[architecture ebook] 1999, conservation planning in the aslam mosque neibourhood a4

Conservation Planning inthe Aslam Mosque Neighbourhood

The Status of Activities of Urban Revitalisationin Historic Cairo’s al-Darb al-Ahmar

Historic Cities Support Programme

Darb Al-Ahmar Community Development Co. A subsidiary of Aga Khan Cultural Services - Egypt

THE AGA KHAN TRUST FOR CULTURE

H C S P T E C H N I C A L B R I E F NO. 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................. 3

SUMMARY .............................................. 5

INTRODUCTION

Conservation and Revitalisationin the Aslam Mosque Neighbourhood ........ 8

HISTORY

A Historical Perspective ofal-Darb al-Ahmar ................................. 18

SUMMARY OF PHYSICAL SURVEY

Land Use .............................................. 22Infrastructure and Services ........................ 26Land Ownership and Tenure ..................... 30Building Types in the

Aslam Mosque Neighbourhood .............. 32Significant Structures

and Architectural Features ..................... 44Assessing the Physical Condition

of the Buildings ................................. 54An Assessment of the Transformations

within the Built Environment ................. 58Street Morphology and Open Spaces ........... 66

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

COMMUNITY PROFILE

Social Survey ......................................... 76Lifestyles and the Supportive

Physical Environment ........................... 82

FORMS OF INTERVENTION

Types of Intervention Actions to be Appliedin the Aslam Mosque Neighbourhood ........ 96Actions to preserve:Preventive maintenance and repair of elementsRestorationRehabilitationAdaptive re-useReconstruction

Actions to transform:Partial demolitionDemolition without reconstructionRedevelopmentNew development

INTRODUCTION TO CASE STUDIES ............. 105

CASE STUDIES

Case study 1: Rehabilitation ..................... 107Case study 2: Reconstruction .................... 119Case study 3: New development ................. 129Case study 4: Partial demolition ................. 135Case study 5: Rehabilitation .................... 145

Continued on the following page

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

Building Costs and Financial Mechanisms ..... 156Legal Considerations ............................... 160

CONCLUSION

Recommendations for Immediate Actions ...... 161

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................ 166

SUPPLEMENT

Building Inventory Sheets

Research, writing, design, production, and copy editing of the report by J. Allen, K. Ibraheem, S. El Rashidi, and D. Rodrigues. All illustrations, drawings,and photographs were produced by the team unless otherwise noted. Copyright 1999, The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, 1-3 Avenue de la Paix, 1202Geneva, Switzerland. Reproduction of this document in whole or in part is prohibited without the express consent of AKTC.

This technical report presents the status ofactivities currently being undertaken for theurban revitalisation of al-Darb al-Ahmar’sAslam Mosque neighbourhood. The work ispart of the planning and conservation effortsof the Aga Khan Trust for Culture’s HistoricCities Support Programme, directed byDr. Stefano Bianca. The study has beendeveloped by Jeff Allen, Kareem Ibraheem,Seif El Rashidi, and Debora Rodrigues,an interdisciplinary team from Aga KhanCultural Services, Egypt (AKCS-E), under theleadership of Francesco Siravo, Senior ProjectOfficer, AKTC. Dr. Dina Shehayeb wasresponsible for the social survey and lifestyleassessment, assisted by Sherif El Wagih,and also contributed to the case studies andimplementation strategies. Ashraf Abdu

conducted the demographic survey. Additionalphotographs of the study area were providedby Hussein Aga Khan, Eric Baratta, andMaha Maamoun.

The support and guidance received fromthe Governorate of Cairo, the Ministry ofCulture, as well as from the Supreme Councilof Antiquities, and in particular its SecretaryGeneral Dr. Gaballa Ali Gaballa, are gratefullyacknowledged. Special thanks are also dueto Prof. Frank Matero of the University ofPennsylvania, and Dr. Abdelhalim IbrahimAbdelhalim of Community Design Collaborative.This report could not have taken form withoutthe assistance and cooperation of the residentsof the Aslam Mosque neighbourhood, who havebeen extremely helpful and very welcomingthroughout the course of the work.

3

C R E D I T S A N D A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

T his report presents an investigation of the AslamMosque neighbourhood, a section of historic

Cairo’s al-Darb al-Ahmar district, and outlines possiblestrategies for the future rehabilitation of its traditionalhousing with the participation of the residents.

BACKGROUND

The Aslam Mosque neighbour-hood is notable both for its turn-of-the-century architecture andits role as a hub of artisanalactivity. In recent years,however, the neighbourhood—like other areas of historicCairo—has witnessed a declinein socio-economic conditionsand an increasing deteriorationof its building stock andinfrastructure.

Today, the initiative bythe Aga Khan Trust forCulture (AKTC) and theGovernorate of Cairo to createthe 36-hectare al-Azhar Parkon top of the Darassa Hills,east of al-Darb al-Ahmar,provides an opportunity forrehabilitation efforts in theneighbourhood. But the creationof the new park also presents serious risks for anarea that is both socially and environmentally fragile:al-Azhar Park, which is to become metropolitan Cairo’smajor green space, will no doubt represent a powerfulattraction and a catalyst for private investment. Unlessheld in check and properly channelled through aconscious planning effort, speculative pressure maysoon determine a pattern of uncontrolled development

in the area, leading to the expulsion of both the currentresidents and the existing activities, thus paving the wayfor a total substitution of the traditional urban fabric.

Awareness of these potential risks promptedAKTC to initiate a general investigation of the Darbal-Ahmar district and, in particular, to earmark the

Aslam Mosque neighbourhoodas a pilot initiative for theidentification of planningpolicies and housing strategiesaimed at the preservation andappropriate development of theentire area. This report presentsthe results of the survey on thepilot area and the initialconclusions regarding prospectsand opportunities for futurerehabilitation actions.

CONTENT OF THE REPORT

The report is divided into anin t roduc t ion and sevensections:

• the introduction describes theneighbourhood as part of thedistrict and the larger context ofIslamic Cairo;

• section one traces the history of the area, first as amarginal settlement on the outskirts of Cairo, throughits rise as a wealthy residential quarter, up until thelate nineteenth century when it began to decline;

• section two presents the results of the detailedphysical survey that was carried out in theneighbourhood in 1998, including land use, tenure,

5

S U M M A R Y

Although the Aslam Mosque still standsafter more than six hundred years, many ofthe neighbouring buildings, by and large

constructed less than a century ago,have disappeared.

building types, building conditions, open spaces,infrastructure and public services;

• section three contains a demographic survey andlifestyle assessment. These investigationscomplemented the information of the physical surveyin order to reflect the way of life,problems, and expectations ofthe neighbourhood residents;

• section four identifies possibleforms of intervention in theneighbourhood based on thequality and condition of itsstructures. The report identifiesnine levels of interventionsubdivided into actions aimed atpreserving the historic fabric andactions aimed at transformingindividual buildings consideredinappropriate or structurallyunsafe;

• section five contains detailedanalyses of five properties inthe study area that best reflectthe diversity of urban issuesfound in the neighbourhood, aswell as problems requiringurgent attention;

• section six of the report assesses current building costsand reviews legal and financial aspects to identify andpropose strategies that can be followed by the residentsthemselves to improve the quality and condition of theirbuildings, which can play a positive role in the futurerehabilitation of the neighbourhood;

• the last section contains general recommendationsfor the neighbourhood.

CONCLUSION

The physical and social investigations presentedin this report emphasise the fact that the AslamMosque neighbourhood consists of a closely-knit

community that is determined to continue to live in thearea and willing to invest directly in the rehabilitationand upkeep of the existing houses. As the five casestudies indicate, most of the required interventionsdepend on improvements that can be undertaken throughthe use of local skills and resources and that can be

afforded by the community.However, there are a few

major obs tac les to thedevelopment of a long-termrehabi l i ta t ion programmeinvolving the residents:

• the lack of technical advice,which often has impeded theidentification of potentialstructural problems in thebuildings and their promptresolution;

• an unclear planning frameworkand general insecurity amongthe residents about their tenurestatus. The latter, in particular,is indicated as a major deterrentto direct investment;

• the lack of financial and creditmechanisms that can be used by

the residents to finance the upgrading of their houses.

In its conclusions, the report outlines the need forincreased technical assistance, a revision of thecurrent planning regulations, security of tenure, aswell as suitable housing finance options.

In addition, the case studies presented in the reportpropose a series of models for housing rehabilitationand new construction that take into account residents’lifestyles, income levels and tenure status, as well asavailable institutional and financing programmes that canbe used to facilitate implementation. Eventually, similarstrategies and methods can be adopted in therehabilitation of other historic neighbourhoods in Cairo.

6

Darb Shoughlan, the neighbourhood’smain thoroughfare, is a centre

of artisanal activity. Small trucks can oftenbe seen bringing supplies to local workshops.

(Opposite page) When local workshops are closed,Darb Shoughlan is transformed from a busy commercialthoroughfare to a quiet residential street.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION

Bounded by the Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar tothe north, the Ayyubid city wall to the east, Hozayenalleyway to the south, and Fatma al-Nabaweya Streetto the west, the neighbourhood under investigationforms part of the eastern periphery of the Darb al-Ahmar district. Bisecting the area is DarbShoughlan, a major thoroughfare that runs parallelto the historic wall from the vicinity of the BlueMosque to Aslam Square.

The Ayyubid city wall, together with theDarassa Hills and cemetery that lie beyond, hascreated an impenetrable barrier to the urbanexpansion of al-Darb al-Ahmar. Without availableand accessible destinations to the east, streetcirculation in and out of the study area ispredominantly of a north-south nature. At AslamSquare, the primary arteries of Darb Shoughlan andFatma al-Nabaweya converge from the south andlink to form Abdallah al-Geuweiny Street, whichmoves traffic northward and is the only major accessto al-Azhar Street—arguably historic Cairo’s mostimportant thoroughfare. Of secondary importanceis a road leading west to Bab Zuwayla, which,though historically important, has had minimalimpact in the centuries since the closure of Bab al-Mahruq, an Ayyubid gate adjacent to the square.

BACKGROUND

Located at the eastern edge of the Fatimid city, borderingthe Darb al-Ahmar district on the other side of theAyyubid city wall, the Darassa Hills for centuries servedas a dumping ground for the old city of Cairo. Theinitiative by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and theGovernorate of Cairo to transform this former dumping

8

CONSERVATION AND REVITALISATIONIN THE ASLAM MOSQUE NEIGHBOURHOOD

I N T R O D U C T I O N

(Above) View from the dome of Aslam Mosque, past AslamSquare and Darb Shoughlan Street, towards the distantsummit of the Citadel and the Mosque of Mohammed AliPasha.

This pilot project focuses on the formulation of adetailed plan in which policies that have been

identified at a general level are tested at theneighbourhood level. Following a detailed surveyof both the social and physical fabric of a smallneighbourhood within greater al-Darb al-Ahmar—adistrict occupying a strategic position at the heartof Islamic Cairo—the plan exemplifies a procedurefor assessing existing social and physicalconditions and recommends methods for appropriateinterventions. Used as a model for futurerehabilitation action in similarly distressed areas,the same approach can be applied to the rest of al-Darb al-Ahmar, as well as to other parts of historicCairo.

9

The study area (lowerright) lies adjacent tothe future al-Azhar Park(middle left), anotherproject of the Aga KhanTrust for Culture,currently underconstruction in theDarassa Hills. The twoareas are divided bythe historic Ayyubidwall, which leads to theCitadel in the distance.

site into an urban park has prompted parallel rehabilitationefforts in the areas neighbouring the future al-Azhar Park,among them: the conservation of the Ayyubid city wall,the adaptive re-use of the former Darb Shoughlan School,and the restoration of the Qaytbey complex.

But particularly relevant to this pilot project arethe efforts to implement clearlydefined rehabilitation projects insmaller neighbourhoods, inwhich the use of appropriateconservation methods, com-munity involvement, andinstitutional coordination areseen as fundamental compo-nents of the process. Thisplanning approach, which,among other things, presentspractical rehabilitation proposalsbased on the actual needs of theresidents, offers a better chanceof success than past attempts atcomprehensive conservationplanning.

DEFINITIONOF BOUNDARY

Although the neighbourhoodselected for this pilot project isonly a small portion of the Darbal-Ahmar district, it nevertheless provides an accurateindication of the urban conditions prevalent in thestrip along the Ayyubid city wall. In particular, thearea was chosen for encompassing a group ofresidential and commercial buildings located along asection of an important spine, Darb Shoughlan, whichconnects the neighbourhood square to a formerly vitalbuilding, the Darb Shoughlan School. With the currentproject to transform the former local school into acommunity centre, this area can clearly be defined asa section of a commercial spine linking two importantcommunity nodes: the current Aslam Square and thefuture community centre. Because of this, the studyarea can be treated as a semi-separate urban entity,yet one that forms an integral part of east al-Darb al-Ahmar and, specifically, Darb Shoughlan.

THE STUDY AREA IN CONTEXT

Like the rest of al-Darb al-Ahmar, the study area is inurgent need of rehabilitation: dilapidated buildings,inadequate water and electricity supplies,disintegrating sewers, and unsatisfactory rubbish

disposal are a few commonlyfound problems. But like otherparts of al-Darb al-Ahmar, thisneighbourhood is a livelycommunity of residents andartisans who have a strongdesire and the economic meansto stay and invest in the area.

Among the area’s moststriking features is the Mosqueof Aslam al-Silahdar, which isstill being used for worship 600years after its construction.Not surprisingly, the square infront of the mosque is one of themost important centres ofact ivi ty within the neigh-bourhood—numerous shops, adye-house, a bakery, and acoffeeshop are all to be found inits immediate vicinity. (In fact,Aslam Square is the only openspace in this densely built-upneighbourhood.)

The built environment in the study areaconsists of a combination of turn-of-the-centuryhousing units and post-war buildings. The former aregenerally built on narrow plots of land and are usuallytwo to three storeys high, in many cases withprojecting upper floors, while the latter are usuallybuilt on larger and squarer plots of land and have fouror more storeys, often with cantilevered balconies.

Although predominantly residential, the studyarea also contains a fair amount of commercialactivity—many of the buildings on Darb Shoughlanhave shops and workshops at street level. Abovethese shops are the residential units, indicating theexistence of commercial space even in non-commercialbuildings. Also used as workshops are the numerousstructures that are no more than partial ruins. Often,

10

Because of the shortage of propercommerical space, many craftsmen have

had to set up shop in the ruins of collapsedstructures in order to stay close totheir homes and business contacts.

Mosqueand Khanqah

of al-Ghuri

11

The study area in contextISLAMIC CAIRO AND ENVIRONS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

THEFUTURE

AL-AZHARPARK

W a

l l

u b

i d

T h

eA

y y

To Attabaal-Khadra

Bab Zuwayla

Bab al-Wazir

Mosqueof al-Azhar

Al-AzharUniversity

Mosque ofal-Maridani

Mosque ofal-Hussein

Khanal-

Khalili

Mosque ofar-Rifa’i

Mosque ofSultan Hassan

To the Mosqueof Ibn Tulun

T H E C I T A D E L

Bab al-Nasr

Babal-Futuh

To al-TahrirSquare

Midan Hussein

To the Mosque ofSayyeda Zaynab

Mosque ofal-Muayyad

Al-MugawerinCemetery

The Aslam Mosqueneighbourhood is picturedbelow in orange(see the following pagefor a detailed map).

100 200 300 400 5000Metres

The Northern Wall

Mosqueof Aqsunqur

N

CCII

MM

AALL

SSII

CCAA

II RR OO

12

Building Identification NumbersTARGET NEIGHBOURHOOD STUDY MAP○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

MidanAslam

FUTUREAL-AZHAR PARK

AL-DARB AL-AHMARAND ISLAMIC CAIRO

168

169

170

112 113203

130131

132

117

116

137

138

448

133115

204

196

134135 136

139

141

144143

142

147491

489

146

211171

151 198

153

181182

154

148

152

149 150

172

173

140

174

177

178

209

212

213

217216

218

445

447446

286

287

285

441

444

440

439 438437

215

303

302

301

300

299

298

296

297

435

433434

436

114

432

431

430

428

469

429

425

295

293

291

290

289

292 426

427

612

488

418

420421

416

423422

424

487

283

408

409

412413

417

294

414

415

Dar

b Sh

ough

lan

Fatm

a Al-N

abway

a

Haret

Aslam

T h

e

A y

y u

b i d

W

a l

l

499

Abda

llah

Al-G

euwe

iny

Haret Sa’ad Allah

AslamMosque

125

183

442

All of the buildings within thestudy area were assigned anumber for easy identification.Information for each buildingwas catalogued and transferredto a detailed inventory sheet anda specifically created databaseas a basis for the subsequentproposals for intervention.

111

605

419

607

they are converted into workshops to provideadditional space for the large number of craftsmenresiding in the area.

It is perhaps ironic that economic stagnation overthe years has helped preserve the historic character ofthe streetscape. Although several of the buildings havedeviated from traditional Islamicarchitecture with a moreEuropean-influenced design, thearrangement of the area is lessEuropeanised: with the exceptionof a few thoroughfares, theneighbourhood has short andhighly irregular streets, whichoften zigzag into innumerabledead ends. This creates one ofthe most striking features in thearea, especially when coupledwith buildings that haveoverhanging balconies orprojecting upper floors, whichare often placed in closeproximity to one another on theneighbourhood’s narrow streets.

METHODOLOGYAND FINDINGS

The sample area for thisparticular pilot initiativeincludes approximately 125 buildings located in thevicinity of the Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar, alongthe eastern portion of al-Darb al-Ahmar. In order toupdate previous surveys and gather newinformation, four team members conducted a fieldsurvey of the neighbourhood on a plot by plot basis.A survey sheet was used for recordingcomprehensive information on each building,namely its location, condition, use, ownership andtenure, as well as the number of residents, valuablearchitectural features, date and type of construction,extent of alterations, and state of integrity. Thephysical survey also included a drawing of theground plan for each building and a morphologicalanalysis of the study area’s streets and urbanspaces.

13

All of this information was transferred to adetailed inventory sheet as well as to a specificallycreated database. (This database can be expanded toaccommodate additional categories and information.)Of particular relevance were the analyses on thetypology, the state of conservation, the state of

integrity, and the type ofownership and tenure for eachbuilding. These were plotted onseparate base maps of the area,and were instrumental in thesubsequent definition of thecriteria for intervention.

The investigations of thephysical fabric show acombination of different housingconditions as well as thepresence of several ruinedstructures and empty plots.Most buildings are inhabited butgenerally poorly maintained,due to the imposition of rentcontrols and the insecurity oftenure. The need to intervene isevident both in owner-occupiedand rented units, althoughhouses occupied by tenants areusually in worse condition. Thehousing stock is on averagequite old; however, evidence of

recent transformations can frequently be observed.Changes are usually aimed at subdividing or increasingthe available space within the units to make room forexpanding families. In some cases, substandard orovercrowded housing conditions were found, as wellas evidence of serious structural problems. The latteris in part the result of damage from the 1992 earthquake,as well as from the area’s high water table and poorplumbing.

The survey also identified a high percentageof ruins and vacant plots, where buildings havecollapsed due to protracted deterioration and the 1992earthquake. Almost always, the fate of abandonedproperties has been collapse or demolition. Theresulting vacant plots, visible throughout theneighbourhood, are used to dispose of solid waste

Of equal importance to the physical survey wasto understand the needs and desires of the

area’s residents. The proposed interventions areproducts that derive from the social setting

based on input from the community.

and to store materials belonging to nearby workshops.In some cases, shacks have been built on these plotsto accommodate the residents.

The physical survey also highlighted potentialsites for special revitalisation efforts: the various ruinsand vacant plots of land represent an opportunity forfuture residential development,while the many commercialactivities and workshops alongthe main thoroughfare of DarbShoughlan are an importantasset, with the potential ofgenerating more employmentand income in the area.Furthermore, the northernboundary of the study areaincludes the Mamluk Mosqueof Aslam al-Silahdar (alsoknown as Aslam Mosque),constructed adjacent to aformer gate in the Ayyubid citywall and now overlooking asquare of reasonable size. Thiscombination of the historicmosque, the former gate, and thesquare leading south to BabZuwayla i s a va luab lecomponent, for it has thepotential of becoming a linkbetween the Darb al-Ahmarcommunity and al-Azhar Park.

In addition to the physical survey, a socialsurvey was carried out on a representative sample ofthe area’s residents. (The buildings chosen for thissurvey corresponded to the relative percentages ofeach of the major building types prevalent in the area.)The information gathered included demographicstatistics on household members such as occupation,place of work, commute to work, length of residence inthe area, previous place of residence, as well as rentvalues, occupancy rates, and basic housing facilities.

In-depth interviews of a smaller sample group helpedin understanding residents’ lifestyles, priorities, andexpectations, and how the present fabric serves orimpedes these.

The results of the social survey, in particular,were surprising and defy the commonly held image of

the area. The Aslam Mosqueneighbourhood, and indeed allof al-Darb al-Ahmar, is oftencharacterised as a slum areawhere the incidence of crime andunemployment is high, whereresidents are presumed to berecent immigrants occupied inmarginal activities, and, as aresult, where traditional valuesand a sense of community areoften lacking.

Cont ra ry to theseperceptions, the survey showedthat the adult population isoverwhelmingly employed inproductive activities and thepresence of crime in theneighbourhood is, in fact,negligible. Furthermore, over sixtypercent of the population haslived in the area for thirty years ormore, and almost twenty percenthas resided there for more than

fifty years. Length of residence in the area was found tobe the result not of necessity, but of choice. Mostinhabitants feel comfortable and safe in theneighbourhood. They cite the proximity of work as wellas the social support from their relatives and neighboursas reasons to stay, indicating as primary concerns thevery traditional values and sense of community that areoften said to be lacking.

When asked about the neighbourhood’s positiveaspects, the families interviewed also noted as valuedassests the lack of vehicular traffic, the high density ofpeople and activities, the proximity of services, and ageneral sense of security. Their lists for houseimprovement were simple and straightforward: in additionto the obvious concerns about structural safety, dampwalls, and leaky roofs, unrelated families who have to

Out of choice, many familieshave lived and worked in

the neighbourhood for generations.Those who have moved out of the area

expressed their desire to return.

15

(Opposite page) This aerial view shows the density ofthe urban fabric of the Aslam Mosque neighbourhood.A portion of the Ayyubid city wall can be seen in the lowerright, with Darb Shoughlan Street running paralleland leading to Aslam Mosque.

16

HU

SS

EIN

AG

A K

HA

N

share a bathroom complained of the lack of privatefacilities. The survey also found that many householdsliving in tight quarters could afford more space, but theysay that alternatives are not available in al-Darb al-Ahmar.

What is clear from the interviews is thatthe residents view this neighbourhood as theirpermanent home. Moreover,there is the will to activelyexplore ways of achievinggreater security of tenure aswell as making improvements tothe buildings themselves.There is no doubt that theresidents are committed to thearea, and, given a more enablingenvironment in terms oflegislation, financing, andurban management, they areready to invest their ownresources.

CRITERIAFOR INTERVENTION

C r o s s - r e f e r e n c e d a n dcompared, the findings andanalyses of the physical andsocial surveys were the basis forinvestigating and proposingpossible forms of intervention foreach individual unit or group of buildings. Thisconstituted the second phase of work, in which a specificform of intervention—be it preservation, restoration,rehabilitation, demolition, or new development—wasrecommended for each of the 125 structures surveyed.In particular, five buildings were selected as case studiesthat would best reflect the different conditions observedin the study area. The examples were selected toencompass the widest possible range of urbanconditions, thus providing a basis on which suitablecriteria of intervention could be proposed.

In the selection process, preference was givento buildings that were owner rather than tenant

occupied, and which would thus present, at leastininitially, a more realistic opportunity for intervention.In categories that examined the potential forrehabilitation, there was a preference for buildings thatnot only were architecturally valuable, but which werealso strategically located. Given the importance of

the Ayyubid city wall as regardsthe rehabilitation of the area, itwas essential to include at leastone building constructedagainst the wall in order toexamine the delicate issue ofhow best to intervene wheninhabited structures are locatedin close proximity of amonument. A ruined plot wasa l so chosen to p rov idepossibilities for new infillprojects to be explored.

A perennial concern in anyselection process is the owners’financial ability to invest inimproving their own property.Based on the social survey ofthe study area, choices weremade concerning the abilities ofindividuals to follow through ona particular interventionprocess. The selected casestudies presented the best hope

for intervention on the current economic realities ofresidents in al-Darb al-Ahmar. Consequently, existingfinancial institutions were examined to establish therelevance of Egyptian housing banks to the financialmeans of local residents and alternative schemes werereviewed in the light of local investment potentials.

Although the five case studies do notencompass all the possibilities for the urbanconservation of the area, they provide preliminaryproposals for intervention on a neighbourhood scale.In future, the proposals put forth in this pilot projectcan serve as a model for the rehabilitation of otherareas of al-Darb al-Ahmar, most of which have similarurban environments. These initial representativeprojects can serve to offer alternatives of revitalisationfor the area and greatly enhance its future prospects.

17

This woman’s house collapsed duringthe 1992 earthquake, and after moving

to the outskirts of Cairo,she returned to the area, preferring to live

in a totally ruined building.

(Opposite page) Although the study area displaysa combination of modern and traditional buildings,it still retains much of its turn-of-the-century character.

In the Fatimid period, the eastern periphery of what is now known as al-Darb al-Ahmar was located just

outside the southeastern corner of the walled city ofCairo. The area to the east of the Fatimid city remainedvacant until the end of the tenth century, when theCaliph al-Hakim ordered the dumping of debris toprevent flood water from entering Cairo. The extentof this initial dumping cannot be ascertained, butthe area continued to be used as a dumping grounduntil 1997, by which time centuries of debris hadformed mounds that were thirty metres high in someareas. Popularly referred to as the Darassa Hills,these mounds prevented the city from expandingeastwards and thus served to define this boundaryof Cairo.

By the Ayyubid conquest of Egypt in thetwelfth century, the city had expanded considerably:the construction of Salah al-Din’s Citadel to the southgave this area of al-Darb al-Ahmar great importance,and the old Fatimid walls were extended to connectthe new seat of power to the old imperial capital. This

former peripheral zone was integrated into the steadilygrowing city, the capital and military stronghold ofthe Ayyubid empire.

Part of this area’s importance lay in the factthat it formed the eastern edge of the Ayyubid city,and thus was linked to the movement of people to andfrom Syria, as well as to a market for animal fodderlocated outside Bab al-Mahruq, one of Cairo’s eastgates. Bab al-Mahruq was in its heyday an essentialjunction connecting the city to important trade routesas well as to the numerous activities that took placeoutside the city walls. Furthermore, it provided directaccess to Bab Zuwayla, the southern gate of theFatimid city, which by Ayyubid and Mamluk times hadbecome imbedded in the heart of the city.

The Bab al-Mahruq Gate, initially named Babal-Qarratin after the market for animal fodder,obtained its present name in the mid-thirteenthcentury when a group of 700 Mamluk princes burntit down in order to flee from Aybak, the reigningsultan of the time. Among those who fled were

A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVEOF AL-DARB AL-AHMAR

H I S T O R Y

Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar(1345)

Mosque ofAmirQijmasal-Ishaqi(1481)

Mosque of AmirAltunbugha al-Maridani(1340)

Bab Zuwayla(1092)

Mosque ofSultanal-Mu’ayyad(1420)

Qalawun and Baybars I, who would soon return andrule as sultans of Egypt.

The area surrounding Bab al-Mahruqremained important at least until the mid-fourteenthcentury when Aslam al-Silahdar, the sword bearerof Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad, chose to build hisreligious complex there, indicating that theneighbourhood was sufficiently prestigious and wellfrequented. The endurance of the Citadel as theseat of power through the Mamluk and Ottomanperiods ensured that the area surrounding itremained important. Bab al-Wazir Street, to the westof the city wall , had become a significantprocessional route, and thus numerous religious andresidential complexes were built along it. Several ofthese still remain, among them the thirteenth-centuryPalace of Alin Aq, the fourteenth-century mosquesof Aqsunqur (known as the Blue Mosque) andAytmish al-Baghasi, and the sixteenth-centuryreligious complex of Khayrbek, named after the firstOttoman governor of Egypt.

By the eighteenth century, the connectionthrough Bab al-Mahruq had been blocked andmounds of debris had accumulated outside thecity walls, indicating that the area’s role as a linkto the eas t had d imin ished cons iderab ly.Al though the nor th -sou th thoroughfaresremained important, the closure of the routeleading to Bab Zuwayla meant that this area ofal-Darb al-Ahmar became a considerably more

marginal zone, somewhat isolated from thethriving commercial activity taking place elsewhere.

By the late nineteenth century, however, a sharpincrease in population growth coupled with aneconomic boom led to notable urban expansion in Cairo.This was felt in areas such as al-Darb al-Ahmar, wherethere was a steady influx of people, especially between1890 and 1900. The construction boom in this areawas remarkable, for it coincided with attempts tomodernise the city through the newly created Ministryof Public Works, which spearheaded a campaign toset guidelines for urban planning. The approachinstituted by the Ministry of Public Works was oneconcerned with giving Cairo a more “modern”appearance—in other words, a European façade, withmuch less concern over interior spaces. Althoughthis was a somewhat superficial approach, it ensuredthat areas such as al-Darb al-Ahmar had some senseof visual harmony.

There was, however, a clear distinctionbetween the new districts of Cairo and the older,more traditional areas such as al-Darb al-Ahmar,which received less attention and therefore changedmore slowly. In spite of this, there was a definitetrend towards Europeanisation—often bymerchants who had acquired wealth and moved backto the older areas of Cairo, but sought to imitate

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A panoramic view of Islamic Cairo, taken in 1880 by theFrench photographer Pascal Sebah. The striped façade ofthe Aslam Mosque is clearly visible in the left foreground.

Mosque andKhanqah of al-Ghuri(1503)

Mosque and Tekkiya of Muhammad Bey Abul Dahab(1774)

Mosque of al-Azhar(970)

Burg al-Mahruq(1170s)

Qalawun Complex(1284)

European building types being constructed in newerdistricts of the city.

