Turquoise Revealed: A restrained exterior gives way to a bold turquoise core, emerging with the same unmistakable confidence as a hidden signature: subtle at first glance, unforgettable once seen.
INTRODUCTION
I recently finished my final Complex Forming project, and I’m excited to share the design journey! This project focuses on revitalizing an existing traditional market, blending its rich heritage with the dynamic possibilities of computational design.
Here’s a look at the methodology, design concept, and striking visuals from the presentation:
CONCEPT
The core challenge was to breathe new life into an established commercial hub without erasing its identity. The market is essential to small businesses and local bazaars, yet its existing form turns inward, disconnected from the street.
The foundational concept was simple but decisive: open the market while maintaining the stores. The intervention introduces permeability, visually and physically, so the energy of the interior spills into the street and the city flows back in. The market becomes a destination, not a concealed enclave.
Turquoise becomes the spatial catalyst for this transformation. Emerging from within, it marks the renewed heart of the market, visible, legible, and magnetic. Rooted in Egyptian cultural memory, the color signals life, continuity, and protection, turning the interior into an active urban presence rather than a hidden one.
Key takeaway: the project preserves the social role and historic commercial footprint of the market while radically upgrading the spatial experience, reconnecting it to Cairo through openness, light, and a clearly expressed inner identity.
My initial research was crucial for setting the design direction. I looked at monumental spaces that successfully blend scale, structure, and light, such as the St. Pancras Station (Foster+Partners) and the Hamad International Airport Terminal Complex (HOK).
These references offered three vital lessons:
Coexistence: Demonstrating that classic elements can gracefully coexist with contemporary parametric elements.
Transparency: Maximizing natural light and views.
Structural Integrity: Maintaining the essence of the original building.
WORKFLOW
The Architectural Workflow: Old Meets New
The intervention is a strategic layering process, respecting the existing structure while introducing new, defining architectural elements.
Elements We Kept:
- The original Entrance Door and the primary structural framework were maintained as historical anchors.
New Elements Introduced:
- New Supporting Structure: The striking turquoise frame that redefines the market’s internal rhythm.
- New Facades: Open and inviting perimeters to dissolve the boundary between inside and out.
- New Roof/Ceiling Systems: The showcase of the computational design, offering protection and diffused light.
- New Stores Layout: Optimized for efficient circulation and enhanced visibility (see the Plans section below!).
The final Exterior View beautifully captures this dialogue: the historic arcade structure is now sheltered by a flowing, modern, light-filtering roof, creating a truly unique presence in the urban context.
Computational Design Methodology
The defining feature of this project,the undulating roof and vault, was not manually modeled but computationally found using specific digital tools.
The entire process, from concept to geometry, follows a rigorous workflow:
- Structure Base Definition: Identifying the foundational geometry.
- Dynamic Relaxation: Applying physical simulation to the mesh. For the vault, this technique found the optimal, structurally-sound parabolic curves by simulating forces (like gravity on a hanging chain).
- Triangulation/Tessellation: The final step, converting the abstract, optimized mesh into a buildable system of panels and members.
This methodology ensures the final form is not arbitrary but is the result of an elegant marriage between design intent and structural optimization.
THE FINAL EXPERIENCE
The new architecture drastically alters the market’s atmosphere. The Interior View shows a space bathed in soft, diffused light filtering through the patterned vault. The high, open volume creates an airy, modern, yet bustling environment where customers can comfortably shop.
The Plans reflect the efficiency of the new layout, featuring clearly defined paths and well-organized new stores, greatly enhancing the overall user experience and commercial potential.
CONCLUSIONS
This project was an incredible journey into how technology can be used to preserve the soul of a place while pushing the boundaries of what is structurally and aesthetically possible.
What do you think of this blend of the classic and the computational? Let me know in the comments!
