Urban Design Guidelines by OEKOPLAN OEKOPLAN

Urban Design Guidelines: A Solution for Rectifying the Visual Disorder of New Cairo City

By:

Dr. M. Tamer El Khorazaty Associate Professor Department of Urban Planning Faculty of Engineering Ain Shams University Cairo, Egypt

March 2006

Table of Contents: Page List of Figures

Abstract

1. Defining Urban Design Guidelines

2. New Cairo City: General Background and Urban Developments

3. New Cairo City: Problem Definition/ A Demonstration of Visual Disorder

4. Urban Design Guidelines for rectifying the Visual Disorder of New Cairo City

References

List of Figures: Page Figure (01)

The location of New Cairo City with respect to Greater Cairo Urban Agglomeration.

Figure (02)

New Cairo City as planned in 1993.

Figure (03)

New Cairo City as planned in 1998.

Figure (04)

Master plan of the Fifth Urban Settlement and its immediate surroundings.

Figure (05)

Architectural styles.

Figure (06)

Building typologies and scales.

Figure (07)

Solid-to-void ratios.

Figure (08)

Faรงade openings.

Figure (09)

Balconies and articulation elements.

Figure (10)

Faรงade materials and textures.

Figure (11)

Faรงade colours.

Figure (12)

Roofs of buildings and parapet treatments.

Figure (13)

Building accessories, A/C units and satellite dishes.

Figure (14)

Fences of buildings.

Abstract:

architecture must blaze you can judge just how bad the 70s were when you look at its super tense architecture. opinion polls and a complacent democracy live behind biedermeier façades. but we don’t want to build biedermeier. not now and at no other time. we are tired of seeing Palladio and other historical masks. because we don’t want architecture to exclude everything that is disquieting. we want architecture to have more. coop himmelb(l)au, 1980

We want architecture to be born from a vision. The vision should be translated into building vocabularies. Building vocabularies should be defined through guidelines. Guidelines must be used by architects in their projects.

Lying to the east of Greater Cairo urban agglomeration, New Cairo City is one of the closest new urban settlements to the capital. Despite the fact that it is still in the development process, it has already deteriorated visually. This paper hypothesizes that the prevailing visual disorder resulted from the lack of urban design guidelines. The planning documents that have been produced for New Cairo City include numerous regulating items, but there are no urban design guidelines. Buildings stand as aliens with respect to each other, displaying the lack of a global vision. The façades of buildings are too diverse in their treatments that they convey chaotic appearances and visual disorder. The architectural styles are not controlled; the colours, materials and textures are incompatible with each other, and façade accessories- such as A/C units, satellite dishes and building signs- are not integrated with façade designs, thus, appearing as foreign elements that impose themselves on the buildings. The paper suggests that one solution to eliminate and rectify the state of visual disorder is the formulation and application of urban design guidelines. It starts out by defining them and pointing out their importance; and then moves on to explain New Cairo City, focusing on a demonstration of the prevailing visual disorder in one of its parts, namely: the Fifth Urban Settlement as an example. The paper finally proposes an outline of the items that should be included in a document of urban design guidelines for areas in the development process, with a concentration on the façades of buildings.

1. Defining Urban Design Guidelines: Urban design guidelines are sets of regulations that help designers create urban environments according to agreed-upon planning visions. They ensure the quality of the built environment and thus, the quality of life. They set the standards and determine courses of action, providing guidance to fitting behaviours. They are formulated for the aim of organizing and putting in order any existing structure. One of the central aesthetic problems they try to solve is how to accommodate diversities of cities well in visual terms, how to respect their freedom while showing visually that it is a form of order. They are also intended to manage change (i.e. allowing transformations under the controls of design rules in order to sustain the urban environment). Guidelines act as design review criteria for the evaluation and assessment of proposed development projects, addressing the quality of the urban environment; in other words, they provide the basis for organization. They are needed because they provide a clear set of parameters concerning the design of urban environments. Thus, on the district scale, they describe the urban and physical characteristics, and promote aesthetically-appropriate design strategies for restoration, adaptive reuse, and new constructions. They address the physical aspects of the built environment, including architectural styles, the shapes and positions of buildings and their relationships with urban spaces, including streets and squares. This paper is concerned only with the visual disorder of the façades of buildings, and therefore, concentrates on the section of urban design guidelines that deals with items related to the design of façades. Urban design guidelines must be presented in ways that encourage projects to proceed and yet offer incentives and guidance fitting with the special quality of a district. They should: - identify the most critical design issues. - identify their purpose and intent. - be contained in a user-friendly document that clearly illustrates each design guideline. - be contained in a document that can easily be distributed. - create rules that are consistent with the city’s plans (comprehensive plan, zoning plan, etc.) - encourage high-quality design. For developers, planners, and designers, the guidelines should explain the context within which design changes will take place and outline the area’s significant characteristics. For property owners, the guidelines should help ensure that future design changes enhance the value of existing property. For the community, the guidelines should increase the chance that the quality of the local urban environment would be maintained and enhanced for future generations. The challenge is to determine the amount and the scope of design intervention, seeking to achieve a balance between regulatory control, incentives and design guidance that positively shapes the future of the community in a way that is mutually supportive to all. Thus, urban design guidelines should be flexible enough to manage transformations over time, allowing them to take place under design controls that help sustain the urban environment as a whole. Urban design guidelines are intended to assist architects, professional planners or developers to make more informed decisions when submitting or reviewing plans, since the urban architecture within cities sits around for decades, taking up space and limiting other choices. If a building takes possession of space as a city fills up, architecture, as in chess, becomes an end game with only a few moves left. Therefore, choices about architectural styles should matter as in no other discipline, since the replacement of buildings is no easy task. The paper tackles the idea of building up quality under dynamic circumstances, emphasizing the importance of urban design guidelines during the ongoing planning process. It is concerned with areas in the development process, taking New Cairo City as an example of new urban settlements to the east of Greater Cairo urban agglomeration- see figure (01). 2

