Renowned London based architect, Zaha Hadid were announced as architects of the new Cairo Expo City. They are are to partner with  engineering consultancy, Buro Happold.

Cairo Expo City, which is to be located between central Cairo and the city’s airport would span over 450,000 square metres, and provide state of the art exhibition halls and conference auditoriums.The project comprises a major international exhibition and conference centre with business hotel. A further office tower and a shopping centre are at the proposal stage.

According to Zaha Hadid, Cairo Expo City’s fluid design was inspired by the natural topography of the Nile valley.

“As the exhibition spaces require the greatest degree of flexibility, we wanted to ensure that all the public spaces and formal composition of Cairo Expo City relate to the surrounding Egyptian landscape.” said Hadid.

“Along the great rivers of the region, most particularly the Nile, there is a powerful dynamic – a constant flow between the water and the land – which extends to incorporate the neighboring buildings and landscapes. For the Cairo Expo City design, we worked to capture that seamlessness and fluidity in an urban architectural context.”

Cairo Expo City’s large exhibition and conference areas have been ingeniously divided into clusters using carving and sculpting techniques whilst maintaining the buildings overall design.

Zaha Hadid Architects was shortlisted with Norwegian architecture practice Snohetta for the second phase of the competition in April. Works will begin in October 2009 to clear the site.

Project details and credits:
Client: GOIEF (General Organization of International Exhibitions and Fairs), Cairo
Design: Zaha Hadid Architects
Engineering: Buro Happold, London
Quantity Surveyor: Gleeds, London
Traffic and Logistics: Buro Happold, London
Built Area: 450,000sqm (exhibition halls, conference centre and mixed-use areas)
Height of Towers: 33 and 31 storeys

Source: Archinnovations

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