Apotropaic Library

Department of Architecture of the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University in Abbaseya, Cairo

Project idea

The concept is derived from the largest and most powerful reptile in the Nile River, The Nile Crocodile. The facts are more interesting than the legends. Its kind was already here when the dinosaurs ruled the earth, and it survived when the other great reptiles died out.

Sobek was an ancient Egyptian deity with a complex and (literally) fluid nature. He is associated with the Nile crocodile and is either represented in its form or as a human with a crocodile head. He was also associated with Pharaonic power and fertility, but served additionally as a protective deity with apotropaic qualities, invoked particularly for protection against the dangers presented to & from the Nile river.

Project description

What: The library is a space of 400 m².
Who: A Library For Artists And Architects.
Where: It's situated in a plot land of 45 x 45 m at the heart of a rural area in Egypt on the Nile River coast; the plot is open on all sides on a landscape that may be considered valuable. There is no detached dwelling.
It was required to allocate areas for Reception, Offices for employees, Workspace & Consultation & Storage Space for books. Also, a parking space for 40 bicycles outside the library. There was an ancient tree at the point of 15 x 15 m in the plot land.

Technical information

The steel frames of vierendeel structure system. Rhombus textured 3D Walls around the building. Glass Cladding for roofs. Shaded area for 40 bicycle parking.