Contemporary Architecture of EgyptReflections on Architecture and Urbanismof the Nineties

Ashraf M. A. Salama, Ph.D.Architectural Educator

Al/Azhar University & Misr Intl. UniversityCairo - Egypt

Submitted for publication and presentation in theRegional Seminar:

Architecture Reintroduced:New Projects in

Societies in Change

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA)& The American University of Beirut (AUB)

Beirut, Lebanon24/27 November, 1999

Contemporary Architecture of EgyptReflections on Architecture and Urbanism of the Nineties

Ashraf M. A. Salama, Ph.D.Architectural EducatorAl/Azhar University & Misr Intl. UniversityCairo – Egypt

CONTENTS

- Abstract

1. Introduction- The Economic Context and Its Impact on the Development Process- Professional and Educational Milieus

2. The Eighties: A Prologue for the Nineties- Imageability, Legibility and the Search for a New Identity

3. The Nineties: Generic Features of a Transitional Period- The Scope of Practice is Expanding- Other Professionals are Competing with Architects- Bilateral and Multinational Projects are Overrunning- Government Agencies and International Organizations are Collaborating inthe Development Process

4. Egyptian Architecture is Changing its Public Face- Post Modernism in Egypt- Historicism and Historical Revivalism- Regionalized Modernism or Modernized Regionalism- Other Influences

5. Culture, Environment, and the Architecture of Resistance- Hager El Dabiah Village: A Socio-Cultural Paradigm- Rehabilitation by People Participation- Adaptive Reuse and Architectural Recycling

6. Reading Future Trends from Architectural Advertising

7. Interviewing Name Egyptian Architects by Architecture Students

8. Conclusion- Concluding Remarks

9. References

- Acknowledgment

Contemporary Architecture ofEgypt

Reflections on Architecture andUrbanism of the Nineties

Ashraf M. A. Salama, Ph.D.Architect and Educator

Address: Misr Development Co. Zone 1/ Bldg 48, SheratonHeliopolis

Cairo 11361, EgyptPhone: ++20 2 266 1732

Fax: ++20 2 291 8059Email: ash.bera@gega.net

ABSTRACTAt the end of the 20th century, and as we approachthe beginning of the third millennium, a moment ofreflection and contemplation is really needed. Inthe past decade there have been radical changesin architectural practices in Egypt. It has becomecommon to observe that major shifts are occurringin the realms of architecture and urbanization.These shifts are dramatically changing the publicface of Egyptian architecture. On the one hand,there have been changes that will definitely alterthe role architects and planners can play. Theseare due to the emanation of new architecturalservices, complex building types and activities,and bilateral and multinational projects. It isevident that the profession in Egypt is beingdiffused into several new activities and roles.There emerge specialists in architecturalprogramming, cost analysis/control, office andconstruction management, landscape architecture,client relations, research, real estate developmentand architectural marketing. On the other hand, wehave witnessed more involvement of localarchitects and urban planners, together withinternational agencies, government, NGOs, andthe private sector in urban development, historicpreservation, and sustainable urban conservationprojects.

A wide range of innovative designs representingdisparate trends can also be observed. Along withthese trends, movements toward green design anda more culturally and environmentally responsive

architecture are implicitly and slowly dawning. Withthese honest attempts to tame architectural andurban development processes, one can assert thatwhile Egyptian architects generally manageindividual buildings well enough, the overall builtenvironment is increasingly mismanaged, and theprocess of architectural education has been slowto respond to these shifts.

This paper investigates the current status ofarchitecture and urbanism in Egypt. It bases itsargument on the recent developments in the field,links these developments with socioeconomiccontexts, explores the nineties architectural trends,and examines the role of different actors in theseprocesses. The paper relies heavily on presentingexamples of projects that exemplify variousarchitectural and design positions. Results ofinterviews with name Egyptian architects, andconclusions drawn from questioning architecturaladvertising in major newspapers are discussedand associated with the overall argument. Thepaper ends with a conceptual vision for the futureof architectural profession and the blinking newparadigm.

________________________________________Dr. Ashraf M. A. Salama is Assistant Professor ofArchitecture, Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.Currently, he is the Acting Head, Department ofArchitecture, Misr International University (MIU) in Cairo.He has written over 20 articles in International Conferencesand Archival Journals, and has written two books: NewTrends in Architectural Education: Designing the DesignStudio (1995), and Human Factors in Environmental Design(1998). Salama has contributed to the UNESCO Charter ofArchitectural Education. He is the Director of ArchitecturalEducation Work Program of the UIA, Region V, and co-coordinator of IAPS Education Network.

He was the recipient of the first award of the InternationalArchitectural Design Studio, University of Montreal, Canada(1990), and recently won the Paul Chemetove Prize for hisproject on Architecture and the Eradication of Poverty, a UNInternational Ideas Competition (1998). He is a technicalconsultant for Environmental Quality International, TourismDevelopment Authority, and other local and internationalorganizations.

1. INTRODUCTIONContemporary Egypt has witnessed radical shiftsin several walks of life. The intention of thisintroductory section is to highlight the major shiftswith special emphasis on the economic contextwithin which the development process takes place.The professional and educational contexts ofarchitecture and urbanism that enable thedevelopment process to occur are discussed andelaborated.

The Economic Context and Its Impact on theDevelopment ProcessDuring the last three decades, the Egyptianeconomy has passed through three distinct, butrelated, phases. These were the open door policy,the economic reform, and privatization. The opendoor policy took place during the period from 1974to 1981. It placed emphasis on encouraging theprivate sector, at both regional and internationallevels, to develop and employ new investmentplans. Laws associated with this policy have beentailored to facilitate investments and trade,especially in aspects that pertain to taxes andtrade. The economic reform occupied the wholedecade of the Eighties. The government policywas to develop plans that create parallel directionstoward both economic and social development. Toaccomplish this, the government has designated50% of its total investments to the efforts carriedout by the private sector. The law no. 23 of theyear 1989 stated that the rules and foundations oflocal investment plans are to be directed to desertdevelopment, land reclamation, industrialdevelopment, housing and urban development,and tourism.

The preceding two phases have been culminatedinto the privatization era which started in 1991. Itemphasizes the effective interaction with marketdynamics as stated in the law no. 263 for the year1991. The law mentions that the holdingcompanies are to replace the public sectoragencies with the aim of transformingpublic/government projects into privateinvestments in order to minimize and limit the roleof public sector and its interference with strategicprojects upon which the national economy relies.Directly and indirectly, this has influenced theurbanization process, especially with the intensiveindustrial development, while ignoring agriculturaldevelopment (Hamdy, 1997).