Nineteenth-century photographs of the areadepict a generally prosperous residentialneighbourhood. The Aslam Mosque, which appearswhitewashed, is surrounded by an abundance of largeOttoman-style houses, complete with courtyards,wind-catchers, and elaborate wooden balconies.

It is from the last few decades of the nineteenthcentury that one can attribute many of the buildingsin al-Darb al-Ahmar, which show a tendency towardsthe regularisation of their external appearance and amovement away from traditional Ottoman architecture.During this period, there was also a movement toconstruct buildings to be rented out; these had tofollow strict building codes, and, given the numberof inhabitants that were moving into areas such asal-Darb al-Ahmar, a substantial number of suchbuildings could be found there. The regulationsconcerning this type of building meant that therewas little room for deviation from the model set by

20

the Ministry of Public Works, hence the similaritiesbetween the buildings found in the area.

Although different eras brought with them amultitude of architectural styles that havecontinuously redefined the urban fabric of al-Darb al-Ahmar, street patterns in the area have remainedbasically unchanged for several centuries. Moreover,many of the buildings constructed in the past fiftyyears or so have respected traditional plot lines, and afew new buildings still follow late nineteenth-centuryconventions of spatial distribution. The result is thatal-Darb al-Ahmar, despite recent campaigns ofindiscriminate building, has, by and large, retained agreat deal of its historic character.

A historical photograph of al-Darb al-Ahmar taken in the1920s (above left), and the neighbourhood as it appearstoday (above right).

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The study area in historical contextCAIRO AND ENVIRONS IN 1929○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

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1929

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The Aslam Mosqueneighbourhood

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LAND USE

S U M M A R Y O F P H Y S I C A L S U R V E Y

Although the Aslam Mosque neighbourhood is by nature residential, the large number of

commercial shops as well as residential buildings thathave commercial space on the ground floor stressesthe importance of commercial activity in the area. Mostof the buildings, however, are strictly residential; theyare usually shared by more than one family, and, in severalcases, by an extended family. Buildings used solely for commercial purposesare another important land use category. Althoughcarpentry and metal workshops occupy most of thesebuildings, they are also used by coffeeshops andbakeries. Most are located along the study area’s majorthoroughfare, Darb Shoughlan, though a few can be

found scattered in the smaller alleyways, such as thesmall metal shop on Aftet Hozayen. Prior to the 1992earthquake, commercial activities were confined tomain streets, while alleys were strictly residential. Butas a result of the earthquake, several vacant lots locatedin formerly residential alleyways were converted toaccommodate commercial activities.

In addition to buildings that are usedexclusively for either residential or commercialpurposes, there are a large number of buildings usedfor several purposes simultaneously. Residentialbuildings that have commercial activities on the groundfloor are very common in structures from different periodsas well as in different building types, from turn-of-the-century townhouses to modern apartment buildings.

Two other land uses form part of the study area:those combining religious and commercial activities andthose combining religious and residential uses. Theformer includes two religious buildings, AslamMosque and a small historic shrine, which also housecommercial enterprises, while the latter includes only asmall shrine located within a larger residential building.The fact that the three religious buildings in the studyarea are not used exclusively for said purpose emphasisesthe link between religious and non-religious activitiesand the pervasiveness of mixed-use buildings in the area.

As regards open space, there is only one withinthis densely built-up neighbourhood: the small squarein front of Aslam Mosque. Although classified as“open space,” the square is usually congested withparked vehicles, street vendors, and a swing set.This space also incorporates one of two greenspaces in the area (the other is the small garden onthe grounds of the former Darb Shoughlan School).

Lastly, vacant land includes the severalruins that can be found scattered throughout theneighbourhood, located on both the area’s majorthoroughfare as well as the smaller alleyways.

Mixed-use buildings are a common feature in the studyarea. This three-storey residential building has a smallgrocery store facing the area’s major thoroughfare.

Commercialshop

Residentialcomponent

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MidanAslam

FUTUREAL-AZHAR PARK


T h e A y y u b i d W a l l

Darb Shoughlan

The Ground Floor Plan ofthe Aslam Mosque neighbourhood

Land UseResidential (56)Commercial (23)Mixed Use (32)Religious / Residential (2)Religious / Commercial (2)Vacant / Ruins (12)

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ASLAM MOSQUE NEIGHBOURHOOD INFRASTRUCTURE○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

AslamSquare

THE FUTUREAL-AZHAR PARK

Dar

b Sh

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lan

Fatm

a al-N

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Haret

Aslam

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Haret Sa’ad Allah

Bab al-Mahruq

AslamMosque

Streets and destinations

Abu Hureiba Street

Haret

Ayo

ub

Z. al-Sa’aydaH. Ayoub

Z. Aybak

A. Karn al-Sarif

Z. Ezz el-Din

Atfet al-Fourn

Atfet Hozayen

Z. al-Mahruq

Z. el-Horeya

Haret Aslamis a cul-de-sac

Z. B

aram

b

Z. al-Tourkomany

A. el-Gamel

To the Mosqueof Aqsunqur and

the Citadel

To Khan al-Khalili,al-Azhar Mosque

and University

To ShariSuq el-Silah and

the Mosque ofSultan Hassan

To al-Darbal-Ahmar,

Bab Zuwayla, andBur Said Street


N

Like other parts of al-Darb al-Ahmar, theinfrastructure in the study area has been subjected

to neglect and gradual deterioration. This does notmean that infrastructure is completely lacking in thearea; however, maintenance attempts are sporadic andlong-term infrastructure improvement schemes are rare.

ROADS AND TRAFFIC

Within the neighbourhood, the major portion ofmovement is pedestrian traffic; other movement islimited and split between animal-drawn carts andvehicular traffic, the latter consisting mostly of carsand small trucks. The study area’s narrow, irregular,and unpaved streets make it difficult for large busesto pass through; therefore, bus service is onlyavailable on the main east-west routes of al-Azhar,Ahmad Maher, and Darb al-Ahmar, and on the north-south route of Bab al-Wazir.

27

INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES


Traffic tends to be concentrated on a few of al-Darb al-Ahmar’s main streets, such as al-Azhar andBab al-Wazir, which is just outside of the study area.Al-Azhar Street is the main commuter route to andfrom Cairo’s central business district, and Bab al-Wazir,though a much narrower artery, is an importantshortcut for vehicles coming from the Citadel andheading towards the business district.

THE WATER SYSTEM

Given that the Water Network Authority for GreaterCairo—the entity responsible for the provision ofpotable water—only maps networks with conduits, itis difficult to determine whether or not certain areasin the neighbourhood are serviced by smaller networks.It is likely, however, that most houses in the studyarea are connected. Houses in the vicinity of theAyyubid city wall are an exception: their location

Although temporary traffic jams such as the one seen aboveare infrequent, the narrow roads make it difficult for morethan one vehicle to pass at a time.

Most buildings need to have their plumbing systemsupgraded, since leaky pipes cause damage to both theinterior and exterior woodwork, masonry, and finishes.

within a monument domain—the historic wall—prohibits them from being legally connected.Nonetheless, several of these houses areconnected, and those that are not must depend oncommunal taps.

Of particular relevance is the poor conditionof the water network in greater al-Darb al-Ahmar,which has affected the foundation walls of buildingsin the study area. In addition to the rising watertable, loss of water during distribution has causedfurther damage to the woodwork, stonework, andplaster finishes. But this situation may ameliorate:the Water Network Authority plans to replaceprimary and secondary 100-millimetre lines with lines150 millimetres in diameter. The current watersupply, as well, will be increased from 120 litres perperson per day to the international standard of 250litres per person per day.

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The poor condition of the sewage network hashad a negative impact on several of the buildings inthe study area. Many of the older pipes, which werelaid a century ago, are now brittle and often cracked,resulting in back flows and sewage leakage. The newerpipes are in no better condition: finished in cement,their joints have cracked open, causing sewage to leakinto the ground. The resulting acids from these leaksbecome concentrated in the groundwater and interactwith the atmosphere, eventually destroying themasonry, mortar, and plaster of buildings.

In a move to remedy back flow problems, theRegional Cairo Sewage Network Authority, whichis the entity responsible for the installation andmaintenance of sewage and stormwater networksin the area, plans to improve and develop thewastewater networks of Greater Cairo. Parallelnew systems, with carrying capacities roughlyequivalent to the original networks, will double thedrainage capacity in the city. In addition, the oldsewers will be repaired and the number of maintenancemanholes will be increased.

By some estimates, nearly one third of the potable water inCairo is lost through ruptures and leaks. It is ironic thatin a desert climate it is not uncommon to find large puddlesand running water flooding the streets.

RUBBISH COLLECTION

The General Authority for the Beautification andCleanliness of Cairo—the entity responsible for rubbishcollection in the metropolis—has limited manpower,so it is forced to concentrate its resources on the majorarteries, which leaves large portions of the city withoutadequate service. The result is that the rubbish in thestudy area is dumped on the street, usually in heapsaround ruins, and picked up by the authority truck

every few days. (Ruins and vacant plots are also usedas informal dumping sites for workshop waste.)

In addition to the General Authority, there existprivate collection services; charging only a smallmonthly fee, these services depend largely on theincome generated from the waste they are able torecycle. Unfortunately, the rubbish in al-Darb al-Ahmar is rarely collected by such services: unable torecycle much of the area’s rubbish, they prefer moreaffluent places where the recyclability is higher.

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(Top) As seen in this ruined structure located on Darb Shoughlan, vacant lots often become informal dumping grounds fornearby businesses, which otherwise have no convenient outlet for refuse disposal. (Above left) Government collection ispresently inadequate and cannot keep up with the rubbish that piles up in the area. (Above right) This particular locationalong Darb Shoughlan has become a neighbourhood rubbish dump. Besides being unsightly and unsanitary, the oftenlarge mound can inhibit the movement of vehicles up and down the street.

Information concerning land ownership and tenurepatterns was obtained through field investigations.

An understanding of the subdivision and tenure statusof building units and plots is important for two mainreasons: firstly, to identify the limits of the building unitsthat can be subjected to direct interventions; and secondly,to single out the potential actors of future building actionswithin the neighbourhood.

The results of the survey show that the majorityof the buildings in the study area are privately owned,totaling 110 in number: twenty-four are owner-occupied,thirty-three are owner- and tenant-occupied, forty aretenant-occupied, and thirteen are vacant.

The remaining buildings are under religious andpublic ownership: the Ministry of Awqaf owns ten (nineare tenant-occupied and one is vacant), and thegovernment owns two (one is tenant-occupied and theother is vacant).

The Awqaf buildings are religious buildingsand shrines, as well as properties that have beenendowed by individuals to the state. These buildingsremain under the jurisdiction of the ministry. The othergovernmental buildings are properties owned by thestate and utilised for a wide range of purposes,depending on the government organisation underwhose jurisdiction they lie.

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LAND OWNERSHIP AND TENURE


Pie chart showing the different types of land ownership in thestudy area. Of the buildings surveyed, most are under privateownership.

Types of Land Ownership

9 0 %Privateownership

2 %Governmental ownership8 %

Religiousownership

State of OwnershipPrivate (owner occupied) (24)Private (owner occupied with tenants) (32)Private (tenants) (45)Private (vacant) (14)Awqaf (tenants) (8)Awqaf (vacant) (2)Governmental (tenants) (1)Governmental (vacant) (1)

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The building typology employed for the study areaassesses buildings in terms of several factors,

namely their plan, elevation, design, use, siting,construction technology, and materials. Thecategorisation of buildings in such a manner allows for abetter understanding of their socio-economic status, aswell as the lifestyles and needs of their residents. Fromthis, a sounder and better-directed set of urbanintervention schemes can be proposed.

As a rule, traditional buildings of differenttypologies were constructed using similar materialsand finishes, the only difference being in the level ofdetailing and architectural ornamentation, as well asin the quality of the workmanship. Generally, the post1950s era can be considered the point at whichtraditional materials were abandoned in favour of moremodern materials, and yet, in spite of this, traditionalbuilding conventions continued to be used long afterbuilding materials had been replaced. Consequently,there are often links between different building types:at times these links are based on similarities betweenthe construction techniques and the architecturalvocabulary used, and at others they are based on thepersistence of conventions of spatial distributionacross several building periods.

Although declining economic conditions broughtabout the end of traditional building types that wereconsidered to be too luxurious for the area, modernbuildings almost always served the same functions astheir traditional counterparts. Thus, the traditionaltownhouse prevailed—more or less in a similar form—even after the 1950s, and the nineteenth-century rab’, acollective housing unit, was replaced by the modernapartment building, which was a more efficient andeconomical means of housing large numbers of people.

One feature common to almost all of thefollowing building types is the existence of commercialspaces even in non-commercial structures, whethertraditional or modern, religious or residential. This isespecially true in the case of modern structures, wherespace for commercial activities is almost alwaysprovided, even in small alleyways, where traditionallythere were no commercial activities.

Although ruined structures cannot beconsidered a building type—indeed, they are theremnants of former building types—they have beenincluded in this typology, given that they form arelatively large component of the area. Many are usedfor commercial or even residential purposes, indicatingthe demand for housing and of workspace in the area.

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BUILDING TYPESIN THE ASLAM MOSQUE NEIGHBOURHOOD


TraditionalCollectiveHousing

RuinedBuildings

Religious

TraditionalResidential

SubstandardHousing

Categories of Building Typesof the Aslam Neighbourhood

ModernConstruction

TRADITIONAL TOWNHOUSE

Traditional townhouses are residential buildings thatwere initially constructed between 1880 and 1920.However, in view of the fact that they had developedto meet the specific urban and social conditions ofthe area, their architectural principles remainedpopular even in the later part of the twentieth century,when more modern building types had taken over inother parts of the city. Even today, many of thebuildings in the area follow architecturalconventions and patterns of space that were firstdeveloped in the late nineteenth century.

Many of these buildings are constructed onsmall and narrow plots of land, therefore with alinear-based arrangement of interior spaces, and,given the fact that most of them have only onefaçade, they often include a lightwell or a courtyard

33

to allow light and air into the rear of the building.Since the average plot size rarely exceeds fortysquare metres and is sometimes as small as twentysquare metres, stone corbels or wooden beams arefrequently used to allow the upper storeys to projectover the street, thus providing additional space.

In spite of the fact that most of thesebuildings are essentially residential structures,commercial activities are often found on the groundfloor, namely in buildings located on importantstreets such as Darb Shoughlan. In such cases, thespaces with direct access to the street are generallydesignated for commercial activities, while the rest ofthe ground floor retains a more residential function.In smaller alleyways, however, buildings wereconstructed to be solely residential, indicating that eversince the late nineteenth century there was a distinctionbetween residential and mixed-use streets.

Traditional Residential

Cut limestoneground floor

Wrought irontransom witha radial design

Upper floors of roughcut stone or brick witha plaster finish

Small square-shapedground-floor windowswith iron grilles

Large upper-storeywindows

Large stone portalsurrounding awooden doorwith two leaves

Three to four storeyswith a flat roof

Although this structurehas many of the typicalfeatures found intraditional townhouses,the decorative elements,such as the ornatemoulding lines, indicateit was built with addedexpense.

In general, these flat-roofed structures are threeor, in rare cases, four storeys high, and can thus beviewed as townhouses, essentially constructed for asingle extended middle-class family, but now oftensubdivided into smaller residential units occupied bylower income groups. Some buildings of this typewere initially constructed as multiple-family residences;these can be distinguished by the fact that theirstaircases are clearly separate from their living areas,creating a distinction between public and private space.In buildings originally constructed for single families,there is no such differentiation—the staircase is fullyintegrated with the rest of the house. At present,however, almost all buildings of this type house morethan one family. The occupants live in one- to two-room units and often share the bathrooms with theirneighbours. At times, the water tap is also sharedand is usually located on the ground level. Mostunits have electricity and sewage systems but somelack running water.

The load-bearing, ground-floor walls are builtof limestone ashlar, and the upper floors are of brickwith a plaster finish. (Occasionally, the construction isof alternating courses of plastered stone and brick.)Buildings of this type tend to have a large, stone portalsurrounding a wooden door with two leaves anddecorative grillework. In most examples, a wrought irontransom with a radial design surmounts the doorway,illuminating and ventilating the dim interior corridor.

34

The window treatment in these buildings isof several types: in many cases windows have alattice screen that slides up and down, and in othercases traditional wooden shutters are used.Occasionally, the upper storeys have projectingwooden balconies, sometimes with intricate carving;these are a development of the mashrabeyyawindows that were commonly used until the end ofthe eighteenth century. Both the wooden balconiesand the window screens are designed to maximiseprivacy, serving to seclude each house from itsneighbours, which are in very close proximity. Thewindows are usually large (approximately 1.20 metreswide and 2.50 metres high), so as to maximise lightand provide adequate ventilation to houses that arealmost always located in narrow streets andsurrounded by buildings. On the upper storeys, thewindows, which are aligned on each storey, tend tobe placed at regular intervals along the façade. Andon the ground floor, smaller, square-shaped windowswith iron grilles are used for security, especially inbuildings where the ground floor was initiallyintended for non-residential purposes.

Decorative elements are usually limited tosimple mouldings above the windows and, in rareinstances, stucco cornices. The stonework on theground floor has decorative detailing, which, thoughoften simple, at times incorporates elaborate floraland geometric designs.

The legacy of earlier buildingelements can be seen in the latticescreens and mashrabeyya window.

Many of the traditional townhouseshave projecting upper floors, whichprovide more space.

Most of the wooden balconies haverotted, and only a few, such as the oneseen above, still survive.

While these buildings were initiallyconstructed for middle-class residents, they haveremained functional even today, in a less prosperouscommunity. In part, their success lies in the factthat they generally consist of small independent orsemi-independent spaces, thereby proving to beversatile, multi-functional, and conducive tosubdivision into several small residential units.Furthermore, the absence of a symmetrical spatialarrangement makes buildings of this type feasibleon awkwardly-shaped plots of land. It is because ofthis flexibility that buildings of this type continuedto be constructed in the area.

TRADITIONAL MANSION

The second type of traditional residential unitintended to house one or a few families takes twomain forms, both considerably larger than thepreviously-mentioned townhouse. The first isgenerally an upper middle-class, three- to four-storeystructure, consisting of a few semi-separate

apartments, all with a similar ground plan. In general,this type of structure is greatly influenced byEuropean architectural trends, consisting of a formalground plan characterised by a central hallsurrounded by rooms. The exterior detailing isgenerally inspired by neo-classical and neo-baroquearchitecture. This type of building was not verycommon in the study area, but was popular in otherareas of Cairo between 1900 and 1925; it reflected amore bourgeois lifestyle, and was therefore notrepresentative of this section of al-Darb al-Ahmar.In general, it was better suited to areas that wereless traditional and more Europeanised.

As for the other form within this category,this is a much more palatial structure, generally

The use and orientation of ground-floor spaces wereoften dictated by whether the structure faced a mainstreet or an alleyway. Houses on major thoroughfares(top right) usually have commercial space on the groundfloor, while those on cul-de-sacs (bottom right) aremainly residential. (Above left) Darb Shoughlan is stilllined with turn-of-the-century traditional townhouses thathave commercial activities on the ground floor.

Dar

b Sh

ough

lan

Commercial spacesline the main street

Residentialliving space

Zuqaq Aybak

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constructed surrounding a large courtyard.Buildings of this type tend to date from the secondhalf of the nineteenth century, when al-Darb al-Ahmarwas an area in which wealthy individuals still resided.Given that these buildings date from a period whenEuropean architecture was starting to become popularin Egypt, they display a combination of both local andforeign architectural styles. The idea of a centralcourtyard, for example, was typical of the traditional,upper-class, Cairene house. On the other hand, thearrangement of rooms follows a much more Europeanpattern, with the relationship between the interiorspaces formal and often relying on symmetry.

Not surprisingly, these buildings are muchmore elaborate than most others in the area. Woodenbalconies with intricate decorative elements arecommon and considerably more ornate than thoseseen in other buildings from the period. In thegrandest buildings, the walls and ceilings of thereception rooms are painted, often with pseudo-European designs. Although very few suchbuildings remain in the area, there is evidence thatthey were not uncommon at the turn of the century,before the economic decline of al-Darb al-Ahmar.

On the whole, both of these large residentialstructures were not widespread in the area; the firstform in particular is especially rare, as it first becamepopular in the early twentieth century, when the areawas already unfashionable. One thing that is importantto note is that, although they were essentially residentialstructures for relatively well-off individuals, thesebuildings often had commercial spaces on the groundfloor, as did the traditional townhouse. Thisemphasises the commercial importance of the area andthe fact that even its richest residents were likely tohave been merchants. Not surprisingly, this buildingtype died out in the early twentieth century, when thearea began to decline sharply.

(Top left) One of two examples of a traditional mansionin the study area is a complex featuring ground-floorcommercial space, emphasising the commercialimportance of the area. (Bottom left) Although most ofthe residential section lies in ruins, such as the courtyardentrance, this structure still retains characteristics thatsuggest the wealth that once existed in the neighbourhood.

A temporarystructure infills

the originalcourtyard space

Commercialspaces line the

two cross streets

The remains ofthe main living

space lieopposite the

courtyardentrance

Darb

Sho

ughl

an

Abu Hureiba

37

the rental of the various units, whereas thetownhouse was an independent unit, oftenprivately owned. In the study area, only oneremaining building can be classified as a rab’,although historic reports indicate that there wasat least one other—which has now disappeared—opposite the Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar.

Generally, the architectural features of thistype of structure did not differ from the townhousesbuilt during the same period: there was a slightEuropean influence, for example, in the stuccowork,as was typical of most contemporary structures. Therab’ continued as an architectural typology only untilthe early twentieth century, after which it wasreplaced by the modern apartment building servingthe same purpose.

RAB’

In addition to the buildings that were constructedto house one or two families, there were alsobuildings built to house numerous families. Thisbuilding type, known as the rab’, was initiallydeveloped in the Mamluk period as a residentialstructure for the lower and middle classes.Generally, it consisted of a series of similarhousing units—often duplexes or triplexes—thatwere rented out. The nineteenth-century rab’,however, differed from its medieval counterpartin that most of the units were single-storey“apartments.” Nevertheless, the functionremained the same: serving to house largenumbers of people in one building, usually in smallunits with shared utilities.

This type was not as common as thetownhouse: the rab’ would have required somekind of organisational framework to coordinate

Traditional Collective Housing

The study area’s one remaining rab’, which has undergoneseveral alterations over the years, has a prime location onAslam Square.

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TRADITIONAL APARTMENT BUILDING

Buildings of this type are multiple-family residentialstructures, usually three storeys high and generallybuilt between 1920 and 1940. Simpler than thetraditional townhouse, this type has fewer decorativeelements and a more uniform treatment of the groundand upper floors. Whereas the traditional townhousewas often meant to be a single-family residentialbuilding, this type was generally built for multiple-family use—floors are clearly divided into separateapartment units, usually two, each one with its ownutilities. (Unlike the traditional townhouses, thesebuildings reflect a more modern infrastructure, includingelectric, water, and sewage lines.)

These buildings are usually constructed ofload-bearing brick walls, which are often leftexposed. Doors are simpler than those of thetraditional townhouse, and, in several examples,they are completely made of iron, rather than acombination of wood and iron, as was previouslythe case. Windows, which are usually square-shaped, are not as large as those of thetownhouse, and shutters have replaced thetraditional lattice screens. Balconies with ironbalustrades, the use of I-beams for structuralsupport (instead of wooden beams), and the useof concrete as a building material becomes morecommon. Like the turn-of-the-century townhouse,this building type will often have projecting upperstoreys. One or more shops frequently occupythe building’s ground floor.

In general, there is a greater tendencytowards regularity in the plan and a movementtowards the standardisation of living units. Inmany cases, however, building plots remain longand narrow as those of the townhouses. Althoughbuildings of this type can be seen as theantecedent to the post-war modern apartmentbuilding, they still retain some traditionalarchitectural concepts and features and,volumetrically, are compatible with thesurrounding urban fabric.

The small, traditional apartment buildings, such as thestructure seen above and in plan at right, provide a visiblelink between the old and new forms of architecturalconcepts and features. Although it has shifted away fromthe single-family residential building, with floors clearlydivided into separate living units, it still uses traditionalbuilding materials and design.

Dar

b Sh

ough

lan

39

Modern Construction

MODERN APARTMENT BUILDING

Located on major thoroughfares, buildings of this typeare residential apartment buildings built after 1945.Unlike the long, narrow, and irregular plots of thetraditional townhouse and the small apartment building,this building type is generally built on larger and squarerplots of land. Reinforced concrete frame with brickwalls, finished with gunite cement, replaces the use ofstone as the main building material. (The tradition of

building the ground floor in stone—or of any decorativestonework—having completely disappeared.)

These buildings often have four or morestoreys, with cantilevered balconies and a regulardivision of the façade into modular units. Unlike thetraditional apartment building, buildings of this typeare distinguished by their spacious entrancehallways, a European influence. More than twoapartments share the landing on each floor and theroof is not usually used for domestic activities.

Although not as intricate asearlier examples, the doors onthese buildings frequently havedecorative iron grillework, andthe windows a re usua l lysmaller and less elaborate thanthose of older buildings.Shutters have now completelyreplaced the traditional latticescreens, and decorativeelements are hardly ever used onthe façades. Many of thesebuildings were designed withspaces for shops or workshopson the ground floor, irrespectiveof whether the street is acommercial thoroughfare or aresidential alleyway.

Built on a larger and squarerplot of land, this seven-storeymodern apartment buildingcompletely breaks with thescale and massing of othertradtional building types in theneighbourhood. Modern materialssuch as reinforced concrete havereplaced the use of stone.Although most modern apartmentbuildings, such as this one, havea regular division of the façadeinto modular units, others domaintain historic plot footprintsand vertical dimensions.

40

MODERN TOWNHOUSE

Located both on major streets and smaller alleyways,buildings of this type are modern residentialtownhouses built after 1945, usually two to threestoreys high and often housing more than one family.Unlike the modern apartment building, this buildingtype follows the footprint of the traditional townhouseand is comparable in scale and in massing, incorporatingsimilar architectural features such as the projectingupper floors and the interior division of space.

Construction technology and materials,however, are modern: reinforced concrete, gunitecement finishes, and the use of I-beams forstructural support have all replaced traditionalmaterials and techniques. Although the use ofstone or of any decorative stonework has completelydisappeared, brick is still a commonly used material.Entranceways are less elaborate, window openingsare smaller, and decorative elements are minimal.

COMMERCIAL

Buildings of this type are one-storey structuresconstructed for commercial purposes. They areusually found on major streets or squares andconsist of a series of separate units, used either asshops or workshops. Dates of construction rangefrom the mid-twentieth century to the present day,with only a few examples built prior to 1950. Giventheir commercial nature, they are usually very simple,with little, if any, ornamentation.

Construction materials depend on the periodin which they were built: the later examples areusually of brick, sometimes with a flat, metal roof;the earlier examples are frequently of rubble or acombination of brick and stone. Most examples,however, have a simple plaster finish. When windowopenings exist, they are generally very small;therefore, most of the light and ventilation comes infrom the shop entrance, which tends to be large.(These entrances are usually the slated metal doorsthat roll up and down.)

Many of the modern commercial structures in the studyarea are used by furniture makers.

Atfet Hozayen features several modern townhouses such asthis 1970s four-storey structure.

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Religious

MOSQUE

The only mosque in the study area is oneconstructed in 1343 by Aslam al-Silahdar, thesword bearer of the reigning Sultan al-NasirMuhammad. Today, it has become an importantneighbourhood mosque that serves a largepercentage of the population, especially onFridays. Of architectural significance is itsribbed dome, which is notable for its cuttilework decoration, a technique that was rarein Ca i ro bu t appeared in severa l o therfourteenth-century bui ldings. The br ickminaret, however, is a poorly built Ottomanstructure; evidently, the original minaretcollapsed and had to be replaced.

One of the most important elements on theexterior of this building is the inlaid panel above thesouthern portal; its intricate floral panels resembletent-work designs still being made today in thenearby area of Khayameya. The interior is alsoimpressive: it is cruciform in plan with arcades ontwo of its sides, and the qibla (Mecca-oriented) wallhas a typically Mamluk prayer niche. A skylight,which was constructed earlier in this century toreplace the original, surmounts the large centralspace. Elaborate stucco lozenges and medallionswith stalactite designs decorate the interior walls.

SHRINE

This type of religious structure is generally a smallbuilding, usually one storey in height, whichdesignates a sacred place. There are two suchstructures in the study area, occupying strategicsites: one is located on the square in front of AslamMosque and the other is located on the study area’smain thoroughfare, Darb Shoughlan. Both are simplebuildings, with little ornamentation.

The shrine on Aslam Square is a modernstructure dating to the twentieth century, whereas

the one on Darb Shoughlan is a traditional Ottomanstructure dating to 1677. As regards the latter shrine,it is located within a larger property containing aone-story structure that faces Darb Shoughlan anda rear courtyard that is currently filled with rubble.The Darb Shoughlan façade has received numerouscoats of paint, while the courtyard featurestraditional iron window grilles and decorative stonetreatments around the door.

(Top) The Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar is the onlymosque in the study area. (Bottom) The small Ottomanshrine seen above dates to 1677.

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Substandard Housing

Ruined Buildings

MAKESHIFT STRUCTURES

Structures of this type are generally poorlyconstructed out of brick and rubble and othermakeshift materials. Many such structures arelocated in close proximity to one another on largeplots of land, usually the site of former ruins.One storey in height and containing one to twosmall rooms, they are rented out as residentialunits, although on occasion they have beenused as workshops. In some cases, thesestructures are merely simple wooden shacksbuilt in the vicinity of the historic wall.

PARTIAL RUIN

Usually consisting of a ground floor, partial ruinsare often the remains of buildings that wereseverely damaged in the 1992 earthquake.Several of these structures still retain somevaluable architectural features, but, for the mostpart, the doors and windows are in disrepair, theplasterwork has delaminated, and the stoneworkis often badly deteriorated. These partial ruinsare usually used as workshops or as informalstorage space. In several cases, however, theyare used as a dwelling space.

TOTAL RUIN

Consisting of rubble or only a portion of theground floor, total ruins are usually the remainsof two- to three-storey buildings. Several ofthese structures collapsed during the 1992earthquake, and what is left is beyond repair.These ruins are often vacant and used as rubbishdumps for workshop waste.

