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Re-storying the Land: Climate, Culture and Design
Project Researcher: RRA
Collaborator: Mogasam
Beginning in Cairo, the historic capital city of Egypt. The area that would become Cairo is impressively and historically part of what was considered Ancient Egypt–the Giza pyramid complex; the ancient cities of Memphis and Heliopolis as well as its strategic location near the Nile River Delta. Cairo is a megacity, containing all of time within its architecture–pasts, presents and futures. The problem however lies in the fact that it is a highly urbanizing environment where most of it’s past is monitored, securitized and owned by government and institutions of the West. Many civilians don’t have access to their past which beckons the question: How can one have a future, without knowing one’s past? Cairo is one of the several cities in the world below sea level. As climate change continues to rise, this poses a threat, not only to the people, but to history.
This research project allowed RRA to begin its collaboration with the Cairo based organisation Mogasam to start investigating democratized preservation techniques that allow for communities to begin learning about their architecture and contextual environment in a way that a community centered approach could lead to new developments against climate change. Mogasam, run by researcher and architect Karim Fouad, is a pioneering organization who utilises 3D photogrammetry modelling to document heritage, spaces and objects of Cairo. Through this collaboration, the research aims to create a new practice of preservation and restoration in architecture and design through decolonizing discourse and democatising storytelling adn archival tools for communities who face demolition and the loss of history.
“With the loss of cities, comes the loss of culture, as well as the loss of a vernacular architecture, specifically in Cairo—that contain stories which present a different way of building, being and designing with the Earth.”