Corresponding to the privatization process, threetypes of planning are emerging. The first is trendplanning, a type that measures the market needsand tends to put minimum constraints on theactivities of the private sector. The second type isleverage planning that aims at ameliorating themarket performance sponsored by the publicsector in order to improve the operatingenvironment for development projects. Privatemanagement planning is the third type that relieson the private sector in managing urbandevelopment processes. A redistribution of rolesand powers has been conceived. The governmentrole is now reconsidered where it is supposed tobe minimal in production and development andmaximal in environmental protection. It isenvisaged that the government role is to 1) providesecurity, safety and public services, 2) direct theactivities of the private sector to public benefitsand welfare, and 3) create employmentopportunities. The privatization process and itsresults can now be seen in the active participationof the private sector in housing and servicedevelopment. However, the overrated andoverestimated real estate development is nowtaking place. Evidently, the private sector targetsstrategic locations inside the urban perimeter ofcities, especially in Cairo, for developing projectsof special nature such as commercial centers andoffice buildings. It also directs its housing projectsof the new cities to the affluent population and theupper middle class.

Professional and Educational MilieusAssociated with the above economic context, awide range of innovative designs representingdisparate trends has been materialized. Along withthese trends, movements toward green design anda more culturally and environmentally responsivearchitecture are implicitly and slowly dawning. Withthese honest attempts to tame architectural andurban development processes, one can assert thatwhile Egyptian architects generally manageindividual buildings well enough, the overall builtenvironment is increasingly mismanaged. This isdue to the contrast dichotomy in which planningand architectural professions exist. The twodisciplines have historically experienced arelationship that varies from complementary tocompetitive, from positive to negative, and fromparallel to juxtapositional. The operating

environment of planning and architecturalpractices is currently under major conflicts that canbe exemplified by these three aspects 1) how itlooks versus how it works, 2) the strategic planversus the master plan, and 3) the physical cityversus the economic and demographic city(Salama, 1999).

Underlying the economic development and theaffiliated trends in planning and architecturalpractices, the educational milieu has beenwidened and increased in terms of the number ofprograms, graduates, current students enrolled inthese programs, and concomitantly, the number ofteaching staff and faculty members.

The establishment of architectural education inEgypt goes back to the Thirties of the 19th century.

However, the real establishment of highereducation in architecture was in 1929. Until the1980, there were only nine departments ofarchitecture that fell essentially under the umbrellaof either engineering or fine arts. Some of thesedepartments have experienced periods ofreestablishment or restructuring. All in all, thesewere Cairo University (1834-1929-1936),Alexandria University (1941), Fine Arts in Cairo(1910-1945), Fine Arts in Alexandria (1945), AinShams University (1950), Assuit University (1957),Al/Azhar University (1964), Zagazig University inShoubra (1975), and Helwan University in Mataria(1980). In addition to these nine departments, twoplanning programs have been established atAl/Azhar University (1964), and Cairo University(1980).

Figure (1) Residential Towers of Arab Contractors, Maadi, CairoSource: Arab Contractors Photo Labs

Accompanying the privatization process and thegovernment plans for educational reform, therehas been sudden emergence of severalarchitectural programs. During the period from1989 to 1995, five departments of architecture atregional universities in the Delta Valley and UpperEgypt have been established. These are TantaUniversity, Menofia University, MansouraUniversity, Suez Canal University, and fine arts atMenia University. Three other departments ofarchitecture at private higher institutes have beenestablished in the same period. Also, the ArabAcademy for Science and Technology hasconstituted two other departments, one inAlexandria (1994-1995) and a recent one in Cairo(1999). For the first time in the Egyptian History,privatization reached fully to universities, wherefour private universities have been establishedbased on a Presidential Decree in 1996. Theseuniversities are Misr International University (MIU),University for Modern Science and Arts (MSA),Misr University for Science and Technology(MUST), and October University.

The jump from 9 programs in 1980 to 25 programsat the end of the Nineties is really a problematic,where the number of practicing architects is30.000 and it is expected that it will be doubled inthe next decade. The number of students enrolledin the 25 programs at different grade levels is nowapproximately 5000. While the new privateuniversities attempt to reconfigure the educationalprocess in terms of the knowledge content and the

way in which this content is delivered, publicuniversities are still using their original curriculathat have been developed decades ago. In veryfew cases slight changes take place.

This has resulted in severe problems. Some ofthese can be identified as viewing architecture asart and only an art, the lack of knowledge and thefailure to deal with the realities of professionalpractice and to anticipate the future needs ofsociety, and the gaps between knowledge anddesign and education and practice. In this respect,questioning the quality of the recent graduates andthe competency of current students as futureprofessionals will remain a crucial issue thatimposes itself on the map of academic andprofessional research, and will continue to occupya major position among the recent debates.

2. THE EIGHTIES: A PROLOGUE FOR THENINETIESImageability, Legibility and the Search for aNew IdentityThe built environment conveys environmentalmessages that reflect inner life, activities, andsocial conceptions of those who live in and usethat environment in association with the actionsand values of society (Sanoff, 1991). As a society,we tend to reevaluate the meaning and desirabilityof built environments rather rapidly. What wasvisually acceptable some years ago becomes nowunacceptable, and what was considered eyesore

Figure (2) The National Sporting Hall. Built for African Sports Championship, 1991Source: Arab Contractors Photo Labs

and ugly while ago has become valued andacquired meaning over time. However, there arevisual qualities that should not be avoided and thatshould occupy a major preoccupation at any giventime and place.

Three qualities can be identified here to reflect onthe visual aspects of the Egyptian builtenvironment during the last two decades. Thesequalities are imageability, legibility, and identity.Imageability is the ability an environmentpossesses to create an image. Thus, builtenvironments should have certain qualities thatgive a high probability of evoking a strong image insociety. Legibility is that the built environment isnot confusing, an environment that is easy to readand that allows people to know their whereabouts(Lynch, 1960; Antoniades, 1993). Identity is thecollective aspect of the set of characteristics bywhich a building or a portion of a built environmentis definitively recognizable.

The Seventies and Eighties in Egypt havewitnessed the establishment of new cities andmass housing projects have been erected aroundthe urban belt of most Egyptian cities. However,

Figure (3) Children Library, Giza, Egypt, 1990By Magd MasarraPhoto: Ashraf Salama

many of these projects lacked the preceding threequalities. The entrances and exits of the majorcities are now suffering from ugliness and thepublic is starving to see visually appealingenvironments. During this period, very fewattempts have been made to create builtenvironments that would address imageability,legibility, and identity. It is believed that this periodwas a prelude for the Nineties, where severalbuildings and housing developments have beenbuilt and created, placing emphasis on producingdistinctive visual images.

