AUC I Urban Design & Landscape Architecture I Students' Works I Vol 2

URBAN DESIGN & LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

URBAN DESIGN VOLUME 2

ARCH 468/4532

STUDENTS’ WORK

SPRING 2019 - FALL 2022

THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

ARCH 468/4532: URBAN DESIGN AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

SPRING 2019 - FALL 2022

© AUC ARCHITECTURE 2023

MEET THE TEAM

Urban Instructors

Dr. Momen El-Husseiny (Spring 2019 - Fall 2022)

Dr. Ashraf Botros (Spring 2019)

Dr. Ayman Hassan (Spring 2021)

TAs

Atheer Salama

Amira Badran

Doha Ibrahim

Fatima Abdelaziz

Khaled Omara

Lujain Arafa

Mariam Azmy

Mahmoud Ragab

Mariam Azmy

Moshira Ayad

Muhammad Emad

Nada Gemiei

Noor Al-Asadi

Omar Assem

Omar Magdy Nasreldin

Reem Khalil

Salma Osman

Sara Ayman

Sara Seyam

Shaza Ali

Tamer Kamel

Yasmine Sabek

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 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 the 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 implements the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This 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

PROJECTS

El Darb El Ahmar

Spring 2018

Al Moez Street

Fall 2017

Al Maza

Spring 2019

Decarbonizing Downtown Cairo

Fall 2022

City of the Dead

Fall 2019

Downtown

Fall 2021

Nazlet El Semman

Fall 2018

Al Fustat

Fall 2017

A Sustainable Desert Community Spring 2022

New Cairo Spring 2020

The Urbanity of Togetherness

Fall 2020 - Spring 2021

Creating Lively Communities

Spring 2019

City of the Dead

Fall 2019

STUDENTS’ WORK

PHASE 1: TACTICAL URBANISM

PHASE 2: MASTERPLAN

New Cairo

Spring 2020

The Urbanity of Togetherness

Fall 2020 - Spring 2021

Downtown

Fall 2021

A Sustainable Desert Community

Spring 2022

Decarbonizing Downtown Cairo

Fall 2022

COMMUNITIES

PROJECT BRIEF

The project is a 7.5 feddan land plot, which lives along Thawrat street, a strategically important spine that runs all the way through Heliopolis, Nasr City, heading to New Cairo, Sheroul City, and the New Capital City. The land was originally the house for Olympic group household equipment factory, but a 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 location piece of land. After demolition, it will now be assigned 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, this is a great potential and demand for a luxurious development in this original dense area. Studies show that there is great demand for 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..

NAMAA VISION

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 state-of-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.

PHYSICAL MODELS

GROUP MEMBERS

Salma Elshafey

Shrouk Eltohfa

Nuran Suliman

Zeina Abouhashish

GROUP MEMBERS

Ahmed Selim

Esraa Abdelaal

Omnia Abdelhay

Salma Almasry

CITY OF THE DEAD FALL 2019

PROJECT BRIEF

Between Living and Dying? Urbanizing the City of the Dead.

What are the different modes of inhabitation at the margins of existence?

What are the mechanisms of being present, and opaquely invisible to survive in the City of the Dead?

What are the different spatialities of ‘making life’ in the ‘dead warehouse’ of the city?

How do people interact with the history and the monuments of remembrance?

What are the different modes of survival, informalization, popularization, and endurance in the tombs?

How the cemetery transformed to become a fluid platform of cyclical opportunities for lives and death, hope and bleak, light and darkness?

In that accord, as urban designers, how we can empower the forgotten people at the cemetery and support the small pockets of peace-for-living as an urban character in the Global South without romanticizing them or celebrating them in an orientalist manner?

GROUP MEMBERS

Antonios Younan

Hanan Khaled

Jala Gadallah

Nadine El Dababy

Nour Amr

Sohaila Anous

INTRODUCTION TO THE SITE LOCATION + STRETCH

FIGURE GROUND

STREET NETWORK

SKYLINE ANALYSIS

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded how our stretch is strong in the availability of sidewalks, vegetation and the opportunities of the historical landmarks available on the site and the infinite craftsmanship among the stretch. However, from the weaknesses and threats that the site is in need for some main aspects which can be categorized into either socially, environmentally and economically to improve these points of including all services, increasing job opportunities and managing waste and animals all over the site to enhance the place. If all or most of the needs assesment and the basic needs of the residents were actually achieved, then, the concept of giving back to the dead can work.

