack diversity in terms of the services they offer. Both proposals only include commercial services, whereas Caper Couth includes a mosque, food and beverage facilities and a medical

center regardless of having the smallest area.

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

1. Chakras

2. A-Node

3. Interact 4. Sprout

5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

SOUL

In this category, we want to analyze the spaces that encourage mental health. We classified them into community engagement, recreational activities, pleasant views, public-private relationship, and safety. The topics studied were porosity, communal activities, handicap access, leisure, meditation, views, stimulating senses, eye on the street, accessibility, etc.

RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Recreational activities have a significant impact on mental well-being as it promotes social interaction, which strengthens the sense of community among users and boosts their quality of life. SDG 10 recognizes how crucial it is to lessen inequality among individuals. To do this, students should encapsulate an all inclusive range of recreational activities which can be enjoyed by all. At this stage of the analysis, we measured the surface area of leisure and meditative activities included in each design concept, paying particular attention to the level of inclusion of these chosen activities.

Chakras and Caper Couth effectively incorporated the largest surface area of recreational activities in their proposals. Their design gathers diverse recreational

activities promoting better social engagement. Interact, on the other hand, contained the least amount of recreational zones in their layout with the least variety of activities. Because of this, Interact ultimately limits user interaction and engagement within the college town.

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Involving the community in engaging activities is critical in regards to SDG10, minimizing inequalities and enhancing the sense of belonging within any space. Throughout each proposal, we will assess the percentage of community-driven activities, the diversity of their functions, and accessibility to the diverse community members.

Caper Couth has the highest concentration of community-led activities dispersed across the main spine and on the periphery of the plot, while also maintaining diverse activities that consider the internal and external community. On the other hand, Interact has the lowest concentration of community-led activities within their plot, which lack diversity since most of the spaces are reserved for physical activities,

which may not consider the various age groups within the community.

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

PRIVACY AND PUBLIC SPACE

Providing safety within a community is crucial for psychological well being. In this part of the research, we analyzed how well each group addressed safety within their open-access proposals. This will be analyzed in terms of the transitions between public to private spaces, while also analyzing their degree of accessibility and eyes on the streets.

Chakras had the highest amount of public spaces on their proposal which consequently led to them also having the least amount of private spaces. In most of their residential areas, they created a buffer zone for semi public spaces between their residential areas and public spaces, which improves safety. This semi public space is a positive approach in creating activities for the community, which provides more privacy for

users, and also results in increasing the eyes on the street within the neighborhood. Although being an open-access community, Chakras managed to create clear entry points for visitors within the public sector by using buildings as boundaries between their semipublic to private zones. Although The Oasis has the lowest percentage of public spaces, they also have the highest percentage of semi public spaces within their site. They used these semi public spaces in creating a buffer between public and private zones to enhance safety in their proposal.

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout

5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

Public Semi Public Private

VIEWS

Views can have a direct impact on the psychological well being of the community. In order to achieve SDG 10, we want to assess the students’ projects to shed light on the consistency of view quality throughout the project from all facilities. We looked at the various view features relative to the overall area of the facilities in each proposal.

The figure shows that Chakras has the most facilities with high-quality views, with a smaller area having facilities with only average views. This is a result of their inward-looking architecture and evenly spaced greenery. On the contrary, A-Node had the lowest percentage of aesthetically acceptable views and the highest percentage of blocked views due to the dense concentration of buildings in some areas on the site.

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth Good Intermediate Low

CONCLUSION

OVERALL RANKING

In this comparative analysis, we determine how well each group considered the United Nations’ SDG 10, which highlights the importance of reducing inequalities in the region. We concentrated on the Mind, Body and Soul, which was addressed in terms of mental, physical and psychological wellbeing. The topics studied include educational facilities, physical activity, sustainable transportation, landscape, solid and void, services, community engagement, recreational activities, views, and safety. We reviewed these individual studies and compiled them into one chart to rank them in descending order.

Evidently, Sprout was the most successful proposal in achieving SDG 10 and addressing the design brief. In the Mind category, they were the strongest in connecting the neighboring educational zone and including the community to the educational facilities on the site. In the Body category, they incorporated a holistically walkable design, that is well shaded, and encourages physical activity. However, they lacked variety within the services they provided, which makes the design less self-sufficient. Finally, in the Soul category, they were able to achieve a well-connected and safe community through their activities, spatial zoning, and overall layout.

On the other hand, The Oasis was the least successful proposal in reducing inequalities within the community. In the Mind category, they were the weakest proposal in connecting the community and the educational zone

to their college town. As for the Body category, they included the most services and greenery of all groups, however, they lacked variety in activities, services, and well-defined walkways throughout the design. Lastly, in the Soul category, they were able to achieve a safe environment within the community by creating smooth transitions between public to private zones, and eyes on the streets. However, they were unsuccessful in engaging the community together as a whole, which can negatively impact the psychological wellbeing of the users.

Overall, AUC students considered the SDG 10 and design brief in their proposals. In the Mind category, the students focused more on connecting the facilities to the neighboring college town but they haven’t all addressed how to involve the rest of the community through varying activities and distribution. In the Body category, most students focused on the overall walkability within their projects through adding shading, walkways and outdoor greenery. Although they included a degree of diversity within their physical activities and functions, most groups lacked diversity within the necessary services to create a successful, self-sufficient college town. Finally, in the Soul category, most proposals focused on community engagement within their proposals and including a variety of activities that involve all. They mostly contained smooth transitions between public to private spaces that control the overall safety of the college town.

1. Chakras 2. A-Node 3. Interact 4. Sprout 5. The Oasis 6. Caper Couth

THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

ARCH 468/4532: URBAN DESIGN AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

SPRING 2022

© AUC ARCHITECTURE 2022