The question that can be raised at this point is: arethese images appropriate in terms of reflecting theEgyptian historic culture, or local climaticconditions, or socioeconomic contexts? A partialanswer can be made, as these were honestattempts toward creating visual quality andmatching architecture with the public taste.However, the rest of the answer remains achallenge to both the professional and academiccommunity.

3. THE NINETIES:GENERIC FEATURES OF A TRANSITIONALPERIODWithin the last few years, there have been radicalchanges in architectural practices in Egypt. It hasbecome common to observe that major shifts areoccurring in the realms of architecture andurbanization. These shifts are dramaticallychanging the public face of Egyptian architecture.The major changes in the profession ofarchitecture can be identified in terms of genericfeatures that distinguish this period. Thesefeatures are 1) the expansion of the scope ofpractice, 2) the imbalance of competition betweenarchitects and other professionals, 3) theemergence of bilateral and multinational projects,and 4) the intensive collaboration between thegovernment and international organizations. Whentalking about contemporary architecture of Egypt,a discussion of those features would beindispensable.

The Scope of Practice is ExpandingThe demand for new architectural services isincreasing. This is evident in the number ofarchitects, firms, recent graduates, andarchitectural programs. However, it is surprisingthat many Egyptian architects believe the opposite,since not all architects and firms have benefitedfrom the overall general growth of the profession.

The growth of the demand for new architecturalpractices has been accompanied by radical shiftsin the types of architectural services. Apparently,the profession in Egypt is being diffused intoseveral new activities and roles. There emergespecialists in architectural programming, costanalysis and control, office and constructionmanagement, landscape architecture, clientrelations, research, real estate development, andarchitectural marketing. These activities requireskills beyond the capacity of the traditionalarchitect. In turn, this threatens the traditionalapproaches of conceiving the skills required forsuccessful practice.

As a result, new types of clients have emerged.They seek services that have not previously beenidentified as specific skills of the architect. Suchservices range from maintenance and buildingdiagnostics to modifying an existing building.However, one can identify three major types of

emerging services: interior architecture, surfacetreatment architecture, and commercialarchitecture. On the one hand, in several respects,the design of interior spaces has replaceddesigning the building shell. On the other hand, thetendency towards surface treatment architectureand commercial architecture that can be named asfacade architecture has emerged from the beliefamong clients that buildings with distinctive visualappearance can excite public attention. Examplesof these new services can be found in severalshopping malls designed and built in strategicurban areas, especially in Cairo and Alexandria.Facade architecture can be seen in the groundfloor commercial strips of several old and newhousing projects, and in the commercial stripsincorporated within the fences of sporting clubs.

Figure (4) An Example of SurfaceTreatment Architecture.Al/Horrya Mall, Cairo, 1995By Farouk Al-GoharyPhoto: Ashraf Salama

Other Professionals are Competing withArchitectsIn the Nineties, it is widely acknowledged thatthere is an imbalance of competition betweenarchitects and other specialists. One can identifytwo major groups that compete with architects;sometimes in a negative manner and other times itresults in a positive relationship. The first groupencompasses interior designers and landscapearchitects. The competition between architects andinterior designers stems from the overlappingissues addressed by each domain. Obviously, thisis usually associated with building types such asoffice buildings and work environments, since theyare mainly based on organizing and designingpartitions and inside walls, selection and

arrangements of furniture, and specifyingequipment. Landscape architects are alsocompeting heavily with architects especially in thedesign of outdoor environments of many touristand recreational projects in Sinai Peninsula andthe Red Sea region.

The second group of competitors includescontracting companies, construction managers,and investment agencies. It is important to realizethe sense in which this group challengesarchitects. They usually hire well experiencedarchitects to handle their design work, and, insome cases, to help them achieve their hiddenagenda.

Figure (5) Example of Shops Architecture. A Commercial Strip at Al-Obour Apartment Buildings in CairoPhoto: Ashraf Salama

Bilateral and Multinational Projects areOverrunningIn the architectural and real estate developmentmarket, it is apparent that there are several large-scale projects that are carried out by joint venturescompanies of consultants. In this respect,collaboration is now taking place within twomanners. It occurs between local architecturalfirms and expatriate professionals who seize workopportunities especially in the realms of interiordesign and landscape architecture. Furthermore,teams of international firms carry out someprojects totally or partially, such as S.O.M. andH.O.K. One of the examples that illustrate thisfeature is Conrad International Cairo Hotel, a multiuse complex that consists of apartments, hotel,offices, and retail spaces. There are similarprojects in which international firms are involved,such as First Residence at Giza, extension ofCairo Meridien, Arcadia Mall, Soma Bay ResortsSouth of Hurgada, and many others.

Figure (6) First Residence at Giza, 1998/1999By Consortium of International Consulting FirmsManagement by Bechtel International IncorporatedSource: Medina Magazine, Issue no 1

Figure (7) Conrad International Cairo Hotel, Cairo, 1998By SOM and Ali Nour Eddin NassarManagement by Bechtel International IncorporatedSource: Medina Magazine, Issue no 1

Government Agencies and InternationalOrganizations are Collaborating in theDevelopment ProcessIn the development process that is currently takingplace there are several types of projects that havebeen conducted via collaboration betweengovernment bodies and internat ionalorganizations. Three government agencies appearto be active and promising. These are theSupreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), GeneralOrganization of Physical Planning (GOPP), andTourism Development Authority (TDA). It shouldbe noted here that while some projects are onlydevoting to tracing problems and envisioningsolutions, others take further steps and concernthemselves with the implementation of urbandevelopment plans.

The Supreme Council of Antiquities is currentlyconducting several projects in collaboration withother government bodies and internationalorganizations, such as UNESCO, UNDP, theHistoric Cities Support Program of the AKTC, andseveral European missions from Germany,France, Italy, Belgium, and other countries. Theseprojects range from archaeological excavations torestoration of historic buildings. Old Cairo occupiesa major position in this collaborative developmentprocess.

The Ministry of Housing represented by its twomajor organizations, General Organization forPhysical Planning (GOPP), and the Housing andBuilding Research Center (HBRC), have been veryactive on several accounts. GOPP, during the lastdecade, has developed several action plans ofurban development projects around the majorcities, and has envisioned many developmentprojects for intermediate cities in the Delta Valleysuch as Damietta, and in Upper Egypt such asAssuit. Currently, HBRC is collaborating with theInternational Institute for Housing Studies ofNetherlands in a long term project that involvescapacity building of architects working in localauthorities in urban development realms.