(Below left) Typically, partial ruins are used for carpentrywork or for some other commercial activity, while mostof the total ruins (below right) remain vacant.

Although many of the these structures were erected astemporary housing, several have been around for ten yearsor more.

Building TypologyTraditional townhouse (44)Traditional mansion (2)Rab' (1)Traditional apartment building (7)Modern apartment building (16)Modern townhouse (13)Commercial (14)Mosque (1)Shrine (2)Makeshift structure (8)Partial ruin (12)Total ruin (7)

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Within the study area, there are manybuildings that are architecturally and historically

important. What makes the neighbourhood significant,however, is neither one individual building norindividual architectural features, but rather the groupof buildings taken as a whole—in other words, thecontinuity of its urban fabric. Nevertheless, a few singularstructures such as the Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar andthe former Darb Shoughlan School are worth mentioning,for they each contribute to the overall quality of thearea. In addition, architectural elements such as thedecorative iron window grilles and the elaborate stone

portals lend character, especially at the pedestrial level,and are distinctive features in and of themselves.

SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURES

Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar

Constructed in 1343, the Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdarwas named after Baha al-Din Aslam, a Qipchak Mamlukwho became sword bearer of Sultan al-NasirMuhammad. During the Mamluk era, rulers andimportant members of the court left their mark uponthe city by constructing a building or a series ofbuildings, which almost always included a mosque.The size and location of the building was usually areflection of the status and wealth of the patron. The

44

SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURESAND ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES


Noteworthy for a number of distinctive architecturalfeatures, the Mamluk Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdardominates the study area and forms a backdrop to a host ofdaily community activities that take place in Aslam Square.

45

(Top) An interesting feature of the Mosqueof Aslam al-Silahdar is the faience tile foundon the drum of the dome over the tomb ofBaha al-Din Aslam. Creswell recorded thisphotograph of the tilework in the early part ofthe twentieth century. Today, much of tileworkinscription has fallen away. (Left) The mosqueis monumental even from the narrowintersection of Haret Aslam and the adjoiningsquare. (Above) The use of arcades in theinterior of this mosque is unconventional,given that they were usually found in religiousstructures with large open courtyards.TO

P A

ND

FA

R R

IGH

T: C

RE

SW

ELL

, R

IGH

T: E

RIC

BA

RA

TTA

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Significant buildingsTARGET NEIGHBOURHOOD STUDY MAP○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

AslamSquare

SITE OF THE FUTUREAL-AZHAR PARK


Dar

b Sh

ough

lan

Fatm

a al-

Nabaw

eya

Haret

AslamAb

dalla

h Al

-Geu

wein

y

Haret Sa’ad Allah

AslamMosque

The Shrine ofAhmad al-Faqih

1 Haret Beni Ayoub

Theremains

of a largemansion

72 Darb Shoughlan

4 Zuqaq al-Mahruq

The formerDarb Shoughlan School

54 Darb Shoughlan

49 Fatma al-Nabaweya

The Shrines ofSidi al-Ansari andSidi Aly Gawish

N

Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar should be seen in this light:fairly large in size, it was built adjacent to Bab al-Mahruq—one of Cairo’s east gates—at the intersection of twoimportant thoroughfares, suggesting that its patron wasof considerable importance.

The fact that the mosque has two entrances (onits southern and western façades) indicates that bothstreets on which they are located were important, and itis probably for this reason that the minaret was placed attheir intersection. The thoroughfare leading west to BabZuwayla, however, was most likely of special importance,since Bab Zuwayla, the southern gateway of FatimidCairo, was by the fourteenth century in the centre of thethriving Mamluk city. The mosque was surrounded byother buildings constructed by Baha al-Din Aslam: a sabil-kuttab and several residential structures were all locatedin its immediate vicinity.

In addition to being historically important, themosque is architecturally valuable. Its ribbed dome isnotable for its cut tilework decoration, a techniquethat was rare in Cairo but appeared in several otherfourteenth-century buildings, among them: the Sabilof al-Nasir Muhammad and the Mausoleum of PrincessTughay. It has been suggested that tilework of thistype was the work of Iranian craftsmen from Tabrizwho were in Cairo at the time. Unfortunately, a greatportion of this band of tilework around the base of thedome has disappeared.

The interior plan is a variation of the cruciformmadrassa. Of special interest is the fact that iwans areused only on two sides of the sanctuary, while arcadesare used on the other two sides. One of the most importantdecorative elements on the exterior of this building is theinlaid marble panel above the southern portal; its intricatefloral panels resemble tent-work designs still being madetoday in the nearby area of Khayameya.

The Shrines of Sidi al-Ansari and Sidi Aly Gawishand the Shrine of Ahmad al-Faqih

There are two historic shrines in the study area: one islocated on Aslam Square and the other is a few hundredmetres south on Darb Shoughlan. The formerincorporates the grave of Ahmad al-Faqih, while thelatter contains the graves of Sidi al-Ansari and SidiAly Gawish.

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A simple, two-storey building houses the oldershrine of Ahmad al-Faqih. Beyond the locality of thehistoric shrine, the building itself has littlesignificance: it is a modern twentieth-century structurebuilt out of concrete and with minimal ornamentation.

Of greater importance is the shrine on DarbShoughlan, dating to 1677 and located within atraditional Ottoman structure. Several exterior andinterior features indicate that this one-storey structurepresumably dates to the same period as the shrine.

Constructed of cut stone, the DarbShoughlan façade has received several coats of

(Top) The al-Ansari and Aly Gawish shrines are located ina simple Ottoman building. (Bottom) On the other hand, theShrine of al-Faqih is found inside a modern structure locatedon Aslam Square.

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paint. Towards the rear, the courtyard side featurestraditional iron window grilles and a stone mouldingaround the doorway, and, in the interior, the eastwall (facing Mecca) has a prayer niche while theother walls still retain the original brackets forholding oil lamps. The two graves of Sidi al-Ansariand Sidi Aly Gawish are covered with decorativestone, wooden latticework, and headstones.

The construction method suggests that thebuilding has always been a one-storey structure:slender rafter beams span the entire space without thebulk support needed for a second level. With this inmind, the current condition of the building necessitatesextensive repairs to the roof, which has been bracedup with a temporary combination of bulkheads andsteel I-beam supports. A shoemaker in a neighbouringshop currently uses the historic shrine as a space forstorage. Furthermore, the rear courtyard is filled withtrash and rubble. Despite its current usage and stateof neglect, the building reflects a high degree ofintegrity and is a significant component within thestudy area.

The large mansion on the corner ofAbdallah al-Geuweiny and Abu Hureiba

Built in the second half of the nineteenth century andconsiderably larger than the majority of townhousesin the area, this once palatial structure contains theruined remains of a multiple-storey mansion of whichonly the ground floor is still intact. A series ofcommercial shops, housing an assortment of craftsmen,workshops, and stores, line the structure’s AbuHureiba and al-Geuweiny façades.

The interior courtyard, entered through apseudo-European portico, has been partially infilledwith temporary workshops built of various materials.The mansion is probably one of the largest residencesin the area, and what is left of the building indicatesextravagance in workmanship: ceiling ornament, wallmurals, traditional window latticework, a large woodenbalcony, and an abundance of ornamentation. Itdisplays a combination of both local and foreignarchitectural styles: Gothic, neo-classical, and Ottomanpatterns all exist side-by-side. Inside the house, thearrangement of spaces follow a European pattern ofsymmetry and formality.

As regards materials, the ground floor iscomposed of various combinations of rubble with astucco finish and cut stone treatments. The remains ofthe cantilevered first floor indicate a continuation of thosematerials, in addition to the application of stucco overthe surfaces and the use of wood in the articulation ofarchitectural forms and decorative treatments.

(Top) This partially ruined mansion is one of only a few leftfrom a time of opulence and wealth in al-Darb al-Ahmar.(Bottom) The mansion and its courtyard are surrounded bycommercial space on two sides.

49

As the sole existing example in the study areaand extraordinary in today’s context, buildings ofthis type suggest the extreme wealth of someindividuals in nineteenth-century al-Darb al-Ahmar.The existence of shops, however, emphasises theimportance of commercial activities even for wealthyfamilies.

54 Darb Shoughlan

What makes this building notable is that it is uniquein the area while at the same time it is in harmony withits more conventional contemporaries. Unlike mosttraditional townhouses in the study area, the exteriorof this four-storey, turn-of-the-century building isfinished with cut stone on all floors, giving it aconsistent overall appearance, which is different fromthe usual combination of a stone base with plaster-finished upper storeys.

The building shows a strong neo-classicalinfluence, seen both in the formally designed façadeand in architectural features such as the stonepediments above the windows. The interior, which hasan ornate iron staircase and decorative tilework,displays the same sort of attention to details. This building has had routine maintenance andupkeep, thus avoiding many of the problems

associated with nearby structures. In part, itsimportance derives from its preservation andwholeness in original form, being an excellentexample of a traditional townhouse incorporating acompatible addition. Likewise, its craftsmanship andornamentation reflect the high end of constructionin an area where the majority of houses were builtfor a middle-class, extended family.

4 Zuqaq al-Mahruq

Like the townhouse located at 54 Darb Shoughlan,routine maintenance combined with qualitycraftsmanship single this building out as anoutstanding example of the traditional townhouse typein the study area.

Built circa 1930, this three-storey building hasseveral valuable architectural features: a woodendoor with iron grilles, decorative wooden panelsbetween the first and second floors, carved stonedetailing, mouldings, balconies, and oriels. Theoriels, in particular, are supported on wooden andsteel I-beams, displaying a mix of traditional buildingform with then current materials and buildingtechnology. The ground floor, which has an addedbalcony, is of limestone ashlar and the upper floorsare of brick.

Tucked down a side street, 4 Zuqaqal-Mahruq displays a high level ofcraftsmanship.

As seen on its chamfered northwestcorner, 1 Haret Beni Ayoub featuresdecorative stucco cherubs.

Unlike many of the neighbouringstructures, routine maintenance has kept54 Darb Shoughlan in reasonable shape.

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1 Haret Beni Ayoub

Finished entirely in plaster, this building has enclosed,mashrabeyya-type windows on its north façade andopen balconies with decorative iron railings on its westfaçade, the latter suggesting European influence.Especially distinct are the two decorative stucco cherubsthat can be found on the chamfered corner between thenorth and west façades, above the remains of what wasprobably a small drinking fountain.

Although the exterior design of this circa 1900,four-storey building reflects European influence, theinterior space has a plan common to local tradition. Itfeatures an entrance passageway leading to a centralisedcourtyard space through which the upper floors can beaccessed, suggesting a design for an extended familywho required an internal communal area surrounded bydistinct divisions of private space.

49 Fatma al-Nabaweya

This is the remains of an Ottoman structure located onDarb Shoughlan, which has been incorporated into amodern building that has its main entrance on a parallelstreet, Fatma al-Nabaweya. The old stone corbel andiron window grilles on the ground floor of the DarbShoughlan façade indicate that this portion of the

building was probably built around 1750. In particular,the corbel is located close to the ground, suggestingthat the original eighteenth-century building wasbelow the current street level. Furthermore, the blockedopening to the left of the corbel was probably the oldentranceway. Inside are the remains of an ornateceiling with interlocking wooden panels, which, besidesthose found in the Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar, are theonly surviving examples in the study area.

72 Darb Shoughlan

Built circa 1900, this three-storey traditional townhousehad a fourth-storey addition that was significantlydamaged during the 1992 earthquake andsubsequently demolished. Overall, this building recallsturn-of-the-century Darb Shoughlan at its height as apredominately residential street inhabited by extendedfamilies and local shops. It represents the finest oflocal construction work completed during the period.

As is typical of the area, the ground floor isfinished with a fine cut stone veneer and the upperfloors are stuccoed. Valuable architectural featuresinclude a decorative stone portal with a carved woodendoor and sunrise-patterned transom grillework, ornateiron window grilles, neo-classical stone pilasters, andwindows with decorative stone mouldings. The first

With all of its well-crafted features, 72Darb Shoughlan epitomises the idealextended-family townhouse.

The proximity of the former DarbShoughlan School to the Ayyubid citywall makes it especially important.

Partially disguised beneath lateradditions, 49 Fatma al-Nabaweya hasthe remains of an Ottoman building.

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and second floors have high windows that are typicalof the study area; they open horizontally in twosections in two-leaf vertical formats and thenaccordion-fold back against the interior sill walls.

In the interior, large regular spaces have provedefficient to adapting to the needs of the inhabitants;the ceilings are high and the rooms spacious. Theiron staircase lies at the rear of the structure, next to alightwell that penetrates the height of the building.

The former Darb Shoughlan School

The former Darb Shoughlan School is centrally locatedwithin the Aslam Mosque neighbourhood, betweenBab al-Mahruq to the north and the Citadel to thesouth. Oral history and physical analysis suggestthat the building was originally built as a residence atthe beginning of the twentieth century. (Sometime inthe 1940s, the structure was converted into anelementary school, hence the building’s current name.)

Four storeys in height and of masonryconstruction, the building has an interior plan that isformally arranged around two central halls enteredthrough an enclosed stairwell, indicating that thefloors may have been divided into separate flats.As was prevalent in the area during the time of itsconstruction, the residence was most likely builtfor an extended family.

Sitting adjacent to and connected with theAyyubid city wall, the school follows the architecturalstyles and conventions that were prevalent during theearly part of the twentieth century, whether in al-Darbal-Ahmar or elsewhere in Cairo. The architecturaldetails and the general appearance of the façade, aswell as the interior division of spaces, reflect Europeanarchitectural trends and a strong neo-classicalinfluence, which was popular during this period. Itwas not very common, however, to find a building ofsuch size and grandeur in the area at this time, as mostwere located closer to the centre of the city.

Removal of the woodwork followed by a firein 1996 has left the building in a partially ruinedcondition. But despite its poor state, the formerDarb Shoughlan School retains its garden, as wellas its exterior configuration and several significantarchitectural features.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES

Exterior mouldings and decorative elements

Although many of the building details found withinthe study area follow classical European prototypes,they are usually limited to simple ornament around thewindows. For example, these can include horizontalbands or alternating triangular pediments and semi-elliptical arch forms, both of which are placed abovethe windows. In exceptional cases, a stucco cornicemay decorate the uppermost floor or stucco detailscan be found on the façade. Cornice mouldings,however, appear infrequently, but it is possible thatmany were eliminated as upper floors were added inthe succeeding years.

Other decorative treatments include watertable articulations, quoins, and pilasters; these canbe of cut stone or stucco. There are a few instanceswhere isolated decorative elements appear on thefaçades, although this is rare; one such example arethe winged cherubs that adorn the chamfered cornerof a traditional building. However, consideringhistoric demographic information and the economicstatus of the inhabitants at the time of construction,the use of more elaborate decorative elementsappears to be limited.

Doors

Decorative features are not simply limited to walldecoration: elements such as doorways are alsosubjects for embellishment, and they frequentlyconsist of a monumental frame or panel with a recessedniche for the door. Many of the area’s traditionalbuildings tend to have a large and elaborate stoneportal surrounding a wooden door with two leaves. Inmost examples, a transom with decorative grilleworksurmounts the doorway.

The door leaves vary in design, but theytypically maintain classical ornamentation, often withpediments and decorative moulding. Like the doorleaves, the decorative grillework varies in detail,though frequently the metal designs follow art nouveauinfluences of organic floral shapes. Trimming aroundthese entranceways usually continues the same type

52

of classical motif. They frame the actual openingwith decorative moulding, and, occasionally, akeystone is centered above the door. In other cases,the portal designs follow traditional Islamicgeometric patterns, with joggled voussoirs andother cut stone construction methods. And stillothers merge the two influences, but these are bothrare in the study area.

Modern entrances lack the detail andcraftsmanship of their older counterparts. The expressionof design around the door is minimal and the doorsthemselves tend to be simplified, mass produced, metalcompositions. In some cases, grillework is displayed,and although the designs tend to imitate the conceptsestablished in the traditional doors, they lack the samequality in design and craftsmanship.

Windows

Window treatments tend to be of the following types:windows with wooden shutters, windows withdecorative iron grilles, and windows with traditionallattice screens that slide up and down. In particular,the use of lattice screens—in this context, in the formof thin strips of wood usually in a diagonal pattern—has been a noticeable feature of Islamic architecture.Often incorporated into mashrabeyya-typewindows, these screens are designed to perform twoessential functions: to provide privacy to theoccupants while permitting currents of air tocirculate through the rooms. (Mashrabeyya is theterm for the wooden grilles that are traditionallymade from short lengths of turned wood joinedtogether through polygonal blocks so that they formlarge areas of lattice-like patterns.)

The mashrabeyya-style designs found onmany of these turn-of-the-century buildings tendto be l ess t rad i t iona l in o rnament andcraftsmanship than their older counterparts; theyare influenced by European forms, incorporatingdecorative elements and latticework of a moresimplified nature. Similarly, other windowtreatments exhibit European influences, such asver t i ca l - swing ing shu t te r s wi th louveredconstructions, and an average window size ofapproximately 1.20 metres wide and 2.50 metres

high. In comparison, modern windows tend tobe of a smaller dimension and a less verticalnature than the traditional forms.

Unfortunately, there are only a few remainingwindows from the Ottoman and Mamluk periods;foremost are the iron grid windows. By and large, thesignificant window treatments found in the study areaderive from European technology and constructionmethods, although they often show a historical relationin form to earlier Islamic periods.

Oriels

These are enclosed, box-like projections from thewall of a building, typically with one or twowindows. When more elaborate, they tend to besupported by thick stone or wooden corbelling thatoriginates from the ground-floor walls, but morecommon are a series of timbered supports, eitherrough or finished beams, that project straight outfrom the façade. In both cases, the cantileveredsupport systems are deeply embedded into theground-floor structure. Often, buildings display twooriels on one façade: they can be vertically stackedas multiple-floored compositions or be placed side-by-side on one of the upper floors.

Balconies

Found in old and new constructions, open balconies arelisted here for their social and architectural contributionsto the traditional, Cairene built environment. Their socialsignificance lies in their participation as an intermediatezone between the private and public aspects of theneighbourhood’s inhabitants.

Physically, balconies found in the study areacontain little ornamentation beyond corbellingdetails, but a few exhibit decorative iron railing orstucco patterns that are significant. More important,the balconies in the Aslam Mosque neighbourhoodare horizontal extrusions in the street. Like oriels,they encroach upon a street, changing thestreetscape and altering pedestrian vistas. Theirreal significance to the study area is not in theirindividual contributions, but in their overallcharacter enrichment of the area.

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Samples of the architectural features foundin the Aslam Mosque neighbourhood

A

B

E

CD

E - A balcony withtimber supports

B - Typical decorativestone portal with irongrilled door

A, C, and D - Woodenlattice window screenswith decorativeornamentation anda mashrabeyya-typewindow

D - Stackedoriels

A and C - Largetraditional windowsand shutters withmouldings

D - A traditionalmashrabeyya-type windowwith decorative woodwork

A - Cast-plasterornamentation

E - Balconies withiron railings

As seen on this model of a typical traditional structure, most of the buildings in the Aslam Mosque neighbourhoodcontain a combination of architectural elements that derive from European models, but Islamic influences can alsobe seen in the design of oriels and mashrabeyya-type windows.

The physical survey included a general assessmentof the external condition of all structures in the

study area. (In most cases, especially when there weresigns of structural instability, interiors were alsoassessed.) Structural elements, finishes, roofing, andfittings were all appraised individually. This type ofassessment was important to evaluate commondeterioration and structural problems, and,consequently, to identify the best options forintervention. Based on the results of theseinvestigations, each building was then given an overallassessment according to five categories: good,deteriorating, poor, partially ruined, and totally ruined.

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ASSESSING THE PHYSICAL CONDITIONOF THE BUILDINGS


Pie chart showing the different building conditions in thestudy area. As much as 64% of the buildings were foundto be in deteriorating to poor condition.

Most of the large, modern apartment buildingsfound within the study area are structurallysound and show evidence of maintenance.

GOOD

Buildings in good condition appear structurally sound andshow evidence of maintenance. Twenty-five orapproximately 20 % of the buildings in the study area are ingood condition; of these, twenty-two are modern buildings,consisting of thirteen multiple-storey apartment buildings,eight townhouses, and one commercial structure.Considered to be relatively new buildings, they usuallyhave minor ground-floor damage caused by rising damp.

The remaining three buildings are of traditionalconstruction. As is the case with the modern buildings,most of the damage to these buildings has been the resultof the rising groundwater. With routine maintenance andupkeep, they have avoided many of the problems associatedwith other traditional structures, which for the most partwere found to be in deteriorating to poor condition.

Overall Condition of Buildings

2 0 %Good

3 6 %Deteriorating

6 %Total Ruin1 0 %

Partial Ruin

2 8 %Poor

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This circa 1900 building shows unmistakablesigns of deterioration and no evidence of recentmaintenance.

DETERIORATING

Buildings in deteriorating condition do not havestructural defects, but do show unmistakable signs ofdeterioration and no evidence of recent repairs: missingexterior plaster, exposed stonework and loose mortar,damaged roof surfaces, as well as doors and windows inpoor condition indicate a need for prompt repair andgeneral maintenance work.

The results of the survey show that the majority ofbuildings in the study area are in deteriorating condition.Totaling forty-four in number or approximately 36%, thesebuildings show little evidence of maintenance: crumblingstonework, delaminating plaster, damaged doors andwindows, and minor surface cracking along the walls are afew commonly found problems. Of these forty-four, twenty-five are traditional buildings built before 1945; the remainingnineteen are modern buildings, most of which are one totwo storeys high. (Of the structures built after 1945, thelarger apartment buildings tend to be in better conditionthan the smaller residential and commercial structures.)

Serious structural problems such as large cracksand missing components indicate a moreadvanced state of deterioration.

POOR

Buildings in poor condition are in advanced states ofdeterioration and may have serious structural problemssuch as large structural cracks and missing components.These buildings are in need of urgent intervention, and, insome cases, complete sections may have to be rebuilt.

Thirty-four or approximately 28% of the buildingsin the study area are in poor condition. Twenty-seven ofthese are traditional buildings, including a mosque and ashrine, two are modern buildings, and five are makeshiftstructures. (Most of the structures in this last category areshoddily built out of rubble and other materials, andtherefore have not aged very well.)

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The remaining ground floor of this partiallycollapsed structure still retains several valuablearchitectural features such as the stone corbels.

PARTIAL RUIN

Buildings in a partially ruined condition are fragmentedbuildings. Twelve or approximately 10% of the buildings inthe study area are considered to be partially collapsedstructures. These buildings, which for the most part consistof only a ground floor, are generally the remains of traditionaltwo- to three-storey buildings. Often, the remaining groundfloor still retains several valuable architectural features suchas iron window grilles, elaborate stone portals, stone corbels,and other decorative detailing. Used mainly for commercialpurposes (shops and workshops occupy several of thesestructures), they usually have a certain level of upkeep, unlikethe totally ruined structures.

The 1992 earthquake is the main cause responsible forthe partial collapse of these buildings. In one known example,however, the owners demolished their building following theearthquake.

Several of the ruins in the study area, such as thisone located on Haret Beni Ayoub, were the resultof the 1992 earthquake.

TOTAL RUIN

Buildings in a totally ruined condition are collapsed beyonduse. Seven or approximately 6% percent of the buildingsin the study area lie in this category. Like the partiallyruined buildings, most of these buildings collapsed duringthe 1992 earthquake.

Building ConditionsGood (26)Deteriorating (46)Poor (35)Partial ruin (13)Total ruin (7)

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The survey revealed that much of the area, like the rest of al-Darb al-Ahmar, obtains its distinctcharacter from the large number of early twentieth-century buildings as well as from the fact that streetpatterns have remained virtually unchanged since theturn of the century. Because of this, it was felt that thekey to preserving the area’s physical identity was tofocus on maintaining such buildings and streetscapes,while acknowledging that later buildings and newconstructions were not necessarily disruptive.

It was therefore necessary to include anassessment of the modifications to each structure overtime, especially in the case of traditional buildings.

The most common types of alterations and additionswere recorded and evaluated in terms of compatibility—that is, whether or not these changes were compatiblewith the existing building. This type of assessmentwas important to evaluate the historical, typological,and architectural integrity of any given structure, aswell as to decide the degree of protection to be extendedand other specific measures to be undertaken duringintervention.

Several traditional buildings in the study areahave been altered or renovated in ways that areincompatible with their original design: the additionof a floor, the demolition of a floor, the removal of

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AN ASSESSMENT OF THE TRANSFORMATIONSWITHIN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT


The Integrity of Buildings in the Aslam Mosque Neighbourhood

14%Building withFull Historic Integrity

21%Reversibly Altered Building

11%Irreversibly Altered Building

4 %Semi-permanent Housing

10%Partial Ruin

6 %Total Ruin

34%NewConstruction

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The application of inappropriate surface finishes isby far one of the most common types of change thatoccurs to traditional buildings. Several of thesebuildings, which often have a ground floor meantto be of exposed cut stone, have either been plasteredor covered with a new layer of gunite cement. Thecement finish, in particular, is often applied in orderto cover deteriorating stonework and to prevent andprotect it from further damage. Unfortunately, thishard, dense cement finish causes greater damageto the masonry beneath.

EXTERIOR MODIFICATIONSCommon exterior modifications include: additionor removal of a balcony, loss of mouldings andplasterwork, introduction of new windows or doors,as well as changes to existing windows and doors.Several buildings have had only minor exteriorchanges, while others have been modified to suchan extent as to compromise their historic integrity.Although not as frequent an occurrence, exteriormodifications such as the addition of a new balconycan also be found on modern buildings.

Less commonly found is the removal of a storey froma traditional building. In several cases, these storeyswere removed after the 1992 earthquake as safetyprecautions.

ADDED STOREYS AND EXTENSIONSStoreys and extensions are frequently added totraditional buildings in order to provide them withextra living space. (Oftentimes, only a makeshiftroom has been added on the roof). These additions—built out of wood or exposed brick—are, for the mostpart, incompatible with the pre-existing structure.The added rooms, which are poorly constructed withmakeshift materials, also undermine the integrityof traditional buildings.

INAPPROPRIATE MATERIALS

REMOVAL OF STOREYS

Common Types of Transformationto Buildings in the Aslam Mosque Neighbourhood

balconies, and the use of inappropriate materialsare some of the commonly found changes thatundermine a building’s historic integrity. There arecases, however, where traditional buildings werenoted to have maintained much of their integritydespite some changes.

After a general evaluation of all alterations andadditions, seven categories were used to describe thestate of integrity of buildings in the Aslam Mosqueneighbourhood: a building with full historic integrity,a reversibly altered building, an irreversibly alteredbuilding, new construction, a makeshift structure, apartial ruin, and a total ruin.

BUILDING WITH FULL HISTORIC INTEGRITY

Buildings with full historic integrity are traditionalbuildings built before 1945 that have had only minimal

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alterations. The condition of these buildings was nottaken into account unless they had deteriorated insuch a way as to drastically alter their exteriorappearance. Seventeen or approximately 14% ofthe structures in the study area are considered tobe buildings with full historic integrity. Thesebuildings have retained their overall form andvaluable architectural features such as stoneportals, iron window grilles, lattice screens, woodenbalconies, oriels, moulded enframements, and otherdecorative elements.

REVERSIBLY ALTERED BUILDING

Reversibly altered buildings are traditional buildingsthat have undergone several alterations over the yearsand have thus lost some of their integrity. However,these alterations can be reversed through rehabilitation

This building with full historic integrity has retainedvaluable architectural features such as the elaborate stoneportal, the traditional fenestration with iron window grilles,and the mashrabeyya-type window.

This reversibly altered building has had a few alterationssuch as an inappropriate gunite cement finish to the entirefaçade, which can be reversed through rehabilitation work.

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NEW CONSTRUCTION

Unlike the prior categories, new constructions arebuildings built after World War II—in other words,they are modern buildings that have no historicvalue. Forty-one or approximately 34% of thebuildings in the study area are in this category; theyinclude commercial and residential structures, aswell as the larger, multiple-storey apartmentbuildings. Although a few of these structures werebuilt as early as 1950, almost all of them have hadonly minor alterations or additions.

SEMI-PERMANENT HOUSING

Constructed out of rubble and other makeshiftmaterials, these are poorly built structures that arewell below basic housing standards. Five or

or restoration or some other form of intervention. Twenty-six or approximately 21% of the structures in the studyarea are reversibly altered buildings that can regain theirhistoric integrity. An inappropriate plaster finish, newexternal fittings, missing architectural elements, loss ofexterior plaster, and even added rooms on the roof are allconsidered reversible changes.

IRREVERSIBLY ALTERED BUILDING

Like the reversibly altered buildings, irreversibly alteredbuildings are traditional buildings that haveundergone alterations. But unlike the reversiblyaltered buildings, these structures have been modifiedto such an extent as to make it difficult to ascertaintheir original appearance. Fourteen or approximately11% of the buildings in the study area are irreversiblyaltered buildings that no longer retain their integrity.

This irreversibly altered building has been modified to suchan extent as to make it difficult to ascertain its originalappearance.

This new construction, with its wrought iron door andprojecting upper floors, incorporates the scale andarchitectural features of traditional buildings.

A reversibly altered building○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Although thetraditional windowswere replacedwith smaller andless expensivemodern versions,the old framedimensions can bemade outunderneaththe plaster.

The originalground-floorstonework can bepartially seenbeneath a recentlyapplied layer ofgunite cementfinish.

Physical clues of theoriginal entrancedoor are few, butconsidering existingevidence of thebuilding’s exteriorappearance andother nearbysurviving examples,a suitablereplacement can bereconstructed.

Although this building has been modified, most of its alterationscan be reversed and the original appearance reconstituted

Examinaton ofthe finish willprovide evidenceof the originalunderlyingappearance.

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An irreversibly altered building○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

The roofline hasbeen altered,making it difficult toknow whether or nota floor is missing.

Although theremainingstone corbels datethis building tothe late Ottomanperiod, little elsecan bedeterminedabout itsoriginal exteriorappearance.

The entire firstfloor has beenmodified, erasingevidence of itsformerappearance.Furthermore,it is difficult toascertain theoriginal size andlocation of the oldwindow openings.

