Intended as a catalyst and model for the ongoing redevelopment of Cairo, Egypt, ZELLNERPLUS, OLIN, PACER, MR+E, and Nelson Nygaard proposed a scheme that seeks to bridge the gap between the medieval, or Islamic, and the axial, or European Cairene cities. They would do so through the evacuation of the competition zone of its current disconnected fabrics. In their place, they proposed a green urban archipelago made up of a new connective tissue that will weld together the competition site’s disparate functions, flows and neighboring fabrics. More images and architects’ description after the break.
This is a competition entry for a major public space in Cairo, Egypt. The Ataba and Opera Square areas combined with the Azbakiyya Gardens collectively form a 100,000+ square meter urban figure that sits at the threshold between the old, medieval city of the Fatimid Caliphs and the modern Cairene city founded by Khedive Ismail in the 19th century. This was the setting for the competition, which called for an urban plan, infrastructure improvements, landscape architecture, garden design and large scale architectural solutions.
