Project Description

Egypt has been one of the first nations to take interest in the post WWI French project known as the Cite Universitaire Internationale de Paris, established 1925, as a manifestation of the pacifist movement of the interwar period. The building is a student resident, the third largest house in the Cite with 195 keys. The client required the allocation of 177 single standard rooms 15sqm, 15 double rooms 20-21sqm and finally 3 suites at 33sqm. All but standard rooms were requested to be equipped for accessibility.

Design Concept

The house includes a 200sqm multi-purpose hall for lectures, cultural events, a 60sqm gymnasium, a 60sqm TV room, a 85sqm lounge, a meeting room, study and music rooms and a kitchen and dinning on every floor. There are also administrative offices, laundry rooms, large storages and two 90sqm apartments, one of which serves as the residence of the house manager and the other for occasionally accommodating VIP guests from Egypt. However, during the design process, we have managed to to add a few key communal spaces that were not requested in the initial brief; an internal garden within an atrium, a solarium on the final floor covering the atrium and our choice of location of the multi-purpose hall allowed for it to be also used as a cafe/restaurant for residents and non-residents alike, outside of it predetermined cultural and ceremonial calendar.