Archinect - News

Egypt suspends plan to restore granite cladding on one of the pyramids of Giza following backlash

2024-02-17T08:00:00-05:00

Egypt has scuttled a controversial plan to reinstall ancient granite cladding on the pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three great pyramids of Giza, a committee formed by the country’s tourism minister said in a statement. [...] The pyramids are the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world that still remain.

The initiative was announced in January by Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziri, calling it “the project of the century.”

The project, led by a team of Egyptian and Japanese experts, would have commenced after at least a year of planning but has since drawn international outcry, with many critics believing that there should be as little intervention on the structure as possible and that this restoration attempt could have the effect of disrupting its natural state. The pushback has led Egypt’s antiquities authority to review the project.

The plan called for the reuse of fallen granite blocks that have remained around the pyramid’s base. However, according to Zahi Hawass, a former minister of antiquities who headed the Menkaure pyramid review committee, it would be impossible to determine where each granite block had originally been located.

Hidden corridor discovered in Great Pyramid of Giza

2023-03-03T16:34:00-05:00

A hidden corridor nine metres (30 feet) long has been discovered close to the main entrance of the 4,500-year-old Great Pyramid of Giza, and this could lead to further findings, Egyptian antiquities officials said on Thursday.

The discovery was made under the Scan Pyramids project, a program launched in 2015 that aims to explore and discover ancient Egyptian Pyramids using non-invasive and non-destructive techniques. The group, which includes Cairo University and the French Heritage Innovation Preservation (HIP) Institute currently uses infrared thermography, 3D simulations, and cosmic-ray imaging. Reuters reports that the discovery could provide more information of the Pyramid’s construction and the purpose of a gabled limestone structure located at the front of the corridor.

It’s theorized that the corridor was made to redistribute the pyramid’s weight around either the main entrance, now used by tourists, or around a potentially undiscovered space. Scientists found the corridor through cosmic-ray muon radiography and then retrieved images of it by feeding a 6mm-thick endoscope from Japan through a small joint in the pyramid’s stones.

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...

Ancient tunnel that may hold the tomb of Cleopatra discovered beneath Egyptian temple

2022-11-09T14:34:00-05:00

A long-lost, rock-cut tunnel 43 feet underneath the ancient Taposiris Magna temple has been unearthed by archaeologists outside of Alexandria, Egypt.

The passage was discovered by the Egyptian-Dominican archaeological mission of the University of San Domingo, led by archaeologist Kathleen Martins. The tunnel stretches approximately 4,265 feet in length and is a little over six feet in height.

Image courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism

Martins has been working on excavations at Taposiris Magna since 2002 in search of the tombs of Cleopatra and Marc Antony. She views it as the perfect plan for the tomb of Cleopatra. Martins describes the expansive tunnel as an engineering miracle. It has gone undiscovered for so long because it was partially submerged underwater due to a series of ancient earthquakes that occurred.

An alabaster head discovered at the excavation site. Image courtesy of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism

Last year, her team unearthed 16 burial chambers and two mu...

SOM to reimagine visitor experience at Egypt's pyramids and sphinx

2022-07-26T19:02:00-04:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and Egyptian practice Raafat Miller Consulting (RMC) have been selected to reimagine the visitor experience for the popular sound and light show attraction at the site of the ancient Pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza, Egypt.

The pair were appointed by OSL for Entertainment Projects, an Orascom Investment Holding Company (OIH). SOM will act as lead designer for the concept, design, and master plan for the project. Existing facilities will be enhanced with contemporary interventions in order to establish a world-class visitor experience while respecting unique environmental and preservation requirements.

“Visiting Giza is a rare, transformative experience that offers a glimpse into centuries of human history. As one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Giza welcomes millions of people every year,” SOM design partner Chris Cooper commented on the commission. “In reimagining the experience, our priority is to honor and preserve its history and create a sus...

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.

Artist JR's latest installation transforms the Great Pyramids of Giza, a top-ical new NFT

2021-10-22T19:02:00-04:00

As part of a new exhibition at Egypt’s Great Pyramids of Giza, French artist JR has transformed the 4,500-year-old World Heritage Site into a haunting levitated mass, done over in steel and mesh, that will also be minted as a 4,591-piece NFT representing his first foray into the newfound digital realm .

Titled Forever is Now, the exhibition is put on by Art D’Egypte with support from UNESCO and the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

“Egyptian culture is a gift to humanity, and the purpose of this exhibition is to showcase these treasures in a dialogue with the contemporary on an international scale,” Art D’Egypt founder Nadine A. Ghaffar said in a statement. “Ancient Egypt has influenced artists from around the world, and so we bring the world to Egypt and Egypt to the world through art.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Art D’Égypte (@artdegypte)

JR says his latest installation is in some ways an expansion on his 2016 Louvre installation...