The ground-floorshop façades havebeen replaced,leaving no cluesas to theiroriginalappearance.

There is nosurviving physicalevidence as to theoriginal entrancedesign.

The changes undertaken on this building are too severeto be reversed and make it impossible to ascertain

the structure’s original appearance

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approximately 4% of the structures in the study areaare considered to be in this category.

PARTIAL RUIN

Generally consisting of only a ground floor, partialruins are usually the remains of damaged traditionalbuildings. Twelve or approximately 10% ofstructures in the study area are partial ruins. Builtas residences, these structures are now commonlyused as workshops or as storage spaces, althoughon occasion they have been used as dwellingspaces. Partial ruins have little, if any, historicintegrity, given the fact that their form and functionhave been completely altered.

TOTAL RUIN

Total ruins are buildings that have completelycollapsed. Like the partial ruins, they have been alteredto such an extreme as to lose all historic integrity. Sevenor approximately 6% of the buildings in the study liein this category.

(Top) This makeshift structure, constructed of wood andmetal siding and located on top of the Ayyubid city wall, isa unique case of squatters in the study area. (Middle) Aview of a partial ruin, which is currently used by acarpentry workshop. (Bottom) The interior of this total ruinis used as an informal garbage dump.

State of IntegrityBuilding with full historic integrity (17)Reversibly altered building (27)Irreversibly altered building (14)New construction (42)Semi-permanent housing (7)Partial ruin (13)Total ruin (7)

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Whereas a large portion of the physical survey involved an assessment of the buildings in

the neighbourhood, a part of the survey also examinedthe public spaces between the buildings. In short, thefindings shown on the Street Morphology Map portraythe public physical boundaries and the tangible streetelements that are found in the area. At the same time,prominent vistas and spaces that give the neighbourhoodindividual character were identified on the separateProminent Streetscape Vistas and Spaces Map.

Although the Street Morphology Map doesgive some hint into the complicated nature of thephysical qualities of the public and semi-publicspaces within the study area, it cannot be viewedas evidence of the Darb al-Ahmar society in totality.It is important to understand the street elementsand activities as reflective of the social dynamics ofthe inhabitants. Any future planning proposal must

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STREET MORPHOLOGY AND OPEN SPACES


address them as an integral component of theneighbourhood and not as mere street furnishings.By doing so, proposals can be identified that arecompatible with the lives of neighbourhoodresidents and workers.

Often, the built environment around themcreates the sense of place valued by local residents.With that in mind, the streetscape of the study areawas studied for its unique character—in other words,the visual language that makes it identifiable anddistinctive. The findings were incorporated into theProminent Streetscape Vistas and Spaces Map, withthe intent that future construction in the area berespectful, and, where possible, encourage the furtherdefinition of these places as visually notable elements.

STREET MORPHOLOGY

In the study area, the street or alley is a place wherepeople work, where children play, and, in the cul-de-sacs, where domestic chores are performed. Whereasresidents living on lightly trafficked routes are morelikely to use the street for their personal use, thosealong larger streets, such as Darb Shoughlan, tend tohave less activity on their doorstep.

Outside activities are difficult to classifybecause many of the functions that take place on thestreets are of a temporary and inconsistently performednature. These may include traditional events oractivities such as marriage ceremonies and death ritualsthat do not occur on a regular basis but do utiliselarge sections of the alleyways. However, the symbolsused on the Street Morphology Map mark the locationsof activities that occur routinely, most often daily, andpresent a tangible presence of street elements. Thisincludes the local coffeeshops that place their tablesin the street during the evening, as well as theworkshops that use outdoor benches during the

Darb Shoughlan is typical of the major thoroughfares inal-Darb al-Ahmar, where domestic and commercialactivities intermingle in close proximity.

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Many buildings in the neighbourhood have multipleentrances. As seen above, the left entrance leads toa residential unit while the right leads to a workshop.

A cul-de-sac such as Atfet al-Fourn can be a complicatedspace of mixed uses: a bakery, two shoemakers, anda residence all share the same space for their entrances.

Narrow Atfet Hozayen represents the unique semi-privatedomain of the cul-de-sacs, where residents perform domesticchores and other daily activities.

Since the interior of shops are often small, many ownersdisplay their goods out on the street during the day andthen pull them back inside when closed.

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Ruins such as the one seen above are often meant to betemporary residences, but due to the current constructionrestrictions they tend to be used more permanently.

During the day, the streets of the Aslam Mosqueneighbourhood usually have an assortment of furniturecomponents lining the sides.

This public passage functions as a common entrancefor a number of makeshift structures built on a vacant lotadjacent to the Ayyubid city wall.

As the community’s main street, Darb Shoughlan servesas a daily route for street-cart vendors, who pass throughselling vegetables and other produce.

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daytime. Another common activity found throughoutthe neighbourhood is the quartering of animals in pensor on leashes.

Cul-de-sacs such as Atfet Hozayen and ZuqaqEzzeldin are considered to be important features in theAslam Mosque neighbourhood; residents view themas semi-private domains, and their use is usually limitedto those who live on both sides. Moreover, residentssee cul-de-sacs not only as passages to theirdwellings, but also as spaces for social interaction.This is particularly true where densities are low andsharing can be managed, where local residents arerelated, or where one group of residents have the powerto claim the right to use such space. Many of thesepassages are used as a play area for children or as aworkspace for craftsmen. However, in the latter case,domestic activities decline as residents’ privacy isinvaded. Other daily activities include animal tendingand, when a residence has no running water, clotheswashing. (For the most part, the washing of clothes isa private activity that occurs inside the residence.)These aspects of life in the study area are magnifiedin the informal infill housing areas, where the populationdensity is higher and where most neighbours are distantrelatives who have migrated from rural areas.

Among the local commercial activities, theneighbourhood has numerous small-scale groceries,bakeries, coffeeshops, video stores, and a dairyoutlet. In this context, shop accesses refer tocommercial businesses where items or services arebought or sold. (This does not include accesses tobusinesses involved in the manufacturing of products.)Shopkeepers often arrange their merchandise in frontof their shop, extending out on the street.

Like most of the shop accesses, workshopentrances tend to be wide portals with slated metaldoors that roll up and down, which allow easy accessand mobility during work. Beyond the limitations oftheir workshops, employees use the street as a sharedworkspace, since it is often the only place where theyhave enough space to fully function. For example, theintersection of Darb Shoughlan and Atfet Hozayenfeatures a number of furniture upholsterers who usethe street as their common workspace. Several otherbusinesses, such as scooter repair shops, shoemakers,and a coffeeshop, also operate in this manner.

(Top) The large metal doors are modern replacementsto the traditional wooden folding doors used by mostneighbourhood workshops. (Bottom) Throughout the studyarea, residents tend animals on the streets. Many raiselivestock, such as sheep and goats, on table scraps, whileothers, who use animals for their work, perform routineupkeep that can include an occasional hair trimming.

Street vendors are also common in the area.They include a government bread kiosk, a grilled meatstand, a fuul cart, and a blacksmith who fixes portablepropane burners. The Aslam Mosque neighbourhoodtends to have fewer stationary street vendors thanother sections of al-Darb al-Ahmar; however, a steadystream of street-cart vendors passes through on adaily basis: sweet-potato vendors, popcorn sellers,vegetable carts, and stale bread recyclers are a few.

There are numerous areas within public streetboundaries where residents and businesses storeitems. These are often places where furniture

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components are stored temporarily, usually during theday but sometimes through the night. In theneighbourhood, local shoemakers and carpentersutilise most of these.

Makeshift housing, which in this case refers toresidential units constructed in a haphazard manner onthe sites of demolished or collapsed structures, is notuncommon in the area. While such structures are meantto be temporary living arrangements and often present aminimal investment of labour in their construction, severalhave existed for twenty years or more.

Ruins are often used as dumping sites forneighbourhood rubbish and workshop waste, as arecertain areas in the street, especially those in front ofruined or abandoned structures. While piles of rubbishthat accumulate in certain designated areas in the streetare picked up periodically by the governmental rubbishtruck, it collects indefinitely on the site of partially ortotally collapsed buildings.

Although most of the neighbourhood residentsdo not own a car, there is a fair amount of vehiculartraffic. Motorised access thus refers to an entrance

used by an automobile, such as an access to a garage.The dimensions of the small trucks used by localbusinesses allow vehicular access through all but afew common street areas in the neighbourhood.Neighbourhood parking areas, whether forautomobiles, scooters, or animal-drawn carts, arealways informal; at present, there are no areas formallydesignated for parking.

Green open spaces are very rare in theneighbourhood, and, at present, there is only one: thesmall grassy area in front of Aslam Mosque. Thissmall green space replaced structures that at one timeabutted the mosque but were demolished. Very fewtrees exist in the Aslam Mosque neighbourhood, inpart due to the narrowness of the street.

A limited number of public facilities exist in thearea. Public lighting, for example, is usually found inplaces of high traffic and public use in the eveninghours. Although categorised as “public lighting,”much of the area’s street lighting is maintained by localresidents and is either in poor condition or no longerworking. Other community facilities include the

This section of Darb Shoughlan in front of a group ofunused ruined buildings features a large rubbish pile thatregularly blocks a significant portion of the street.

This fenced-in area in front of the Mosque ofAslam al-Silahdar is the only place in the neighbourhoodset aside as a green space.

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Building units subdivisions

Two or more building units sharing one façade.

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eetscape access and elements

Access and passages:

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Workshop access Cul-de-sac

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The Streetscape Morphology of theAslam Mosque neighbourhood

Streetscape access and elements

Other notable streetscape elements:

Shrine or Mosque Public lighting

Drinking zier Trees

Sabil-kuttab

Building boundary lines

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communal water containers that are used for drinking;known as “ziers,” these can be found throughout thearea. At times, they are more complex and include awater trough for animals or a collection of traditionalwater pots, called “ollas,” on a metal service tree. Ingeneral, most such facilities are initiated andmaintained by local residents.

Another feature found in the area that is ofimportance to the public is the shrine. They can be asmodest as a grave marker over the tomb of someone ofreligious importance or as large as a mausoleum or mosquecomplex. Although shrines can be located within abuilding that is privately owned, they are always underthe jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Awqaf.

PROMINENT STREETSCAPEVISTAS AND SPACES

Aslam Square is an early twentieth-century creationthat came about as a result of the 1970s demolition ofthe old residential structure built opposite the Mosqueof Aslam al-Silahdar. Although the open space aroundthe mosque has changed form, its role has not: itremains a major gathering place for religious

festivals—such as the Moulid of Fatma al-Nabaweya—and is a vital link between areas of commercial activity.

Two major streets, Darb Shoughlan and Fatma al-Nabaweya, converge from the south at the square, whilethe street to the left of the mosque, Abdallah al-Geuweiny,continues north as the only outlet in that direction. Asecondary route to the right of the mosque, Haret Aslam,eventually reaches a dead end near the Ayyubid citywall, and a final route leading west from the square, HaretSa’ad Allah, continues onto Bab Zuwayla, linking thecommunity with greater al-Darb al-Ahmar.

Although it has been extensively renovated inrecent years, the dye-house located on the east side ofthe square is most likely an Ottoman structure, possiblydating to the mid-eighteenth century. It retains a fewhistoric elements such as the stone corbels that supportthe upper storey. Another historic building is located onthe west side of the square, and, like the dye-house, ithas been modified almost beyond recognition: shopentrances, signage, modern windows, and a gunite cementfinish have completely altered its late nineteenth-century

As seen from Haret Aslam, with the Mosque of Aslamal-Silahdar on the right, Aslam Square shows the typicalcongestion of parked vehicles within the space.

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façade. The shops on the south side of the square wereconstructed in 1980, and, though they have noarchitectural value, they contribute much to theactivities that take place in the square.

Streetscape vistas and prominent viewpointscreate a memorable sense of place. The monumentalityof Aslam Mosque tends to make it a focal point ofmany vistas in the study area. The point of visualcontact from the south along Fatma al-Nabaweya (vistaA) and Darb Shoughlan (vista B) are the mostimportant. This is especially true during the morninghours, when the narrow and vertical confines of the

routes are left in shadow while the southern façade ofthe mosque is fully lit by the morning sun.

The pedestrian viewpoint from Darb Shoughlanlacks the progressive intensity and drama of the Fatmaal-Nabaweya vista because of the lack of structures(most of these having been demolished on the eastside of the street); however, the ribbed dome of AslamMosque is imposing from a long way off the square.This vista is an important streetscape feature worthyof exploiting through planning initiatives that couldinclude reconstruction of the building line on theeast side of the street, as well as the restoration ofthe mosque.

The other viewpoint is on Darb Shoughlanlooking north from the Atfet Hozayen intersection(vista C). From here one can see the prominent remainsof building 212, which lie a few hundred metres away.It is a rare opportunity to view the streetscape in sucha narrow and long perspective.

(Left) Hidden beneath later renovations, the midnineteenth-century dye-house on the east side of AslamSquare is a prominent building. (Below) Besides the dailyactivities of street vendors, the square provides space for awide array of social activities important to the community.

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Two images during themorning hours fromFatma al-Nabaweya Street(Vista A) and DarbShoughlan Street (Vista B)towards Aslam Mosque.

Looking northeast from theintersection of Atfet Hozayen (VistaC) towards building 212 in the fardistance on Darb Shoughlan.

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Streetscape vistas and prominent viewpoints○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

A

B

C

The population of the study area amounts toapproximately 1,200 inhabitants. Demographic

features of the population were assessed from a surveyof a representative sample of 159 residents distributedamong thirty-one households. Properties such ashousehold size, family type, occupancy rate, previousresidence, and length of residence in the study area areall portrayed, as are the population distribution of agegroups, educational levels, and marital status. In addition,the survey explores the population’s economic activity,occupational patterns, and income levels. Where needed,pie charts accompany the applicable information.

HOUSEHOLD SIZE

The average household size in the area was found tobe 5.1 persons per household. This is higher than thenational average of 4.6 persons and the City of Cairoaverage of four persons, both of which were recordedin 1996. The large household size is contradictory tothe expectations regarding historic districts, which arelosing their population due to the deterioration of theaging housing stock. This can be partially explained,however, by the high percentage of extended families(since married children are generally allowed to livewith their parents in the same dwelling) and,consequently, by the extended-family building type inthe area (see Members in Each Household pie chart).

FAMILY TYPE

The nuclear family type, consisting of the head of thefamily and his wife and children, accounts for 77.4% ofthe number of families in the area. The remaining 22.6%involve the extended family type, which consists of thehead of the family, his wife and children, as well as hisparents and grandchildren.

POPULATION ORIGIN

Knowledge about the origin of the current populationthrough previous residence and place of birth mayserve as indicators of lifestyle, place attachment, andthe attractant and repellent role of the area in internalmigration patterns. The percentage of the populationborn in al-Darb al-Ahmar amounts to 83.6% of the totalpopulation in the area. Moreover, 46% of the migrantpopulation born outside al-Darb al-Ahmar was bornin the historic core of Cairo, particularly inneighbouring districts such as al-Khaleefa, Bab al-Shereyya, and al-Gamaleyya. Most of these casesconsist of the wives of men born in al-Darb al-Ahmar(see Population Origins According to Birthplace piechart).

The percentage of the population that hasalways lived in al-Darb al-Ahmar amounts to 79.3% ofthe total population in the area, with 20.7% migrantsto the area from other locations. The slight differencein percentages between residency and place of birthis explained by the fact that some of the residentsoriginally born in al-Darb al-Ahmar have moved togovernment housing—in Sadat City, al-Nahda, and al-Mokattam—and have then moved back.

LENGTH OF RESIDENCE

Findings indicate that the population in the area hasbeen living there for a long time, some for more thantwo generations. Accordingly, the percentage ofresidents who have resided in the area for less thantwenty years does not exceed 3.2%, whereas thosewho have resided in the area for more than fifty yearsamounts to 35.5%. In the case of al-Darb al-Ahmar,length of residence, in association with other factorssuch as proximity to relatives, friends, and the work

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SOCIAL SURVEYOF THE INHABITANTS

C O M M U N I T Y P R O F I L E

877

1 to 43 9 %

5 to 63 2 %

7 to 82 6 %

Members in Each Household

9 to 103 %

6 %Secondaryschool

7 %Universitydegree

11%Diploma

2 4 %Basic education

7 %Without formal education

4 5 %Illiterate

Level of Education

Marital Status9 %Engaged 5 5 %

Married

2 8 %Unmarried

5 %Widower

3 %Divorced

1 %Handicapped

2 0 %Unemployed

4 8 %Housewives

6 %Retired

2 5 %Student

The Economically Inactive

Chart information from the demographic survey ofthe Aslam Mosque neighbourhood study area

1 9 %50 to 60 yrs

3 %Less than 20 yrs

1 6 %More than 60 yrs

1 6 %20 to 30 yrs

Years of Residence in the Area

2 3 %40 to 50

2 3 %30 to 40

Population OriginsAccording to Birthplace

8 3 %al-Darb al-Ahmar

9 %Elsewhere

8 %Historic Cairo

78

4 %Education

9 %Commerce

2 %Waiter

11%Driver/guard/custodian

2 2 %Government employee

11%Arzoky

4 1 %Craftsmen

Occupations Employment Status Structure

4 4 %Self-employed

2 %Family-employed 5 4 %

Employed

3 9 %Outsidethe area

2 2 %In thevicinity

3 0 %Insidethe area

Work Location9 %Distantlocations

2 %Taxi

4 %Minibus

3 5 %Bus

2 %Private car

Trip to Work

5 5 %On foot

January 1999: U.S.D. 1 = L.E. 3.4

Household Income Level in Egyptian Pounds per Month

7%More than L.E. 800

16%L.E. 600 to 800

23%L.E. 400 to 600

41%L.E. 200 to 400

13%Less than L.E. 200

January 1999: U.S.D. 1 = L.E. 3.4

place, as well as the benefits of rent control, togetherexplain the extent to which the inhabitants are attachedto the area despite its deteriorating physical conditions(see Years of Residence in the Area pie chart).

POPULATION DISTRIBUTIONACCORDING TO AGE COMPOSITION

This distribution serves to measure the dependencyburden that is borne by members of the labour forceand by the government for providing the necessaryservices required for children and the elderly. Thedistribution in the area of the three main age groups isas follows: 0-15, 15-60, and over 60.

Children aged 0-15 represent 26.4% of the totalpopulation in the area, which is lower than the 1996national average of 34.9%. This is not an indication ofeconomic and social progress, but rather aconfirmation that historic districts in Cairo are losingtheir population of young married couples to newerareas. However, al-Darb al-Ahmar has a higherpercentage of children than other historic districts, afact that is partially explained by the high percentageof extended families and the economic and socialadvantages of living in the area.

Those aged 15-60 represent 66.8% of the totalpopulation in the area, and the elderly, aged over 60,represent 6.8%. Both these figures are higher than thenational average for 1996: the former is higher than theaverage of 59.9% and the latter is higher than the averageof 5.2%. This increase is not due to higher healthstandards in the area, but rather a result of the decreasein percentage of other age groups, namely children.Gender distribution within the population of the studyarea was found to be equally proportionate across thethree recorded age groups.

LEVEL OF EDUCATION

The level of education serves as an indicator to theability of community members to make use of availableresources and the potential to improve their own livingconditions. Its distribution is calculated with referenceto the portion of the population aged six and olderand is shown on a pie chart (see Levels of Educationpie chart).

79

Illiteracy amounts to 45.2% of the totalpopulation, which is high compared to the nationalaverage of 38.6% and the urban average of 26%, bothof which were recorded in 1996. The percentage of thepopulation that is literate but has not attained formaleducational certificates amounts to 6.9%. This findingshould be viewed in light of the community’soccupation, which is mostly light industry involvingmanual labour (namely carpentry, metal work,upholstery, wood finishing, and shoemaking). A formaleducation is not regarded as necessary foroccupational training, especially among oldergenerations. However, if considered by age groups,the level of education is higher among children andyoung adults than in the population as a whole.

The percentage of the population that is enrolledin or has attained primary level education amounts to11.1%, and the percentage with preparatory leveleducation amounts to 12.5%. Thus, 23.6% of the totalpopulation in the area either is enrolled in or has attainedthe basic level of education. The percentage withsecondary level education (both general andoccupational) amounts to 6.3%, diploma level educationamounts to 11.1%, and university level educationamounts to 6.9%.

MARITAL STATUS

Marital status serves to indicate social phenomenasuch as marriage and its potential for productivity,divorce and its potential for social problems, as wellas the need to form new families. The distribution ofmarital status is calculated with reference to the portionof the population aged sixteen and older (see MaritalStatus pie chart).

The percentage of married people amounts to54.7% of the population in the area, slightly less than thenational average of 61.1% and the urban area average of57.2%, both of which were recorded in 1996. Thepercentage of unmarried people amounts to 28.2%,slightly higher than the 1996 national average of 27.8%and the 1996 urban area average of 30.6%. As for thepercentage of those who are engaged, this amounts to9.4%. These indicators reflect the situation of theneighbourhood youth who keep postponing theirmarriage for lack of affordable housing in the area. They

are reluctant to move out (to the closest informal areassuch as Mansheyat Nasser or Basateen) because oftheir strong ties to extended family and work in the area.

As for those who are widowed, this amountsto 5.1%, which is lower than the national average of6.3% recorded in 1996. The fact that this groupconsists strictly of women may be due to their longevitycompared to men, as well as the tendency amongwidowers to remarry. This indicator may also be relatedto the fact that women-headed households form 13%of the total number of the households in the area.Lastly, the percentage of separated people amountsto 1.7%.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

This section outlines the economic structure of thepopulation in the study area, revealing indicatorssuch as unemployment, occupational patterns,status structure, employment sectors, work location,and work permanency. The labour force iscalculated with reference to the portion of thepopulation aged fifteen and older.

The percentage of those who areeconomically active amounts to 39.3%; of these,91.3% are males and 8.7% are females. This disparityis related to the level of education as well as culturalnorms of the community, where women do notusually work outside the home. The economicallyinactive constituted the remaining 60.7%.

The total economically inactive population inthe area is subdivided into students (representing25.4%), retirees (representing 5.6%), housewives(representing 47.9%), handicapped (representing1.4%), and unemployed (representing 19.7%) (seeThe Economically Inactive pie chart). It is worthnoting that 85.7% of those unemployed are females,mostly young women who have accomplished somelevel of education but are not married and still livewith their parents. This means that only 2.8% ofthe economically inactive population are actuallyunemployed males aged fifteen and older, which isnot a high percentage.

As for the occupational patterns within theeconomically active population, craftsmen (includingshoe manufacturing, carpentry, wood polishing,

80

upholstery making, and metal work) represent 41.4%,while government employees represent 21.8%.Those doing odd jobs (known as “arzoky”) represent10.8%, and other occupations are represented insmaller percentages (see Occupational Patterns piechart).

Regarding status structure, the self-employed represent 43.5% of the total economicallyactive population; this group is constituted strictly ofmales. Employees represent 54.3% and thoseemployed by family members represent 2.2% (see theEmployment Status Structure chart).

Employment sector distribution is divided intothose who work in the public sector (representing21.7%) and those who work in the private sector(representing 78.3%). As for job permanency, thosewho have a permanent job represent 73.9%, whereasthose who have a temporary job represent 26.1%.

Work location was investigated to reveal that30.4% of the total economically active population workwithin the boundaries of the study area and 21.7%work in neighbouring areas such as Bab al-Wazir,Megharbeleen, al-Khalifa, and al-Ataba. Theremaining 39.2% work in diverse city locations, andonly 8.7% work in locations as far as Helwan,Obour City, and Heliopolis (see Work Locationchart).

As for the mode of transportation used for thetrip to work, those who go to work on foot represent54.3% of the total economically active population,which corresponds to the work location distributionmentioned previously. The second most used modeof transportation is the city bus, which is used by34.8% of the residents in the area. Other modes oftransportation include private cars (4.3%), taxis (2.2%),minibuses (2.2%), and microbuses (2.2%) (see Trip toWork chart).

INCOME LEVEL

Given the sensitivity of the issue and its relation tothe values and ideologies of the interviewee, thereliability of data concerning income level is usuallylow, particularly in Egypt. Nevertheless, it remains animportant indicator of living standards and the socialand economic composition of the population.

81

86, based on an average household size of 5.4 personsper household.

The percentage of households whose averagemonthly income ranges between L.E. 600 and L.E. 800amounts to 16.1% of the total number of householdsin the area. This group includes 14.5% of the totalpopulation with an average monthly income of L.E.658 and an average monthly income per capita of L.E.143, based on an average household size of 4.6 personsper household.

The percentage of households whose averagemonthly income exceeds L.E. 800 amounts to 6.5% ofthe total number of households in the area. This groupincludes 6.9% of the total population with an averagemonthly income of L.E. 1,200 and an average monthlyincome per capita of L.E. 218, based on an averagehousehold size of 5.5 persons per household.Evidently, an individual’s share of the monthly incomeincreases with the decrease of household size.

The percentage of households where thehead of the family is the sole contributor to theaverage household income amounts to 48.4% ofthe total number of households in the area, wheretwo individuals contribute 25.8%, where threeindividuals contribute 16.2%, and where fourindividuals contribute 3.2%. Also, the percentage ofhouseholds where the head of the family’ssecondary job contributes to the average householdincome amounts to 6.4% of the total number ofhouseholds in the area.

The survey revealed that the average monthlyhousehold income in the study area is L.E. 415 permonth. This amounts to L.E. 4,980 or US$ 1,510annually, which is less than the average of US$ 2,570for the City of Cairo and the national average of US$2,010, both of which were recorded in 1993.

According to income level, the population inthe area can be divided into five groups (seeHousehold Income Level pie chart). The percentage ofhouseholds whose average monthly income falls belowL.E. 200 per month amounts to 12.9% of the total numberof households in the area. This group includes 11.3% ofthe population with an average household monthlyincome of L.E. 126 per month and an average monthlyincome per capita of L.E. 28, based on an averagehousehold size of 4.5 persons per household.

The percentage of households whose averagemonthly income ranges between L.E. 200 and L.E. 400amounts to 41.9% of the total number of householdsin the area. This group includes 43.4% of the totalpopulation with an average monthly income of L.E.262 and an average monthly income per capita of L.E.49, based on an average household size of 5.3 personsper household.

The percentage of households whose averagemonthly income ranges between L.E. 400 and L.E. 600amounts to 22.6% of the total number of householdsin the area. This group includes 23.9% of the totalpopulation with an average monthly income of L.E.466 and an average monthly income per capita of L.E.

82

Any proposal forDarb Shoughlanhas to address thecomplicated nature ofthe social arrangementsof its inhabitants.Residents such as thiscouple, who run a smallgrocery store, spendmost of their lives livingand working alongthe street.

Any proposal forDarb Shoughlanhas to address thecomplicated nature ofthe social arrangementsof its inhabitants.Residents such as thiscouple, who run a smallgrocery store, spendmost of their lives livingand working alongthe street.

Alifestyle assessment inquiry was carried out tounderstand the interaction between the study

area and its current inhabitants. This inquiry exploredwhat the residents like and dislike about the area, aswell as their ability and willingness to invest inimproving their home environment. The aim was togain an understanding of the area’s vitality in order towork on maximising its positive aspects whileminimising the negative ones.

A questionnaire was used to assess basichousing facilities in the area (including water, sewage,and electricity), dwelling sizes, and occupancy rates.Additionally, a guided interview was employed toexplore the following: use patterns in the dwelling andin the area; territorial domains; aspects of the areathat people value; priorities and preferences; andaffordability and willingness to invest in the home.

This assessment se rves to gu ideneighbourhood improvement schemes andimplementation strategies. Accordingly, the alternativehousing patterns illustrated in the case studies reflectthe outcome of this study. Further analysis wouldlead to the development of special district regulationstargeted in the following stage of the project.

A purposeful sample of fourteen households waschosen to reflect a maximum variety of different buildingtypes, and in-depth interviews were conducted with thehousehold members using an interview guide. Theseinterviews were then qualitatively analysed in integrationwith annotated plans of the residence showing furniture,prevalent use patterns, and territorial domains. Theinquiry covered not only the use of the private spacewithin the dwelling unit, but also the different levels ofshared space beyond, such as the roof, the landings, thestairwells, the building entrance, and the cul-de-sac. Area-level questions were also asked in order to assessperceived levels of safety (especially for unaccompanied

women and children), social interactions, and activitiessuch as children playing, women shopping, and thesupply, production, and market network of the workshopsfound in the area.

EXISTING HOUSING CONDITIONS

Basic housing facilities: Preliminary results indicatethat 94% of the residential units are legally connectedto the city electricity and sewage networks. Regardingpotable water, 81% of the households are supplied bythe city network in the form of in-house taps, and 13%

83

LIFESTYLES ANDTHE SUPPORTIVE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

C O M M U N I T Y P R O F I L E

depend on public taps. As for sewage, the inhabitedresidential units are connected to the city water-bornesewage system.

Existing residential units range from one- tof ive-room dwel l ings . This measure i s anapproximation because of the difficulty in defining thedwelling unit in cases such as extended-family housesand shared courtyard ground levels.

Children help adults with daily chores such as feeding animals,running errands, and taking care of younger siblings.

84

space, existing rooms are subdivided using woodenpartitions, or an additional room large enough to holdthe parents’ bed is rented. Moreover, children oftenshare beds with aunts or grandmothers. Genderseparation in sleeping areas is applied as much aspossible.

Cooking: Cooking takes place in central spacessuch as hallways and private courtyards, though inthe case of extended-family houses it sometimestakes place in circulation spaces such as staircaselandings. Given the shortage of space, allocatingan entire room for cooking is not a priority; the rareexamples of apartments with enclosed kitchens arethose that can also afford a formal guestroom, the“salon,” and have at least three other rooms. Theprevalent kitchenette arrangement has theadvantage of allowing women the opportunity tostay in touch with everyone else while cooking.However, such kitchenettes often lack a water outlet,in which case they are located as close as possibleto the bathroom, where water is available.

Food preparation or cooking does not occuroutside the households’ private domain because it isnot considered proper, though cooking on thresholdsand in front of houses can be seen in other parts ofCairo, where the community consists more of recentrural migrants. Therefore, even in cases where thetoilet and courtyard are shared, cooking does not occurin the courtyard, but rather in the privacy of a room.

