Archinect - News

Zero-carbon Forbes International Tower, designed by AS+GG Architecture, proposed for Egypt's new capital

2023-02-02T15:34:00-05:00

Forbes and Egyptian real estate development company Magnom Properties have announced plans to construct a 55-story zero-carbon commercial tower in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital outside of Cairo. Called the Forbes International Tower, this marks the first time the media giant has branded a commercial tower. Its design is led by Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.

The partnership was announced on the concluding day of the recent Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, where world leaders and experts discussed the need for sustainable climate solutions in urban development. A Memorandum of Understanding to develop the project was signed by the Group Chairman of Rawabi Holding and Chairman of Magnom Properties, Abdulaziz Al Turki, and Forbes CEO, Mike Federle.

“Cities play a critical role in our race to reach net zero and buildings, which are responsible for up t...

American University in Cairo students develop self-luminous concrete that can glow in the dark

2022-07-15T17:10:00-04:00

A quartet of undergraduate engineering students at the American University in Cairo has developed self-luminescent concrete they say is a possible offset to the material’s poor environmental performance.

Working under the stewardship of Professor Mohamed Nagib AbouZeid, the students were able to develop a sunlight-absorbing concrete that, similar to the natural process known as bioluminescence, releases its energy at night in the form of light rays to offset the high costs of roadway illumination in line with the country’s sustainability goals and ahead of its turn as host of the UN’s COP27 summit in November.

An AUC engineering student holds up a sample of her team's work. Image courtesy The American University in Cairo.

“The idea of our research came from wanting to make an integral construction material, just like concrete, but more sustainable and environmentally friendly in both its creation and function, especially in light of what the world has come to with energy shortages a...

Cairo’s historic Nile river houseboats are about to be a thing of the past

2022-07-15T14:55:00-04:00

Colourful houseboats anchored along the Nile have been fixtures of Cairo since the 1800s. Last month the government ordered their removal, saying the boats were unsafe and lacked permits—no surprise, since it stopped renewing the permits two years ago. It has recently begun towing them away. Officials are coy about their plans for the riverbank. If the past is any guide, the boats will be replaced by restaurants and cafés, their lush gardens buried under concrete.

As the New York Times pointed out recently, the houseboats carry quite a bit of cultural significance as the site where Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz wrote his seminal 1966 novel Adrift on the Nile and several other classic tomes. Egypt is pursuing an aggressive redevelopment of its ancient capital propelled by private development and plagued by a reliance on materials like concrete that have claimed whole neighborhoods and even a historic watchmaker’s shop in recent years.

Africa's tallest building completes concrete structure

2021-06-23T15:25:00-04:00

China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) celebrated the completion of the concrete structure of Iconic Tower in the Central Business District of Egypt’s New Administrative Capital last week on 17 June. Now the tallest tower in Africa, Iconic Tower’s concrete structure is 373.2m while its highest point is 385.8m, CSCEC Egypt said.

The 78-story Iconic Tower is the centerpiece in an ambitious mega-development of several planned skyscrapers in Egypt's New Administrative Capital outside of Cairo.

#WitnessHappiness The landmark tower of Egypt's new capital CBD project, the tallest building in Africa, has officially sealed the roof, becoming a new urban landmark. It covers a building area of 262,000 ㎡ and its highest point reaches 385.8 meters.#BuildTheFuture #CSCEC pic.twitter.com/AIguKBXpk3
— China State Construction (@CSCECNEWS) June 22, 2021

The race is on for Africa's new tallest building

2019-01-21T13:55:00-05:00

The foundations for what could become Africa’s tallest building, a 390 metre tall tower in Egypt's new administrative capital, will be poured within days, according to the country's prime minister. "Iconic Tower" is one of several Dubai-style mega projects being built in Egypt’s new administrative capital 45 kilometres east of Cairo. It is hoped that when completed it will stand as the tallest building in Africa [...].

The title of tallest building in Africa has not been successfully challenged since the 732-ft Carlton Centre opened in Johannesburg in 1973.