DESIGN APPROACH ACTION AREAS

APPROACHES

SECLUSION TO REALISATION

BY: NADINE EL DABABY

STORIES OF THE DEAD

BY: HANA KHALED

PARADISE GARDEN

BY: SOHAILA ANOUS PLAN

ELEVATION SECTION

ANIMAL SHELTER

BY: JADA GADALLAH

ANIMALS ON SITE

FLOWER FARM

BY: NOUR AMR

AL-MAJLIS

BY: ANTONIOS YOUNAN

NEW CAIRO SPRING 2020

PROJECT BRIEF

The theme of this studio is to map and unpack the paradoxes of the Egyptian neoliberal city going beyond the binary dispositions of private/public spaces. Moving beyond the canonical epistemologies of gated communities framework developed in the geographies of the global north, we come to realize the production of public markets inside privatized gated communities in the case of Cairo, the development of public open-for-all mosques inside compounds, public church, strip-mall as a buffer edge instead of the concrete fence, and temporalities of access to gated communities creating a circumstantial dynamic formation of grey spaces, challenging the cookie-cutter theory of neoliberal city as we know it. Two tasks were required from the students towards that end of re-imagining and stitching the neoliberal city of New Cairo developed at the eastern desert edge of metropolitan Cairo. Step 1 was designated to mapping and analyzing the spaces of anomalies and disjunctions that fall at the intersection of the epistemologies of

public and private spaces. Secondly, step II, was about configuring how to generate a masterplan from these micro-spaces of interaction to stitch and amend the dysfunctional macro-scale of the masterplan. In this case, the urban design exercise becomes a methodology of action against the conventional birds-eye view of the Masterplan (with a capital ‘M’) to become a human-centered masterplan.

The objective is to deconstruct neoliberal New Cairo by stitching the fences, gated enclaves, and security archipelagos through optimizing the already-existing effects of these ruptures shaking the dialectical utopianism already in place.

The urban design studio is a research-driven design inquiry. Every group is composed of 5-6 students where they conduct ethnographic fieldwork of three contested spaces of public/private tackling the question of segregation. They then develop a thesis

statement and a design methodology of action to nhance those spaces. Afterward, they work individually on a blow-up action area to retrofit it. Then they synthesize their action areas into a collective vision for stitching and amending the existing dysfunctional masterplan in an attempt to develop a more networked infrastructure and connected built environment.

GROUP MEMBERS

Daniealla Tinawi

Laila Kouta

Meriam Hussein

Malak Abdelnaby

Rama Khalid

PROJECT BRIEF

With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, our cities today are facing a test of time for our preconceived assumptions in urban design of what constitutes home, and what constitutes a university. The lockdown is pushing our urban design tenets to rethink what is home, what is dwelling within the limitation of space. People use their extended balconies, roof spaces, entrance porches, people go out to jog and socialize at a social distance. A new norm of urban life is born. But also, a new conception to the bounds and territories of extension of what constitutes home. Home is becoming a territory of safety beyond the private property of a dwelling place. Home is epistemologically transformed to become more urban, and at the same time more nucleated.

Every citizen is constructing their own cognitive mapping of home based on safety as well as sociability. The urban common is becoming a home, a safe place to be there. This notion of reconfiguring the private and the public common of home is the aim of this semester’s studio. How can we imagine an urbanity of togetherness, spatial overlay, and an architecture of simultaneity?

The way of learning is also changing, and so will the spatiality of universities. How will those spaces of enclosure transform with the new extended life, the urban common. How can the university’s spaces open up for better appropriation with the post-pandemic urban condition? For the extended new masterplan, how can we design buildings and connections with these new spatial assemblages of ‘to-

getherness’ and ‘caring’, of ‘safely connecting yet a distance’ for an exciting and enjoyable way of learning? What kind of hybrid departments and new schools can develop out of this ‘togetherness’?