New Cairo City

Figure (01) The location of New Cairo City with respect to Greater Cairo Urban Agglomeration.

2. New Cairo City: General Background and Urban Developments: In 1993, ten years after the General Planning of the Greater Cairo Region of 1983 was prepared, major changes started to take place in the Egyptian market, directing lots of investments and construction activities to the new urban settlements located to the east and west of Cairo. The result was an increase in the areas designated for new urban settlements and a reconsideration of their distribution around the Greater Cairo urban agglomeration; in particular for the first, third and fifth urban settlements, lying to the east of the Ring Road, and included between the Cairo-Suez Road to the north and the Cairo-Ain AlSokhna Road to the south- see figure (02). These three small urban settlements have, since then, been contained within the borders of one large urban settlement called: New Cairo City; and the in-between areas have been divided and sold to individuals, as well as to investment companies that established large residential and recreational projects on them. In addition, new areas have been added to the east of the three urban settlements, designated for residential use- see figure (02). Thus, the amalgamation of the first, third and fifth urban settlements as well as the added parts to their east formed New Cairo City, possessing an area of approximately 115 km2 and planned to accommodate 1.02 million inhabitants- see figure (02). In 1998, a new extension has been planned to the east of the previously laid out urban settlement, increasing the area of New Cairo City to reach 188.16 km2; and thus estimated to accommodate, in total, approximately 2.5 million inhabitants- see figure (03). New Cairo City is meant to become a center for regional services, including recreational, commercial and educational activities; the zoning plan and the land-use allocation plan have both been set up on that basis. 3

To Su ez

To Cairo

The Ring R o

The First Urban Settlement

The Fifth Urban Settlement

To C

Figure (02) New Cairo City as planned in 1993. The Third Urban Settlement

a ir o

The grey colour indicates added areas in between the existing settlements, as well as to the east.

Ai n

Al -S ok hn a

The first, fifth and third urban settlements, as well as the in-between amalgamating areas, in addition to added areas to the east; all together formed New Cairo City as planned in 1993, with an area of approximately 115 km2 and estimated to accommodate around 1.02 million inhabitants.

ez To Su

New Cairo City

The Ring R o

To Cairo

To C

a ir o

Ai n

Al -S ok hn a

Figure (03) New Cairo City as planned in 1998, with an area of approximately 188.16 km2, and estimated to accommodate, in total, 2.5 million inhabitants.

