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CairoScene
18-06-2025
- Business
- CairoScene
Esna Revived: Egypt Returns to Aga Khan Award Shortlist After Decades
Esna Revived: Egypt Returns to Aga Khan Award Shortlist After Decades The Revitalization of Esna by Takween has been rapped by the Aga Khan Awards due to its thoughtful bottom-up approach. In 2009, Takween - an Egyptian urban development company - began its venture in the ancient and then-forgotten Upper Egyptian city of Esna with a question: 'Can the future of medium-sized, underprivileged cities in Egypt be reimagined?' This inquiry led to a 15-year partnership with the city's people, working together to preserve and revitalise its built heritage. This year, these efforts have garnered international recognition, placing an Egyptian project on the Aga Khan Award for Architecture's (AKAA) shortlist for the first time in decades. Located 60 kilometres south of Luxor, Esna has long been overlooked by Egypt's cultural tourism map. The city's rich offering of Greco-Roman, Coptic, Islamic, and modern heritage was reduced to a single attraction: the Temple of Khnum. Everything beyond it - its caravanserais, local markets, Ottoman-era houses, and community stories - faced neglect, with some areas even slated for demolition. Aerial view of Esna with the Temple of Khnum at the centre © Takween ICD / Ahmed Mostafa What followed was not a top-down restoration project, but a community-driven transformation model. Takween conserved 20 heritage buildings, activated thousands of job opportunities, upgraded 17 community-managed services, and helped rebrand the city with a new visual identity all while centering local participation, especially women's involvement in tourism activities. The AKAA 2025 shortlist places among the architectural giants of our time. It's a meaningful return for Egypt, which last appeared on the AKAA shortlist in 2004 with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Prior to that, Egypt had won the award seven times, including for the Nubian Museum in 2001. But what makes Esna's recognition all the more powerful is its bottom-up approach. Unlike iconic state-led structures, this project thrived through grassroots involvement, strategic partnerships, and support from institutions such as the US government, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and AECID (Spanish Cooperation). It is a compelling example of how heritage, when nurtured with care and vision, can become an engine for society to bloom. Revitalisation of Historic Esna. ©Takween ICD / Xenia Nikolskaya with Courtesy of Aga Khan Trust for Culture One of the most iconic sites of this initiative is Wakalat al-Geddawi, an 18th-century caravanserai that once pulsed with regional trade but had fallen into ruin. Between 2018 and 2021, Takween led a meticulous conservation and adaptive reuse project that reintroduced the structure as a cultural anchor for both residents and visitors. The building's mudbrick and wood architecture, with its decorative panels and inner courtyard, now stands restored as a record of local craftsmanship. The initiative also included upgrades to the historic Qisariyya Market and Bazaar Street, the restoration of the 19th-century Royal Guesthouse, and the rehabilitation of 15 other architecturally significant sites, collectively weaving Esna's built heritage back into daily civic life. As Takween celebrates this milestone, they continue to invite others into the journey: architects, city planners, policymakers, and citizens alike. As Takween said in their announcement celebrating the shortlisting—"Esna is not an isolated success. It's a prototype for what is possible when architecture serves people, stories, and place.'
Gulf Today
14-06-2025
- General
- Gulf Today
Aga Khan Award for Architecture shortlists 19 projects in 2025 cycle
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) has announced 19 shortlisted projects for its 2025 Award cycle. The projects will compete for a share of the $1 million prize, one of the largest in architecture. The 19 shortlisted projects were selected by an independent Master Jury from a pool of 369 projects nominated for the 16th Award Cycle (2023-2025). The shortlisted projects are: From Bangladesh, Khudi Bari, in various locations, by Marina Tabassum Architects. It is a replicable solution for displaced communities affected by climatic and geographic changes, which can be disassembled and reassembled. From China, West Wusuti Village Community Centre, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, by Zhang Pengju. It provides social and cultural spaces for residents and artists, while addressing the religious needs of the local Hui Muslims. It is built from reclaimed bricks. From Egypt, the Revitalisation of Historic Esna by Takween Integrated Community Development. It addresses cultural tourism challenges in Upper Egypt, transforming Esna from a neglected site centred on the Temple of Khnum, into a prospering historic city. Khan Jaljulia Restoration. From Indonesia