As shown in the pie chart above, one-roomdwellings represent approximately one third of the totalnumber of dwelling units in the study area, while two-room dwellings represent another third. Thepercentage of three- and four-room dwellings is 14%and 24%, respectively. There is only a slightpercentage of five-room dwellings in the study area.While one-room units are acceptable for a single ordouble occupancy, usually by the elderly, it is ahardship when inhabited by a family.

Occupancy Rates: Occupancy was calculated with anoverall average of 1.9 inhabitants per room, slightlyhigher than the average for the City of Cairo of 1.3 for1996. This increase is due to the existence of one-room dwellings in the area. The detailed occupancyrate for each dwelling size calculated from a sample ofeighty-four dwelling units housing 381 inhabitantsshows an expected high of 4.5 inhabitants per room inthose one-room dwellings. However, the occupancyrate in the case of two-, three-, four-, and five-roomdwellings is 1.6, 1.4, 1.5, and 1.4 inhabitants per room,respectively (see the above bar chart).

USE PATTERNS IN THE DWELLING

Sleeping: The lifestyle assessment inquiry revealsthat, whenever possible, the parents’ sleeping area isvisually separated from the children’s andgrandparents’ sleeping areas. In cases of insufficient

Number of Inhabitants per RoomAccording to Dwelling Size

4

3

2

1

0

4.5

1.6 1.4 1.5 1.4

2-roomdwelling

3-roomdwelling

4-roomdwelling

5-roomdwelling

1-roomdwelling

2 4 %4 rooms

2 %5 rooms

3 1 %1 room

Number of Rooms per Dwellingwithin the Study Area

1 4 %3 rooms

2 8 %2 rooms

Num

ber

of i

nhab

itant

s

Bathroom: In the majority of the traditional buildings,the bathroom consists of a toilet of the “baladi” typeand a tap to bathe. Bathtubs and shower stands arenot popular even among the affluent five-roomapartment dwellers; one family installed the former andthen had it removed because it leaked. The sink iseither inside or just outside the bathroom space. Giventhat most dwellings do not have running hot water, inthe winter months people bathe with cold water orwith hot water heated on the stove. Because bathroomwindows rarely have window panes, young childrenare sometimes given their bath in a laundry basin in aregular room rather than the bathroom, so as to preventthem from catching colds.

Living room activities: Activities such as studying,watching television, eating, and socialising occur inthe same rooms where the beds are located; theconcept of a living room does not exist in theneighbourhood, since all rooms are used for livingactivities. It is common to find more than one televisionset in the same dwelling. Given that guests are usuallyneighbours or relatives, formal reception rooms arenot considered important, but when other spatialpriorities are met and more space is available, a smallroom is formally furnished and reserved for specialoccasions. Typically, it contains a china cabinet, asofa set, a fan, and a fancy light fixture.

Dishwashing and washing clothes: Most localresidents have electric washing machines, and so thewashing of clothes and dishes takes place near thewater supply and drainage system. If this is in acourtyard at the entrance of a building, as is the casefor most ground-floor tenants, then building entrancedoorways are closed for privacy, especially whenwashing clothes. Most residents hang their laundryon rooftops in order for them to dry, though smallitems are sometimes hung on clothes lines placed onwindow sills. Although streets are narrow and denselybuilt, the relatively low building heights allow sunlightto reach many façades and courtyards.

Working at home: Residences are sometimes usedfor storing equipment temporarily or for storingproducts such as finished pieces of furniture or

85

upholstered sofa sets. And, if feasible, the work itselftakes place in the home: sewing soles on shoes ordoing some extra upholstery work for neighbours.Given the limited economic means of the area in general,one would expect more of the home-based work patternthan is currently present, but it is not the norm forwomen to work, especially the older generation.Among the young, educated women, many work butdo so mostly outside the area.

USE PATTERNS IN THE AREA

Socialising: Since a large portion of the communityhas been residing in the area for generations, it comesas no surprise to find that many of them are related. Inmany cases, husband and wife were next-doorneighbours before their marriage. This pattern stillpersists among the young generation today. The resultis that many families in the area are related by marriage,which accounts for a large portion of the socialisingthat goes on across windows and rooftops.

The washing of clothes is usually a private activity forneighbourhood residents. Here, the ramparts of the historicwall are used as a place to hang laundry out to dry.

86

Neighbours: Neighbours tend to drop by each other’shomes with varying frequency. The visit often includeshelping in household chores such as sweeping thefloors or bringing over a dish of cooked food.Sometimes, it involves borrowing ingredients ordelivering shopping items. At other times, it is to usethe wealthier neighbour’s telephone. And yet othertimes it is just a visit to chat.

Shopping: The area provides easy pedestrian accessto daily shopping needs as well as specialty andseasonal requirements, and includes several bakeriesand grocery stores. Vegetables and fruits are boughtevery other day from the market in Megharbeleen,where meat and fish are also sold.

For the less active members, local streetvendors offer a convenient alternative; tomatoes,garlic, and onions piled upon donkey-drawn carts canbe bought any day of the week. (Some produce vendorspass twice a day.) Other passing vendors sellhousehold utensils imported from the free zone of PortSaid. And every afternoon, the “leisure” food vendorspass through, selling baked sweet potatoes, popcorn,pumpkin seeds, roasted peanuts, and licorice drinks.Women lower their baskets from the windows andpassing neighbours do all the purchasing. Shoppingin this way is an activity around which social ties areborn and nurtured, since it is common practice forsomeone going shopping to also bring theirneighbours what they need.

For more seasonal needs such as shoes andclothes, al-Ghureyya is the most popular shoppingarea. Some residents, however, go as far as al-Mousky or even Fouad Street downtown. Thedaughters of one family who had relatives living inthe middle-class neighbourhoods of Cairo insistedon shopping in Heliopolis, which for many residentsrepresents the highest possible standard of living.This particular family, however, does not have rootsin the neighbourhood.

Recreation for members of the communityranges from cooking a special meal (usually includinganimal protein, since the rest of the week consists ofmacaroni) to visiting relatives. For elderly members,recreation sometimes involves prayers and a short stayin a favourite mosque on the way to a visit or to the

Visiting: Many residents have extended familyin nearby areas such as Megharbeleen or Bab al-Khalk. They occasionally visit each other onholidays and feasts, and the trip is always onfoo t . Al though no t cons idered as be ing“visitors” by community standards, other visitorsinclude neighbours.

(Top) Tablita Market is one of several vegetable markets inthe area used by residents. (Bottom) Residents list theconvenience of nearby schools in the vicinity, wherechildren can easily walk in a safe environment, over thosein less dense outlying new settlements.

87

a small room off the building’s main staircase.Because the animals dirtied the building entrance,the upper-storey neighbours were furious andblamed it on the fact that the new tenant’s youngbride came from the countryside. Before she movedin, the two other tenants from upstairs would taketurns every Friday sweeping the building entrance.In the case of residential cul-de-sacs, chicken coopsare set up in the cul-de-sac itself and the birds areusually free to wander.

Sitting in coffeeshops: There are several coffeeshopsin the study area, each with a different image, and yetthe more conservative members of the communityregard all of these as being improper for decent youngmen. The association of coffeeshops with drugconsumption in the past, and to a lesser extent in thepresent, is the reason behind this view. However, there

market. Going to a park or eating out is alien to membersof the community.

The contrast is vivid when compared to thelifestyle of dwellers of the modern apartmentbuilding on Aslam Square. Belonging more to themiddle classes than to the workshop community inthe area, teenage and young males living in thisbuilding spend their leisure time playing football inthe Darb al-Ahmar youth club, eating out atMcDonald’s, and, in the evenings, hanging out inthe area surrounding Hussein Mosque. In general,girls tend to spend their leisure time at home. Morecommon in the community is for the entire family tospend their one day off (usually Fridays) at home,maybe doing some household chores. Occasionally,they visit relatives outside the area.

Raising animals: Raising poultry and larger animalssuch as sheep or goats may take place on the roof orin the cul-de-sac, but not in any of the domesticspaces. In one case, the new tenants in a ground-floor room and bathroom kept their goats and sheep in

Each day many vendors pass down Darb Shoughlan,selling goods that would otherwise be difficult for the lessactive residents to purchase.

88

is one coffeeshop in the study area that seems highlyfrequented by residents, to the extent that chairs aredesignated to certain elderly members of the community.It is not an indoor coffeeshop, but rather a counter thatserves drinks to customers dispersed in front of theirworkshops. This coffeeshop is located at a communitynode and is close to two grocers and a bakery.

TERRITORIAL DOMAINS

The use patterns in the area can be categorised intofour levels of territorial domains: the enclosedresidential unit, the shared domestic space, the hometerritory, and the area or “el-mante’a.”

Level one: enclosed residential unit: This providesgroup privacy from outsiders, which is lacking in thecase of ground-floor tenants, who share toilet facilitiesand often lack a door to separate their shared spacefrom the circulation areas of the building. The enclosedunit, however, can rarely afford individual privacy,since very few cases exist where each family member

has his own personal room. Gender privacy amongchildren in their sleeping areas is observed only ifaffordable. The activities that take place inside thedwelling include sleeping, eating, cooking, watchingtelevision, studying, and socialising.

Level two: shared domestic space: This level includesbuilding entrances and courtyards used for domesticactivities. It was observed that the management andupkeep of these semi-private spaces is best whenshared by no more than two families. Activities thatoccur in such territories include washing clothes anddishes, storing items, and socialising.

Level three: home territory: This category of territoryis more public than the previous one, yet some degreeof control is practiced by those who claim it. It couldbe a whole cul-de-sac or just part of one, dependingon the different uses of the buildings and the numberof people living in them. Dead-end streets leadingtowards the Ayyubid wall qualify as long as commercialactivity has not infiltrated them. In cases where cul-de-sacs contain commercial activity, the level ofterritoriality only exists beyond the point frequentedby workers. Activities that characterise the hometerritory are raising chickens, ducks, sheep, or goats;

The coffeeshop at the intersection of Darb Shoughlan andAtfet al-Fourn is an active hub of the neighbourhood.Seating is outdoors and patrons move according to theirneeds, especially to keep out of the sun.

Levels of territorial domain for residents of 3 Zuqaq Ezz el-Din○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

THEFUTURE

AL-AZHARPARK

W a

l l

u b

i d

T h

eA

y y

Bab Zuwayla

Bab al-Wazir

Mosqueof al-Azhar

Mosque ofar-Rifa’i

Mosque ofSultan Hassan

To the Mosqueof Ibn Tulun

T H E C I T A D E L

To al-TahrirSquare

To the Mosque ofSayyeda Zaynab

100 200 300 400 5000Meters

N

89

Level Four:The area

Dar

b Sh

ough

lan

Atfet Karn al-Sarif

Level Three:Home territory

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

○

ZuqaqEzz el-Din

Level Two:Shared domestic space

Zuqaq Ezz el-Din

3 ZuqaqEzz el-Din

Level One:Enclosed residential unit

3 ZuqaqEzz el-Din

90

sitting outdoors in the afternoons or evenings; playingwith family members and neighbours; and wearing“house” clothes in the case of women.

Level four: the area or “el-mante’a.” When asked todelineate the extent of their neighbourhood, peoplementioned several local landmarks and streets that donot go beyond the trapezium between Bab al-Khalk tothe west, al-Azhar Street to the north, Bab al-Wazir andMohammed Ali streets to the south, and the prospectivepark to the east. Children from the community go toschools and attend private lessons within this area.Residents define it as being where their parents andgrandparents were born; where they can go anywhereon foot; where no major transportation routes pass; where

it is safe to walk; and where everyone knows who theyare. Many members of the community rarely ventureoutside this area.

WHAT PEOPLE VALUE IN THE AREA

Proximity to work, suppliers, markets, relatives andfriends, and services (schools, medical care, mosques,and shopping) are highly valued by the communitymembers of the neighbourhood. Noteworthy is thefact that almost everyone living in the area has first-hand experience of other areas that fall within theireconomic means. They have either lived therethemselves for a few years or have immediate familyliving there (brothers, sisters, or married children who

Closet cabinet

Common hallway for 2 units

Bed

Stove

TelevisionSofa

Storage items

Cul-de-sac, used solely bythe residents from the

neighbouring building fortending animals and

socialising

Separateapartment with

an entranceto the front

Common courtyard,shared by twohouseholds and usedfor chores

Entra

nce

hallw

ay

Cabinet

TelevisionStoveBed

Latrine belowa lightwell

Shared toiletand shower

Staircase tothe upper floors

Lightwell

Lightwell

T H

E

A Y

Y U

B I

D

W A

L L

Zuqaq Ezz el-Din

Separateapartment withan additionalroom across

the hall

The ground floorresidence of

Om Ahmad at3 Zuqaq Ezz al-Din

had to move out) . The implicat ions of theneighbourhood’s location is multi-dimensional for theresidents for the following reasons:

Economic support: For workshop owners andemployees, the benefit of working in the area is morethan saving the time and money of a daily trip to andfrom home. There is economic benefit from havingcomplimentary industries close-by: craftsmen lend andborrow money, tools, and supplies from each other;they benefit from the inexpensive transfer of goodsfrom suppliers to markets and are encouraged to worklater hours.

Convenience: Convenience is a function of time,money, and the quality of the services provided.Proximity to the workplace allows many employeeswho work within walking distance to take a break andeat a hot meal at home. Other forms of convenienceinclude access to good schools and private lessons,to diverse shopping areas including central, city-scaleones, and to transportation systems as well asadministrative and medical services.

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Schools in the vicinity of the study area are farbetter and more conveniently located than schools inother affordable locations. Quality shopping is alsowithin walking distance or can be reached by bus intwo stops. Downtown Cairo, with all its municipal andadministrative services, is close by, and publictransportation, whether on the northern or thesouthern edges of the area, is not perceived as far,since it is no longer than ten minutes on foot.

Social support: Location compounded by the lengthof residence has resulted in a highly interactivecommunity with ties that last for generations. Someexamples of how the residents benefit from such asituation include free assistance in child care; helpwith shopping and housekeeping; support in casesof emergencies; solidarity in times of happiness,sadness, and religious feasts; and social interactionon a daily basis.

Most families living in the area maintain close ties anddepend on each other for things such as assistance withchild care.

In general, men tend tofamily matters during workinghours and women run errandswhile leaving their children athome without having to worry.Neighbours look out for eachother and provide assistancein times of crisis. For example,a woman was informed that hereight-year-old son was hurtwhen playing outdoors, and bythe time she ran out from thecul-de-sac where she lives, shesaw her son coming back fromthe hospital, where neighbourshad already taken him to getstitches and proper care.

The elderly among thecommunity benefit a great dealbecause younger and moremobile residents run theirerrands for them. Womenbuying from street vendors alsohelp neighbours, who lowerbaskets from their windows toreceive the produce. Sometimes, a woman will call to apassing child whom she may not know, asking him topurchase some merchandise from the grocer at thecorner. Most often, she knows only that this child isfrom the area.

These social factors also have psychologicalimplications:

Psychological factors: Sources of psychologicalcomfort mentioned by the residents include a sense ofsecurity, especially for young girls, and of companionshipand familiarity. Moreover, due to a perceived similarityin living conditions, there is neither a sense ofloneliness nor embarrassing reminders of a lowereconomic and social status.

Many people know each other by name in thearea; consequently, it is a place where young girls canwalk to and from school and evening lessonsunaccompanied until as late as 11:00 PM. People asfar as al-Azhar Street, Bab al-Khalk, or Bab al-Wazir

would recognise that a personis from the area. This is consistentwith the territorial domainoutlined by many parents astheir daughters’ safe domain.

Psychiatrists have shownthat for many Egyptians, socialisolation causes extremestress even under affluenteconomic conditions, as is thecase with those who work inthe oil-producing countries.Some stress must be causedby the limited economicmeans of the residents, butoftentimes greater stress iscaused by cases such aswhen a young father took hisson to the hospital with nofamily or friend to support him.This man is originally from thestudy area and had to move intopublic housing outside of Cairoafter the earthquake.

PRIORITIES AND PREFERENCES

Choice of housing: Marrying someone from the areais preferred to marrying someone from outside becausethey understand each other’s lifestyle and so do notneed to feel embarassed. For most people living in thearea, the source of embarrassment is the deterioratedcondition of their homes and the large number ofvacant lots, which are known as “kharabat.” Despitedreams of living in nicer places, unmarried girlsexpressed their preference to settle in the area aftermarriage rather than in the other choices available tothem that fall within their economic means (informalsettlements such as Basateen, Mansheyyet Nasser,or public housing in Mokattam or al-Nahda).

Physical appearance: What people seem to resentmost in their homes is the physical deterioration ofthe walls, which is caused mainly by dampness.Their primary concern is for structural safety, butthen they are keen on painting the interior of their

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Many elderly residents welcome the noise andvitality of living along Darb Shoughlan, which

gives them a sense of companionship.

units as often as they can afford to, thus coveringup the visible damage caused by water. Beyondthat, no positive or negative feelings towards theappearance of the buildings can be detected withrespect to their form, architectural detail, andmaterials. However, although they are aware that inits present state the neighbourhood is not in goodcondition, they have more important priorities.

Alterations inside the buildings: One way of revealingpeople’s priorities is by the type of alterations they maketo their homes. Subdividing spaces to create moreenclosed rooms is the most common alteration in thearea; usually, it is done to add a sleeping area. Since the1992 earthquake, residents are scared of adding structureson top of existing buildings for fear that they will collapse.At the other end of the economic spectrum, affluenttenants in the area rented two adjacent apartments in areinforced concrete building erected in the 1970s, openingboth units to form a large five-room apartment. Onealteration desired by ground-floor dwellers who areunrelated but share a courtyard and toilet facility is tohave a private dwelling unit with a bathroom.

Maintenance: Building entranceways and othershared space are usually kept clean according to localstandards. Floors are wiped daily with water, especiallysince the start of work on the future al-Azhar Park,

which has caused an additional amount of dust. Themost common form of maintenance is painting theinterior of homes; owners as well as tenants do it asoften as they can afford to, even those under the threatof removal by the antiquities department. Fixing theplumbing and resorting to “patching it up” is anotherform of maintenance done strictly out of fear forbuilding safety.

High densities: On many occasions, people assert theirpreference for densely-populated areas, whichtranslates to companionship and safety in numbers.The elderly prefer to live on Darb Shoughlan, giventhat it is a busy thoroughfare with a fair amount ofnoise and workshops, rather than live inside the quieterdead-ends. Because it is “nawas,” explains a resident,meaning that there is companionship. But the dead-ends are also appreciated: adults use them for sittingoutdoors on summer nights and young children usethem to play. Children, in particular, benefit more fromliving in the protection of the cul-de-sac.

Many residents described other housingalternatives in a negative sense: as being too quiet, lonely,

The government relocates many area residents to newcommunities such as al-Nahda. Although these settlementsoffer improved physical amenities, they lack the social andeconomic attributes that neighbourhood families say areimportant.

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and unsafe. One woman who has moved back intothe area after spending six years in MansheyyetNasser, the informal settlement closest to al-Darbal-Ahmar, said that when she moved there it wasdangerous and hard, but when it became morecrowded, it was much better. Most residents in thearea take pride and enjoy the atmosphere and thefamiliarity afforded by the neighbourhood. The fewexceptions are those who would like to move outand do not share the same values and lifestyle.

AFFORDABILITY AND WILLINGNESS TO INVEST

Affordability: Understandably, the financial meansavailable to local residents differ from one individualto another; generally, most local residents can affordto pay L.E. 5,000 or L.E. 6,000 as a down-paymentand a rent of L.E. 50 a month for a three-roomapartment. This is higher for commercial activities:some craftsmen are willing to pay as much as L.E.150 a month for a workshop with a down paymentas high as L.E. 10,000. The more affluent membersof the community claim to be willing to pay as muchas L.E. 10,000 or L.E.12,000 down-payment for a sixty-to seventy-metre apartment, although these arerelatively few in number. Others are capable ofpaying the L.E. 50 monthly rent but cannot affordto pay a down-payment. There are a few at thelower end of the economic scale, however, whocannot afford to pay more than L.E. 10 rent withabsolutely no advance money.

Willingness to invest: As it stands today, a freezeon building in the area immediately adjacent to theAyyubid wall has meant that land value is low;however, if building permits are issued once again,an increase in land prices is to be expected. If thedevelopment process were left unrestricted, thenthe lifting of the building freeze would have adetrimental effect on the area, since it wouldencourage the construction of high-rise buildings,in violation to building laws and similar to what isoccurring in surrounding areas. Furthermore, tomaximise profit, these new buildings would begeared towards the middle class from outside thearea (the local residents would probably be unable

to afford such apartments due to the increase in theprice of land and, subsequently, apartment prices).This would have a chain effect: it would encourageland prices to rise further, making it more lucrativefor developers to invest illegally in the area, therebydriving the local residents out and destroying muchof the historic urban fabric. Such an example can beseen in Aslam Mosque Square, where an apartmentbuilding was constructed in the 1970s targeting asocio-economic group whose lifestyle is alien to thearea. The result is that the building as well as itsresidents do not fi t in with the rest of theneighbourhood and resent much of the localamenities. On the other hand, property owners inthe area feel insecure; they suspect they can losetheir properties at any moment and be driven out ofthe area by the antiquities department. Those whoown vacant lots are also aware that their land cannotbe built to comply with current building regulationsbecause of the small size of plots and the narrownessof the streets they overlook. Property owners alsoknow that if they get a building permit, it will costthem a lot of under-the-table money. This situationcan be used as a bargaining chip with owners toassure their compliance with the special regulationsrequired to preserve the area. Property owners aswell as tenants show their willingness to invest inthe improvement of the buildings in which they liveand work in exchange for security of tenure,structural soundness, and the reconstruction of theruins caused by the earthquake.

The existence of al-Azhar Park could put someentrepreneurial pressure on the area, since the conversionof the Darassa Hills from a garbage dump into a gardenwould be a great amelioration and a marketable asset. Onthe other hand, if construction were strictly regulatedand building heights controlled, there would be lessincentive for speculation, since large scale constructionwould, by definition, be considerably less profitable. Suchrestrictions would play a positive role in the preservationof the urban fabric and its character.

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(Opposite page) The intersection of Atfet al-Fourn andDarb Shoughlan is a community node of multiple uses.Typically, as the late afternoon shadows fill DarbShoughlan, men work beside children, who use thestreet for football and other games.

CRITERIA FOR INTERVENTION

Following a thorough physical and socialinvestigation of the Aslam Mosque neighbourhood,enough information was gathered to determine howbest to intervene in the case of each individual buildingor plot of land. Accordingly, the various types andlevels of intervention applicable to buildings in theAslam Mosque neighbourhood include actions thatpreserve or re-establish the architectural and urbanintegrity of individual buildings and the historicfabric of the neighbourhood, as well as those thattransform the neighbourhood either by demolitionor new construction of individual buildings, groupsof structures, or urban spaces.

Both types of action, though different,ultimately aim to preserve the integrity of theneighbourhood. They differ only in the scope ofintervention, ranging from the conservative to theradical—that is, from minimal interference in theurban fabric to the construction of completely newstructures. In general, the proposed form ofintervention applied to each building was based onits overall condition, use, integrity, and architecturalvalue.

ACTIONS TO PRESERVE

Evidently, all structures and places that were identifiedduring the survey as being historically orarchitecturally significant need to be preserved in someform. Moreover, it has been necessary to addressbuildings with little or no historic value, but which

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TYPES OF INTERVENTION ACTIONSTO BE APPLIED IN THE ASLAM MOSQUE NEIGHBOURHOOD

F O R M S O F I N T E R V E N T I O N

A view of the study area from the site of the future al-AzharPark, with the minaret of the Shrine of Fatma al-Nabaweyavisible in the background.

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Redevelopment has been recommended for this plot ofland, which consists of numerous makeshift structures builtout of brick, wood, and rubble.

nonetheless are part of the urban fabric and cannotrealistically be demolished. With this in mind, thefollowing types of intervention were found to be themost relevant to the study area, namely: preventivemaintenance and repair of elements, restoration,rehabilitation, adaptive re-use, and reconstruction.

The first and least intrusive of the fiveactions to preserve, preventive maintenance, hasbeen recommended for most of the modernstructures in the study area, given that the majority

are in relatively good condition and need only minorrepairs. But it can eventually apply to all structuresin the neighbourhood. Indeed, there are numerousturn-of - the-cen tury bu i ld ings tha t a rearchitecturally valuable but dilapidated, not havingbeen adequately maintained for several decades.Although these buildings have historic value, they

are not monuments and therefore greater flexibilityis permissible when recommending repair work. Inmost cases, however, the traditional buildings inthe study area will require a more radical form ofintervention; nevertheless, they will subsequentlybenefit from preventive maintenance.

Unlike the modern structures and turn-of-the-century buildings of lesser significance, buildings ofexceptional historical and architectural value shouldbe preserved in a form as close as possible to theiroriginal appearance. Therefore, when working onneighbourhood monuments, any replaced componentsshould be identified and marked in order to distinguishthem from the original fabric. Furthermore, the selectiveremoval of added elements and the replacement of

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missing components are often required in order to returna monument to a physical condition in which it appearedat a certain moment in time.

As such, restoration can be applied to allneighbourhood structures of special architectural orhistorical significance that have been altered in waysthat are considered inappropriate or harmful. In thestudy area, only one such building is recommendedfor restoration: the Aslam Mosque.

The majority of the neighbourhood buildings,however, will require some form of rehabilitation, giventhat in certain cases it is necessary to re-establishtheir original functionality not only through repair,but also through alteration. By introducing modernutilities, rehabilitation will make possible the

contemporary use of these historicbuildings without substantiallyaltering their architectural features orcompromising their historical andcultural significance. Meetingsanitation or safety requirements andintroducing utilitarian improvementsare the reasons why contemporaryalterations are necessary. Notsurprisingly, rehabilitation is a formof intervention that can be usedextensively in the Aslam Mosqueneighbourhood, since there is a needto improve the quality of the oldbuilding fabric for contemporaryuse.

There are a few cases in thestudy area where modern buildings willrequire rehabilitation work, but, forthe most part, this type of interventionapplies to traditional buildings. Theresu l t s o f the survey havedistinguished three degrees ofrehabilitation: strict rehabilitation,remedial rehabilitation, andremodelling.

The first defines actionsapplicable to traditional buildings thathave retained most of their historicintegrity, of which a fair number stillremain in the neighbourhood. These

Aslam Mosque is a structure of architectural and historical importance thatwill require restoration.

actions are carried out with the aim of repairingthe s t ructure and in t roducing the changesnecessary for contemporary use while preservingthe structural elements and traditional featuresof the buildings in question.

Survey results also indicate that a great numberof traditional buildings in the neighbourhood havebeen reversibly altered with the introduction ofincongruous additions and alterations. In such cases,remedial rehabilitation is necessary; its long-termobjective is to remove incongruous elements, carryout necessary repairs, and introduce modern facilities,thus re-establishing the full historic integrity andfunctionality of the structures.

For those traditional buildings that have beenirreversibly altered, remodelling is required to preserveany surviving historic elements and carry out thetransformation necessary to ensure the continued useand economic life of the building as an alternative toits reconstruction or even its demolition.

At times, however, adaptive re-use is often theonly economic way in which old buildings can be saved.This applies to local buildings such as the DarbShoughlan School, which requires fairly radicalinterventions, especially in the internal organisation ofspaces. The final objective of this type of action is thatof transforming buildings through a series ofinterventions aimed at the introduction of new facilitiesand uses. Generally, the best candidates for adaptive re-use are large utilitarian buildings with flexible plans andadaptable interior spaces, but compatible uses can befound for almost any building worth preserving.

In the case of the vacant and rapidlydeteriorating historic buildings in the neighbourhood,especially those in public or Awqaf ownership, anadaptive re-use program is preferable to decay andeventual collapse. This is particularly true where suchaction introduces self-sustaining activities relevant tothe community and does not require a total disruptionof the original fabric. In this respect, the old and the

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(Top) Strict rehabilitation has been recommended for thistraditional three-story building constructed circa 1910.(Bottom) This 1930 building has been reversibly alteredwith changes to the fittings and finishes. Remedialrehabilitation will restore the full integrity andfunctionality of this structure.TO

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proposed new functions must be compatible, andattention should be given to the definition of a re-useprogram that is in line with the structural and formalcharacter of the building in question.

The last of the actions to preserve,reconstruction, is the most radical. It is especiallysuited to the relatively large number of buildings thatcollapsed during the 1992 earthquake, since it involvesthe reproduction in part or in full of the form and detailof a structure that is no longer standing intact.Evidently, the historic accuracy of a reconstructiondepends on the nature and strength of existingdocumentary and physical evidence. In practical terms,this is possible only in the case of well-known andfully documented buildings.

However, in the majority of the cases found inthe Aslam Mosque study area, the formerconfiguration of structures can only be conjecturedfrom the ruins of a remaining ground floor, from similarsurviving examples, or from other very limiteddocumentary evidence, particularly in the case of minorresidential buildings. In yet other cases, the traditionalstructures are completely gone, having collapsed longago, and no evidence remains today. In order torespond to these different cases, three forms of

(Top) Given its close proximity to al-Azhar Park and thehistoric wall, the former Darb Shoughlan School issignificant in its potential to be adaptively re-used as afacility for residents and visitors. (Bottom) Shop entrances,signage, modern windows, and a gunite cement finish havecompletely altered this building’s late nineteenth-centuryfaçade. It has been irreversibly altered and needsremodelling.

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reconstruction are identified as possible courses ofaction in the study area: strict, typological, andvolumetric.

Strict reconstruction applies to situationswhere there is sufficient documentation to allow forthe exact reproduction of the ruined structure in partor in full. This type of reconstruction is especiallyappropriate for monumental or religious buildings,where no adaptive re-use is envisaged and “freezing”their appearance is acceptable.

Typological reconstruction is possible whendocumentation on individual buildings is lacking, butthere is a sufficient idea of the particular type throughanalysis and historical documentation of similarbuildings to allow for partial or total reconstruction.This form of reconstruction must be in line with thecharacter of a specific typological family such as thereintegration of missing buildings amonghomogeneous portions of the city fabric.