3. New Cairo City: Problem Definition/ A Demonstration of Visual Problems: New Cairo City is an existing new urban settlement that is still in the development process. It has not yet reached its planned targets, and nevertheless, has been deteriorating during its growth process. This is partly due to the fact that the general planning of the city is quite rigid, unable to accommodate changing demands and requirements, and it possesses no comprehensive vision for the future. The planning documents that have been produced for New Cairo City include numerous items that are concerned with land-use allocation plans, zoning plans, the hierarchy of the street system, programs of provided services, numbers of neighbourhoods and residential units, residential densities, floor-to-area ratios, built-up areas, and permitted heights. There is not once a mention of urban design guidelines or design controls. The documents do not by any means tackle the desired architectural styles of buildings or the aspired quality of the urban environment. This paper is mainly concerned with the visual disorder of New Cairo City. It is hypothesized that the reason for the existence of visual disorder within this growing urban settlement is the lack of flexible urban design guidelines. The city lacks design quality; it lacks an image and is associated with facelessness and a lack of urbane character. Architectural diversities are not mingled in mutual support, rather they are offensively chaotic. Clashing vocabularies stand side-by-side and the designs are never further developed to accommodate change. Thus, the city- lacking the guidance of flexible design controls- is developing through a process of complete randomness, instead of building up organized complexity over time. The following section takes part of the origin of New Cairo City, namely the Fifth Urban Settlement- see figure (02) for location- in order to demonstrate the existing visual disorder. Figure (04) displays the Fifth Urban Settlement and its immediate surroundings, which include the City Center of New Cairo to the north- constituting commercial, administrative, recreational, educational and residential uses- as well as other residential, recreational and educational uses to the west and south, where gated residential compounds are also to be found; to the east, the settlement is limited by the petrified wood and residential land divisions of various economic levels. The immediate surroundings of the Fifth Urban Settlement: New Cairo City Center Residential land divisions Mixed-use: residential/ recreational/ educational Gated Residential Compounds Petrified Wood Ring road limiting the Fifth Urban Settlement The Fifth Urban Settlement: Main dividing streets (designating the limits of 6 districts)

Figure (04) Master plan of the Fifth Urban Settlement and its immediate surroundings.

Secondary streets (designating the main block divisions) Block divisions designated for residential use (3-storey buildings) Block divisions designated for residential use (5 to 6-storey apartment buildings) Service centers

The master plan of the Fifth Urban Settlement displays a clear hierarchy of roads, starting by the ring road, which encircles the whole area, from which main dividing streets branch to designate the limits of the six districts that make up the settlement; each district is further divided by secondary roads into its main blocks. The blocks are basically designated for residential use and at the heart of each of the districts, one block division constitutes the service center, with its small-scale commercial, educational and recreational activities. A distinction is made between two types of residential units, the first, which is predominant, is that of 3-storey buildings, and the other, which takes up a smaller area, is that of 5 to 6 storey apartment buildings- see figure (04). Thus, one main criterion, which is determined within the planning of each of the districts, is that of the heights of buildings; whereas, further details regarding the appearances of building façades are not at all tackled. There exist no design controls regarding architectural styles, colours and materials of façades, window openings and other façade details. The result is that new buildings obey the height regulations, the assigned setbacks, footprints and built-up areas; but nevertheless stand as aliens with respect to each other, displaying the lack of a global vision. Following is a demonstration of current visual disorder problems within the Fifth Urban Settlement, concentrating on the façades of buildings. The demonstration is achieved through the grouping of images according to the different items related to the designs of façades, namely: architectural styles, building typologies and scales, solid-to-void ratios, façade openings, articulation elements, balconies, façade materials and textures, façade colours, roofs of buildings and parapet treatments, building accessories, A/C units, satellite dishes and other utilities, as well as the fences of buildings. Visual disorder problems within each group are pointed out, displaying as clear as possible the fact that the façades of buildings do not follow any kind of design guidelines, which leads to the random development of the urban settlement- see figures (05), (06), (07), (08), (09), (10), (11), (12), (13) and (14).

Figure (05) Architectural styles. The architectural styles of buildings conflict with each other; there is no global vision and the buildings do not emerge from a further development of a general theme or character. 6

Apartment buildings

Apartment building

Villa Apartment building Figure (06) Building typologies and scales. Building typologies and scales are confusing: they do not reflect the category of the building. Apartment buildings are very variable in size and are, in some cases, much smaller than residential villas, which also display a variety of misleading expressions.

Figure (07) Solid-to-void ratios. The solid-to-void ratio is not designated and therefore building transparencies vary greatly according to personal tastes. 7

Figure (08) Faรงade openings. Faรงade openings are very diverse in terms of shapes, sizes, proportions, materials and colours. There are no design controls and the result is the emergence of endless styles that have no relationship with each other.

Figure (09) Balconies and articulation elements. Balconies and other articulation elements, such as building corners and staircases, possess conflicting architectural treatments, not following any design controls or guidelines.

Figure (10) Faรงade materials and textures. Faรงades of buildings within the fifth urban settlement possess diverse, incompatible materials and textures.

Figure (11) Faรงade colours. The colours of buildings do not follow a certain theme or a vision of how they should be distributed throughout the urban settlement; the result is a random mixture of colours.

