Pier 88 at Cairo Business Park
Concept Design Proposals
The two concepts presented herein constitute contemporary interpretations of a specific architectural vocabulary from the early twentieth century. This new outpost for the Pier 88 chain—following the intervention at the Pyramids Hills compound—is situated within the Cairo Business Park, a context characterized by an eclectic juxtaposition of Art Deco stylings and late-modernist languages. Our proposal delineates an alternative trajectory, informed by the lessons of Adolf Loos, Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann, and Pietro Aschieri. In both iterations, the outdoor pavilion adapts the classical motif of Plinius‘ Stibadium, as rendered by Karl Friedrich Schinkel.
Spatial Articulation and Structural Constraints
The configuration of the interiors derives from the original compound master plan by local designers and necessitated a rigorous methodological approach. The venue occupies the entire ground floor of a building overlooking a water basin—a symbolic transposition of the Nile. The central core (stairs and elevators) fragments the trapezoidal floor plan into two highly irregular halls, burdened by imposing and heterogeneous structural elements.
In this scenario, distributional solutions had to adapt to existing constraints:
· Access Configuration: The primary entrances face each other on opposite sides of the site. To meet the client’s requirements, the open kitchen has been oriented toward the portals overlooking the water feature.
· Logistics: Connections to the basement level (dedicated to food preparation and services) were restricted to the only two structurally viable points, optimized to ensure functional efficiency.
Project 1: Off-scale
The first proposal transforms structural complexity into a narrative device. The structural elements, placed almost randomly in the plan, are reimagined as decorative features: imposing, out-of-scale sculptural presences that evoke Ancient Egyptian motifs, set within an architectural atmosphere inspired by Pietro Aschieri’s scenography for the opera Alceste. Finished in Chinese lacquer tones, these sculptures disrupt the rigorous symmetry of the halls—a rigor achieved by invoking the classical elements previously reinterpreted by Adolf Loos in works such as Villa Karma in Clarens. Ultramodern furnishings enter as the third protagonist in this unexpected formal ménage à trois, generating a tension toward an unstable equilibrium whose spatial and psychological dynamics pay homage to the atmosphere of Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit (Huis Clos).
Project 2: “Novecento” and the Rigor of Ruhlmann
The “Novecento” project outlines a parallel narrative. The space is reinterpreted through an analysis of Lord Rothermere’s Salon-Dining Room, a masterpiece by Jacques-Émile Ruhlmann now exhibited at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. As a preeminent figure of 1920s and 30s Art Deco, Ruhlmann represents the perfect synthesis of French artisanal excellence and emerging 20th-century geometric modernity. Eschewing mass production, his vision focuses on a material and formal refinement intended for an elite clientele.
In this version, the environment regains harmonic order through new symmetries. The space is punctuated by decorative pillars that, anticipating Corbusian rigor, frame bas-reliefs by contemporary artists such as Davide Monaldi and Emil Michael Klein—whose work was previously selected to decorate the private studio of Patrizio Bertelli, Chairman of the Prada Group.
The lighting design pairs technical illumination—designed to enhance architectural geometries and suit evening atmospheres—with a series of highly scenographic fixtures. Their design stems from a union between early 20th-century French forms (Albert Cheuret) and the contemporary poetics of Studio Drift; we have thus designed compositions of stylized herons holding onyx lanterns in their beaks. Interior intimacy is achieved through panels crafted with dark silver galvanized uprights and geometric inserts in onyx and alabaster, referencing both Arabian sculpture and early 20th-century French architecture, with particular regard to the designs of Louis Barillet.
For both projects, a dedicated logo has been proposed, while Marc Audibet—a true pioneer and “intellectual” of contemporary French fashion—has designed the uniform.