Volumetric reconstruction may be more properlydefined as the re-establishment of the massing andscale of vanished parts of the city fabric. This appliesto cases in which no physical evidence remains, butwhere the re-establishment of the scale and buildingdensity of parts of a historic neighbourhood is

advisable. Unlike a new development, this type ofaction attempts to retain and preserve the essenceand historic memory of past structures as they mighthave existed.

ACTIONS TO TRANSFORM

The removal, transformation, or development ofindividual buildings, groups of structures, vacant land,and public open spaces is also a necessary step in therevitalisation of the Aslam Mosque neighbourhood.In particular, these types of actions may be undertakenfor the purpose of eliminating structures or portionsof structures that damage the environmental qualityand integrity of the existing urban fabric, buildingentire new structures, or remodelling public openspaces in order to improve the provision and qualityof housing, community services, and spaces in thehistoric area. With this in mind, there are four types of

(Left) Through the examination of intact similar structures,typological reconstruction can enable the re-establishmentof the missing floors of this building so that they aresympathetic to the overall integrity of the study area.(Right) Currently used as an informal workshop, this plotof land will require volumetric reconstruction in order tore-establish the massing and scale of the vanished building.

actions to transform within the study area: partialdemolition, demolition without reconstruction,redevelopment, and new development.

Given that it includes the removal ofincongruous accretions or transformations, partialdemolition is especially suited for those buildingslocated in the vicinity of the historic Ayyubid wall. Insuch cases, this form of intervention is recommendedfor that portion of the building that is built into or ontop of the wall. It is also recommended for buildingswith an added storey; in such cases, the removal ofthese storeys will not only restore building integrity,but it will also relieve the extra stress that causesstructural damage to the lower storeys.

Structures that are harmful, obsolete,inappropriate, and of no historical or architecturalvalue, on the other hand, will often require totaldemolition. This can include demolition withoutreconstruction, applicable to buildings that are builton top of the wall, or demolition with redevelopment,

Demolition without reconstruction is recommended foraccretive structures built entirely on top of the wall (top), whilepartial demolition is recommened for the portion of a buildingthat is built onto the historic Ayyubid wall (left) is sufficient.

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applicable to the large plots of land currently occupiedby substandard non-historical housing units. In thelatter case, the demolition of these structures—usuallybuilt of semi-permanent materials—should normallybe part of a full redevelopment program for whichdetailed plans have been formulated and where thesubsequent use of the area made available is clearlyspecified.

In areas such as al-Darb al-Ahmar, newdevelopment requires the building of contemporarystructures or remodelling of public open spaces in waysthat are physically and visually compatible with thesurrounding historic context. Generally speaking, theproposed new developments should be justifiablebased on visual, social and performance criteria.Moreover, no substantial historic remains should bedestroyed in the process.

In cases where the objective of newdevelopment is to re-establish the architectural andurban integrity of vanished parts of the historic fabric,typological or volumetric reconstruction isappropriate. However, when the objective is thetransformation of the existing fabric, involving thepartial or total modification of the size of plots,

organisation of blocks, street patterns, and the re-design of public open spaces, urban remodelling orsubstitution are more suitable forms of intervention.In these cases, reconstruction is not a practical optionfor preservation both because the traditional contexthas already been completely altered and because thereis a need to introduce new functions and activities forwhich traditional town planning solutions areinadequate or insufficient (for example, where vehicularmovement is expected).

This type of radical town planninginterventions need to be planned in a coordinatedmanner and require the preparation of complex urbandesign and implementation programs, often involvingthe public administration as the main actor. As such,programs of urban remodelling and substitution needto be included in the general plan as special areassubject to detailed planning, for which a specifictechnical brief needs to be formulated and approvedby the Cairo Planning Commission.

This candidate for new development has been subdivided bymore than a dozen informal housing constructions builtwithin the footprint of a demolished structure. A neweconomically designed building on this site could improvethe standard of living for the current inhabitants.

Proposed Actions for InterventionPreventive maintenance (30)Restoration (1)Rehabilitation (42)Reconstruction (19)Adaptive re-use (4)Partial demolition (7)Demolition without reconstruction (3)Redevelopment (17)New development (4)

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Following a general recommendation of severaltypes of urban intervention for the study area,

five case studies, which are discussed in the followingpages, were chosen from among the buildings in theneighbourhood for being representative of the variousconditions that prevail in the area. Two of them, suchas the plots selected for reconstruction (building 212)and for new urban development (building 408), areespecially promising, since they are privately ownedand provide incentives for their respective owners toinvest in their redevelopment. Another, such as thebuilding needing simple remodelling (building 116),requires much less work and a much smallerinvestment, but at the same time is less enticing forthe owners to invest in its rehabilitation.

The building occupied solely by tenants(building 444) is slightly more complicated, since it isunlikely that the owner will be willing to spend on itsupgrading. However, it is an example of a tenure

situation prevalent in the area, and is thereforeimportant to address. The house constructed adjacentto the Ayyubid city wall (building 419) is somewhatmore controversial but crucial, since its remodellingrequires the clarification of the legal status of buildingslocated in close proximity to monuments, a typical casein the study area.

The examples selected here show variousdegrees of intervention as well as different legal,financial, and social requirements. The guidelinesfor intervention attempt to match the financialrequirements for each scheme with the capabilitiesand social requirements of the residents. These aremerely suggestions, not finalised architecturalsolutions, and therefore subject to change anddevelopment. In one example, two options werepresented for the same building, therebyacknowledging numerous possibilities for urbanintervention even within the scope of one case study.

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REASONS FOR SELECTION

I N T R O D U C T I O N T O T H E C A S E S T U D I E S

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Case Study SelectionsTARGET NEIGHBOURHOOD STUDY MAP○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

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17 Atfet Hozayen

99 Darb Shoughlan

63 Darb Shoughlan

LOCATION

CASE STUDY: STRICT REHABILITATIONOF BUILDING 116, 6 HARET ASLAM

T A R G E T E D I N T E R V E N T I O N S

Fact Sheets

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

The building is located on the east side of AslamMosque, at the beginning of Haret Aslam Alley.

Overall condition / State of IntegrityDeteriorating / Reversibly altered building

Ownership and tenurePrivate and vacant

REASONS FOR SELECTION○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

It is important to consider the building in relationto its surroundings in order to understand some ofthe primary reasons for its selection as a case study.It is adjacent to Aslam Mosque on Aslam Square,the neighbourhood focal point. In general, mostother traditional buildings surrounding the squarehave been altered in ways that make it difficult toascertain their original appearance; they tend to

The south façade of building 116, located next toAslam Mosque.

reflect poorly on the entire square and, morespecifically, on the mosque. But this building is anexception: since it has maintained most of itshistoric integrity, its rehabilitation would greatlyenhance the area.

Other important factors have led to theselection of this building, namely the fact that it isowned and inhabited by members of one extended

Ground floor plan with surrounding structures.

Haret Aslam

AslamSquare

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Fact sheet: Building 116, 6 Haret Aslam

family, except for a room on the ground floor that islet out to a tenant. Furthermore, the residents arecooperative and have an interest in maintaining theirproperty, evidenced by the replacement of theshutters on the upper-floor windows and theperiodic repainting of the interior.

One crucial aspect that is represented hereis the subdivision of a residential structure toaccommodate different branches of a singlefamily, resulting from the building changing handsthrough inheritance and thus becoming property

of numerous heirs. This arrangement dictates—and in this case constrains—intervention policies,since the building must provide a division of spacethat clearly demarcates the territory of each heir. Itis important to deal with this type of arrangement,since it is a common one in the area.

Finally, the building represents a case ofgradual deterioration of finishes and structuralelements, thus providing the opportunity to examinethe most efficient and economically viable meansof rehabilitation.

EXTERIOR APPEARANCE○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

While most of the building is of rubble finishedwith plaster, the lower portion of the ground flooris finished with large blocks of exposed cut stone

that originally served as a water table; however,it has been covered by several layers of plaster,most of which have fallen away. The buildinglacks a sharp corner at the junction of its eastand south façades; instead, the use of anengaged stone column facilitates the movementof carts and other traffic into the narrow alleyand thus prevents abrasion of the corner stonework.

On the lower storey, the necessity ofrespecting the plot shape resulted in an irregularground plan. Upstairs, however, there was greaterflexibility in the design: the southeast corner of thebuilding projects over the street in order to createmore regular interior spaces. Two large supporttimbers, parallel to the south façade and used tocantilever the southeast section of the first floor,are exposed at their ends.

Decorative exterior elements are minimaland reduced to simple stucco bands runningabove the ground-floor entrance and the second-storey windows; the cornice is similarlyproportioned. On the ground floor, only onewindow retains the original decorative irongrillework; the others have all been modified andare of irregular dimensions with simple woodenframes and iron bars. On the first floor, wood-panelled window shutters have replaced thetraditional lattice screens.

The finishes on the lower portion of the ground floor arein poor condition, in part due to the rising water table.

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ELEVATIONS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○


South elevation

East elevation

109

EXTERIOR ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○


All that remains of a projecting oriel on the first floor are these wooden beams, which were used for structural support.

A simple, concrete band decorates the entranceway. The projecting southeast corner, on timber supports.

110



Newly installed windows on the first floor. An engaged stone column on the southeast corner.

Replacement windows on the ground floor. An original window with iron grilles on the ground floor.

111


INTERIOR APPEARANCE○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

The interior has been altered over the years inorder to accommodate changes in family structureand living requirements. On the ground floor,part of the hallway has been annexed to one ofthe interior rooms to form a kitchen area, and, onthe upper storey, the living area has been dividedwith wooden partitions to form an extra bedroomand a second kitchen. Furthermore, the househas been extended to the west, above the adjacentbakery. This has permitted the construction of aroom between the ground and first floors andanother one above it, accessible from the first-floor apartment by means of a few steps.

FLOOR PLANS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Ground floor

First floor

Intermediate floor

CURRENT CONDITION○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Rising damp has damaged much of the stoneworkon the ground floor, and the plaster finish—appliedat a later date—is delaminating in several areas. Inaddition, several of the first-floor windows are indisrepair: the woodwork has been poorly maintainedand is beginning to rot. (Although in goodcondition, newly installed windows on the first floorare not traditional and lack proper exterior framing.)In the interior, the condition of the building dependson which section each owner is maintaining: theground floor is in poor condition while the first flooris in good shape.

112

OCCUPANCY○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Except for a rented room on the ground floor, thebuilding is occupied by the owners, an extendedfamily consisting of two brothers, one sister, and thechildren of a deceased sister.

On the ground floor, the tenants Om Hamidand her son occupy the northeast room and abathroom, while one of the owners and his wifeoccupy the inner room and an annexed bathroomand kitchen space. Another family member, who isan owner but lives elsewhere, uses the corner roomfor storage.

The upper level is shared among twohouseholds: Aida occupies the corner room and a


kitchenette in the hallway, and her brother’s family,including four children, occupies three rooms. Thefifth room is locked and occasionally used by theheirs of the deceased sister.

USE PATTERNS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Om Hamid and her son pay L.E. 2.5 monthly rentfor their ground-floor room, which has noelectrical supply. The other ground-flooroccupant, one of the sons of the deceased sister,has annexed part of the central space to create aprivate bathroom and kitchen facility for himselfand his wife (they have no children). The thirdroom is uninhabited and used as a space forstorage. This combination of tenants and anabsentee owner has resulted in a floor that, unlikethe one above, is poorly maintained.

Om Hamid boarded up one of the windowson the street because it was too large and thusviolated her privacy. But given that she hastrouble walking and does not leave the house,she benefits from being on the ground floor, as itmakes it convenient for neighbours to bring herwhat she needs from nearby street vendors.

The upper storey shared by Aida and herbrother’s family houses two separate households,each with its own budget. Consequently, cookingand eating are done separately: Aida cooks at acounter with a short, wooden partition for child

Aida has a good view of Aslam Square from her large,first-floor window.

Number of households: 4Number of residents: Ground floor 4 First floor 7Uninhabited rooms: 2Commercial activity: 0

113

safety, while her brother’s wife, Om Mish Mish, hasset up a kitchen where her bedroom used to be.

Aida has all her belongings in a roomwhere she entertains her visitors and eats hermeals; it happens to be the nicest room in thebuilding, with ample sunlight pouring in and aview of Aslam Square. Like many rooms with awindow, the couch is placed below the windowto allow for a good view.

Om Mish Mish’s room is furnished with a sofaset, a small television, and a coffee table. She and her


children eat their main meals there, but dinner isalways in her sons’ room in front of the bigtelevision set (the two sons are in their earlytwenties). In the evening, the youngest daughteruses this room as a quiet study area, and, at night,the sofa set transforms into a bed. The small televisionset is conveniently placed on the wide windowsill,and the awning outside the window provides privacyfrom the neighbours across the alley.

Aida does her laundry once a week, usingan electric washing machine that she brings from

The internal organisation of the first floor, shared between two families

Closet cabinet

Bed

Televisioncabinet

Separatequarters

owned bythe heirs

Televisionplaced in thewindowsill

Bathroom

Stairwell andlightwell

Om Mish Mish’ssons’ room, used as the

family room at dinner time.The room is slightly elevated

from the rest of the floorbecause it lies abovethe next-door bakery.

Om Mish Mish’skitchen was

previously used asa bedroom

Sofa bedTable

Refrigerator

Sofa bed

Sofa bedsaround theroom

Chair

Om Mish Mish’sroom is

used as a studyarea for her

daughter in theevening

Wood partition usedto divide the space

Aida’skitchen

114

Kitchen cabinets


the storage room off the stairwell and placesoutside her room, in the central hallway. OmMish Mish washes twice a week, using threeelectric washing machines that she places in aroom created by partitioning the central space.All furniture is moved out to make room for themachines.

The room owned by the heirs of thedeceased sister is kept locked most of the time.

However, this house, being their grandfather’shouse, is to them what is known as “beit el ‘ela,”meaning the family house. As is the custom, andthough they live elsewhere, the heirs use thisroom as a refuge during marital problems, orduring pregnancy and the few months followingthe delivery. They also use it as a place to spendan occasional weekend, especially duringreligious feasts.

Because of structural safety problems, the owners stopped raising animals on the roof, but they still use the space forhanging their laundry.

115

USERS’ NEEDS

One of Om Mish Mish’s daughters is engaged to aneighbour in the house opposite, but their marriage hasbeen postponed because the couple cannot findaffordable housing in the area. The owners consideredadding a storey to the house but were advised against it:consulting a local contractor after the 1992 earthquake,they were told that for structural safety reasons theyshould not keep sheep and chickens on the roof.Although they stopped raising animals altogether, theystill use the space for hanging their laundry.

Like many people in the area, the residentsmaintain the inside of their house but neglect theoutside, recently painting the entire upper floor afterrenovating the water pipes and plumbing in thebathroom. In addition, Aida replaced the old

windows because, according to her, they hadexpanded with moisture and were a nuisance to use,since only the lower half was functional. She placednew wooden windows without the lattice andpainted them bright green, a favourite colour forinterior walls and the same colour as the rest of theinterior doors. The new windows are divided intoupper and lower parts that can be operatedseparately, thus giving her more control andflexibility.

Although the ground-floor tenants would liketo have an electricity outlet, they cannot afford one.The owners offered them a free connection, but OmHamid insisted on having an outlet or nothing at all.The occupants in the southwest room could do withmore space and ventilation; the current window onthe street is consistently shut because it exposes them

INTERVENTION STRATEGY FORBUILDING 116, 6 HARET ASLAM


Aida and Om Mish Mish have lived in 6 Haret Aslam for over thirty years.

116

8

to Aslam Square traffic. The owners of the southeastroom have not considered the potential of using itother than as a space for storage.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

Construction and materials

The main concern in the rehabilitation of this structure isthe roof, which is in need of structural intervention. Inthe proposed scheme, the wooden beams would besubstituted and reinforced, with a new roofing membraneinstalled. The roof would thus be accessible to theresidents, providing them with a good view of the parkand the square. Tenting, made out of a decorative textile,could be added in order to create shade.

The rest of the interior is in good conditionand needs little intervention. There is no evidence ofany other serious structural problems, nor is there anyindication of leakage in the ground- and first-floorbathrooms.

As for the exterior, the engaged stone columnand surrounding decorative cut stone would be treatedand left exposed. The cut stone water table would bereinstated and, like the engaged column, left exposed(this would include removing the current layer of plasteron this portion of the building). The remaining buildingwould receive a new layer of plaster.

Furthermore, the ground-floor windows wouldbe replaced with the traditional decorative iron grilles,following the same pattern as the one remainingwindow with iron grilles. As for the upper-floorwindows, traditional lattice screens would replace thewooden shutters now in place. However, these newscreens would not slide up and down, as waspreviously the case; instead, they would follow theform of the shutters, with glass to keep out the coldand dust. Not only is this type of lattice screen designmore practical, but it is also historically accurate.Simple decorative details, such as the horizontal stuccobands above the windows and entranceway, wouldbe repaired or replaced where necessary.

re-instatement of latticescreens for first floor

windows to restore shadeand privacy

replacementof floor at

ground level

removal of plasterfrom the engaged column

and surroundingstonework, repointing or

replacement of facingstone

replastering of facadeto protect the building

removal of plasteron the watertable

masonry and, where needed,

replacement of thefacing stone

repair of windowsand decorative

ironwork

maintenance andupgrading of services

and sanitaryinstallations

This building needs rehabilitation, including:

117

Financing options

The only plausible means of rehabilitating this buildingis by setting up a matching grants system by whichthe project agency and the owners would contributejointly to the maintenance of the building. The greatestincentive for the owners to contribute to the

rehabilitation of this building is for them to be permittedto build additional rooms on the roof of the house, butthis is contingent upon the structural reinforcementof the building. It is otherwise unlikely that the ownerswould be willing to contribute to the improvement ofthe building, since it is in reasonably good conditionand most of the proposed intervention is cosmetic.

Proposed interventionsAXONOMETRIC DRAWING○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Detail of the newlattice screen design

Axonometric drawing showing how the building would look after implementation of the recommended interventions.

118

LOCATION

CASE STUDY: TYPOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTIONOF BUILDING 212, 99 DARB SHOUGHLAN


Fact Sheets

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

This building has a strategic location at theintersection of Darb Shoughlan and Furn al-Sarrif.

Overall condition / State of IntegrityPartially ruined / Partial ruin with valuablearchitectural features

Ownership and tenurePrivate and vacant


This structure is a good example of a partially ruinedbuilding that maintains several valuablearchitectural features, making it suitable fortypological reconstruction. Although such casesare common in the study area, this one is notablebecause it retains much of its ground floor.Moreover, some of its remaining elements, such asthe doorway, are architecturally valuable. The

The south façade of building 212, with a partial view ofAslam Mosque in the background.

building’s prominent location on Darb Shoughlan,the large plot size (170 square metres), and the factthat its owners seem keen to rebuild it make it asuitable pilot initiative for reconstruction. Also,the existence of many of the original stone wallsprovides the opportunity to examine how much ofthe structure can be preserved and whether or notthe original building materials can be salvaged.


Dar

b Sh

ough

lan

Furn al-Sarrif

119

Fact sheet: Building 212, 99 Darb Shoughlan


Demolished by its occupants after the 1992earthquake, this structure is now in partial ruins.Only the ground floor and a part of the first floorremain of what was originally a traditional three-story building dating to the mid-nineteenth century.However, the structure still retains several valuablearchitectural features, among them: dressedstonework, stone corbels, windows with iron grilles,and a decorative stone portal with elaboratelycarved detailing.

Facing Darb Shoughlan, the primary façade iscompletely of cut stone over a rubble core; thesecondary Furn al-Sarrif façade is a combination ofthe same stone facing and stucco over rubble. Bothfaçades, however, have a similar decorative treatment:the two sides are divided into registers, separated by

pilasters placed beneath Ottoman-style stone corbels.Wrought-iron window grilles on the ground floor havedetailing that is both decorative and practical, withcopper rosettes concealing the iron joinery. Theentrance portal projects slightly and presents acomposition of complicated arabesque panelssurmounted by an elaborately carved decorativecornice. Flanking the portal are pilasters notable fortheir Corinthian capitals.

As was common of nineteenth-centurybuildings, the upper storeys would have projectedat an angle to the street. The windows of the twoupper storeys are said to have been of the latticedvariety, typical of buildings of this type. Thestructure presently houses two shoe shops, a metalshop, and an electrical appliance repair shop.

West elevation

The two upper floorswere demolished afterthe 1992 earthquake.

120

VALUABLE ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Interior archway leading into an inner courtyard.

Decorative stucco window sprandrels and lintel hoods on the first-floor windows show a strong neo-classical influence.

Windows with iron grilles and wood-panelled shutters.


121

EXISTING FLOOR PLANS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○


Ground Floor Plan

Fi t Fl Pl

First floor

Ground floor

Westelevation as

seen on page 114

surrounding the window frames is neo-classical instyle. Reports of a skylight on the uppermost storey,surmounted by a wooden dome—a feature popularin Cairo since the Ottoman period—reinforces theidea that this building was a transition betweenOttoman and European architecture. The househad five bathrooms: one was located on the groundfloor, two were on the first floor, and the remainingtwo were on the second floor. Each of the upperstoreys had a central living room, where dailyactivities would have taken place.

INTERIOR APPEARANCE○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

The ground floor consists of a series of roomssurrounding a courtyard, which was used toentertain guests. Remains of architectural elementssuggest a strong Ottoman influence, indicating thatthe building was not entirely in the Europeantradition. This can best be seen by the treatment ofthe courtyard, where the stone facing, the flat widearches, and the decorative mouldings are very muchin the tradition of eighteenth-century domesticarchitecture. However, the upper storey reflects amore European influence: the stuccowork

Darkened areasof the walls indicate

remaining fabric.

Small street stallaccretion

122


USE PATTERNS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

The previous occupants of the building, includingone of the owners, have been given apartments bythe government in al-Nahda, near al-Salam City, or inal-Mokkattam. The aforementioned owner is acarpenter who rents a workshop across the street,and, although his workshop is not active, he is seensitting outside the corner grocery store on a daily

basis. His family has several properties plotsaway: his sister and her children live in thehouse at the end of the adjacent cul-de-sac,his brother lives nearby, and his nephew ownsand runs the coffeeshop across the street.Judging from their clothes and the women’sjewellery, they seem quite an affluent family.

OCCUPANCY○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

The existing partial ruins of the ground floor aretemporarily occupied by two workshops (the metaland electrical repair shops) that pay rent but have notsigned a contract with the owners. Previously, theseworkshops were located in the vicinity, in otherbuildings that totally collapsed. The workshopowners as well as the employees live in the study areaor nearby.

Number of households: 0Number of residents: 0Uninhabited rooms: 0Commercial activity: 4

123

USERS’ NEEDS

When the owners were asked what they would preferto do with their plot, the carpenter expressed his wish,as well as that of other family members, to reconstructthe former building and use it as a residence. Buildingcost and apartment size were discussed, and it seemedthat the most appropriate would be for the owners tooccupy half the building, renting out the other halfand charging advance money to cover part of the

construction costs. Renting out workshop space inthe ground level would help as well.

Following the interior subdivision of the building,the plot allows for 150 square metres of apartment spaceon a typical floor. This could be divided into three fifty-square-metre apartments or two larger apartments. Inparticular, the owners are interested in living in anapartment size of around seventy square metres; thecarpenter currently pays L.E. 50 monthly rent for a fifty-seven-square-metre apartment.

One prospective tenantfor this building rents theworkshop across thealleyway from the plot. Thisyoung carpenter, whosefamily owns and resides intwo buildings in the studyarea, currently l ives ininformal hous ing a tBasateen. When he married,there was no room for him inhis family’s properties,which are fully occupied bythe owners and tenants. Hiswife’s family, who used to beh is paren t s ’ nex t -doorneighbours, lost their homeduring the earthquake andwere offered replacementhousing in al-Salam City. Hepays L.E. 80 monthly rent forhis current apartment ofsixty-five square metres. It

INTERVENTION STRATEGY FORBUILDING 212, 99 DARB SHOUGHLAN


The partial ruins of building 212as seen from above, with aportion of the Ayyubid city wallvisible in the background.

124

cost him L.E. 6,500 advance money and another L.E.6,000 for floor finishing, bathroom fixtures, windowsand doors, and to obtain water and electricity. Hewould like to come back to the area for many reasons:particularly, to live on this plot because it is closeto his work. He is willing, even eager, to pay asmuch as L.E. 20,000 advance money and L.E. 150monthly rent for seventy square metres. A coupleof years ago, two of his brothers paid similar amountsin modern buildings in nearby Megharbeleen. He willget more than half of this advance money from leavinghis current apartment in Basateen. He thinks his

brother who took the apartment next door to him woulddesire the same.

RECOMMENDED INTERVENTIONS

Typological reconstruction is recommended for thisbuilding, given the fact that it is in partial ruins and littleevidence remains of its original appearance. Occupyinga large site with high visibility, it can serve as a modelreconstruction, designed to fit within the historic contextand character of the study area. Essential for this type ofreconstruction is the analysis of existing buildings with

Application of a new layer ofplaster to protect masonry

Reinstatement of sewageand water facilities

Reconstruction ofthe upper floors

Replacement of structuralelements and

repair of stonework

Typological reconstruction of building 212 should include:

Structural documentation andanalysis of the existing

ground-floor fabric to seeif it can be reconstituted into

the new building

Stabilisation andconservation treatments

of the existing building fabric

Conservation treatmentto iron grilles

Removal of trashand rubble from the site

125

similar typologies in surrounding areas of al-Darb al-Ahmar, and, if available, oral history and documentaryevidence. Features such as building height, scale, volume,and decorative fittings are to be considered whenplanning the replacement structure so that it issympathetic to the context in which it will bereconstructed. Additionally, the proposed reconstructionscheme must attempt to retain remaining architecturalelements, whenever their condition permits.



In order to reconstruct building 212 typologically,construction technology and materials shouldremain traditional. Not only would this maintainthe historic integrity of the area, but it would alsobe a good way of creating work for local craftsmenand encourage them to continue with traditionalcraftsmanship. Furthermore, this building can be

built with low-cost materials to make it affordablefor the owner. Materials such as brick, wood, metal,and stone can come from nearby, and, wheneverpossible, materials can be re-used, either from thebuilding itself or from around the area.

A large portion of the stonework on the groundfloor is in very poor condition and most likely willhave to be replaced. If stone were to be used forreconstruction, Nubian sandstone would be a goodalternative: the rise in the water table is a major concernand this particular type of sandstone resists moisturebetter than limestone. (Concrete footings can be usedfor the foundations, since these resist moisture andkeep water away from the walls.) Brick can be used forthe upper floors; it is a low-cost and recyclablematerial, and, moreover, it can be made on site, giventhat the soil for making the bricks can come from thenearby Darassa Hills. (Ideally, these bricks would bemade with soil, sand, and 4% cement.) Also, these bricksneed not be burnt, thus minimising labour. The upperfloors would be finished with a simple layer of plaster.

(Right) Whole sections of deteriorating plaster have fallenoff around the entranceway, revealing the intricate stonecarving. (Below) Vacant sections within the building havebeen filled with rubble and trash from a metal workshop.

126

Although the roofing and flooring could bemade out of wood, this would be impractical becausewood does not resist moisture. Another option isconcrete, but it is an expensive material and not eco-friendly. Steel beams, placed in intervals ofapproximately one metre with brick vaulting inbetween, is a cheaper construction method. (Thismethod has been used in some parts of the formerDarb Shoughlan School.)

The traditional lattice screens can be used forthe first- and second-floor windows. As regardsmaterials, palm wood is a good alternative for the latticescreens: not only is it two thirds the price of ordinarywood, but it is also easy to work. Simple horizontalbands would be placed above each of the windows.The decorative stone portal, one of the mostinteresting architectural features of the house, as wellas the iron window grilles, would be repaired and re-used. The existing walls, however, are in poor conditionand most likely will have to be rebuilt.

As for the interior, the layout would follow thesame internal organisation of the existing walls. Theground floor would have two workshops facing DarbShoughlan, which would have as entrances the large,slated metal doors typical of the area. Two apartmentswould occupy this floor: a smaller one including abedroom, a living area, a kitchen, and a bathroom, anda larger one including two bedrooms, a living area, akitchen, and a bathroom. All rooms would be lit andventilated by courtyards or smaller lightwells locatedthroughout the building. The proposed scheme forthe two upper floors are similar in plan, each with twoapartments. The larger apartment would occupy the

front portion of the building, with four bedrooms (allfacing Darb Shoughlan), two living areas, twokitchens, and two bathrooms. Located at the rear ofthe building, the smaller apartment would have twobedrooms, a living area, and a kitchen.

Financing options

The fact that the current owners claim to be willing toinvest in the property, which was demolished after the1992 earthquake, is an indicator that a realisticreconstruction scheme can be undertaken here. Thelarge size of the plot makes it potentially lucrative forredevelopment, since there is much greater likelihoodof the project being financially profitable.

Perhaps the simplest method of financing therebuilding of the property is by means of theadvance payment method in which prospectivetenants would pay the owner advance money withwhich he could finance the building. Given that thenumber of apartments that can be constructed ispotentially large, and that several workshops canbe built on the ground floor, the money collectedfrom prospective tenants should be sufficient toallow him to redevelop the site.

However, there needs to be strict control overthe building design to ensure that the final result isarchitecturally acceptable and preserves as muchof the remaining stonework as possible. Thereconstruction of this building could also beundertaken with the project agency administratingthe transactions between the owners and thepossible tenants.

127

Proposed intervention for Case Study 212AXONOMETRIC AND PLANS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Typical floorGround floor

pical Floor Planound Floor Plan

(Above) The two uppermost floors weredemolished and only the ground floorremains. (Left) The proposed interventionscheme includes the reconstruction of twofloors, with several lightwells to providelight and ventilation for the entirebuilding.

128

LOCATION

CASE STUDY: NEW DEVELOPMENTOF BUILDING 408, 63 DARB SHOUGHLAN


Fact Sheets

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

This building is located on the study area’smajor thoroughfare, Darb Shoughlan, nearAtfet Hozayen.

