Downtown Cairo Regeneration

Project partner

• OHK Consultants
• Architekten Tillner & Willinger ZT GmbH

Project description

Home to the emblematic Tahrir Square, the Egyptian Museum, Egypt's Belle Epoque's architectural legacy as well international hotels based around the Nile, Downtown Cairo comes as a unique location given its significant importance within the history of greater Cairo. During the period between the late 1860 and 1940, Downtown Cairo witnessed a major building boom that gave birth to a unique architecture combining European styles with local influences and materials. However, the introduction of new property laws in the mid 1950's and 1960's triggered a change to the setup in Downtown Cairo. These laws included rent control (rent remained fixed for the duration of the contract) and others allowed tenants to remain in their rented units beyond the expiration of their contracts, and even allowed tenants to sell or sublease their rent contracts without the approval of or any financial benefit to, their landlords. As a result, buildings yielded minimal returns and owners lost interest in their properties, giving little attention to the upkeep of their buildings which caused a major deterioration of the area's urban conditions.

The project includes the following tasks:

• Development of a clear implementation plan for an integrated and sustainable regeneration of Downtown Cairo;
• Conduction energy and resource efficiency audit;
• Implementation of a national policy dialogue engaging public and private stakeholders to promote improved sustainability standards of built environment and urban regeneration.

e7 leads an international consortium consisting of architects, city planners and policy advisors and is responsible for the implementation of energy and resource audits as well as for the assessment of suitable municipal policy instruments.