Above all, Maison D’Egypte or House of Egypt is the ambassador of Egyptian architecture in the French capital, Paris. Its design is a call on connection between the Egyptian essence and the Parisian existence. Scroll down to know more about the details and design of this student dorm.

General Details

The project’s owner is the association of House of Egypt and its designers are Sam for Architecture Engineering and Dar Arafa Architecture who collaborated with Egyptologists, landscape designers and rendering offices. The project is a student dorm that would exist in a total area of 1915 m2 and a area of 976m2. The building will host 195 rooms for students that would include: 177 single rooms, 8 rooms for the disabled, 7 double rooms and 3 suits. In addition to that, there is a multi-purpose room that would act as the headquarter of the Egyptian cultural center. Also, the project involves a gym, music rooms, study rooms, restaurants and all the needed services.

Design Objective

The design of Maison D’Egypte aims to provide a welcoming atmosphere to its inhabitants. To clarify, it embraces the Egyptian students who study in France and acts as a home to them. Consequently, students will be able to fulfill their mission of learning and communication without feeling alienated from their own roots or isolated from their surroundings.

Design Concept

Masion D’Egypte’s design, spatial organization and visual expression is inspired from the original Egyptian architectural methods of thinking while also regarding the French cultural aspects as respecting privacy. In short, the concept of the house is to create a friendly architectural dialogue with its users and environment. So, the outcome is a house that speaks a cosmic Egyptian language that its Egyptians residents and others all understand.

Design Application

Maison D’Egypte or House of Egypt is a balance between several things. For instance, familiarity and newness, hospitality and independence, solitude and sociability, public and private. The architects involved in the design process managed to blend these all together in a harmonious design.

Design Keywords

Firstly, a house, in its general form, is a mixed mood of comfort, tranquility, safety and security. Secondly, the term of “house of Egypt” adds new qualities to the house. These qualities are: warmth, connection, illumination, collectiveness, monumentality and cosmos.   

Monumentality ‏and Monotheism

Above all, one of the most dominant keywords of the design was monumentality. The designers applied this keyword in the exterior of the building by creating a single mass design with Ancient Egyptian inscriptions that enhances and solidifies the art of seeking knowledge that were taught in Ancient Egypt. In the interior, the spatial organization of the building relied on designing an atrium with single loaded corridors. The building also respects and connects with its context. In other words, its design responded to the environmental factors such as sun paths wind behavior. In addition to that, Maison D’Egypte also respected the French building code requirements and delt with factors as noise and pollution control that came from its position in the Ring Road.

Connection and Collectiveness

Collection and collectiveness were also reflected in the design. The main materials used are stone and glass. Stone was the prime building material in ancient Egypt. It represents determination and creates a warm feeling as the users of Maison D’Egypte will immediately feel embraced by it as it is part of their heritage. Glass, on the other side, is a bridge between the building and its modern context. So, overall, the designers were keen on providing that sense of collectiveness between both cultures, the Egyptian and the French. Interior wise, the designers worked on creating everything “Egyptian”, from textiles of furniture and curtains to the lighting units. The design also connects and reaches out to its visitors through it program of activities. To illustrate, some of the activities proposed are: Papyrus making workshops in addition to teaching Ancient Egyptian language, Arabic language, Arabic calligraphy and also Arabic music.

The project is supposed to be constructed by March 2023. It will represent Egypt in France through its welcoming design and inviting activities. We can’t wait to see it coming to life and opening its arms to the users. Maison D’Egypte will contribute in the building of human civilization and will promote the values of beauty and peace to the world. If you want to read more about other amazing projects check: Jean Nouvel “Sharaan” Resort: Poetry and Eternity