are three projects, including The Arc at Green School in Bali, by IBUKU/Elora Hardy. It is a new community wellness centre designed on the existing foundations of a former temporary gymnasium. The structure involves high-precision engineering and local craftsmanship; Islamic Centre Nurul Yaqin Mosque in Palu, Central Sulawesi, by Dave Orlando and Fandy Gunawan, erected on the site of a former mosque destroyed by a tsunami in 2018; and Microlibraries, in various cities, by SHAU/Daliana Suryawinata, Florian Heinzelmann, who initiated the project, offering quality public spaces in several Kampung and parks in Indonesia. Six have been built so far, and 100 are envisioned by 2045. From Iran: Majara Complex and Community Redevelopment on Hormuz Island by ZAV Architects/Mohamadreza Ghodousi, famous for its colourful domes. It provides sustainable accommodation for people; and Jahad Metro Plaza in Tehran, by KA Architecture Studio, built to supersede the poor-quality existing structures, for pedestrians. From Israel, Khan Jaljulia Restoration, in Jaljulia, by Elias Khuri, an economical intervention, situated among the remains of a 14th-century Khan. It transforms the deserted historical site into a vibrant public space. From Kenya is Campus Startup Lions in Turkana, by Kéré Architecture, an educational and entrepreneurial hub. Built with local volcanic stone, the design integrates rainwater harvesting, solar energy and tall ventilation towers reminiscent of surrounding termite mounds. From Morocco, the Revitilisation of Lalla Yeddouna Square in the medina of Fez, by Mossessian Architecture and Yassir Khalil Studio. It aims to reconnect to the riverfront and enhances pedestrian circulation in the area. Revitalisation of Historic Esna. From Pakistan, Vision Pakistan in Islamabad, by DB Studios/Mohammad Saifullah Siddiqui, which accommodates a tailoring training centre operated by Vision Pakistan, a charity that aims to empower disadvantaged youths; and Denso Hall Rahguzar Project in Karachi, by Heritage Foundation of Pakistan/Yasmeen Lari, a heritage-led eco-urban enclave created by using low-carbon materials in response to the harsh climate of Karachi, which is prone to floods and heat waves. From Palestine comes the Wonder Cabinet in Bethlehem by AAU Anastas, a multi-purpose, non-profit exhibition and production space. The three-floor concrete building is becoming a key hub for craft, design, innovation and learning. From Qatar is The Ned Hotel in Doha, by David Chipperfield Architects, where a Middle Eastern brutalist architecture once hosted the Ministry of Interior, before being adapted into a 90-room boutique hotel, contributing to architectural regeneration in the area. From Saudi Arabia hails the Shamalat Cultural Centre in Riyadh, by Syn Architects/Sara Alissa, Nojoud Alsudairi. It is a cultural space on the periphery of Diriyah, developed from an old mud house. From Senegal comes the Rehabilitation and Extension of Dakar Railway Station in Dakar, by Ga2D, to accommodate the passengers of a new express railway line. The site gives back the forecourt to pedestrian travellers. Shamalat Cultural Centre, Riyadh. From Türkiye is the Rami Library by Han Tümertekin Design & Consultancy, the largest library in Istanbul. It took up quarters in the former Rami Barracks, a large single-storey structure with high volumes, built in the 18th century. The United Arab Emirates has the Morocco Pavilion Expo Dubai 2020 by Oualalou + Choi. It was designed to outlive the Expo 2020 and to be converted into a cultural facility. The pavilion pioneers the advancement of large-scale rammed earth construction methods. It obtained the gold LEED certification for its use of passive cooling strategies, which keep mechanical air-conditioning to a bare minimum. The nine members of the independent Master Jury who selected the 19 shortlisted projects are: Azra Akšamija, Director, Art, Culture and Technology Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA; Noura Al Sayeh-Holtrop, Advisor for Heritage Projects, Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, Manama, Bahrain; Lucia Allais, Director, Buell Center, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, New York, USA; David Basulto, Founder & Editor, ArchDaily, Santiago, Chile & Berlin, Germany; Yvonne Farrell, Visiting Professor, Academy of Architecture, Mendrisio, Switzerland and Founder and Partner, Grafton Architects, Dublin, Ireland; Kabage Karanja, Co-founder, Cave_bureau, Nairobi, Kenya and Assistant Professor of Architectural Design, Yale University, New York, USA; Yacouba Konaté, Professor of Philosophy, University Félix Houphouët Boigny of Abidjan-Cocody, Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Hassan Radoine, Director General, Citinnov SA for Integrated Territorial Planning and Smart Cities, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Rabat, Morocco; and Mun Summ Wong, Professor-in-Practice, Department of Architecture, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore and Co-founding Director, WOHA, Singapore.