The TDA has also contributed heavily to urbandevelopment processes, especially in Sinai andthe Red Sea region. It is involved in projects thatrange from reviewing design concepts of touristfacilities and their match with building bylaws and

environmental regulations to developing bestpractices manuals. In 1996, TDA has started aprocess with the US-AID for the promotion ofenvironmentally sustainable tourism.

Currently, awareness seminars are held andguidelines are published as part of environmentalpolicy and institutional strengthening projects. Partof the TDA role is to encourage investment inecofriendly tourist facilities and green hotels.

4. EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE IS CHANGINGITS PUBLIC FACEThe current privatization process and the freeeconomy era have resulted in intensivearchitectural and urban development projects. Thishas led to a plurality of schools of thoughts, sincethere has been a fertile soil and an operatingenvironment that allow for new attempts at alllevels from the construction of individual houses tolarge scale architectural developments.

A parallelism between these processes anddifferent building types can be conceived. Severalnew private companies and banks have beenestablished and government agencies started toupdate and upgrade their facilities. As a result, theconstruction of office buildings can now be seen inmajor central urban areas.

With the establishment of private universities andinstitutes, one can find constructions ofeducational facilities here and there around greaterCairo. Also, government universities are updating,upgrading, and expanding their facilities. Manyschool buildings are now built to accommodate therising demand on private education.

All in all, there has been a surge in theconstruction of other building types such ascommercial buildings and shopping centers,factories, tourist facilities, and public buildings.Many of these occupied hot spots in urban areaswhile others contribute to the developmentprocesses in sub urban areas and desertenvironments across the country.

Post Modernism in EgyptThe international post modernism movement wasa direct challenge to many of the premises uponwhich modern architecture was based. It came toinclude advocacies and efforts ranging fromhistorical revival, historic eclecticism, andhistoricist attitudes to schizophrenic, illogicalapproaches of collage and elitism architecture. Itacknowledged the role of symbolism inarchitecture. In short, it was based on some logicalfundamentals and critical visions, since it viewedthat modernism was not able to satisfy emotionaland cultural needs of people while at the sametime expressing economic, scientific, andtechnological givens of the time. Post modernistsacknowledge the taste codes of the public as asource for their inclusion in their compositions, inthe belief that this will help their work communicatewith the users of architecture.

In Egypt, postmodern movement is formed withinthe framework of the international post modernism.

Figure (8) Headquarters of Faisal Bank, Cairo, 2000By Issam HafezPhoto: Ahmed Abdel Wahab

Figure (9) Headquarters Mohandes Insurance Co., Cairo, 1999By Ezzat SaidPhoto: Ahmed Abdel Wahab

It does not offer a critical vision of previous localarchitectural thoughts (modernism). Simply, it is atransformation from following the internationalmodernism to following the international postmodernism. In this respect, it can be argued thatEgyptian post modernism expresses acontinuation of the Westernization process. Themajor weakness here is that it does not go farenough in its acknowledgment of the needs andwishes of users. It does not actually address thefaults implicit in modernist architectural practices,but rather, it tacitly accepts them.

Categorizing or classifying the contemporaryarchitecture of Egypt is really a difficult anddaunting task. This is due to three main reasons.The first is the difficulty inherited in anyclassification effort, the second is the plurality ofarchitectural advocacies and trends, and the thirdis the overlapping concerns between the trends.Since the public face of postmodern Egyptianarchitecture is completely different from theproduct of international post modernism, theclassification of Egyptian post modernism shouldnot necessarily follow the classification ofinternational post modernism. However, there areoverlapping categories between the two. In sum,Egyptian post modernism of the Nineties can beclassified into two major trends that illustrate theimpact of historic and heritage architecture on theworks of Egyptian architects. Never the less,historic and heritage references differ across thewide range of trends.

The two major trends that express Egyptianarchitecture of the Nineties are on one handhistoricism mixed with historical revivalism, and onthe other hand, regionalized modernism ormodernized regionalism. It is worthy to mentionthat several other trends can be observed but cannot be categorized. However, for the purpose ofclassification these trends will be categorizedunder other influences.

Historicism and Historical RevivalismSeveral Egyptian architects envisaged theselection of many historic features. This has beenmaterialized with a strong reference to theEgyptian history that has a rich mix of manyproducts of three main Egyptian cultures, thePharonic, the Coptic, and the Islamic. Theybelieved that simulating the history in

contemporary buildings would help establish asense of belonging and a strong emotional tiebetween society and the built environment. In thisrespect, one can argue that also eclecticism, thelicense to select, borrow, and copy from the pastwas revived. Concomitantly, to copy from the pastbecame, unfortunately, logically acceptable.

There are many examples that represent theattitude and movement of current Egyptianarchitects toward historicism in architecture. Somearchitects have developed their projects based onthe features of Pharonic architecture while many ofthem placed emphasis on copying features ofIslamic architecture. However, most of them havetried to adapt those features to the contemporaryimage of buildings.

In the exhibition hall and factory of OrientalWeavers, Moemen Afify and Amro El Halfawyattempted to borrow and adapt features ofPharonic architecture. The building looks like atemple but with different proportions. The SupremeCourt of Egypt is another example built in Maadi,Cairo. The building is designed in a monumentalscale and style by the Egyptian young architectAhmed Mito. It includes counseling halls, a multipurpose hall for 450 people, offices, a library, amuseum, and a large atrium that rises up to 18meters and covered by a dome. Originally, theproject was an international competition in 1994with about 48 participants. After much debate anddiscussions Ahmed Mito won the competition.However, he completely redesigned the buildingand finalized it in its present status (Medinamagazine, 1998).

Figure (10) The Supreme Court of Egypt, Cairo, 1999By Ahmed MitoSource: Medina Magazine, Issue no 2.