Overall condition / State of IntegrityTotal ruin / Total ruin

Ownership and tenurePrivate and owner-occupied


New constructions have the most profound impacton historic areas, and, if left unchecked, often resultin structures of negligible architectural value thatdestroy the character of a neighbourhood. For thisreason, it was crucial to select a vacant plot of landas a case study, thereby in effect acknowledgingnew construction as an inevitable but notnecessarily negative aspect of development in

The total ruins of building 408 as seen from DarbShoughlan.

historic cities. (In this case, part of the outer shellof the original building still stands; however, whatis left is minimal and in poor condition, and thereforenot worth preserving.)

The plot selected here is located on DarbShoughlan, the area’s main thoroughfare, and, likemost plots in the area, it is small in size, irregular inshape, and surrounded by buildings on three sides.


Dar

b S

houg

hlan

129

Atfet Hozayen



This structure collapsed during the 1992 earthquake,and all that remains of what was originally a three-storey building is the ground-floor portion of thefront façade, which consists of a rubble corefinished with a cut stone veneer—dressed blocksthat are approximately thirty centimetres in heightand of random length. The original entrance portal,presently blocked with a cement infill, projectsslightly and is framed by simple pilasters of cutstone. A wooden beam, probably the old supportbetween the door and transom, separates the infill.Traces of gunite cement can be found on the lowerhalf of the façade, especially in the area surroundingthe entrance portal.

The ground floor also contains a largecommercial entrance. Physical evidence suggeststhat this entrance originally had vertical foldingdoors divided into two sections, each sectionhinged into two halves—a design that can still befound in a few other traditional buildings in thearea. Although a remaining wooden lintel—previously used as part of the frame—can still befound inserted into the stonework, a plain, two-leafmetal door has replaced the original folding doors.

to examine the means of constructing modernbuildings that are in line with contemporary buildingstandards and at the same time compatible with theirhistoric setting.

Thus, while its redesign may present an architecturalchallenge, it is an accurate reflection of the urbanconditions and constraints that prevail in much ofthe study area. Hence, it provides the opportunity

In the proposed scheme, the original shop entrance willbe reinstated, replacing the one viewed above.

130


time because it is more convenient. His businessseems to be doing well: several employees areseen working continuously, and unfinishedfurniture frames fill the structure’s interior andspill out into the street. Previously, he used towork in the alleyway in front of his parents’house.


Little remains of the interior beyond portions of therubble walls, which are currently covered with alayer of plaster. Since this structure is not enclosed,a roof-like covering of canvas provides shade andprotection.

At present, a wood staining workshopoperates inside this ruined building. A largeportion of the interior is used as storage spacefor furniture frames and materials, and, locatedto the right of the entranceway, a small enclosureconstructed out of brick and rubble is used foradditional storage and tending animals.

EXISTING FLOOR PLAN○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○


Overall, although the structure still retains a portionof its ground floor, it is in poor condition and thereis little that is actually worth preserving.

A small brick andrubble shed usedfor storage andtending animals

Workspace and storagefor furniture framesOriginal

entrance portal,now blocked

OCCUPANCY○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

This plot was bought a few years back by amotorcycle mechanic who lives in his parents’house two alleyways away. The mechanic rentsthe front section facing Darb Shoughlan to hisyounger brother, who uses the space to stain thewoodframes of furniture made in the area.

USE PATTERNS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Part of the plot is filled with rubble, and, like otherruins in the area, it is used to discard workshoptrash. The younger brother who runs the woodstaining workshop has lived in governmenthousing in Moqattam since the earthquake, buthe frequently stays at his mother-in-law’shouse—located in the area—for long periods of

Number of households: 0Number of residents: 0Uninhabited rooms: 0Commercial activity: 4

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USERS’ NEEDS

The landowner and his two brothers are interested inbuilding and living on this plot of land and claim theycan afford the building expenses without having torent out any units, although the landowner haspromised a nearby vendor a lodging on this plot if it isever built. With perhaps one tenant renting the smallerground-floor apartment, the existing workshop willremain in the front portion of the building, occupyingtwo rooms overlooking Darb Shoughlan. Each brotheris interested in having an entire floor of approximatelyseventy square metres. The two older brothers havethree daughters each, and the youngest, who currently

rents the workshop, has a three-month-old baby girl.(Because they are girls one needs more space, theelder explained.)


Intervention for this building includesreconstruction through the establishment of themassing of the vanished structure. The plot area isabout eighty square metres and has only oneelevation, which faces Darb Shoughlan; therefore,the creation of a backyard will provide lighting andventilation for the entire house.

In the proposed scheme, the building willconsist of three floors, each containing oneapartment of about seventy square metres. Bymaking it accessible to the residents, the roof can



Exterior view of the remaining ground floor. The originalentrance, now blocked, is to the right of the shop entrance.

132

be used for their daily activities such as hanginglaundry.

As is typical of the area, the proposed schemewould retain the commercial use on the ground floor,with the two front rooms, which overlook the majorthoroughfare, Darb Shoughlan, reserved for workshopspace. Towards the rear of the building, a smallapartment of about forty square metres would accessthe backyard, which is to be maintained by the owners.Smaller than the upper-storey apartments, thisapartment would have a living room, two bedrooms, abathroom, and a kitchenette. Both the bathroom andkitchenette would be located next to the two lightwells,thus receiving adequate lighting and ventilation. Eachof the upper floors would have one large apartmentcontaining a living room, a semi-open kitchenette, anenclosed bathroom, and three rooms, one overlookingDarb Shoughlan and the other two the backyard.

Although the proposed elevation followstraditional conventions, it is simpler and has fewerdetails. The windows will be large in size and theirproportions similar to those of turn-of-the-centurybuildings found in the neighbourhood. The portaland workshop entrances are to be plainer versions ofwhat would have been there originally: stonework willnot be used and the detailing of the ironwork on the

ground floor will be contemporary. Half of the façadewould project over Darb Shoughlan in order to providemore living space for the upper-storey apartments.


Financing options

Each of the three brothers will pay for the constructionof his apartment, and the one who owns the land willeither collect rent from his two brothers or convince oneor both of them to buy part of the land from him.

The owner of this plot of land is willing to buildthe plot at his own expense. Ideally, he would like toconstruct a four-storey building with a workshop andperhaps a small apartment on the ground floor and alarge apartment on each of the three upper floors. Inaddition, he would like the apartment building to be limitedsolely to his immediate family—that is, to his brothers. Itis understood that the two brothers who do not own theland would either each buy a share in the property ormake a more substantial investment into its construction.

This total ruin is presently occupied by a carpentry shop.Shop workers (above left) store their products on DarbShoughlan during the day to provide more workspacein the shop’s interior (above right). At night, materialsare placed back inside the building.

133

Proposed interventions for case study 408NEW PLANS AND ELEVATION○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Ground floor Typical upper floor

134

Axonometric view from the southwest Street view

LOCATION

CASE STUDY: PARTIAL DEMOLITIONOF BUILDING 419, 17 ATFET HOZAYEN


Fact Sheets

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

This building is located next to the Ayyubid citywall, at the end of a long and narrow alley namedAtfet Hozayen.

Overall condition / State of IntegrityDeteriorating / Reversibly altered building with anincompatible vertical addition.

Ownership and tenurePrivate and owner-occupied


This building was selected largely because it is anexample of the numerous structures constructedalongside and extended into or onto the Ayyubidwall. In order to preserve the historic wall fromfurther deterioration, it is important to remove anyaccretions and relocate all water sources as far awayfrom the wall as possible. By preventing the waterleakage currently emanating from houses such as

Building 419 is built against and, on the first andsecond floors, merges into the historic city wall.

this one, a symbiotic relationship between thewall and neighbouring houses can be established.This would ensure that the wall is not subjectedto unnecessary damage, while at the same timeminimising social disruption to the inhabitantsof the area.

This building is especially important becauseits inhabitants have built a bathroom on top of the


Atfet Hozayen

TheAyyubid

wall

135


Three storeys in height and of masonryconstruction, the building is flanked by the Ayyubidwall to the east and by a neighbouring structure tothe west. Its sole façade provides evidence that itwas constructed in several stages: a simple stonemoulding separating the ground and first floorsindicates that the lower portion of the building mostlikely dates to the turn of the century. In addition,

Fact sheet: Building 419, 17 Atfet Hozayen

the ground floor has a cut stone finish, now coveredby successive layers of paint, which also suggestsan earlier construction date. The existing door,however, which is of corrugated iron, is probably avery recent addition.

The first floor appears to be constructedlater than the ground floor. The projecting oriel istypical of the area, and, although this example is

wall, and therefore the damage to the wall istwo-fold. Furthermore, the building size isex t remely smal l , making i t much morechallenging to find an alternative location forthe bathroom located on the ramparts. Findinga suitable design solution for a building asunaccommodating as this one is an indicatorthat the Ayyubid wall can be preserved without

the large-scale demolition of the structuresadjacent to it.

The building is currently owner-occupied,and, given that its residents are fully aware of theviolations that they have committed vis-a-vis theAyyubid wall, the owners are willing to acceptalterations to their home as a compromise to preventthe demolition of the entire structure.

Northeast elevation and section through the adjoining Ayyubid wall.

The historic wallThe future

al-Azhar Park

Atfet Hozayen

Addition

Second-storeybathroom

136


EXISTING FLOOR PLANS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Ground floor

First floor

Second floor

The

Ayyu

bid

Wal

l

Small bathroombuilt on top of

the wall

not particularly significant, it is in keeping with thearchitectural conventions of the neighbourhood.As for the uppermost storey, this was constructedrecently, and is built of exposed brick. Since thisfloor is higher than the level of the adjacent Ayyubidwall, the residents have easy access to the wall anduse its ramparts as a place to hang their washing.They have built a small, makeshift bathroom atopthe wall, which, like the rest of the second storey, ismade of brick. The window overlooking thealleyway is made of plywood on the uppermost floor,unlike those of the lower floors, which have woodenshutters.


The ground floor consists of two rooms separatedby a staircase, under which the bathroom is located.The southern room has no windows and is thereforepoorly lit and not ventilated. Each of the upperfloors has two rooms, and, unlike that of the groundfloor, the southern room of both these floors has asmall window in the rear of the building. The first-floor bathroom is located between the two rooms,in front of the staircase and built partially into thehistoric wall. The second-floor bathroom is locatedoutside the structure, on top of the wall. Overall,given that this building has small windows and nolightwells, it is badly lit and poorly ventilated.


The first two floors have been finished with gunitecement, and the brickwork on the upper floor hasbeen left unfinished. In particular, the plasterworkon the ground floor, especially along the lower half,is in poor condition, in large part due to the risingdamp. The woodwork of the oriel and windows isin fair condition, and the brickwork on the upperstorey is in need of repointing and repair.

137

Small bathroombuilt partially

in the wall

ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○


Building 419 relies on the adjacent Ayyubid city wall forstructural support.

Local residents use the end of the cul-de-sac for varioushousehold activities such as hanging their laundry.

The first-floor oriel projecting from the front façade rests on roughly-cut, wooden beams.

138



The ramparts of the Ayyubid wall have been considered as an extension to the cramped residential units that arelocated in the vicinity.

The ground floor contains a vertically proportionedwindow centered directly below the first-floor oriel.

The second-storey brick addition can be seen above asmall wooden window on the first floor.

139


OCCUPANCY○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

This building is occupied by its owners, originallya nuclear family consisting of a couple and their sixboys. Currently, only the elderly mother and threeof her sons—who are all married—live there, witheach son and his family on a separate floor. Themother shares the ground floor with her youngestson and his family: she occupies the front roomwhile the son lives with his wife and their twochildren in the inner room (all five share the toileton this floor). Another son, together with his wifeand their four young children, occupy the first floor,which consists of two rooms and a toilet. The third

son and his family occupy the second floor, whichwas added at a later stage and consists of two roomsand a bathroom built out of wood and locatedoutside the house, on top of the Ayyubid wall.

Number of households: 4Number of residents: Ground floor 5 First floor 6 Second floor 3Non inhabited rooms: 0Commercial activity: 0

USE PATTERNS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

The plot size is one of the smallest in the area,around twenty square metres. In this family house,each household has its own private toilet, which isa luxury compared to other extended-family houses

in the area. On the upper levels, the inner roomslack natural lighting and are ventilated through asmall window overlooking the stairwell. That mayexplain why both families spend most of their timein the front rooms, which, in addition to havingbetter lighting, are where the television sets areplaced.

Cooking takes place on the landing in thetwo upper levels and in the entrance hallway onthe ground level. Since the house does not havewater connections inside, water is carried in(using containers or a garden hose) from a tap inthe exterior wall of the house to use for cooking,bathing, cleaning, and flushing the toilet. Thewashing of clothes takes place outside, in thesmall space in front of the house, which is avisually protected area at the end of the alleyway.The family members hang their laundry on top ofthe historic Ayyubid wall, which can be accessedfrom the second storey. But, unlike other housesin the area, they do not have access to their ownroof.

As evidenced by the hose in the foreground, residents getwater for washing clothes and other chores from the street.

140


The internal organisation of the ground and second floors,shared between the extended family of Om Yousef

Televisioncabinet

Thehistoric wall

TelevisionTable

Bathroomaccessedfrom the

wall rampart

Beds

Beds

Sofa

Cabinet

Staircase withouta handrail, and with a

bathroom locatedunderneath

Thehistoric wall

Entrance

Beds

Chairs

CabinetBeds

Cookingarea

Exterior stairsleading to thewall rampart

Cookingarea

Ground floor

Second floor

141

Youngest son,his wifeandtwochildren

Another son,his wife andtwo childrenoccupy thesecond floor

Om Yousef’squarters

USERS’ NEEDS

This house is attached to the historic Ayyubid wall withone bathroom built on its ramparts. Both this bathroomas well as the one on the first floor have to be removedbecause they are too close to the wall.

In order to be allowed to stay in their currenthome, the owners are willing to do the necessarymodifications to relocate all of the toilets in thehouse and create a ventilation shaft at the expenseof room space, despite the fact that two of thosetoilets have been renovated with modern ceramictiles and new plumbing has recently been installed.Furthermore, the owners have put in new tile floorsalong the ground-floor hallway and in the cul-de-sac in front of the whole building. However, theycannot afford the L.E. 2,500 required to get city waterinto the house and request i ts payment ininstallments of L.E. 500 a month.

INTERVENTION STRATEGY FORBUILDING 419, 17 ATFET HOZAYEN


(Below left) Building 419 lies at the end of Atfet Hozayen,a narrow alley that has a number of structures with projectingfloors, oriels, and balconies. These physical features of the sitegive the alley a sense of intimacy and privacy that few otherareas in the study area still maintain. (Below right) Thissemi-private domain of the alley allows the residents ofbuilding 419 to use their street frontage for a varietyof domestic chores as well as a social gathering place.

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Rehabilitation of building 419 requires the relocation oftwo of the three bathrooms. On the first floor, thebathroom is nearly inside the wall, and on the secondfloor, it has been built on top of the wall. The latter isonly accessible by going out of the house and walkingon the wall itself. (The bathroom on the ground floordoes not pose a problem, as it is located under thestaircase, far from the historic wall.)

The main concern is therefore to provide thetwo uppermost floors with bathrooms located awayfrom the historic wall. In the proposed scheme, thenorthern first-floor room would be provided with abathroom, lit and ventilated by an added lightwellpassing through all the floors of the building andaccessible from the staircase on the ground floor(which can be used for checking plumbing and othermaintenance). The existing bathroom will beremoved in order to repair this section of the wall,and, to make up for lost space, a cantilever wouldbe used to add to the area of the room to be nearlyits current size. Since this new addition will beadjacent to the wall, a space of fifteen centimetresis to be left between the addition and the wall inorder to protect the wall’s facing stone. The sametechnique will be used on the second floor: abathroom will be added and ventilated by thelightwell in the same room. The cantilever willcontinue from the first floor, adding more space tothe second floor.

The removal of all structures from the wall isrecommended, especially the second-floorbathroom on top of the wall, and the access fromthe house to the wall (where they currently hangtheir laundry to dry) will be limited by closing upthe existing door. This door, which currently leadsto the wall, will be replaced with windows in thelobby and in the two rooms that overlook the futureal-Azhar Park, thus providing a good view. Sincethe residents will no longer be able to hang theirlaundry on the wall, access will be provided ontothe roof of their house, where they can hang theirlaundry without damaging the historic wall.

Two lightwells are to be provided: the smallerone, located towards the front of the building, providesventilation for the bathrooms and, on the ground floor,an outlet for checking the plumbing system. Locatedtowards the rear of the building, the larger lightwellwill provide the southern rooms with light andventilation.

On the exterior, the oriel is to be removed to allowthe two upper floors to cantilever, therefore providingmore space. The entire façade is to be plastered, exceptfor the water table, which is to be left exposed (it iscurrently plastered). The facing stone is in relativelygood condition, needing only repair work. The simplehorizontal band underneath the first-floor window is tobe repaired and plastered.

All windows will be replaced with simple, four-light sash windows with wooden moulding; one onthe ground floor and two on each of the upper floors.

Financing Options

Given that this building is privately owned and requiresremodelling in order to remove the threat that itcurrently poses to the Ayyubid wall, the best meansof financing its rehabilitation is by a matching grant orlow interest loan system. The owners’ precarioussituation vis-a-vis the antiquities department shouldmake them willing to invest as much as they can inorder to preserve their house; however, their financialmeans are limited, and for this reason financialassistance is necessary.

143

Proposed interventionsFLOOR PLANS AND AXONOMETRIC DRAWING○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Ground floor First floor Second floor

Axonometric drawing showing the building’s appearance afterimplementation of the recommended interventions.

The Ayyubid wall

Atfet Hozayen

The current condition and appearanceof building 419.

144

The

Ayyu

bid

Wal

l

The

Ayyu

bid

Wal

l

The

Ayyu

bid

Wal

l

LOCATION

CASE STUDY: STRICT RECONSTRUCTIONOF BUILDING 444, 91 DARB SHOUGHLAN


Fact Sheets

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

This building is located midway along a blockon Darb Shoughlan, between Furn al-Sarrifand Zuqaq Aybak.

Overall condition / State of IntegrityDeteriorating / Reversibly altered buildingwith an incompatible loss of a floor

Ownership and tenurePrivate and tenant-occupied


This building is notable for its valuable architecturalfeatures, its prominent location on Darb Shoughlan,and the fact that it houses one of the study area’sthree coffeeshops, making it a neighbourhoodmeeting place. Unfortunately, the extensiveremodelling of the lower portion of the façade andthe addition of two rooms on the ground floor havebeen at the expense of the building’s original

Exterior view of building 444, with the coffeeshop in theforeground.

architectural detailing. Furthermore, the totaldemolition of the uppermost storey and the partialdemolition of the second storey has meant that thebuilding has been reversibly altered and has lostsome of its historic integrity.

Although the building is occupied bytenants, both the coffeeshop owner and the first-floor residents have maintained their share of the


Dar

b Sh

ough

lan

145


The ground-floor walls are of a rubble core coveredby a layer of finished stone. Unfortunately, a largeportion of the Darb Shoughlan façade has recentlybeen covered with an inappropriate stone facing,which has been applied indiscriminately and blockspart of the main entrance. As is typical of the area,


the entrance consists of an arched doorway flankedby pilasters. Both the door and the transom aremissing, but it is likely that they resembled those ofother buildings in the neighbourhood. A woodencanopy has been added above the coffeeshop, whichoccupies the street-front portion of the ground floor.

West elevation facing Darb Shoughlan

property; the residents on the ground floor, however,are financially unable to do so, hence a startlingdiscrepancy exists between the condition of theresidential areas on the upper and lower storeys. Assuch, the building provides the opportunity toexamine the feasibility of intervening in buildings thatare valuable but not occupied by the owners, andwho therefore have very little incentive to maintainthem. In this case, the existence of the coffeeshop,

whose owner (a tenant) has already demonstrated awillingness to invest in the remodelling of the property,perhaps allows for the potential of rehabilitating thebuilding with his assistance.

An important possibility to examine is thereconstruction of the uppermost floors, althoughthis must first be studied on structural grounds; ifpossible, this would provide an incentive for thebuilding owner to invest in the property.

146


The building’s upper storeys are built ofbrick with a plaster finish. Although it was originallyfour storeys high, the two uppermost storeys weredemolished after the 1992 earthquake. The lowerportion of the second-storey walls, however, arestill intact, and the remaining plaster details indicatethat the ornamentation was simpler here than thatof the first floor.

A strong neo-classical influence is foundon the façade, which is divided into registers bymeans of stucco pilasters, with a corniceseparating the floors. Overall, the buildingreflects a greater level of architectural detail andexpense than most of the surrounding residences.This can be seen by the plasterwork, which,though simple, is quite fine.

The windows are of the traditional verticaltype, framed by plaster mouldings flanked by smallpilasters. These include classical floral capitals thatsupport projecting lintels. The windows themselvesare divided into a trifold configuration of foldingframes: one section collapses singularly while theother side folds back as two sections uponthemselves.

INTERIOR APPEARANCE○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

The main entrance leads to a vestibule that ispartially blocked by a small storage space servingthe coffeeshop, and the vestibule leads to a smallcourtyard by means of an archway containing astained glass transom in a radial design.

The ground floor consists of two largerooms and a bathroom; an additional room has beenconstructed in the courtyard, and the space underthe staircase has been converted into a sleepingarea for one of the tenants. A large lightwellprovides light and ventilation. On the first floor,two large rooms are placed at the front of thebuilding, while two smaller rooms are locatedtowards the rear. A small bathroom and kitchenetteare to the right of the staircase.

The owner of the coffeeshop has remodelled his businessby adding a decorative stone veneer over the originalmasonry, typical of other coffeeshops located nearby.

147

A transom partially hidden by an added storage room.

Recent decorativestone veneerOriginal

bearing wallbehind the

venneer

Brick structure supportwall for the veneer

extends into theresidential entrance


The building has suffered damage from the 1992earthquake and from contemporary alterations thathave compromised its overall appearance.Although it was initially a four-storey building, thetwo uppermost storeys had to be demolished afterthe earthquake in order to prevent the entirestructure from collapsing.

Two rooms have been added on the groundfloor: one, serving as a storage area for thecoffeeshop, has been built in the vestibule, blockingpart of the entranceway, while the second, a brickroom, has been built in the courtyard. Except forthe coffeeshop, the condition of the entire groundfloor is poor, especially the bathroom and the areaaround it. The room beside the staircase is inespecially poor condition, with leaking pipes fromthe upper floor causing water to trickle through theceiling. The staircase itself is dilapidated and, likeother examples in the area, the stone treaders areconsiderably worn.

The upper floor is much better maintained:most of the rooms have recently been painted andthe tilework in the utility areas is in relatively goodcondition. However, the water leakage mentionedpreviously indicates that the building hasinfrastructure problems.


EXISTING FLOOR PLANS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Ground floor

Ground Floor Plan

First floor

First Floor Plan

Second floor

Roof Plan

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The original entrance features a decorative arched stoneportal partially hidden by a later stone facing.

An open courtyard beyond the entrance allows light andair into the interior commercial and residential units.

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The coffeeshop uses the space directly in front of itsentrance for additional seating.

The owner of the coffeeshop added the decorative stoneveneer seen above in order to attract more business.



Given that the second floor was damaged during the 1992 earthquake and left unstable, the roof was removed andthe walls truncated.

The classicaly-inspired pilasters divide the façade intoa series of registers.

As is typical of the area, the windows are large in sizeand placed at regular intervals along the façade.

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OCCUPANCY○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

This building is occupied solely by tenants, whichexplains the lack of maintenance in some of theresidential quarters. The street front on theground floor is rented out as a coffeeshop, whoseowner has spent a substantial amount of moneyon embellishing its appearance. He has alsoannexed part of the building entrance hallway anduses it for storage.

The remaining ground floor consists of threerooms, a toilet, a courtyard, and a small space underthe staircase. A tailor rents the front room anduses it for his business, and beside that is a roominhabited by a family of seven: a couple, their fourchildren (three boys and a baby girl), and the

USE PATTERNS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

On the ground floor, the young man who lives alonein the central room does not work and, presumably,does not pay any rent. The other ground-floorresidents—who live in the back room—perform alltheir activities inside that room, except for washingtheir clothes, which takes place closer to the tap bythe toilet.

This latter room is located in the southeastcorner of the building, and it is occupied by aninvalid with serious health problems, who does notleave the room very often. His wife is an employeein a medical centre downtown, and their son ofsixteen works in a carpentry workshop nearby. Thefather tried to contribute to the family income byworking at home (by gluing soles onto slippers),but there was no floor space in the room to spreadthe slippers out long enough to dry, so he stopped.The three females sleep on one double bed, thefather and the sixteen-year-old son on another, andthe two younger boys sleep under the beds.

Although they pay only L.E. 2.5 monthlyrent for this room, they pay more (L.E. 10 monthlyrent) for a smaller space under the staircase. The

reason is two-fold: first, the rent contract was inthe woman’s father’s name, and her brothers wanteda share after their father’s death. By renting thisspace in her name, the woman could also have anelectric metre in her name, which would guaranteeher staying despite her brother’s attempts to vacateher and her family. The second reason was for theprivacy of the married couple. For years, they sleptunder the staircase on a mattress on the floor, butwhen her father died, and the staircase mortarcrumbled too often, they moved back into the mainroom and used this space to protect their refrigerator,as well as to store a bicycle and some otherbelongings.

Since the ceiling has a bad leak, every timethe upstairs neighbours wash their floor, they haveto inform the ground-floor residents to allow themto remove their television from its threatened spot.The woman claims that water dripping from theceiling cost her a refrigerator once before. Cookingtakes place on a counter top close to the door, andthe family eats sitting on the plastic mat coveringthe centre of the room. The portable eating table,

woman’s elderly mother. They also rent the smallspace under the staircase. A young man inhabitsthe third room (he shared this room with his mother,who recently passed away). Both householdsshare the use of the toilet.

The first floor, a large apartment consistingof four rooms, is inhabited by one extended family.

Number of households: 5Number of residents: Ground floor 8 First floor 11Non inhabited rooms: 0Commercial activity: 2

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the “tableyya,” is a feature in almost every house inthe area. Given the nature of both the tailor’s andcoffeeshop’s businesses, the courtyard lacks theprivacy level necessary for it to be appropriated bythe residents. There is absolutely no sign of territorialbehavior, as is common in other shared courtyards.

The first floor consists of one largeapartment with four rooms, rented three years agoto a family whose house collapsed not far from thestudy area. The father works selling clothes in anearby store. He and his wife have four daughtersand three sons; two of the daughters have married

but continue to live with them, with each coupleoccupying a single room. Another room is occupiedby the parents, while the fourth room is occupiedby the rest of the children. Because the newly-weds are entitled to a private space, theunconventional arrangement of having the twounmarried girls and their three younger brothers allsleep in one room is a forced one. It also seems thatthe parents’ privacy is more important than aseparation between the boys and the girls. Each ofthe newly formed households cook in their ownroom, reflecting the separation in budgets.

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USERS’ NEEDS

Although they are also concerned about the safety ofthe structure, the residents’ main complaint is lack ofprivacy. For example, the building owner sold the frontdoor to the building, and, as a result, access to thecourtyard is not controlled, allowing the coffeeshopclients to use the toilet regularly. Although theresidents on the ground floor have lower economicmeans than the family upstairs, they are willing to payup to L.E. 30 monthly rent to have a private toilet andlive in two rooms instead of one, which would providethe handicapped father some space to work at home.

The tailor who rents the room facing theentrance uses it as a workshop, sewing clothes andreceiving his clients there. He says business is notdoing so well, but insists on keeping his work in thearea despite the fact that he and his immediate familymoved ou t twelve years ago to ano therneighbourhood, Imbaba, which is located far from thearea. He currently pays L.E. 15 monthly rent and wouldconsider paying more for a room in the area with abetter location.

The two newly-wed couples on the first floorare interested in finding affordable housing in the area,instead of their current arrangements of living withtheir parents. If this occurs, then the rest of the familywould have a comfortable apartment, since it is one ofthe larger ones in the area.


On the ground floor, the primary aim is to provide theseven-member family with more space and higherstandards of hygiene. Thus, in the proposed scheme,the tailor’s workshop would have to be converted into asecond residential space. A small lightwell, also serving

the upper storey, would be created in the present entranceof the main bedroom, and the existing bathroom wouldbe converted into a new entrance. Therefore, a newbathroom would need to be constructed in the courtyard,where ventilation is better; this would slightly reducethe size of the current lightwell.

The makeshift room currently occupying partof the courtyard would be demolished and replacedwith a small storage area for the coffeeshop. In doingso, it would be possible to demolish the existingstoreroom that currently blocks the building entrance.



The coffeeshop owner complains that business is slack,despite the fact that his coffeeshop remains a communitymeeting place.

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On the upper floor, the newly created lightwellwould provide ventilation for the bathroom. Thekitchen, removed from its current location, would beconstructed over the new ground-floor bathroom,where ventilation would be adequate.

In addition, the stone cladding on thecoffeeshop, which presently obstructs a portion ofthe main entrance, would be removed from the DarbShoughlan façade and the original cut stone facingwould be reinstated. The uppermost floors would beplastered. The wooden canopy would also be removedand replaced with a canvas awning.

A second alternative would be to constructan additional floor following the same arrangementas that of the first floor. Not only would this bemore aesthetically pleasing, but it would alsoprovide the owners with more room. However, theaddition of a second storey is dependent onstructural and financial constraints. Therefore, thealternative with just one upper storey is providedas the safest and least expensive option. For thisalternative, the roof would be cleared of the existingsecond-floor walls, thus providing the residents withan open roof.

Financing options

Although the building owner is wealthy, there is littleincentive for him to invest in the property, unless atleast one of the building’s upper storeys can be rebuilt.However, this may be unfeasible on structural grounds.As tenants with a short-term lease, the first-floorresidents are unlikely to make substantial investmentsinto the property. As it is, the first-floor apartment isin reasonably good condition; most of the requiredmaintenance is on the ground floor. Unfortunately,the ground-floor residents are too poor to be able toinvest in the rehabilitation of the property, and it istherefore likely that the funding for the rehabilitationof this building may have to come from externalsources.