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

Virtually tour Egypt's most important archeological sites with new Google Arts & Culture offering

2021-01-15T13:03:00-05:00

“From Pharaonic tombs, to Mamluk mosques, and from Coptic monasteries to Roman villas,” you can now take online tours of Egypt's most important archaeological sites. The Google Arts & Culture organisation has teamed up to create the digital platform 'Preserving Egypt’s Layered History' with archaeologists at the American Research Centre in Cairo revealing “stories of the restoration of diverse locations around Egypt”.

Preserving Egypt's Layered History offers more than 35 online sections covering topics such as "the conservation of the monastery of St. Anthony, an ancient Coptic church located 334km southeast of Cairo," and much more. Visitors can explore the mosque of Aslam al-Shilahdar, which was built in 1344 and can even tour the tomb of a high-ranking official named Menna, who lived 3,000 years ago.

Foster + Partners begins construction on new cardiac hospital complex in Egypt

2020-09-11T13:26:00-04:00

International architecture firm Foster + Partners has begun construction on the Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre Cairo, a new 300-bed hospital that aims to provide free state-of-the-art treatment for local and international patients.

The hospital was founded by a surgeon named Sir Magdi Yacoub who has outlined a vision for offering free vital health services for low and middle-income people across Africa. An announcement describing the project explains, "The design of the 300-bed hospital responds to the needs of patients, their families and the staff that care for them, and is set within a lush, verdant landscape and a calming lake that seeks to optimize the overall patient experience and decrease recovery times."

The project is arranged as as series of medical buildings surrounded by greenery, with the buildings themselves articulated with serial window bays facing a view that includes the Great Pyramids of Giza. The ground floor of the project includes diagnosis and treatment ar...

Grand Egyptian Museum heads toward completion

2020-08-14T14:23:00-04:00

A $1 billion museum complex situated on the Giza plain overlooking the Great Pyramids is nearing completion in Egypt after a nearly decade-long delay.

The massive structure, initially planned by Irish firm Heneghan Peng Architects, is being completed now, The Art Newspaper reports, under the direction of Major General Atef Moftah, an official appointed in 2016 by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to finish the project. Moftah, who is a trained engineer, has taken over executing the design of the complex and has adapted the initial proposal to speed up construction and lower costs, the report states.

View of the massive statue of Ramses the Great installed in the museum's atrium. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia user Djehouty.

The Art Newspaper explains that the structure is "96.5% complete" and will make its global debut sometime in 2021.

The massive museum complex will contain over 5,000 artifacts discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamen as well as a large collection of ancient stat...

This 3D virtual tour lets you explore the ancient tombs of Pharaoh Ramses VI

2020-07-16T13:33:00-04:00

A stunning 3D virtual tour from the Egyptian Tourism Authority takes viewers deep into the heavily detailed tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses VI. Named Tomb KV9, the underground structure has a long corridor leading down to the now-broken sarcophagus, and both walls and the ceiling are inscribed with writings from ancient Egyptian texts and astronomical renderings.

If you're ready for some archaeological adventure but find yourself pandemic-trapped at home and unable to make it to Egypt's ancient Valley of the Kings right now, try the virtual tomb tour of Pharaoh Ramses VI who reigned in the 12th century BC.

Take a look at some screenshots of the ruler's spectacular eternal digs below.

Come on in! Welcome to my crib.

This must be the master bedroom. Literally.

Whoops, the mummy's out.

Exit through the gift shop.

Looking for more virtual tours on Archinect? Click here.

Stefano Boeri envisions cuboid vertical forests for Egypt's new capital

2019-08-09T15:30:00-04:00

A trio of mid-rise residential towers proposed by Italian firm Stefano Boeri Architetti could help clean the air in Egypt's new administrative capital city, while also providing affordable housing for that city's residents.

Of the verdant towers, dubbed "Africa's first vertical forest" by the architects, two would contain affordable housing units while the third will contain a hotel. The trio of forested buildings is slated for a new 6.5-million resident city currently under construction roughly 30 miles east of Cairo.

The experimental buildings are proposed as part of a new town plan developed by Boeri and architect Francesca Cesa Bianchi, and could contain up to 350 trees and 14,000 shrubs when completed. The sustainably-minded town plan also envisions bringing green roofs to the district's existing buildings, in addition to erecting new, vertically-oriented plant-filled surfaces. So-called "green corridors" will link the new city together, as well, solidifying the beneficial imp...

The first architecture photography

2019-07-02T13:51:00-04:00

Shortly after the invention of photography, there was architecture photography. Generous natural lighting, a range of scalable details and a pride of place made architecture a primary subject in the understanding of photographic technology during the first half of the 19th century.

Paris' Boulevard du Temple (1839). Photo by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre.