Figure (9) Headquarters Mohandes Insurance Co., Cairo, 1999By Ezzat SaidPhoto: Ahmed Abdel Wahab

Figure (11) The Supreme Court of Egypt, Maadi, Cairo, 1999By Ahmed MitoPhoto: Ashraf Salama

Figure (12) Factory and Exhibition Hall of Oriental Weavers, 10th of Ramadan City, 1994By Moemen Afify and Amro El HalfawySource: Courtesy of Moemen Afify

In the headquarters of Oriental Weavers, FaroukAl Gohary uses hierarchical arches and designsthe building with an inner courtyard. Openings arecovered with stucco screens. It is believed that thishas been to simulate the past with a contemporaryimage. Also, apartment buildings that have beenbuilt in the nineties deserve special attention,where features of Islamic architecture areborrowed to localize the public face of architecture.An example of this trend can be found in the worksof Ashraf Salah Abo Seif who avoids the use ofany modern visual features and heavily usesshallow arches and wooden pergolas andharmonizes the overall building shell in an attemptto simulate and adapt Islamic heritage.

Some other architects went to the extreme andallowed themselves to copy and paste from thepast. In Khan Al Azizia project, the developer andthe architect wanted to create, in the desert, animage similar to that of old Cairo. The architectcopied some features of old Cairo such asmashrabya and narrow openings. An attempt wasmade to add and hybrid some other features.However, the overall appearance is notconvincing, since the building purpose does notmatch its activities and users.

Figure (13) Headquarters of Oriental Weavers, Heliopolis,Cairo, 1994By Farouk Al-GoharyPhoto: Ashraf Salama

Figure (14) Headquarters of Oriental Weavers, Heliopolis, Cairo, 1994By Farouk Al-GoharyPhoto: Ashraf Salama

Figure (15) Apartment Buildings Built in the Nineties in Different Parts of Cairo: Dokki, Mohandseen, and MokattamBy Ashraf Salah Abo SeifPhoto: Ahmed Abdel Wahab

Figure (16) Khan Al Azizia. A Commercial and Recreational Center, Cairo/Alexandria Desert Road, 1999An Example of Historic Eclecticism.By Ashraf SabryPhoto: Ahmed Abdel Wahab

Regionalized Modernism or ModernizedRegionalismDuring the current period of intense developmentin Egypt, no doubt there are considerableachievements. Good designs emerge here andthere across the country. However, the overalldesign standard is disappointing and the pluralityof architectural trends is confusing. Under thestrong global economic and cultural impacts, Egypthas witnessed the erosion of regional/local identityand concomitantly is experiencing the loss ofvisual anchors to the soul of most cities. WereWesternization and Globalization the reasons?

Globalization generally refers to an economicallydriven process, whereby the politics, economic,and culture of one country penetrate othercountries (Pennell, 1997). It is seen as a force thatcan unite economic forces while at the same timecausing social and cultural resistance to theseforces. It is believed that globalization hasextremely influenced the national economy.However, its impact on local cultures can not bemeasured now, but certainly, it will influencesocio/cultural aspects on the long term. It shouldbe our concern that cultural globalization iscoming, regional identities will be destroyed more,and many outstanding sub cultural regions will betransformed into plain looking environments.

A balanced architectural development is clearly onthe rise, where globalization and regionalizationshould be regarded as two sides of a coin and thusthey are inseparable. Never the less, their weightsvary in different circumstances. In this respect, onecan argue that some cultures can be absorbed tobecome ingredients of new regional cultures. Thispoints to regionalized modernism/modernizedregionalism.

When the formal vocabulary is closely related withindigenous space concept and spacecharacteristics, one can find supreme examplesthat give people an opportunity to reconstructmissing links in their traditional culture and toenhance their learning process of it. However,there is a danger in this trend, since it mayproduce a sort of style, which might easily betransformed into a built environment that issuperficially appealing to local people and to thetourism industry.

The attitude toward regionalized modernism canbe found in the works of Abdel Halim Ibrahim TheNile Gallery or Qaet El Nil, designed by himincludes art exhibition halls, art galleries, a bookshop, a cinema, an art café, restaurants, seminarrooms and workshops. He attempted toincorporate the new modern function into heritagevalues. His main concern was to link the currentart movement in Egypt with the Arabic and Islamiccultural heritage. Instead of designing a universalspace, he designed several halls, each of whichhas its own identity, character, and privacy. Also,an attempt was made to create other links with thepast. This was either physically through designinga path that penetrates the building and allowsvisitors of the Opera area to watch the exhibitsfreely and casually, or spiritually andpsychologically through the use of color, texture,and distinctive intimate masses. The mail hall isroofed and supported by steel trusses that arecovered by a glass roof for natural lightingpurposes. The mix of the use of stones in thefaçade and steel and glass inside creates anotherlink between local visual images and global hightech. Another positive aspect is the match betweenthe building and its surroundings, especially thehybrid architecture of the Opera House. In fact, theproject is a deep and thoughtful attempt toward thedevelopment of contemporary Egyptian culturalidentity.

Figure (17) The Nile Gallery, Opera Grounds, Cairo, 1997An Example of Regionalized Modernism/Modernized RegionalismBy Abdel Halim IbrahimPhoto: Ahmed Abdel Wahab

Another example is Serena Beach Resort inQuseir that has been designed by Rami El Dahanand Soheir Farid. The project includes 180 hotelrooms clustered around inner yards and connectedwith a clear path, the main building, cafeteria,restaurants, a health club, a gym, and a divingcenter. They utilize sandstone for walls extractedfrom the nearby mountains, and domes and vaultsfor roofs.

The major positive aspect in the project is that itbecame an exemplar of using local materials,where other projects are now utilizing sameconstruction techniques without addition ormodification. Also, it helped to create a characterfor a coastal desert area. However, there is aconflict between three aspects in this project,building materials and traditional constructiontechniques, the image and character, and the newlifestyle.

Although the use of local materials contributes tothe creation of a local image, it does not help tocreate local lifestyle, where central air conditioningsystems are operated to reduce the temperature inall buildings.

Figure (19) Serena Beach Resort, Quseir, Egypt, 1994By Rami El Dahan and Soheir FaridPhoto: Ayman Taher

Figure (18) The Nile Gallery, Opera Grounds, Cairo, 1997By Abdel Halim IbrahimPhoto: Ahmed Abdel Wahab – Drawing: Alam Albenaa, April, 1998

In fact, it is disappointing to see the grills of airexists and returns of an air conditioning system ina dome built with local materials. Thus, it can beargued that the project is superficially appealing tothe local community, visitors from Egypt, andinternational visitors.

Other InfluencesOther trends that can not be classified are groupedunder this category. There are many examplesthat delineate eclecticism, but this time they,consciously or unconsciously, employ copyingfrom Western contemporary or classical images.Another trend is avoiding the use of any referencewhether historic or contemporary, local or western.This trend can be named basic design exercises inbuilding facades. In this respect, one can arguethat this attitude is based only on the creativeimpulses and intrinsic feelings of the architectwithout giving any attention to the extrinsicinfluences exemplified by historic, cultural, andenvironmental concerns.