This semester is divided into two phases under the same theme of exploration – “the urbanity of togetherness.” During phase 1, we will explore its impact and re-imagine ‘my urban home’ and in phase 2, we will design the extended masterplan of AUC campus towards envisioning a different mode of urban-learning and urban collectivity.

GROUP MEMBERS

Alia Ghoneim

Leila Ahmad

Nouran El-Khattam

Salma Ahmed

Salma Halawa

ACTIVITY MATRIX

SLOW SPACES: SLOW LIFECYCLES

NASR CITY MICRO ANALYSIS

AL-QATAI - THE QUARTERS

ACTION AREA: DESIGN B

PROPOSED MASTERPLAN: PLOT C

LANDSCAPE CONCEPT

GROUP MEMBERS

Michael Maher

Mohamed Beshir

Nada Abouelmaati

Rana Desouky

Ziad Marei

THE OVERALL GLANCE

MACRO ANALYSIS MOBILITY

LANDMARKS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

ANALYZING MIDAN EL GAMEA

NEEDS ASSESMENT

THEMATIC PASSAGEWAY PLAN

MAADI MACRO ANALYSIS MOBILITY

LANDMARKS

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

ACTION AREA 2: INCLUSIVE PARK

ACTION AREA: DESIGN SCHOOL

ACTION AREA: CULINARY SCHOOLS

ACTION AREA: DESIGN SCHOOL PLAZA

ACTION AREA: CULINARY SCHOOLS

GROUP MEMBERS

Ayah El Sheikh

Farah Yasser

Lina Mohamed

Mariam Shehata

Omar Khaled

DISTRICTS ANALYSIS

USER GROUPS

PROBLEMS FACED

ANALYZING EL ZAWYA

EFFECTS OF COVID-19

A LOOK INTO THE PAST OF NEW CAIRO

URBANIZATION PROCESS

TRANSFORMATION

ALIENATION ISOLATION

ACTION AREA 2: THE DESTINATION

MASTERPLAN PROPOSAL

STORY BOOKS

STORY BOOK

By: Omar Khaled

STORY BOOK

By: Farah Yasser & Lina Mohamed

GSACS COIL PROJECT BRIEF

This project engages students from AUC and CUNY to investigate together the urban challenges of small shops located at the central business districts of Cairo and New York. Using online platforms for virtual exchange, students build a comparative analysis of how spatial, social and economic inequalities 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 small shops with the growing gentrification forces and turbulent uncertainties at each respective community. At Cairo, students will explore the small shops and family businesses of: bakery, patisserie, coffee-shops, handcrafts, leather, clothing, bookshops, art-galleries, silverware, etc. that add the taste, character, and authenticity to Downtown Cairo. At New York City, students will explore the Yemeni Bodega shops and their influential role in diversifying the city. At the end of the semester, both classes at

AUC and Guttman College will participate in a student conference to disseminate their findings.

MEETING THE CUNY TEAM

PHYSICAL MODELS

GROUP MEMBERS

Aya Gamal

Eleanour Soliman

Habiba Aioub

Rana Ali

Salma Awad

CITY ELEMENTS

Talaat Harb Square

Groppi

Radio Cinema

Talaat Harb Mall

Cafe Riche

Townhouse Gallery

El Abd patisserie

Consoleya

Miami Cinema

Madbouli

Dar El Maaref

Lenhart and Landrock

Shorouk

The Angle - Egyptian Bookstore

-Passageways

-Intellectual hotspots

-Street functionality

-Occupancy of empty small spaces

-History/culture

-Community

-Renovation

-Noise & sound pollution

-Renovation

-Traffic

-No parking areas

-Minimal safety measures

-Wayfinding

-Harrassment

-No or minimal trash bins

-Using rooftops

-Use of passagway

-Underground basements

-Street functionality

-Collaboration with other shops

-Intellectual hotspots

-Creating reading nodes

-Gentrification

-Pollution

-Domination of big shops on nodes

-Closing of small shops

GROUP MEMBERS

Mariam Asaad

Jana Kabesh

Leila Elsewedy

Yola Elwy

SERIAL VISION: THEN

SERIAL VISION: THEN

FIGURE & GROUND

& GROUND

We used the figure and ground posters to understand areas possible for intervention Fur thermore we also wanted to analyze the quality and dimensions of space then vs now

