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Credit: Beyer Blinder Belle

American University in Cairo Masterplan

A master plan for the American University in Cairo (AUC) offers a vision for campus growth to support both short-term priorities and long-term sustainability for its next 100 years.

Founded in Tahrir Square in 1919, AUC has been integral to Cairo’s intellectual and cultural development and one of the region’s foremost higher education institutions. In 2008, AUC opened a new campus in the suburb of New Cairo, 30 kilometers from downtown. This 260-acre New Cairo campus is now poised to begin its next phase of growth. BBB’s master plan creates a vision to enhance the existing campus and expand it to address priorities for academics, student life, community engagement, and forward-looking interdisciplinary programs and research. Largely surrounded by desert when it opened, the campus is now encircled by urban growth and will soon be served by public transit, informing the plan’s emphasis on connectivity with the surrounding community.

The AUC Masterplan prioritizes interim uses for undeveloped land while energizing the campus with expanded housing and student life spaces. The plan is grounded in robust engagement with the campus community and data gathered through online polls, surveys, and mapping tools, and incorporates the work of students from AUC’s Department of Architecture. The plan prepares AUC for its future as an increasingly residential, interdisciplinary, innovative, and community-oriented campus.

 

Client

The American University in Cairo

Location

New Cairo, Egypt

Size

260 acres

Completed

2021

People

AIA, AICP
Partner, Director of Planning & Urban Design
Partner-in-Charge & Planning Partner
FAIA
Partner, Director of the DC Office
Architectural Partner
AIA, AICP, LEED AP BD+C, LEED AP ND, EDGE Expert
Senior Associate, Architect/Planner/Urban Designer
Project Manager
Assoc. AIA
Associate
Architectural Designer