{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}
{"autoplay":"true","autoplay_speed":"8000","speed":"1000","arrows":"true","dots":"false","loop":"true","nav_slide_column":5,"rtl":"false"}

DETAILS

LocationCairo,, Al Qahirah Egypt
ClientGeneral Organization of Physical Planning Cairo Government
SERVICE:
Size927 acres

The Khedive’s Cairo is often referred to as the heart of modern Cairo.  Laid out by Ismail Pacha in the late 19th century, the Khedive’s Cairo was a physical manifestation of the governmental and societal evolution that the Khedive envisioned for Egypt.  Like many American and European cities, time and intense pressures of population growth has caused this important cultural and business district to lose much of the luster that once characterized Cairo’s importance on the world stage.  SWA’s plan uses the rich cultural, historic and natural features that remain to create a framework for revitalizing this important district resulting in a new business, tourist and residential center for Egypt’s growing middle class. While the Khedive’s plan for Cairo is laid out along European lines, the details of our Plan are based upon, and interpret the life style of the modern Egyptians that will inhabit the Khedive’s Cairo.

Rather than furnishing streets with Eurocentric rows of street trees, the plan calls for the use of “micro parks” to provide respite from the frenzy of Downtown Cairo and create a green matrix of usable open space that is imbedded into the fabric of the street. The “micro park” can take on a variety of forms but will typically be a raised garden or paved space of 30 to 50 square meters, which contains a cluster of broad canopy shade trees or an architectural trellis. Micro parks were created to specifically embrace the authentic way that Caireans use the street, and address the realities of maintaining stately rows of street trees in such an urban setting.

Related Projects

The Landscapes of Wuhai

The Inner Mongolian city of Wuhai is transforming from focusing on coal mining as its main industry to tourism. This very special place has many different, striking landscape types located within just 1666 sq. kilometers: sand dunes, mountains, and wetlands, plus adjacency to the Yellow River. Consequently, the city has decided to boost its tourism. Already pl...

South Waterfront Greenway

A bold new plan for the area along the Willamette River includes a 1-1/2 mile extension of the City’s downtown’s parks and the reclamation of the river’s edge for public recreation. Working closely with the City of Portland, developers, and natural resource advocates, the design team devised a rational plan that places access and activity in targeted nodes wit...

Shunde New City

The Pearl River Delta is the second largest bird migration delta and estuary in Southeast Asia. Preserving and restoring bird and wildlife corridors while also providing regional connectivity, transportation, and development options is at the pinnacle of today’s development challenges. In the Shunde New City Plan, urban development and nature are integra...

Gubei Gold Street

SWA was selected to conceptualize, design, and realize a rare find in bustling Shanghai—a pedestrian mall (Gold Street). The corridor occupies three city blocks, is flanked by 20-story high-rise residential towers with retail at street level and book-ended by SWA-designed parks. Creating an iconic presence and enlivening the area, the mall features plazas, fou...

City Creek Center

In the heart of Salt Lake City, City Creek Center is the retail centerpiece of one of the nation’s largest mixed-use downtown redevelopment projects. This unique fashion and dining destination includes a new two-story retail center and over 500 residential rental units over four levels of underground parking, all within a downtown setting that features s...

The Landscapes of Wuhai

The Inner Mongolian city of Wuhai is transforming from focusing on coal mining as its main industry to tourism. This very special place has many different, striking landscape types located within just 1666 sq. kilometers: sand dunes, mountains, and wetlands, plus adjacency to the Yellow River. Consequently, the city has decided to boost its tourism. Already pl...

Nanchang Xiangnan Urban Infill

Situated in the capital city of Jiangxi Province, which is known for its rich cultural and ecological resources, the Nanchang Urban Infill project strives to weave two new districts into the historical heart of the city. To the west, a tower and mall create a modern icon for Nanchang. Here, the landscape reinforces the architectural design through a fluid, con...

Hangzhou Grand Canal

For centuries, the Beijing-Hangzhou’s Grand Canal – a staggering 1,000 linear miles which remain the world’s longest man-made waterway – was a lifeline for commerce and communication. The water’s edge was necessary for trade, a logical place to live, and often a driver of innovation.  However, as with many waterfronts globally, it eventually fell victim to the...