Other African nations have vowed to bring home the crown with new tall buildings proposed or underway, like the 820-ft Bank of Africa Tower in Morocco, the 900-ft Pinnacle Towers in Kenya, and this preliminary concept for the megatall Oblisco Capitale Tower in Egypt's New Administrative Capital.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli recently visited the site of the Dubai-style megaproject which will include the supertall Iconic Tower.

Preliminary details unveiled for (could-be) megatall skyscraper in Egypt

2018-10-25T13:53:00-04:00

Idia Designs, an architectural design firm, has revealed some preliminary details on the chosen design of its New Administrative Capital’s landmark, the “Oblisco Capitale Tower,” which is deemed to surpass Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in stature, Invest-Gate reports. “It is still a concept,” according to the company’s statement. However, some photos and videos were released, showcasing the tower’s features. Idia notes that state-run El Nasr Housing and Development is the project’s developer.

Not many specifics are known so far about the obelisk-shaped megatall tower concept Oblisco Capitale Tower by Cairo/Dubai-based firm IDIA.Design, but the promotional material hints at a structure taller than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, currently the world's tallest building.

View this post on Instagram We're already imagining The Oblisco Capitale Tower coming to life...Here's a glimpse of what it will look like once developed. #architecture #archdaily
A post shared by IDIA.Design (@idia.design) on Aug 30, 2018 at 6:19am PDT

The design description explains how the tower's architecture was inspired from Pharaonic and Art Deco styles, incorporating original obelisk proportions, lotus-flower themes, and the underlying theme of the Nile River as a connecting element.

Image: IDIA.Design

H/T CTBUH

New pyramid, older than Giza, discovered 20 miles south of Cairo

2017-04-04T13:48:00-04:00

Archeaologists have discovered what appears to be the first attempt at a smooth-sided pyramid in Egypt. The pyramid is estimated to be 3,700 years old (about 200 years older than Giza), and although no elaborately-outfitted burial chambers have been found yet, the team is still excavating in an attempt to determine the full size of the pyramid. According to the Associated Press, it's located 20 miles south of Cairo in the sleepy burial community of the Dahshur necropolis, which has long been home to graves of royal courtiers and other high-society movers and shakers.

Giant "calligraffiti" mural unites community in Cairo slum

2016-04-07T13:32:00-04:00

Amid Cairo's brick buildings and heaping piles of trash is a sprawling work of art, which, at first, looks messy and incoherent. But when you stand on the nearby hillside and read the spray-painted Arabic "calligraffiti," as its creator Tunisian-French artist eL Seed calls it, the message reads loud and clear: "If one wants to see the light of the sun, he must wipe his eyes." [...] in total secrecy from the Egyptian government due to the country's strict laws forbidding artistic expression.

All images by the artist, eL Seed. For more images click here.

More Cairo-related stories in the Archinect news:

Does Foster + Partner's Maspero District masterplan neglect the local residents?

2015-12-23T13:29:00-05:00

[Tarek] looks down at the glossy graphics, and then up again, before gesturing around at his neighbours. “Where are we in this picture?” he asks... Norman Foster’s practice has chosen to partner with a government widely condemned by international human rights groups for its brutal crackdowns on dissent and widespread use of torture; in return, the company seems to believe it can carve out a place for itself in the vanguard of a progressive new era of urban design... Is it right?

Jack Shenker and Ruth Michaelson take a more in-depth, on-the-ground look at the political context of the Maspero District masterplan, which I discussed a few weeks ago. The Foster and Partners-designed project would remake a part of Cairo that was the site of numerous protests since 2011. The neighborhood houses the headquarters for the state-run media and propaganda machine, alongside both informal settlements and high-end real estate.

The authors note that Laila Iskander, whose record I praised, was booted from her job as head of the Ministry of Urban Renewal and Informal Settlements in September. The previous article has been amended to reflect this.

The selective amnesia of Foster + Partners' Maspero Triangle District Masterplan

2015-11-11T04:21:00-05:00

Foster + Partners has won a competition to redesign the area around the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU) headquarters in Cairo’s Maspero area, according to an announcement made yesterday by the Egyptian Ministry of State for Urban Renewal and Informal Settlements (MURIS).