The plurality of architectural trends has reached itsmaximum in some parts of Egypt, especially incoastal areas. One can find in Hurghada manyconfusing images of tourist facilities in one street.Some of these images naively simulate differentEgyptian cultures, others simulate classicalarchitecture, while the rest simulate naturalenvironments.

Figure (20) Integrated care Society, Heliopolis, 1997An Example of A basic Design ExerciseBy Magd MasarraPhoto: Ashraf Salama

Figure (21) Ministry of Finance and Tax Department, Nasr City, 1996An Example of A basic Design ExerciseBy Farouk Al GoharyPhoto: Arab Contractors Photo Labs

Figure (22) Confusing Plurality of Entrance Images of Tourist Facilities, Hurghada, 1990sPhoto: Ashraf Salama

5. CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT, AND THEARCHITECTURE of RESISTANCEOpposite to the Westernization of Egyptianarchitecture and the immersion of many architectsin developing a kind of architecture that onlysatisfies market demands, few responsiveattitudes have emerged. Some architects havedeveloped sincere attempts towards thedevelopment of another kind of architecture thatcorresponds to cultural and environmentaldemands. These attempts should be regarded aspositive reactions toward culture and environment.

During the last few years several architecturalexperiments have been introduced. These rangefrom the restoration of historic buildings toadaptive reuse projects and from rural housingdevelopments to ecofriendly tourist facilities.However, the discussion here is limited to threeaspects that are conceived as different forms ofresistant architecture.

Hager El Dabiah Village: A Socio-culturalParadigmIn 1993, the Upper Egypt region was inflicted withan avalanche of torrid floods that wiped out manyvillages and small urban settlements. Thegovernment embarked upon a plan to resettle thevictims of these floods and rebuild a number ofdwellings equivalent to those damaged or wipedout especially in the region between Assuit andQena. The Egyptian Red Crescent Association(ERCA) decided to participate in the initialresettling of flood victims. It supported the idea ofproviding an exemplar of resettling efforts. A site inQena has been selected to establish a modelrescue settlement consisting of a prototype 124unit settlement.

Ahmmed Abdou, a professor of architecture and apracticing architect has been appointed by ERCAand the Ministry of Social Affairs to develop adesign proposal and envision the appropriateconstruction methods. The proposal was basedon an interactive design approach by having floodvictims participate in planning, design, andconstruction of dwelling units. Thus, emphasis wasplaced on the reduction of construction costs,creating employment opportunities, providingvillagers with educational experience in buildingconstruction, and developing a sense ofownership.

The project is built on a 16 acres area. It includes124 courtyard housing units, social building forgroup activities, market place (Souk), Mosque, andgatehouse. The construction of the project wasbased on utilizing local materials in the building ofall project components. Limestone is used for wallbuilding, fired silt based, and cored bricks are usedfor roofing, domes and vaulting. Since the projectrepresents a participatory approach in a contingentsituation that needed immediate action, it is worthyto note several positive aspects that this projecthas achieved:

- Convincing local authorities of the high value ofusing appropriate building technology and localmaterials.- Creating local employment opportunities, sincelocal citizens have acquired new skills in buildingthrough their comprehensive and activeparticipation in the building process.- Creating a sense of belonging by involving thevillagers in all phases of the project.- Developing a very cost effective project byutilizing local building materials that have beenretrieved from the neighboring sites.

Figure (23) Construction Works of Hager El Dabiah Village,Qena, Egypt, 1997By Ahmed AbdouPhotos: Courtesy of Ossama Abdou

Rehabilitation by People ParticipationSeveral small projects for restoration andrehabilitation of the 19th century architecture havebeen carried out during the last five years. As aresult of extensive investigation into Old Cairo,Salah Z. Said, a professor of architecture and apracticing architect has been doing comprehensiveworks for documenting late 19th century and early20th century houses, together with his students atAl Azhar University. The results of thedocumentation process culminated in identifyingseveral houses that need to be restored andrehabilitated.

It should be noted that restoration works for nonlisted traditional houses is not an issue for eitherthe authorities of antiquities or for Cairogovernorate. Concomitantly, the argument behindprotecting these houses is that they form the realurban environment of Old Cairo. If neglected andabandoned, they will be deteriorated anddemolished and the current historic buildings listedas monuments will have no value since they will beisolated without a connecting urban fabric.

Based on small funding from the AmericanResearch Center in Egypt (ARCE), four houseshave been rehabilitated with the involvement ofresidents. Group discussions with owners andusers took place in order to identify their majorconcerns, then technical inspection has beencarried out. Negotiations were to define the roleresidents could play. The involvement of residentsvaried across the rehabilitation process of thethree houses. Some provided constructionmaterials and installation equipment while othersparticipated as labor in the remodeling process.Within the restoration process, several elementshave been replaced such as staircases, bearingwalls, and sanitary pipes and equipment.Balconies and windows have been replaced orrestored as of original, and roofs have beeninsulated.

After the completion of this project, residents felt asense of pride for their contribution. Some of themhave acquired skills during the process. Now, it iscommon to see more architects involvingthemselves in proposals for several projects ofsimilar nature. It is believed that the movementtowards conservation projects will be one of theimportant concerns in the next few decades.

Figure (25) Beyt Sokkar, A late 19th Century House in OldCairo (before restoration)Photo: Courtesy of Salah Z. Said

Figure (26) Beyt Sokkar, Restored by Salah Z. Said, 1998Photo: Courtesy of Salah Z. Said

Adaptive Reuse and Architectural RecyclingThe concept of adaptive reuse is to transformderelict, abandoned sites of historical, cultural, andartistic value into viable enterprises generatingrevenues, which can then be spent on operationand maintenance. This process benefits thesurrounding community by providing employmentand attracting tourists to historic districts.Notwithstanding, the preservation of the physical,aesthetic, and cultural integrity of historical sitesremains the objective of any such activities.

The validity of this concept is demonstrated by thefact that in many cases, historical sites arerehabilitated only to fall into disrepair soon afterrestoration has been completed, due to lack ofmaintenance. The concept has successfully beenapplied in different parts of the world, and theMinistry of Culture has previously applied a similarif not identical approach in Egypt.

