Resource efficiency and climate adaption strategies in new urban neighbourhoods - sheikh zayed, egypt

Abstract

As one module of the master’s programme, the interdisciplinary project (Project III) in the third semester annually takes place in a different setting of real conditions abroad. Our semester, the 8th generation of REAP students, had the chance to work on and in a city of the Arabic Republic of Egypt. The satellite city of El Sheikh Zayed, located approximately 60km west of Cairo, was chosen as our focus area on which our projects were later developed. The primary emphasis of the so called Project III was to promote a sustainable approach within an urban development of this desert city and introducing climate responsive strategies for enhancing the living conditions in various ways and facets in Sheikh Zayed City. The project took place as a cooperation between the Architectural Department of Cairo University (CUFE) and HafenCity University Hamburg and was funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) who generously provided support for this project. This brochure highlights the outlook of six projects completed by the 8th generation of REAP students coming from different countries and backgrounds, such as architecture and landscape architecture, urban planning, civil engineering, environmental engineering, environmental science, economics and sociology. The projects presented in the following pages of this brochure are based on a comprehensive and thorough analysis of Cairo and the project site of Sheikh Zayed. Besides a functional theoretic approach, the consideration of real-life conditions and a feasible strategy were a key focus within the project development during this semester.