“On the banks of the River Nile, the future of Maspero burns bright,” states Grant Brooker, Senior Executive Partner at Foster + Partners. “And we are sure our sustainable model of development will set the benchmark for urban regeneration throughout the country.”

The Maspero Triangle District Masterplan, as the initiative is called, endeavors to dramatically remake the Nile-adjacent neighborhood while still maintaining its current demographic heterogeneity, which comprises informal settlements of around 12,000 people interspersed among high-end real estate. The plan will rehouse the majority of the low income population in the same area, the press release states, and, unlike others in recent history, this d...

Egypt's challenges to build its new capital city

2015-11-09T17:38:00-05:00

Cairo is an unruly urban sprawl that has spun out of control. Now, officials want to build a new capital in the desert -- a potent symbol of President Sisi's regime. But will it ever happen? [...] The old Cairo is an ugly city, an affront to the senses. [...] a city of contradictions, created from the bottom up, even though that had never been the intention. It has been growing wildly since the 1960s -- from 3.5 million back then to 18 million now -- against the will of the country's rulers.

Previously in the Archinect News:

Egypt's urban growth threatens Nile farmland

2015-07-09T21:30:00-04:00

Most Egyptians have always lived in the fertile stretch along the Nile, the nation’s breadbasket which accounts for less than 10 per cent of Egypt’s territory. But urban growth has become the chief threat to agricultural land as farmers haphazardly – and illegally – build new houses to make room for the next generation. Construction surged even more amid a security vacuum that followed the 2011 popular uprising that ousted the country’s long-time autocrat, Hosni Mubarak.

A New "Capital" for Cairo?

2015-03-24T18:01:00-04:00

...last week at an economic development conference, the Egyptian government announced it was planning a giant new building project to the east of Cairo. The new city, which could eventually cover 700 km sq, doesn't currently have a name, and is being referred to simply as "The Capital"...If all goes to plan, the city will serve as the new administrative and financial capital of Egypt.

Photographer documents Egypt's monumental housing developments in the desert

2015-01-22T19:59:00-05:00

Egypt is in the throes of a severe housing shortage [...]. But one thing the country has an abundance of is lonesome desert, and developers are turning there to construct immense projects that stick out in the emptiness like skyscrapers on Mars. London-based photographer Manuel Alvarez Diestro has a yen for the monumental [...] naturally he was interested in the colossal structures rising on the outskirts of Egyptian cities.

Egypt’s street artists now risk even more

2014-02-19T15:22:00-05:00

As more journalists are being arrested in Egypt, artists are under threat as well. [...] Political slogans and portraits of people who have died since the January 25 revolution are painted over by the government and replaced immediately by artists. The walls of Mohamed Mahmoud Street leading to Tahrir Square are layers of colorful murals over asymmetrical blotches of white paint. And despite its attempt to silence, the dictatorial white ironically makes a great primer for many of the artworks.

Tahrir, Cairo and Beyond

2013-07-02T17:02:00-04:00

Aerial footage from a helicopter of the largest demonstration in history when millions of Egyptians gathered in Tahrir square and other squares in Cairo demanding the fall of the Muhammad Morsi and Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood regime.)

zawia#00:Change – Newly released publication from Egypt on architecture and design

2012-09-03T12:18:00-04:00

"Zawia#00:Change discusses the significantly changing realities imposed on all social, political and economic systems and their influence on design disciplines. Zawia#00:Change will attempt to demonstrate whether architects are ready to embrace changing ideals and new modes of operation, and whether they are willing to help better people’s lives rather than focusing on glorifying design or architecture."

Zawia is a periodical, English and Arabic publication and collaborative events on architecture, design & urbanism. The first volume Zawia#00:Change is out now! It features contributions from Saskia Sassen, Stefano Boeri, Joseph Grima, WAI architecture think tank, Carlo Ratti, Markus Miessen and many more.Zawia#00:Change will be exceptionally available for preview from Zawia’s website [www.zawia.co]