Adopting the adaptive re-use concept, SheikhTawfik house in Quseir was restored. The historyof the house goes back to mid 18th century. Thehouse is located overlooking the Red Sea Cornishat Quseir. It has very distinguished hugemashrabia that covers about third of its mainfacad. For over 30 years it has been abandoned.Its ground floor was used from 1993 to 1995 asstorage space for a local beverage company.RECQ, a newly established NGO formed ofintellectuals from Quseir and some interestedinternational members who visit the area at leasttwice a year for their diving activities, participatedin improving the physical condition of the building.In collaboration with RECQ, Mohamed El Attatrand Ashmed Rashed restored the house anddeveloped a reuse proposal.

The house exemplifies one of the successfulefforts toward realizing the adaptive reuseconcept. It has been transformed into a hostel ofsix rooms, and lounges in the first and secondfloors, while the reception space, restaurant andkitchen occupy the ground floor. The hostel is inoperation since August 1999. The restorationproject involved training and participatory programand creating employment opportunities for locals.

Also, a number of other proposals are nowprepared for reusing several similar historicbuildings of the urban core of the city of Quseir.

Figure (27) Sheikh Tawfik House, Quseir, Egypt(before restoration)Photo: Ashraf Salama

Figure (28) Sheikh Tawfik House, Quseir, EgyptRestored by M. El-Attar and Ahmed Rashed, 1997Photo: Ashraf Salama

An integrated approach for adopting the adaptivereuse concept is concerned with bothenvironmental and cultural concerns. It is usuallybelieved that an adaptive reuse strategy isemployed only for heritage buildings for theirhistoric, cultural, or aesthetic values. However,such strategy should also be employed forenvironmental reasons. According to Mackenzie(1991), The use of an existing building in place ofthe construction of a new building can lead toobvious environmental benefits. Energy can besaved, and existing materials used rather thanwasted.

Now, recognition is growing of the environmentalbenefits of extending the life of an existingbuilding. An attempt that exemplifies thisapproach is transforming an existing house of anagricultural worker in a rural area close to Cairointo an artist house. Atef Fahim, professor ofarchitecture and practicing architect, who believesthat the role of the architect as master buildershould be revitalized, has conducted this project.

In fact, the project adopts the ideas of architecturalsustainability, and architectural recycling. Insteadof the demolition of the existing building, it hasbeen modified and remodeled. In addition, thearchitect took the responsibility of educating somemembers of the agricultural community, sinceduring the construction process he had to build byhimself to provide demonstration and instructionsto the builders. The project acts as an exemplar forremodeling, where several houses in thecommunity are now converted utilizing the sameapproach.

Figure (29) An agricultural House Converted to an Artist House, Sharkia, Egypt, 1999By Atef FahimPhotos: Ashraf Salama Drawing: Taher Said

6. READING FUTURE TRENDS FROMARCHITECTURAL ADVERTISINGA current exploratory process for reading futurearchitectural trends is now taking place by theauthor. The study aims at anticipating how thefuture of architecture and urban development isgoing to look like by analyzing all aspects that mayexist in an architectural ad. Al Ahram newspaper,the major reliable and the best selling Egyptiandaily paper has been selected to conduct thisinvestigation. The whole year of 1998 has beenidentified where 400 architectural ads have beenexamined.

Several issues have been envisaged in order totrace aspects that pertain to the location of the adin the newspaper, size of the ad, building typeadvertised, location of building, graphic content,written content and advertising slogan, characterand style, representation of owners, clients andlifestyles, representation of architects andconsulting teams, and finally financial aspects andmethods of payment. At the moment, not muchsophisticated statistical analysis has beenconducted. However, the frequency analysisprocedure tells a lot and reveals interesting andstriking results. The results presented here arelimited to some crucial issues.

The analysis delineates that the major buildingtypes advertised are resorts and tourist facilities

(46.50%), followed by apartment buildings(31.75%), and private houses (17.25%). Otherbuilding types recorded are commercial buildings(9.25%), office buildings (2.25%), and industrialfacilities (0.50%). This corroborates that the nextfew years will witness more housing and tourismdevelopment.

The major development processes are in newtowns around greater Cairo (23.25%), withingreater Cairo (19.25%), the Red Sea region(17.25%), the northern coast (16.50%), and Sinaipeninsula (15.50%). This indicates equaldistribution for development. However, UpperEgypt, and the Delta Valley have not beenmentioned at all in any ad.

The character of the proposed built environmentrepresented in the ads belongs mainly to thefeatures of post modernism. 57.00% of buildingsadvertised simulate contemporary Westernarchitecture, while 30.75% illustrate the newtendency toward classicism, and 11.00% simulateArabic and Islamic heritage. This indicates that theWesternization of architecture and the plurality oftrends will continue. The lifestyles and to whom thebuilt environments are designed, are observedonly in 9.75% of the ads, and architects are onlyrepresented in 2.25% of the total ads. Thisindicates that they will continue to be undervalued.

Figure (30 ) An Architectural Ad in Al Ahram Newspaper, 1998

7. INTERVIEWING NAME EGYPTIANARCHITECTS BY ARCHITECTURE STUDENTSWithin the process of investigating the currentstatus of contemporary architecture of Egypt it isimportant to have some clues on how Egyptianarchitects are viewing the future of the professionand how they perceive their role and responsibilitytowards society.

As part of Research Methods courses, interviewswith name Egyptian architects were conducted byAl-Azhar University students in 1997, and by MisrInternational University students in 1998. The totalnumber of architects interviewed was 15. Theobjective was to trace and explore some specificissues that pertain to the problems and challengesfacing the profession.

A content analysis procedure has been employed.Although the analysis reveals several crucialconcerns regarding the architects attitudes and theconsistency of their responses to the questionsraised, it reveals the following critical issues:

• They are frustrated regarding the contextwithin which architectural practices areperformed.

• They feel that the profession could notrealize how to convince the society of thevalue of architects and their work.

• Some of them see that the profession isthe weakest among other professions and thatthe Egyptian society in general undervaluesarchitects.

• They agree on the ineffectiveness ofprofessional organizations that have becomeonly concerned with social and medicalservices for architects and engineers.

• They believe that the profession is movingtowards large scale projects that are directedto the service of specific segments of society.

• They believe that social issues are not ofconcern to many in the Egyptian architecturalcommunity, and the concept of the architect assomeone who designs only for affluent clientswill continue.

• They agree that the major reason lyingbehind the poor quality of the builtenvironment is that building laws andregulations have conflict in themselves, and donot match several requirements that pertain toplanning, density, socioeconomic aspects,

climatic conditions, and aesthetic controls.

