Traditionally, Egypt was
known as the gift of the Nile, ever since Herodotus simply stated
that “without the Nile, there is no Egypt, because where the Nile
overflows its banks, the land is green, and where the water’s
influence stops, the desert begins. Egypt is the Gift of the Nile,
the only place in the world where a river dares to cut across a
thousand miles of desert to reach the sea, creating a civilization
along its course”.We have chosen Water as a symbolic guide
for the whole project, aiming to evoke the deepest roots of Egyptian
culture and imagine the building itself as an element generated by
the river’s life.The vital importance of the river Nile has
been transferred and translated into all the main design elements,
from an integrated attraction of the landscape or part of a pleasant
public space close to the entrances, to a constant flowing detail all
over and inside the building to support all the technical cooling
systems.Besides the inherent characteristics of a public
library in the first building and of the scientific research and
management centre in the second building, the project aims to inspire
and express a strong relationship with the natural environment
through the use of water which is physically taken and given back to
the Nile via a process of closed internal loops. Also, this
relationship is reflected in the built environment through the
general shape that clearly reflects Egyptian heritage with its
typical forms, translating them into a contemporary space of national
pride and international standing.