Tuesday, March 20, 2007

graduation project

i'm currently working on my graduation project which is the rehabilitation and re-designing of any part of egypt that consists of a beautiful, valuable building with a poor surrounding environment. lots of those around, eh? the pyramids, the train station in ramses square, the temples in luxor, etc..

i chose to work on the region surrounding Salah el Din's citadel. that place is packed with beautiful islamic monuments but is also a home to a very poor sector of the egyptian public. supposedly my plan will be to remove those homes and move them to a new bigger, cleaner, better planned neighborhood in one of the new cities in cairo like 6th of october or 10th of ramadan....then i'm going to use the empty land that's left to make some sort of big project that suits the region and acts as a high-class tourist attraction. i'm still not sure what exactly the project will be but i'm thinking about maybe a large islamic museum but not a typical one...one that shows the lifestyle of the egyptian people in that period of time, sort of like the pharoanic village we have now but islamic instead....of course any better ideas are highly appreciated but please keep in mind that the project does have to suit the surrounding enviroment which means that i can't go and build an olympic stadium there for example...the place is very historic and rich with beautiful mosques and stuff...


looking forward to your suggestions and ideas!

UPDATE: the pictures weren't uploaded correctly the first time, when i come back from alex i'll try posting them again.

6 comments:

Deeeeeee said...

Are you serious? That's like the same as my graduation project, (our tub3an, we're a group of 5), except in a different field! We're using non-immersive virtual reality to document those same sites! Our objective, is to show people some other really good sites in Cairo, that are NOT the pyramids, the citadel and the tower! So, its not really the same thing, but its ironically close( I can tell you all about it if you're interested). Best of luck to you, given that if your graduation project works, it'll probably spoil mine. I'm really impressed!

grey said...

wow!! i would love to know more about your project..discussing it will help us both get new ideas i hope....write about it in your next post on your blog or something.

my project is a group project only in its first phase which is research and data collection..there's 3 of us now but only 2 are working:) the other guy is too busy with his job and we're covering for him. but after we're done with the research (which should take about a week or 2) it's everyone on his own.

my head is already filled with ideas about what you could talk about in YOUR project: for example you could document El Moez St. which is filled with islamic monuments like the ones near the citadel, you could also talk about the beautiful churches that we have (el keneesa el mo3alaqa for example) or you could discuss the beauty of "el si7eemy house" or the Gayer-Anderson museum....

if you're looking for sites outside of cairo you've got the beautiful villages of "el gorna" which is near luxor or "el qusair" which i think lies somewhere on the red sea, but i'm not sure...those two villages are truly fantastic.

i think i got a bit too exicted there....lol...but i guess that's just what architecture does to me.

good luck on your project, deeee.

Gemma Wiseman said...

I have just set up a blog, thinking my Greyscale Territory idea was unique. Then, curious, typed in greyscale and found your blog!!! Egypt!!! WOW!!! I have heaps of photos from a friend who travelled there a year ago!!! I HAVE ALWAYS HAD A FASCINATION WITH EGYPT...long before it became 'the flavour of the month'!!! Would love to hear how your project travels!!! Wonderful idea to keep Egypt alive and intriguing!!!!
Greyscale Territory

Gemma Wiseman said...

Just last night, I began a blog by Greyscale Territory. I thought it was a unique name. But, curious, I searched and found your blog with a similar name. I was thinking about being shattered, until I saw you are a 'virtual architect' in Egypt!!! WOW!!! Egypt has been my fascination for years...long before it seemed to be the flavour of Western dreams!!! Love your concept...humanitarian AND keeps the aura of those pyramids!!! I will keep a watch on your travels!!!

Gemma Wiseman said...

WOOOPS!!! Sorry about the double whammy!!!! I thought the first one was lost in the aether!!! Just shows I am enthusiastic!!!!

grey said...

what can i say?? i'm really excited to learn more about the person who chose the same name as me. you should totally come visit egypt when you get the chance, i'm sure you'll love it..

i will gladly keep you updated on all that's new in my project and i would love to read more about australia from you!

welcome to the blog world, greyscale.