The preceding critical issues are far too serious tobe ignored or oversimplified. They imply the needfor radical rethinking of the structure of theprofession. The architectural section of theEgyptian Syndicate of Engineers should take theseissues seriously and search for ways in which theprofessional milieu can be ameliorated.

8. CONCLUSIONThe objective of this paper has been to explore thecurrent status of architecture and urbanism ofEgypt. Emphasis is placed on the trends ofNineties. The economic context within which thedevelopment process takes place has beenanalyzed and the professional and educationalmilieus that enable this process to occur havebeen elaborated and interpreted.

The striking aspect of these contexts is the impactof privatization on the operating environment of theprofession, education, and the overall builtenvironment. This impact is exemplified by twomajor transformations. The first is the jump from 9undergraduate programs of architecture in 1980 to25 programs at the end of the Nineties. Thesecond is the change in attitude from creatingillegible environments in the Eighties to the searchfor a new identity, and the emergence of surfacetreatment architecture in the Nineties. Within theprofessional milieu four generic features havebeen identified. These features confirm that theNineties should be regarded as a transitionalperiod that embraces major shifts. These havebeen outlined as 1) the scope of practice isexpanding, 2) other professionals are competingwith architects, 3) bilateral and multi nationalprojects are overrunning, and 4) governmentbodies and international organizations arecollaborating in the development process.

The paper has argued that the economic context,the professional and educational milieus, and thegeneric features of the Nineties have beenculminated to form a new public face for Egyptianarchitecture, where a wide range of innovativedesigns representing disparate trends haveemerged.

An attempt was made to identify, categorize, andclassify those trends into historicism and historicalrevivalism, and regionalized modernism ormodernized regionalism. Other trends have beenidentified and exemplified by eclecticism thatemploys copying images from Egyptian heritage,or classical architecture, or even fromcontemporary Western images. In addition to theimpact of privatization and the free economy era,the existence of these trends delineates the stronginfluence of the continued Westernization processand the emergence of cultural globalization.However, the trend of regionalized modernismrepresents conscious attempts toward thedevelopment of contemporary Egyptian culturalidentity. Another trend that is based only on thecreative impulses of the architect has beenrecorded where some architects exercise theirbasic design skills on building facades. All in all,Many Egyptian architects are immersingthemselves in exploring visual aspects withoutconcern for the role of architecture in enhancingcultural behaviors and attitudes.

Opposite to the above confusing trends, the paperhas identified a new type of architecture, thearchitecture of resistance that serves othersegments of society. Instead of responding only tothe market demands and serving only affluentclients, the architecture of resistance placesemphasis on cultural and environmental demands,and attempts to serve the poor, the powerless, themiddle class, and the underrepresented. Threetypes have been categorized into a socio/culturalparadigm, rehabilitation by people participation,and adaptive reuse and architectural recycling.They are regarded as different forms of resistance.

In order to supplement the exploratory process ofcontemporary architecture of Egypt and toanalytically describe the complete profile ofEgyptian architecture of the Nineties, the paperhas introduced results and conclusions of tworesearch studies. The first is an attempt to readand anticipate the future trends and developmentdirections, while the second is interviewing nameEgyptian architects by architecture students. Theresults of investigating many aspects ofarchitectural advertising reveal that the professionwill continue to serve only affluent clients and theplurality of confusing architectural trends willcontinue in search of an identity. The results

corroborates that society places low value onarchitects where the representation of architectsdid not exceed 2.25% in 400 architectural ads,while the clients, owners, and contractingcompanies are represented in 94% of the ads.

The second study revealed several crucial issuesthat pertain to the ineffectiveness of professionalorganizations, that social issues are not of concernto many architects, that the Egyptian societyundervalues architects, and that the building lawsand regulations have conflict in themselves. Theseissues should not be oversimplified. A radicalrethinking of the structure of the profession isurgently needed.

Concluding RemarksThe preceding results assert that the transitionalperiod will continue and will occupy the followingdecade or even more. This necessitates an urgentshift in attitude from architectural criticism to postoccupancy evaluation. The tradition of architecturalcriticism has contributed for years to superficialreactions of highly subjective judgments about thequality of architecture. Concomitantly, it is believedthat architectural criticism has very little value forprofessional architects since it fails to explain thereasons behind those subjective judgments.Reversibly, post occupancy evaluation of builtenvironments is intended to provide reliable andvalid information about the physical world. It is alsointended to provide information to improve thequality of design decision making and to predictthe quality of future built environments. The resultsof post occupancy evaluation studies are directedto those who design, manage, make decisionsabout the built environment, while the results ofarchitectural criticism are only directed to theacademic community.

Every single attempt and architectural experimentshould be systematically evaluated by thecommunity of scholars, academics, practitioners,and the users. The profession should betransformed from viewing architecture as an artbased profession to society based profession oreven to science based profession. This shouldtake place in order not to repeat the samemistakes over and over again, and before losingour credibility in the eyes of society.

9. REFERENCES- Anoniades, A. (1993). Architecture and AlliedDesign. An Environmental Design Perspective.Dubuque, IA: Kendall and Hunt Publishing Co.

- Hamdy, M. H. (1997). Readings in the Papers ofPrivatization from an Urban Perspective. TheSixth International Conference of Inter-Build.Cairo.

- Lynch, K. (1960). Image of the City. Cambridge:MA: MIT Press.

- Mackenzie, D. (1991). Green Design: Designfor the Environment. London, UK: Lawrence KingLtd.

- Mitchell, T. (1993). Redefining Designing: FromForm to Experience. New York, NY: VanNostrand Reinhold.

- Results of Interviewing Name Egyptian Architects(1996 & 1997). Reports of ArchitectureStudents at Al Azhar University and MisrInternational University, Cairo.

- Salama, A. M. (1995). New Trends inArchitectural Education: Designing the DesignStudio. Raleigh, NC: Unlimited PotentialsPublishing Co.

- Salama, A. M. (1999). Planning and ArchitecturalPedagogy in a Time of Paradigm Change: AResponsive Argument for Future ProfessionalPractice. The Second International Symposiumon Planning Education for the 21st Century.Faculty of Urban and Regional Planning, CairoUniversity, Cairo.

- Sanoff, H. (1991). Visual Research Methods inDesign. New York, NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold.

ACKNOLWEDGEMENTSA special note of thanks is due to my teachingassistants Mona Soliman and Omar Baghdadifor their valuable efforts. Mona Soliman has helpedin the selection of images from a very wide varietyof examples and contributed to their technicalprocessing. Omar Baghdadi has assisted in therecording of information from over 400 ads, andprovided valuable ideas.