On Cairo's Gated Parks

This series of images portrays classic cases of gatedness for several of the public green parks of Cairo. The typical metal green fence, used to surround public and green areas around Cairo, physically separates and creates a distinct barrier condition. In some cases, a ticket is charged to enter the park in a desperate move to generate money to cover maintenance costs.

While the lush green grass portrays a tidy and clean image of the chaotic city, the park remains extremely dissociated from the daily perceived image of the city’s users. This dissociation represents the predominant culture of distancing and alienation that has controlled Cairo’s urban development during the last decades. This physical and psychological distancing, clearly defined by the high metal fences, creates large subtractions from the cityscape dissecting and fragmenting the collective perceived image of the city.


Consequently, the public park transforms into a repeller instead of an attractor. This inverted situation of use embraces the fence and the opportunities that are generated by it. Users prefer to use the free perimeter of the park for walking, jogging, sitting, selling, and other activities, while the park remains abandoned. Temporary street vendors utilize (occupy) the fence appropriating it for displaying their merchandise.

@Shubbak : Public Domain Exhibition Participation

Below is a part of our participation in the "Public Domain: Public and Civic Spaces in the Arab World" exhibition. The exhibition is at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Second Floor Gallery, 66 Portland Place, London, from 12 July to 24 September 2011.

On 12 July, with the opening reception of the exhibition, there will be a talk by leading architects, academics and journalists who will share their insights on public and civic spaces in the region and how the use and design of these spaces are changing. Shahira Fahmy will be talking from Egypt, Bernard Khoury from Lebanon among others.

"For centuries, religious festivals have been at the core of defining Egyptian culture and identity. Due to their yearly repetition and need for appropriate space to occur, they have become a crucial player in the composition of the urban fabric. They are mostly linked to a specific city square or mosque due to its symbolic or iconic importance.

The dual relationship that starts to appear between physical, fixed and dominant entity (the square) and a non-physical, temporary and spiritual entity defines a very apparent, yet reoccurring, transformation in the urban fabric. These photos document and identify the temporary appropriation and transformation occurring during Zain el Abdeen religious festival. A temporary collage of colorful tents that house religious cultural activity, folklore and religious singing and dancing, light installations, flags, decorated textiles and even cradles and swings.

While the festival is centered in and around the mosque and its plaza, the appropriation extends to include the whole district and floods onto the neighboring streets to cater for the large amounts of visitors. The street becomes an extension of the mosque plaza. The functions are mixed, facades are replaced by new festival façades of colorful fabrics, public becomes private and private becomes public. Pavements become private bedrooms; pedestrian walkways become shops for residents."







Contrast Designs @ Shubbak

Contrast Designs will be participating in the upcoming Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture Festival to be held in London. The "Public Domain Exhibition", a photo and film exhibition discussing public anc civic space in the Arab world will take place at the RIBA building between 12 July - 24 September 2011. Contrast Designs will be showing a number of photographs from Cairo that discuss the Cairene public domain. Other contributors include Iwan Baan and Charlie Koolhaas.

More information here

photo by : Contrast Designs

photo by : Contrast Designs

+20 Egypt Design opens in the historic district of Cairo

The +20 Egypt Design event launched last night with an unexpected success. The official opening of the 1st design week event was conducted by ministers of culture and industry (below with Contrast Designs' '2ashayer'). Contrast's lighting units are showing at Sabil El-Selehdar under the 'Crafting Light' exhibition organized by Rhimal. The two lighting units, '2ashayer' and 'linea', investiagate the potential of reusing waste building materials, and challenge misconceptions about what we are capable of contributing to a sustainable future.

The event continues from 3-7 June from 6-10 pm. If you are visiting, make sure you dont miss Dina Shoukry @ suhaymi house, our friend Daniel Dendra @ suhaymi house, Nedal Badr's 'muqarnasat', Leila Selim's 'dispute you label' installation, and the 2nd KYME exhibition @ Moheb Hall.

And finally, thanx to our dedicated project team : Kareem Shoukry & Meral Omar.