Figure (12) Roofs of buildings and parapet treatments. The roofs of buildings are mostly flat, but the treatments of parapets are too diverse and incompatible with each other; they do not follow a certain global concept. Some rooftops of buildings accommodate extra rooms and temporary constructions.

Figure (13) Building accessories, A/C units and satellite dishes. Signs, satellite dishes, A/C units, and other building accessories, as well as advertisements, are not included in the designs of faรงades. They do not follow a general theme or concept; in most cases, they are foreign elements added randomly to buildings.

Figure (14) Fences of buildings. Fences do not follow a certain design theme; they possess, more or less, the same height, but their designs are too diverse and incompatible with each other that they reveal a chaotic appearance throughout the urban settlement.

The solution for these visual disorder problems is the formulation of urban design guidelines, particularly for the façades of buildings- being the focus of this paper- in order to ensure the rectification of the visual problems of already existing buildings and to help designers and owners try to modify their buildings through time (careful transformation). These design guidelines have to allow transformations according to a pre-defined vision. They can also be applied to other emerging parts of this growing urban settlement in order to assure the development of a city that sustains itself over the years; one which is able to take in and manage unavoidable transformations within its urban environment.

4. Urban Design Guidelines for rectifying the Visual Disorder of New Cairo City: Following are the items that should be included in an urban design guidelines document that directs the appearances of building façades within the city of New Cairo. The following list proposes the main items that should be tackled in order to articulate the visual appearances of buildings: - General character and architectural styles. - Building typologies. - Building scales. - Building heights and skyline. - Solid-to-void ratios and building transparency. - Special architectural elements within façades. - Façade openings (proportions, sizes, shapes, materials and colours). - Entrances. - Terraces and balconies. - Façade materials and textures. - Façade colours. - Roofs of buildings and parapet treatments. - A/C units and other utilities. - Satellite dishes. - Signs and other building accessories. - Advertisements. - Fences of buildings. Design guidelines for the urban scene in New Cairo City should be flexible. They are to be determined through discussions of the proposed items held between planners, architects and regulators on the one hand, and the public, as well as the developers on the other. The design guidelines are then to be followed when constructing new areas within the city and they can be used by municipalities as a basis for evaluating project proposals. It is possible that each part possesses its own urban design guidelines that help demonstrate its character. 14

Based on the same elements, it is essential to produce a checklist for the assessment of visual appearances of already existing buildings. The checklist is to be filled out by the municipality, building users, either residents or passers-by, as well as a specially-formed independent committee interested in urbanism. It is to be filled out before applying the guidelines, thus defining visual problems and determining ways of intervention that would lead to the rectification of visual disorder. The checklist should provide a consistent basis for comparison between options, and should help the public and the officials set, and then meet their targets. Following are examples of the items and questions that may be included in the checklist, others may also be added:

Yes

Take Action

Do buildings possess clear architectural characters and identities? Do buildings possess clear typological characteristics? Are building characters in harmony with each other? Are building scales compatible with the surrounding built environment? Are façade materials in harmony with the surrounding built environment? Are façade textures in harmony with the surrounding built environment? Are façade colours in harmony with the surrounding built environment? Are façade openings within the same building compatible with each other regarding their proportions and shapes? Are façade openings within the same building compatible with each other regarding their materials? Are façade openings within the same building compatible with each other regarding their colours? Are entrance articulations compatible with the façade and the surrounding built environment? Are there random additions to building façades? Are A/C units and other utilities integrated within the design of the façade? Are satellite dishes integrated within the design of the façade? ………. ………. ………. ………. The design guidelines, which will be used by architects in their projects, will produce architecture that helps the realization of an urban environment, which follows a certain vision. 15