If the reconstruction of at least one storey isstructurally feasible, then the owner could use thedownpayment for the apartment to help finance therebuilding as well as the maintenance of the lower portionof the building. Even in this case, it is unlikely that themoney from prospective tenants would be sufficient.

The coffeeshop owner, despite having spent aconsiderable sum on the décor of the coffeeshop, isunlikely to be willing to invest more, since his businessis not doing very well. In fact, he redecorated theexterior of the coffeeshop in an attempt to attract morecustomers.

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Proposed interventions for Case Study 444SCHEME○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Typical floorGround floor

Alternative 2 is preferable, although it is dependent onstructural and financial constraints.

Alternative 1 is the most feasible option, since thebuilding is occupied solely by tenants who are unlikelyto invest in the rehabilitation of the property.

Ground Floor Plan Typical Floor Plan

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MARKET FOR NEW HOUSING UNITS

The study area currently includes twenty vacant plotsthat can be redeveloped to provide additional housingin the area. On average, each plot of land can provideat least four residential units, each of which should beable to accommodate five individuals (the averagehousehold size in the study area), thereby creatinghousing for approximately 500 individuals.

It is very likely that some of the new apartmentswill be occupied by people currently residing in thearea, either those who live in smaller apartments andcan afford more space, or couples who are engagedand at present cannot find a vacant apartment in orderto get married. Another group that housing schemeswould provide for are those who have had to moveout of the area after the 1992 earthquake, but feel cutoff in the new housing developments where they havehad moved to. Almost every family currently living inthe study area has kinfolk who have been transferredto government-built developments outside Cairo.Many such residents prefer to live in informalsettlements (shanty towns) that are closer to al-Darbal-Ahmar in order to be closer to their work and to themembers of their families who still live in the area.

BUILDING COSTS

A local contractor cites L.E. 300 as being the priceper metre of a semi-finished building; however, localcontractors such as this one tend to cut corners inorder to maximise their profit, at times at the expenseof the structural soundness of the building. A morereliably constructed building, built without localcontractors of this type and reviewed by a structuralengineer and therefore guaranteed to be sound,would cost L.E. 100 per square metre of reinforcedconcrete (including its share in foundations), and

an additional L.E. 60 per metre for cement blockwalls. This price does not include finishingmaterials, which are generally readily available inthe area and therefore reasonably priced.

The traditional method of building usingbearing walls, which may save up to 20% of thecost of a reinforced concrete structure, is no longerpopular. This is because the thick walls take upvaluable space and the bearing walls system is notconducive to changes in layout, which residentsoften make to suit their changing requirements.Also, bearing walls suffer more seriously fromaccidental water leakage that can pose a structuralthreat to the building. Furthermore, the labourneeded for this type of construction is no longerreadily available and often not of good quality.

POSSIBLE FINANCIAL MECHANISMS

The mechanisms outlined here attempt to proposemeans to finance building projects as well as torehabilitate existing structures. The range ofalternatives varies from schemes that minimise externalintervention to those that are dependent on theestablishment of a project agency to administer and,in some cases, undertake construction. However, alloptions have been proposed bearing in mind the socialand financial mechanisms that currently exist in areassuch as al-Darb al-Ahmar, and each of them attemptsto make use of community resources intensively,thereby trying to minimise the reliance on externalsources of funding.

Landowners’ Union

One procedure used to finance building projects inother areas of Cairo is that a group of individualspurchase a plot of land and then each contribute to

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BUILDING COSTS AND FINANCIAL MECHANISMS

I M P L E M E N T A T I O N S T R A T E G I E S

the construction costs of the building. In manycases, extra residential units are constructed to besold off and the profit is distributed amongst theland owners to help recoup part of the costs.Generally, the ground floor is reserved forcommercial purposes; shops are rented out and theincome is used for maintaining the building. Suchan arrangement could be adapted to suit al-Darb al-Ahmar; however, it would only be economicallyfeasible where plot size is relatively large and wherethe number of residential units is maximised. Also,building costs would have to be minimised to ensurethat such a project would work.

Although there is a demand for housing unitsin the area, most of the demand is by people who havelimited economic resources and would not be able toafford apartments for more than L.E. 15,000 for a fifty-square-metre apartment. The idea of having shops onthe ground floor is of particular relevance to the area,especially on important thoroughfares such as DarbShoughlan. Perhaps the idea of using shop revenuesto maintain the building and pay for utilities would beuseful, but this would only work if the shops wereowned by the building owners as a group, and notsold off to private individuals.

One limiting factor in such an arrangement isthe height of the buildings; in order for the historiccharacter of the neighbourhood to be preserved, it isimportant for new constructions to be a maximum offour storeys high, although three storeys would bepreferable. This greatly limits the profitability offorming a landowners’ union, since it limits the numberof apartments that can be constructed. For this reason,these unions are likely to be more successful if thenumber of partners is limited and if the plots of landare large.

Such an arrangement would work for individualswishing to invest in the area, either by constructingapartments for themselves or by building apartmentsto be sold off. This arrangement would also benefitindividuals wishing to reside in the area and who arefinancially able to pay L.E. 10,000 or 15,000 for a smallapartment (fifty square metres). However, suchapartments would be out of reach of individuals whohave limited economic resources and can only affordto pay rent.

Advance payment on rented apartments

A similar arrangement as the former is for a single ownerwishing to construct property as an investment toallow tenants to reserve apartments in lieu of a downpayment that is later deducted from the apartment’srent over a long period of time. To the investor, thissystem provides him with sufficient capital toundertake the project, and it provides prospectivetenants with guaranteed accommodation. Thedisadvantages of this arrangement is that it is onlyavailable to those who have enough cash to pay thedown payment, which is at least L.E. 5,000.

Once again, such an arrangement works bestwhen the number of apartments to be constructed ismaximised in order to provide the investor with asufficient sum to balance construction costs. Atpresent, most individuals would be willing to pay adown payment of LE. 5,000 to 6,000, which is to bededucted from the monthly rent. Fifty pounds a month(before the incremental deduction of the downpayment) for a three-room apartment of that size isconsidered reasonable at today’s prices, except whatis available in neighbouring areas is usually larger andtherefore more expensive. Some workshop ownersclaim to be willing to pay as much as L.E. 150 a monthfor a large workshop located on the ground floor onDarb Shoughlan.

“Gama’eyya” or “pooled savings”

The gama’eyya is a form of privately initiated meansof obtaining capital in which a group of individualsagree to each contribute a fixed sum of money everymonth for as many months as there are individualsparticipating. Each month, one of the individuals takesthe whole sum of money collected from theparticipants. The cycle is completed when eachparticipant has received the whole sum of money once.Such an arrangement is already very common in thearea and other popular districts. Although the capitalremains fixed and contributors receive as much moneyas they have put in to the cooperative, thisarrangement gives people the opportunity to obtainlarge sums of money that would be otherwiseunavailable to them.

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The gama’eyya works best when theparticipants need the lump sum at different timesduring the year, and usually it is agreed beforehand asto who will take the money each month. Such anarrangement can be considered as a loan with nointerest, obviously of greater benefit to those whoreceive the money at the beginning of the cycle. Thistype of cooperative can be used to obtain money forbuilding, though at present it functions as a strictlyinformal agreement between individuals with commoninterests. It has the potential of being used by peoplewho cannot otherwise afford a down payment on anapartment, and can therefore be used in conjunctionwith some of the other mechanisms suggested here.

Project agency as project administrator

Community members have put forth the suggestionthat the project agency act as a mediator between thetenants and the landowner and be fully responsiblefor the construction of new development. In this case,an agreement would be reached with the landowner asto the number of units to be constructed, the initialdown payment, and the rent. The project agency wouldbe responsible for the building construction, usingthe funds obtained from the prospective tenants aswell as from the landowner.

The benefits of such a mechanism are that theproject agency would have better control over theconstruction process, thus ensuring compliance withthe required building specifications and minimizing therisk of their violation. Also, assuming that theredevelopment of several empty plots would take placesimultaneously, the project agency would be able tobuild at competitive prices, thereby making the projectmore affordable and therefore more feasible.

Loans

At present, there is no existing system of loans bywhich individuals can take out a building loan withoutsufficient collateral. A system by which landownerscould mortgage their land and take out a low-interestloan to carry out its construction could be a viablepossibility, although it needs to be kept in mind thatthe restriction in building heights—a necessary

component of maintaining the architectural characterof the area—will make the construction industry lesslucrative.

Matching grants or loans

Most of the options discussed previously havetargeted the construction of new housing units;however, it is also important to provide financialalternatives to those who are already living in housesin the area and need a means of maintaining or repairingtheir homes. Perhaps a realistic method of providingfinancial assistance is to set up a system of matchinggrants or low-interest loans, whereby the projectagency agrees to put up an amount of money equal tothat which local residents are willing to invest in theupkeep of their property. This option must be madeavailable to all local residents, so as not to createanimosity between them; however, the provision offunds from the project agency must be contingent onthe residents abiding by the building guidelinesspecified for the area.

HOUSING FINANCE POLICIES

Although housing banks exist in Egypt, their policiesare designed to ensure that borrowers can guaranteeto pay loans back, which puts residents of traditionalneighbourhoods such as al-Darb al-Ahmar at adisadvantage, since their financial credibility is difficultto guarantee from a banking perspective. Typically,housing banks require borrowers to pay back loans inmonthly installments deducted from their salary. TheBank of Housing and Development, for example, makesan agreement with the borrower’s employer to ensurethat loan installments are transferred directly from theemployer to the bank.

Given that most al-Darb al-Ahmar residents workeither privately or as employees in small neighbourhoodworkshops, their monthly revenue fluctuates, and it istherefore difficult for them to provide the necessaryguarantees to housing banks. Similarly, the fact thatmost local businesses operate on a very small scale andare informally organised makes it impossible for them tomake financial arrangements with housing banks vis-a-vis housing loans for employees.

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Apart from the guarantees required fromhousing banks, their financial policies are otherwisereasonable: loans cover as much as 50% of the marketvalue of the housing unit—the rest must be acquiredby other means. Further, the payback period rangesfrom four to nine years, with an interest rate rangingbetween 14 - 15.5% per annum.

Therefore, the current financial policiesregarding housing loans, although not meant to beprohibitive, apply mainly to individuals employed inlarge, well-established public or private sector

enterprises. And even though the average monthlyincome of local carpenters, especially those who areself-employed, is comparable or higher than that ofsuch employees, they cannot fulfill the requirementsnecessary to take out these loans. This outlines thefact that the problem with current housing financepolicies is not the financial terms they offer, but thefact that they exclude some of the people who needloans the most. Also, there is little provision forindividuals who already own buildings and need totake out loans to repair or maintain them.

Loan Type:For the purchase of residential units with nolimitations with respect to their size.

Restrictions:Loan not to exceed 50% of the market value of theresidential unit. Monthly increments not toexceed 50% of the borrower’s salary.

Interest Rate:14% per annum.

Payback Period:A maximum of four years, with payments to bemade on a monthly basis.

Eligibility:Individuals who are employed in a private orpublic sector company that is willing to guaranteethat the borrower is able to pay back the loan.The borrower’s employer deducts the monthlypayment from the employee’s salary and transfersit directly to the housing bank.

BANK OF HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT

Loan Type:For financing the purchase of residential unitswith a market value of not more than L.E. 100,000.

Restrictions:Value of the loan not to exceed 50% of the marketvalue of the residential unit, with an upper limit ofL.E. 50,000.

Interest Rate:14.5-15.5% per annum.

Payback Period:Nine years, to be paid in monthly installments.

Eligibility:Individuals who are employed in a privateor public sector company that is willing toguarantee that the borrower is able to payback the loan. The borrower’s employerdeducts the monthly payment from theemployee’s salary and transfers it directlyto the housing bank.

EGYPTIAN PROPERTY BANK

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Two laws are especially relevant to the urbandevelopment of the study area: Law No. 106/1976

organising building works, and Decree No. 180/1998and Law No. 117 of 1983 on the preservation of antiquities.

The law on building works sets severalrestrictions upon future building prospects in the area.Firstly, the minimum requirements for the size oflightwells is very large with respect to the averageplot size in al-Darb al-Ahmar, which poses a problemfor new constructions designed to fit in with theexisting fabric. In some cases, this problem can besolved through another provision in the law, allowingadjacent properties to share courtyards and lightwells,but this would need careful planning on aneighbourhood level, and would only be successfulin cases were several adjacent properties were beingremodelled or redeveloped simultaneously.

Another stipulation in the law that is of someconcern is an article stating that if a building is to beconstructed on a street less than six metres wide, thenthe building must be set back at a distance of half thedifference between the street width and the six-metrerequirement. This is in parallel with a second article ofthe law, prohibiting building heights to exceed oneand a half times the width of the street. Both thesearticles pose restrictions on the study area, wherestreets are often less than six metres wide and wherenew buildings would have to be set back, therebyreducing plot size, which is already small.

Islamic Cairo is subject to additional buildingguidelines, namely that buildings are not to exceedthree storeys excluding the ground floor, but only twostoreys excluding the ground floor in alleyways andcul-de-sacs. In cases where there is a discrepancybetween the maximum height stipulated in the buildinglaw and these guidelines, the lower of the two heightallowances is to be followed. Buildings built adjacent tomonuments are not to exceed the height of the monument,

and all buildings are required to have façades in the“Arab/Islamic style,” which in practice means includingarches. With regards to commercial activities, the lawis geared towards large-scale enterprises in newer partsof the city. Hence some stipulations, for example, therequirement that commercial facilities are to have atleast one toilet for men and another for women areredundant in al-Darb al-Ahmar, where almost allworkshop employees are men.

One stipulation of relevance is that thegovernor can approve proposals to designate an area asbeing subject to specific building regulations; this canbe used to implement a set of building regulations forthe area, taking its urban condition into consideration.

The second law of importance to the area is thatregulating the preservation and protection of antiquities,which places very severe restrictions on areassurrounding monuments and archaeological sites. Theantiquities law has prevented building in most of thestudy area because it is adjacent to the Ayyubid walland therefore falls within the precinct designated bythe Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). The precinctfor each monument is to be specified by a specialantiquities committee, which usually stipulates a zoneranging between 2.5 and thirty metres (large monumentsare generally given bigger precincts). The antiquitieslaw states that any schemes to redesign or redevelopareas in which monuments, archaeological sites, orhistorically important buildings exist, cannot do sowithout the written approval of the SCA. However, therelevant authority (usually the governorate) can issuebuilding licenses in the areas surrounding monumentsor archaeological sites. This authority must set buildingcodes that are suitable and do not distort the image of amonument. They must also guarantee a suitable precinctaround the monument, taking its historic context intoconsideration and ensuring that it is not harmed. The SCAretains the right to approve or reject building requests.

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LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS

I M P L E M E N T A T I O N S T R A T E G I E S

The results of the five case studies indicate thatany future action in the Aslam Mosque

neighbourhood should both improve the existinghousing s tock through preservat ion-basedrehabilitation and re-establish residential use inabandoned houses and vacant land. Adequatehousing and a secure tenure are the two essential pre-conditions for maintaining a stable population andensuring the neighbourhood’s economic sustainability.In order for these—or for any—intervention actionsto work, however, the community needs to be a moreactive component of the decision-making process, forproposals are often put forth without taking intoaccount the needs of the residents. With this in mind,the following set of general recommendations arepresented as the most promising lines of action forthe overall improvement of the neighbourhood andthe quality of life of its residents.

BASIC PHYSICAL UPGRADING

This type of upgrading requires minimalintervention; nevertheless, it is essential for theimprovement of the area. Basic public amenities areeither lacking or in poor condition. The removal of

rubbish and rubble, which often accumulate in oraround vacant plots, would make a noticeabledifference to the area. At present, residents livingin close proximity to the Ayyubid city wall simplydump their rubbish over or around the wall. Withthe imminent completion of al-Azhar Park, a reliablesystem of collection must be planned and implemented.

Essentially, rubbish collection is a problemthat needs a well-structured management schemeto ensure that it functions on a long-term basis.Although a governmental rubbish system exists, itis irregular and therefore unreliable. Residentssimply pile their rubbish in the street, where itaccumulates until it is removed by the GeneralAuthority for the Beautification and Cleanliness ofCairo. One of the main problems facing this area isthat used materials are so efficiently recycled thatwhat is actually thrown away is of little interest torubbish collectors, who themselves rely onrecycling. This means that non-governmentalrubbish collectors have little interest in the area andusually avoid it.

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RECOMMENDATIONSFOR IMMEDIATE ACTIONS

C O N C L U S I O N

View from the Darassa Hills of the Aslam Mosqueneighbourhood, with the former Darb Shoughlan Schoolnoticeable midway along the Ayyubid city wall.

The absence of functioning street lighting isanother aspect that requires attention. Althoughpublic street lamps do exist in several areas, almost allof them no longer function, and, as a result, the studyarea is extremely dark after sunset. To maintain theexisting street lamps and add others where necessarywould be a relatively simple task—one that wouldconsiderably improve the area. Furthermore, many ofthe roads need to be resurfaced and graded, especiallyin the smaller streets and alleyways. At present, theyare poorly finished, allowing large puddles to formwhenever the street is sprayed with water.

POLICY INTERVENTIONSFOR STRUCTURES IN THE VICINITYOF THE AYYUBID CITY WALL

In addition to small-scale interventions that can be carriedout to improve public facilities, it is also necessary tointroduce or amend polices related to the area. Amongthe most important issues is the question of building inclose proximity to the Ayyubid city wall. The idea ofclearing all buildings along the wall, favoured by theSupreme Council of Antiquities, is unrealistic from apractical and economic point of view: not only would itbe too costly to relocate the families located by the wall,but it would also be disruptive of the socio-economicactivities in the area. It is therefore essential to developa policy that is more feasible.

The policy’s success relies on its ability topreserve the Ayyubid city wall with minimal disruptionof residents’ lives, and on the knowledge that the wall,though architecturally important, is meaningless ifalienated from the historic urban context in which it exists.The present freeze on construction in the vicinity of thewall and the restriction of repairing the existingneighbouring houses has caused more harm than good:while aiming to force people away from the area, it hassimply resulted in local residents remaining in substandardconditions, with poorly maintained drainage facilities thathave caused great damage to the wall’s masonry.Furthermore, the threat of relocation has made many localresidents cautious about investing money in the upkeepof their houses—many are willing to repair at their ownexpense, but only if reassured that their homes will notbe demolished.

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It is necessary to address this problem in twoways: firstly, to provide a suitable building code forany new construction in the vicinity of the wall;secondly, to examine existing structures on a caseby case basis and decide how best to intervene vis-a-vis the wall. Generally, so long as inhabitedbuildings are in relatively good condition and donot encroach upon the wall, then they should bemaintained, perhaps with some alterations to ensurethat their drainage system is placed as far from thewall as possible. In cases where buildings haveextensions upon or into the wall, it may be necessaryto have these removed, especially if they are poorlybuilt and unsightly.

A more sensitive issue is the case ofarchitecturally valuable buildings constructed into oronto the wall. These are important in their own rightand in some cases have become part of the wall itself.Furthermore, one must question what the preservationobjectives for the city are: Is it realistic and appropriateto attempt to restore the wall as it would have looked700 years ago, ignoring the physical evolution of thewall and its adjoining civic fabric over time?

URBAN REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT

This includes a wide range of interventions from basicpreservation techniques to full-scale reconstructionof ruined structures. Where buildings are relativelywell preserved, all that is required is basic maintenanceand repair of elements to ensure that they not beallowed to deteriorate further. However, several ofthese buildings suffer from poor plumbing systems,which can cause severe structural damage if leftunchecked. It is therefore necessary to upgrade thedrainage systems of many of the houses in the area toensure that the structural elements of the buildingsremain sound. In cases where structural damage hasalready occurred, stabilisation is required to preventbuildings from collapse or from any furtherdeterioration.

In some instances, buildings have beendestroyed or have deteriorated to the point wherethey are partial or even total ruins. Several partialruins still retain valuable architectural elements,

A partial view of theAslam Mosque takenfrom Darb Shoughlan.

163

which can be salvaged and re-used if the buildingis to be reconstructed. Where there is no remainingfabric worth recycling, especially in the cases oftotal ruins, greater architectural freedom can beobserved and new construction can occur,respecting traditional conventions of plan, volume,and proportion.

Some buildings, although not listedmonuments, have high architectural or historic value.In such cases, intervention should be limited torestoration and repair, avoiding radical changes thatcould alter a building irreversibly.

Although the general aim is to preserve asmuch of the existing and traditional historic fabricas possible, there are certain instances wheredemolition is the most practical option; as is oftenthe case, buildings that are in very poor structuralcondition already have demolition orders. Giventhat some of these structures do not providesufficient space for their inhabitants, it is notunreasonable to propose total replacement,redesigning the interior spaces and retainingvaluable architectural features, if any.

On an urban level, the reorganisation ofimportant public spaces is often required to providea more efficient use of space and to improve thequality of the built environment. Noteworthy openspaces within the study area include Aslam Square,which is a nucleus for commercial and social activity,but is obstructed by parked vehicles at most timesof the day. To redesign the space—attempting tolink it with al-Azhar Park by opening Bab al-Mahruqwhile at the same time maintaining its socialimportance—would greatly enhance theneighbourhood by providing a place better suitedfor social and economic interaction between localinhabitants and outside visitors.

Currently, most of the buildings surroundingthe square are of low architectural value, largely dueto indiscriminate alterations to these nineteenth- andeighteenth-century buildings. A recently constructedcommercial structure opposite the mosque is poorlybuilt but commercially important to the square;therefore, although demolition has been recommendedfor this structure, it is essential that the replacementstructure maintain commercial activity.

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RESTORATION OF HISTORIC MONUMENTS

Restoration is recommended for monuments that arein deteriorating to poor condition. The Aslam Mosquehas deteriorated structurally, and a small Ottomanshrine in the southern section of the study area is inneed of intervention to support its roof. Both requirea high level of technical skill to preserve the art andcraft of these buildings. As regards the former, it isimportant that restoration does not result in the closureof the mosque after the completion of work, as is sooften the case with restored buildings in Cairo. Atpresent, the mosque is a vital component of theneighbourhood; it is essential that it continue to beaccessible to the community in the future.

PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL HOUSINGTHROUGH NEW DEVELOPMENT,RECONSTRUCTION, AND REHABILITATION

In order for this neighbourhood intervention schemeto be effective, solutions must be developed thatprovide housing and commercial spaces for localresidents, especially in cases where the relocation ofinhabitants from their current homes is required—forexample, for those who live on plots designated forredevelopment.

The social structure and economic means ofthe residents must be taken into consideration; it isapparent that the concept of extended families livingin close proximity is not rare in al-Darb al-Ahmar.Therefore, new development schemes should beapproached in a way that does not disruptcommunity relations and family ties. Many localresidents have lived in the neighbourhood forseveral generations, and despite the fact that theirliving conditions are poor, their livelihood and socialties are closely linked to the area; they prefer toremain instead of moving elsewhere. The provisionof new housing with basic amenities wouldencourage the younger generation as well as themore affluent individuals to stay in the area ratherthan seek alternate housing elsewhere.

Also important is the nature of the commercialactivities taking place in the area. Since a largepercentage of the inhabitants are involved in carpentry,

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create a contact node for park visitors into the Darbal-Ahmar community, and allow and control interactionthrough retail commercial activity developed on or nearthe square. In this way, local craftsmen could have adirect outlet for sales of traditional goods, which wouldreinforce the viability of popular traditional craft forwhich the neighbourhood is known. The square couldalso serve visitors by better orienting them to thecurrent sites of visitation, including the Aslam andBlue mosques.

CONCLUSION

The work carried out for this pilot project indicatesthat the components needed for action do exist in thearea. But in order to realise this potential, there mustbe strong support in the form of institutional policiesand active management of the residents’ capacity fordirect intervention. In the long-term, gradual anddeliberate improvement of the existing housingrepresents a more realistic course of action than a policyof hasty and indiscriminate change, which is neithersocially nor economically justified in an area that stillpreserves a viable physical fabric and active socialcontext. The preliminary work and targeted proposalsput forth in this plan—if pursued on a wider scale—can create new opportunities and prospects in theeffort to revitalise historic Cairo.

proposed building schemes must provide ample spacefor workshops on the ground floor, especially inbuildings located on major streets. In planning futurehousing schemes, the traditional mixed-usecombination—commercial activities on the groundfloor with housing above—should be maintained.

LINKS TO THE AL-AZHAR PARK

Given the importance of al-Azhar Park for the Darb al-Ahmar community, adequate connections to and fromthe park are essential so as not to isolate the park fromthe urban area immediately to its west. The Bab al-Mahruq Gate seems a logical connection, for it leadsdirectly to Aslam Square, a major centre of social andcommercial activity in the area. At present, a much-altered eighteenth-century building (now a dye-house)and a neighbouring ruined structure can be foundadjacent to the former gate. It would be opportune totake advantage of the condition of the latter buildingand create a connection, either through the dye-houseor through a narrow passage that currently existsslightly to the north of the square.

This would allow an opportunity to recall thehistorical and physical connection between the formergate, the Aslam Mosque, Haret Sa’ad Allah, and theneighbourhood. The creation of the new park presentsthe possibility of using the historical connection to

AAdaptive re-use, 6, 91, 93, 95Aga Khan Trust for Culture, 6Alleyway, 8, 27, 34, 60Apartment Building

Modern, 26, 32, 33, 48, 81Small, 32

Aslam Mosque (see Mosque ofAslam al-Silahdar)Aslam al-Silahdar, 15, 35Aslam Square, 6, 18, 35, 41, 67, 81,

88, 159, 160Ayyubid city wall, 4, 6, 11, 13, 22, 36,

45, 67, 88, 96, 99, 156, 157al-Azhar Park, 6, 11, 87, 88, 156,

159, 160

BBab

al-Mahruq, 4, 14, 15, 41, 45, 159, 160el-Khalk, 80Zuwayla, 4, 11, 14, 15, 41, 67

Baha al-Din Aslam, 33, 41Balconies, 46Building

with full historic integrity, 54reversibly altered, 54irreversibly altered, 55

Bus service, 21

CCairo Planning Commission, 97Caliph al-Hakim, 14Citadel, 14, 15, 21, 45Collective housing (see Rab’)Coffeeshop, 18, 60, 81Corbel, 27, 44, 67Cornice, 28, 45Cul-de-sac, 63, 81, 82, 88Courtyard, 16, 27, 30, 42, 78

DDarassa Hills, 4, 14Darb Shoughlan School, 6, 18, 38, 45,

93Demolition, 9, 13, 96, 97, 159

Partial, 96, 129Doors, 45

EEarthquake, 9, 36, 44, 50, 87, 94, 150Education, 73Electricity, 6, 28, 77Employment, 11

GGama’eyya, 151Garbage, 9, 23, 64, 156

collection, 23, 156General Authority for the

Beautification and Cleanliness ofCairo, 23, 156

Governorate of Cairo, 4Green space, 18, 64Grillework, 28, 45, 46

HHeliopolis, 74, 80Helwan, 74

IIlliteracy, 73Income, 74Informal housing, 64Infrastructure, 21, 32

KKhayameya, 35, 41Khayrbek, 15

LLand use, 18Lattice screen, 28, 32, 33Lighting, 64, 157Lightwell, 27

MMaterials

Brick, 28, 33, 34, 36Concrete, 32, 33, 34, 150Gunite Cement, 33, 34, 67Marble, 41Plaster, 22, 28, 34Stone, 28, 33, 34

Mashrabeyya, 28, 44Mausoleum

of Princess Tughay, 41Megharbeleen, 80Ministry

of the Awqaf, 24, 67of Public Works, 15, 16

166

I N D E X

Mosqueof Aslam al-Silahdar, 4, 6, 9, 11, 16, 18, 31, 35, 38, 44, 64, 67, 68, 92, 159, 160Aytmish, 15Blue, 4, 15

Moulding, 28, 42, 45

NNew construction, 55New development, 13, 96, 97, 99,

123, 159

OObour City, 74Occupancy rates, 78Open space, 6, 18, 64, 67, 159Oriel, 46Ownership, 24

PPalace

of Alin Aq, 15Parking, 9, 64Population, 70Port Said, 80Preventive maintenance, 91, 157

QQaytbay complex, 6

RRab’, 26, 31Redevelopment, 96, 97, 159Regional Cairo Sewage Network, 22Reconstruction, 91, 94, 99, 113, 159Rehabilitation, 4, 16, 13, 91, 92, 99,

101, 139, 156Restoration, 13, 91, 92, 159Roads, 21, 157Ruin, 9, 11, 18, 23, 36, 58, 64, 157

Partial, 9, 36, 58, 157

SSabil

of al-Nasir Muhammad, 41Sabil-Kuttab, 41Salah al-Din, 14Semi-permanent structures, 36, 55Sewage, 22, 28, 77Shrine, 18, 35, 67

167

of Sidi Aly Gawish, 41of Sidi al-Ansari, 41

Shutters, 32, 33Storage, 9, 36, 42Street

Abdallah al-Geuweiny, 4, 42, 67Ahmad Maher, 21Atfet Hozayen, 18, 63, 68al-Azhar, 4, 21, 84Bab al-Wazir, 15, 21, 84Darb al-Ahmar, 21Darb Shoughlan, 4, 6, 11, 18, 27, 35, 41, 44, 60, 63, 67, 68, 87Fatma al-Nabaweya, 4, 44, 67, 68Haret Aslam, 67Harat Sa’ad Allah, 67, 160

Street vendor, 63, 80Substandard housing, 36, 96

Supreme Council of Antiquities, 155,157

SultanAybak, 14Baybars I, 15al-Nasir Muhammed, 15, 35, 38Qalawun, 15

TTemporary structures, 36, 55Tenure, 24Tilework, 35, 43Townhouse

Modern, 34Traditional, 26, 27, 36, 43, 44

Traffic, 4, 21, 64Traditional mansion, 29, 42Transom, 28, 45Typology, 26

UUnemployment

VVacant plots, 9, 11, 23, 156Voussoir, 46

WWater, 6, 21, 28, 77, 78, 79

Tap, 28, 77Water Network Authority for Greater

Cairo, 21Water table, 22Windows, 46Workshop, 6, 11, 26, 33, 34, 36, 42,

50, 60, 63, 87, 160

ZZier, 64

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