Cairo, Egypt

2510 square meters

​

Al Jazi wanted this project to serve many functions, so the challenge was to preserve its simplicity in design and deliver a place for each function required. We wanted to build the building for all the functions without having to actually build a building. 

 

We literally broke it down. We split the project into two buildings. One building for “club” and another one for “Z house”. The house building is the residential area where each one of the guests will be staying. The club building is the guests’ source of entertainment. However, we didn't want the buildings to stand out as buildings. We decided to blend them into the beautiful gardens around them. We made one of them into something resembling a floating urban plaza, with the building beneath it.

 

We made the other building into a wall. This wall had the same arabic calligraphy carved in it as Al Jazi Avenue. We planted plants and added lights inside this wall, and thus the plants would grow to the outside of the wall through the carved calligraphy. This wall surrounded the entertainment center, located beneath a roof of water fountains. Thus, if you see the building from a top view, you won't find any buildings. We successfully blended them in with the park around them.