SCIENCE CITY

Location: Cairo, Egypt

Design Director: Raya Ani

Company Name: RAW-NYC Architects

Category: Master Plan

Year: 2016

In  2016,  RAW-NYC  participated  in  a  design  competition  for  a  new  Science  City  near  Cairo,  Egypt,  sponsored  by  the  Bibliotheca  Alexandrina.

The Science City is designed as an ideal city.  It  goes  beyond  telling  the  visitors  about  the  fields  of  science  -  it  makes  the  visitor  an  active  participant  in  the  scientific  community  which  celebrates  participation,  experimentation,  discovery  and  achievement.

The Science  City  is  designed  for  its  climate  while  seeking  to  provide  a  healthy  environment  which  engages  the  context  as  part  of  the  user’s  experience.  RAW-NYC  designed  “cube”-like  buildings,  with  square  floor  plans  housing  orientation,  exhibition,  research,  planetarium  and  an  observatory  tower,  placed  strategically  on  a  golden  section  grid.  Interspersed  are  a  variety  of  open  spaces  including  courtyards  that  make  up  the  Science  Park  level.  The  placement  of  the  main  program  below  the Science  Park  level  protects  their  enclosures  from  the  heat  and  insulates  them  from  changes in temperature.  In  effect,  they  function  as  one  large  geothermal  system  in  which  the  daily  heat  from  the  sun  is  dissipated  through  the  surrounding  ground while the multiple levels create shading on the warmer days. 

The process of the design focused on the following 3 main parameters: 1) to prioritize passive over active systems, 2) to provide comfort and enhance wellness, and 3) to demonstrate best practices in sustainability while innovating in areas such as high energy efficiency, quiet interiors, comfortable spaces and thoughtful transition space between interior and exterior, ample daylight, water efficient building systems and high indoor air quality.