References: 1. Architecture & Urbanism Group; Ökoplan: Planners, Architects and Engineers (November 1998). General Master Plan, New Cairo City Extension- Final Report (Volumes 1 and 2). (A.R.E.: Ministry of Housing, Municipality of New Cairo City). 2. Alexander, Christopher (2003). The Nature of Order: An Essay on the Art of Building and the Nature of the Universe; Book Two: The Process of Creating Life. (Berkeley, CA: Center for Environmental Structure). 3. El Khorazaty T, Rashed R (2005). An Approach toward a Framework of Design Guidelines for Urban Settlements (An Urban Design Theory). (ARCHCAIRO 2005, Globalization and Beyond: Architecture, Communities and Settings; Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University; February 22nd – 24th, 2005). 4. Scheer B, Scheer D. Typology and Urban Design Guidelines, preserving the city without dictating design. :‫ﺍﻟﻤﺭﺍﺠﻊ ﺍﻟﻌﺭﺒﻴﺔ‬ ‫ ﺍﻻﻋﺘﺒﺎﺭﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﺠﻤﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﻭ ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻭﺙ ﺍﻟﺒﺼﺭﻱ ﻟﻠﻭﺠﻪ ﺍﻟﺤﻀﺎﺭﻱ ﻟﻤﺩﻴﻨﺔ ﺍﻟﻘﺎﻫﺭﺓ ”ﻤﺩﺨل ﻟﻠﺤﻔﺎﻅ‬.(2000) ‫ﺇﺒﺭﺍﻫﻴﻡ ﻤﺼﻁﻔﻰ ﺍﻟﺩﻤﻴﺭﻱ‬ ‫ ﺭﺴﺎﻟﺔ ﻤﻘﺩﻤﺔ ﻟﻠﺤﺼﻭل ﻋﻠﻰ ﺩﺭﺠﺔ ﺍﻟﺩﻜﺘﻭﺭﺍﻩ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻬﻨﺩﺴﺔ‬.“‫ﻭ ﺍﻟﺘﺤﻜﻡ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺼﻭﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﺒﺼﺭﻴﺔ ﻟﻭﺍﺠﻬﺎﺕ ﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻁﻕ ﺫﺍﺕ ﺍﻟﻘﻴﻤﺔ‬ .(.‫ ﻉ‬.‫ ﻡ‬.‫ ﺝ‬،‫ ﺍﻟﻘﺎﻫﺭﺓ‬:‫ ﻗﺴﻡ ﺍﻟﻌﻤﺎﺭﺓ‬،‫ ﻜﻠﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻬﻨﺩﺴﺔ‬،‫ )ﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻟﻘﺎﻫﺭﺓ‬.‫ﺍﻟﻤﻌﻤﺎﺭﻴﺔ‬ ‫ ﺭﺴﺎﻟﺔ ﻤﻘﺩﻤﺔ ﻟﻠﺤﺼﻭل ﻋﻠﻰ ﺩﺭﺠﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﺠﺴﺘﻴﺭ ﻓﻲ‬.‫ ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻭﺙ ﺍﻟﺒﺼﺭﻱ ﺒﻴﻥ ﺍﻟﻨﻅﺭﻴﺔ ﻭ ﺍﻟﺘﻁﺒﻴﻕ‬.(2003) ‫ﺩﻴﻨﺎ ﺃﺤﻤﺩ ﻜﺎﻤل ﺍﻟﻁﺤﺎﻥ‬ .(.‫ ﻉ‬.‫ ﻡ‬.‫ ﺝ‬،‫ ﺍﻟﻘﺎﻫﺭﺓ‬:‫ ﻗﺴﻡ ﺍﻟﻌﻤﺎﺭﺓ‬،‫ ﻜﻠﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻬﻨﺩﺴﺔ‬،‫ )ﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﻋﻴﻥ ﺸﻤﺱ‬.‫ﺍﻟﻬﻨﺩﺴﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﻌﻤﺎﺭﻴﺔ‬ ‫ ﺍﻟﺘﻠﻭﺙ ﺍﻟﺒﺼﺭﻱ ﻭ ﺍﻟﺘﺸﺭﻴﻊ ﺍﻟﻌﻤﺭﺍﻨﻲ ﻓﻲ ﻤﺼﺭ ”ﺩﺭﺍﺴﺔ ﺘﻭﺜﻴﻕ ﺍﻟﻌﻼﻗﺔ‬.(1995) ‫ﻁﺎﺭﻕ ﻤﺤﻤﺩ ﺠﻤﺎل ﺍﻟﺩﻴﻥ ﻤﺤﻤﺩ ﺼﺩﻗﻲ‬ :‫ ﻗﺴﻡ ﺍﻟﻌﻤﺎﺭﺓ‬،‫ ﻜﻠﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﻬﻨﺩﺴﺔ‬،‫ )ﺠﺎﻤﻌﺔ ﺍﻟﻘﺎﻫﺭﺓ‬.‫ ﺭﺴﺎﻟﺔ ﻤﻘﺩﻤﺔ ﻟﻠﺤﺼﻭل ﻋﻠﻰ ﺩﺭﺠﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﺎﺠﺴﺘﻴﺭ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻬﻨﺩﺴﺔ ﺍﻟﻤﻌﻤﺎﺭﻴﺔ‬.“‫ﺍﻟﺘﺒﺎﺩﻟﻴﺔ‬ .(.‫ ﻉ‬.‫ ﻡ‬.‫ ﺝ‬،‫ﺍﻟﻘﺎﻫﺭﺓ‬