The Daguerreotype was among the first photographic methods when it was invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre in 1839. An image of Paris' Boulevard du Temple taken by Daguerre in the same year is famous for being the first photograph of a person (visible near the lower left corner), but it is also among the first known photographs of an urban scene. Because the photo required a long exposure lasting several minutes, the traffic is rendered invisible while the buildings are reproduced in great detail, allowing them to become the primary focus.

Tuileries Palace (1841). Photo by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey.

Cathédrale Notre-D...

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.

Ancient ramp discovery could help explain construction of Egyptian Pyramids

2018-11-06T18:48:00-05:00

The mystery of how, exactly, the pyramids were built may have come a step closer to being unravelled after a team of archaeologists made a chance discovery in an ancient Egyptian quarry. Scientists researching ancient inscriptions happened upon a ramp with stairways and a series of what they believe to be postholes, which suggest that the job of hauling into place the huge blocks of stone used to build the monuments may have been completed more quickly than previously thought.

The theory of ancient Egyptians using ramps to move the enormous stone blocks to build the Great Pyramids of Giza some 4,500 years ago has been around for a while, but this new discovery suggests the possibility of a significantly steeper ramp angle and shorter construction period than commonly assumed.

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

Archeologists uncover the secret of the Great Pyramid

2017-09-26T15:29:00-04:00

Archaeologists believe they have found the key to unlocking a mystery almost as old as the Great Pyramid itself: Who built the structure and how were they able to transport two-ton blocks of stone to the ancient wonder more than 4,500 years ago?

The pyramid's stones were known to have been transported from over 500 miles away but archeologists did not agree on how ancient Egyptians achieved it . Recent discoveries suggest that the stones were transported using boats and a network of waterways leading to the site of the pyramid in Giza.

A 13-story building topples over in Alexandria, Egypt

2017-06-07T14:25:00-04:00

Incidents like these take place relatively frequently in Egypt where building regulations are often flouted and additional floors added without planning permission.

The building's failure is attributed to a weak foundation caused by its excessive height. Issued a removal order in 2002, just two years after its construction, the building was occupied up until last Wednesday when it leaned on its neighbor across the street. Its much overdue demolition began shortly after.

The affected families have been provided emergency housing at local schools, and been promised new apartments by Ministry of the Social Solidarity.The owner of the toppled building in Azareeta was arrested.

With the Middle East in diplomatic crisis, what will happen to Qatar's building projects?

2017-06-06T12:53:00-04:00

In a stunning move, seven Muslim countries—Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Yemen, and the Maldives—have severed ties to Qatar, a small nation of about 2.7 million people on the north-east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The crisis underscores the deep divisions running even within Sunni Islam that are often overlooked by the West, which tends to view the Muslim world through the dichotomous prism of Sunni and Shia.

These countries accuse Qatar of sponsoring terrorism, which is to say, primarily, Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood held power briefly in Egypt following the 2011 Revolution before being overthrown in a coup led by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. They are active in many of the seven aforementioned countries.

Qatar also funds Al Jazeera, the widely-watched news channel known for supporting political Islamism and for critiquing the regimes controlling Saudi Arabia and other countries. And Qatar has been criticized for m...

China leads world in investing in Africa, especially in Egyptian building projects

2017-05-30T13:25:00-04:00

How will China's $36.1 billion dollar investment shape the future of Africa? While China only has 66 projects over the continent compared to the United States' 91 projects, it has pledged about ten times the total amount of money, and the lion's share of that cash is earmarked for Egypt. As Global Construction Review notes:

The largest recipient of Chinese money is Egypt, which accounts for 25% of its African FDI. Here, China’s involvement is overwhelmingly in the construction and infrastructure sector, and it has plans to spend $15b on 15 electricity, infrastructure and transport projects. This would have been higher still if it had not in February pulled out of a $20bn plan to build a new capital city.

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.

The ghost hotels of the Sinai coast

2016-06-08T17:14:00-04:00

The villas are naked concrete, baked in the sun like unpainted pottery. The swimming pool is a trough with light fixtures poking from the sides. There are no guests, many stray dogs, and one-full time member of staff—a watchman who spends much of his time tending a fruit orchard where mangoes, oranges and lemons grow. If this were an isolated case, it would be mere misfortune. But the Seagull is just one ruin among dozens that line some 200 km of road on the southeastern Sinai coast.

"These ghost hotels are a product of the collapse of Egypt’s tourism industry after the revolution of 2011 and the political turmoil and terrorist attacks that followed."

For more news from Egypt, check out these links:

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.

After over a thousand years underwater, two Egyptian cities will be exhibited at British Museum

2015-12-09T03:58:00-05:00

The [British] museum announced a six-month show that will tell the remarkable story of two lost cities at the mouth of the Nile – Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus – which by the 8th-century AD had been swallowed completely by the sea. [...] the loans will range from the enormous, a 5.4-metre-high granite statue of the Nile flood god Hapi, to the domestic. [...] It represents Egypt’s first major loan of antiquities since the country’s revolution in 2011...

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.