ARCHITECTURE REPORT 2014 1من اصل2

Master Planning.  
Landscape Architecture.  
Architecture.   Engineering.  
Site Supervision/Project Management
SITES
INTERNATIONAL
Dr. Maher Stion  
Dr. Laila El Masry  
AZHAR PARK
OLD CAIRO BREATHE
HASSAN FATHI AWARD: GOLDEN PRIZE
LOCATION: OLD CAIRO
The project lies in the heart of the historic Islamic district of Cairo; a 30
hectare site that was vacant because of its use as a   adump site since the late
Mamluk period. The land is surrounded from the north and west by the
medieval Islamic fabric of Cairo. To the east lies a Mamluk cemetery, City
of the Dead, and one of Cairo’s main roads, Salah Salem.
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION f CHALLENGES
HISTORICAL WALL
Uncovered during the earthwork of the site’s western slope, the 1,300
meter long Ayyubid wall built by Saladin in the 13th century was utilized as
a panoramic platform to view the heritage of old Cairo, and to create a
historic wall promenade along the park edge.
PLANT MATERIALS
The designer developed an indigenous and adaptive plant list for the park,
detailing species and required sizes at installation. More than 650 plant
species were planted in, AI-Azhar Park. However; chemical property tests
confirmed low levels of nutrients, high levels of alkalinity, very high levels
of salinity and Ca CO3 content. Thus, the need for appropriate soil
conditioning was a major issue for some plants to survive.
The client used the information to establish a plant nursery well before
construction.
SOIL & GEOTECHNICAL ASPECTS
The soil investigation revealed a profile of 30-40 meters of garbage,
construction debris and highly toxic/salty soils unsuitable for both
construction and planting. Mass earth moving and soil treatment took place
to create a layer of good soil. An impermeable clay layer 0.5 meters thick,
placed two meters beneath the top soil, along with a complete sub-