Island in Cairo

Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio

Project idea

I reflected on what island means and how I want to make holidays on it: as sea is a desert of water, island is its oasis (its refuge for us) but a refuge doesn’t necessary has to be in the sea, also in the chaos of a city. But why living in a city isolating ourselves in an island? It’s not a contradiction: in a city we can find all we need in a few minutes, except peace, but we can find it in the island.
In this island in the city inhabitants can find what they can’t find outside: water and flowers, shade and peace. It’s like another world. Walking from the chaos of the city to my house is itself an experience: you lose perception of where you are. If the same house was built in nature, there wouldn’t be any effect of getting in it, there wouldn’t be any experience.

Project description

I selected Cairo, in Egypt, because is one of the densest populated cities in the world, so is the perfect location for my island.
Hot and dry climate allowed me to create an oasis, a different climate and a different experience than the one you can commonly feel in Cairo.
In the north of the city I found an empty area created by the demolition of an inhabited and ruined building.
In order to enter the house, you have to walk across the ocean of buildings which surrounds it and experience its oppressive atmosphere.
Then, from a little opening in the perimeter wall, you enter the solarium and you start going underground into a spiral staircase.
The bedroom level faces the perimeter wall and, from there, you can only see it and the sky, especially when you’re lied on the bed and you look above you.
On the lower floor there’re: the study, the gym and the bathroom. From here you can partially see the garden pool under you but you can’t reach it.
Lastly, you arrive to the pool level where you feel fresh and fragrant air, you see water and flowers in it and, thanks to the circular openings of the corners, you can also touch the flowers and feel them in your hands.

Technical information

The whole house is built underground in order to have lower temperature than the one you can feel at street level and, due to this reason, all the openings have no glass or isolation.
These openings are studied to allow inhabitants to have a different experience on each floor, from the sky to an underground fragrant pool, full of water flowers.
The flowers in the pool are typical of Egypt (the Blue Lotus flower) the only element in the house that remembers you where you are.

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