Revitalizing architectural education in Cairo

Abstract EN

This paper is a reflection on the annual students' competition at Cairo University.

This student competition aimed beyond being an occasional activity, rather, a way to enhance the architectural educational process.

Moreover it was thought of as a tool to bypass the existing hurdles in the Egyptian educational system.

In short it was thought of as leading a parallel reform to the existing system that can be seen as stagnant and in a dire need for positive actions.

This paper focuses on the first two cycles of the competition where issues of technology and history were highlighted.

How these subjects were understood and dealt with by the students of architecture in a developing country like Egypt was the issue of the competition.

This paper consists of mainly four parts ; the first deals with how a certain issue is articulated through the competition brief.

The second part deals with the jury process and the debate that took place.

The third deals with the students’ perception of the addressed issues.

A fourth part reflects on the benefits and lessons of the whole process.

Finally the conclusion sums up the main finding of the experiment.