d ground post ossible for int wanted to ana ns of space th

FIGURE

1920- Downtown Cairo- Tahrir Squa

o- Tahrir Squa

1920- Downtown Cairo- Tahrir Square

2020- Downtown Cairo- Tahrir Square

HISTORY OF DOWNTOWN

THE PLACE ������

ARCHITECURAL FACADES �������

SUSTAINABLE DESERT COMMUNITY

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 Non-Communicable 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 working-out, 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?

LECTURES

An

online icebreaking activity in collaboration with CUNY

SITE VISITS

An excursion to Mustakbal City with TATWEER MISR.

PHYSICAL MODELS

CHAKRAS

A-NODE

INTERACT

THE OASIS

COUTH SPROUT

CAPER

STUDIO TALKS

CAPER COUTH

JURY VISIT

SPROUT

GROUP MEMBERS

Alia Galal

Hagar Ahmed

Mehad Handbal

Mohamed Metawa

Nadine Shaker

Noha Tolba

Shahd Aly

Youssef Zawabaa

COGNITIVE ANALYISIS

EXAMPLES IN THE EGYPTIAN DIET

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

BIKEWAY ANALYSIS ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

THERMAL STRESS

TEMPERATURE

DRY BULB TEMPERATURE

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

Users

3D Night Shots

3D Day Shots

ACTION AREA 3: HYDROPONIC FARMING

West Elevation

3D Shots

3D SHOTS

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

DECARBONIZING DOWNTOWN CAIRO FALL 2022

PROJECT BRIEF

In July 2022, Cairo Governorate launched the first state-sponsored bike sharing system in the city in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UNHabitat) and funded by the Swiss Drosos Foundation, and technical support and supervision of the Institute for Transport and Development Policy. The project “Cairo Bike” comes few months before Egypt hosts the United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change at its twentyseventh session (COP27). The objective of the project is to spread the culture of cycling, in a bid of enhancing the concept of environment friendly transportation services and active transport. The project started with 5 bike stations in Downtown Cairo with 50 bikes, with the aim of installing 45 bike stations with a total of 500 bikes distributed across Zamalek and Garden City neighborhoods as well. The bike stations are solar-powered as well as the bicycles. The project is subsidized with a rent pricing of 1EGP per hour and 8 EGP for the whole

day. The purpose is to encourage residents and visitors of Downtown Cairo to move with bikes instead of cars, hence reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce air pollution, and incentivize people to cycle as a way of exercise to enhance public health. According to the Egyptian Ministry of Health, at least two million Egyptians suffer from chest and respiratory diseases on an annual basis, mostly due to pollution-related illnesses, and the transportation sector is the second-largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Egypt, according to Egyptian Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

According to a 2014 World Bank study, traffic congestion in Cairo costs the economy up to 50 billion pounds, the equivalent of about $8 billion, each year — about 4% of Egypt’s GDP.

UN-HABITAT AND SITE VISIT

SATURDAY WORKSHOP WITH SHEFFIELD

TUESDAY WORKSHOP WITH SHEFFIELD

GROUP MEMBERS

Hania Sameh

Heba Mohamed

Karim Amgad

Noor Taher

COGNITIVE ANALYSIS

CASE STUDIES

In order to ensure the safety of cyclists and improve the overall transportation system. Separating bike lanes from motor vehicle lanes is an effective approach. These means of separating bike lanes can clearly help people know that they are available for cycling.

PROPOSED INTERVENTIONS

USER GROUPS

ACTION AREA 2: BAEHLER PASSAGEWAY

ACTION AREA 4: AL-SHAWARBY STREET

THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

ARCH 468/4532: URBAN DESIGN AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

SPRING 2019 - FALL 2022

© AUC ARCHITECTURE 2023