THE EGYPTIAN PAVILION: IN TE EYE OF AN EGYPTIAN
Egypt is a country of diverse cultures, such diversity is the result of the different eras of the Egyptian history. It was once a cosmopolitan homeland for people from all around the world, people with different backgrounds, ideologies and cultures. When you hear the word “Egypt”, Pharos, temples, the Pyramids and the Nile just immediately pop in your mind. Yet such elements are not the only reflection of the present time Egyptian identity. In Fact, Egypt’s most unique feature would be the spontaneous spirit of its people. This is reflected in various images that can be seen in the everyday street life; such as eating from a street food cart and Kids playing football in their neighborhood's street.
The Egyptian Pavilion aims at demonstrating the uniqueness of the present day Egypt, the spontaneous spirit of its local neighborhoods through architecture.
The "Chader"
The Chader is an Egyptian architectural element used to define a space for a specific event; Weddings, funerals, political campaigns and local fairs. It is a light structure composed of three main elements; Wooden beams, textile and ropes. When there is a local event, a location is selected in one of the streets. Within one day it can be erected. A spotted Chader in the Egyptian streets is naturally known as a mark of an event. In the design of Egyptian pavilion, we used the idea of the Chader to define the space of the pavilion and to introduce it as an Egyptian architectural element used in the local street in the same context of the Egyptian pavilion design.
Elements of the Egyptian pavilion
The Egyptian pavilion is a simulation of the Egyptian local neighbourhood with its elements to reflect its spontaneous spirit through architecture. The pavilion consists of spaces defined by red brick blocks which can be seen in most of Egyptian cities’ local buildings, with a central courtyard . The spaces are designed to accommodate the local activities in the Egyptian neighbourhood like ; sitting in local cafés , playing street football, eating on a big single table as in Ramadan community iftars or from a food cart , sitting with friends on the roof top rooms made of palm leaves & wicker to chat or listen to music ,As well as some other spaces dedicated to ; modern history museum, Egyptian music museum, Egyptian cuisine museum, Egyptian local art gallery and a gift shop.
The Heart
The project layout was equally divided by an angled grid to create an opportunity to view the space masses.
The grid was then divided to create a local courtyard and the main alleys to access the courtyard.
Some areas were subtracted to create spaces for activities like the food court / football court and to define the spaces for the entrances and exists.
The volume was created and included a roof area overlooking the open spaces with some diversity in volumes distribution to simulate the randomness found in the Egyptian neighborhood.
The skin
The traditional Egyptian Chader is composed of wooden columns and beams arranged in a cubic grid where the spaces re filed with decorated textile to cover the space.
The design used the same concept with some modification , instead of wooden beams steel beams are used for durability and long span covering.
The steel columns were slanted in two opposite directions
Steel supports were installed to hold each 2 columns together as well as providing stability to the structure.
The structure was covered by textile from both side and connected to the other side. The floor tiles used in the arrangement will match the color of the textile to look as a one unit.
