SCIENCE CITY

MENTION PRIZE
A MODERN TEMPLE
Architect: Whitespace Architects
Yasser Abuelnasr  
Country: EGYPT
The proposed science city is a modern temple of shared knowledge, linking the ancient
era to the modern technology.
This proposal combines the idea of ancient Egyptian temple and Orion’s Belt
constellation. The science city includes a solar roof that sustains energy, and integrated
landscape courtyards that enhanced the experience of visitors. Experiencing the temple
procession, science city serves as an iconic landmark where both, knowledge and
history is celebrated.
An ancient Egyptian temple was built to worship gods and communal pharaohs of Egypt.
The layout of the site plan was designed by considering the procession of the
worshippers.
Each temple included a wide open entrance into a massive courtyard to small denser
chambers, also known as sanctuaries.
The proposed science city was designed in a similar layout but the positive spaces in the
temple, acts as negative spaces in the center of the site plan. The visitor enters into a
colossal courtyard, creating the experience of being dwarfed by the massive space
around and then, as he moves further, the spaces decreases in size and the courtyards
become smaller, celebrating the experience of moving from wide to narrower spaces.
This accentuates the experience of moving from a typical life to a sacred and
knowledgeable existence.