Tag Sultan Generator Room Green Walls
Cairo, Egypt
25,833 sf Greenwalls

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: June 4, 2018

After I spoke at the recent 5th International Green Roof Congress in Kuwait City, last February, Aramis and I had the pleasure of meeting Tarek Hosny, one of the founders of Schaduf, based in Cairo.  My presentation was entitled “2018 Top 10 Living Architecture Trends in Dry & Hot Regions” and Tarek wanted to introduce me to his work.

But I told him I was already familiar with some of it due to my research of the MENA area, and was looking forward to receiving more info so we could feature some of their projects.

Schaduf has been involved with sustaining Cairo’s low income communities through rooftop farming and other sustainable landscapes since 2011.  In fact, the Arabic word “schaduf” refers to an ancient irrigation tool, which lifts water to irrigation canals.

The company says, “In our case, we lift water, sunshine, and life to barren concrete walls and roofs.”  Very appropriate!

By the way, there are many living architecture projects in Egypt, and the ones I highlighted in my presentation were from RISE (Research Institute for a Sustainable Environment) at the American University at Cairo, whose work we’d also like to showcase in the future.

Mini Description & Details

Developed by Madinet Nasr for Housing & Development (MNHD), Tag Sultan in Cairo is the first phase of the visionary Teegan Development.  Tag Sultan offers a unique living experience with diverse residential unit types to suit all tastes and needs: apartments, duplexes and villas with distinguished contemporary designs and a wide range of spaces, spread over 300,000 square meters.

Built with the purpose of a lively and healthy lifestyle, the colorfully planted compound is centered on a large landscaped public park.

Tag Sultan photo and illustration from Madinet Nasr for Housing & Development.

But due to electrical needs, 11 generator rooms were placed in spaces originally allocated for green areas and obstructed the landscape view.  The Schaduf team came up with the idea to cover all those rooms that dot the flowing design of the compound with hydroponic green walls.

Designed by Schaduf landscape architects, the challenges faced were that the green walls, the irrigation system, and water pipes had to be built with proximity to electrical wires.

Completed in five months, they designed a three layered model: the first layer is made of steel studs to form the base, the second is an isolation layer, and the final layer is the geotextile where the plants are placed. The last part of the process was deciding on the type of the plants depending on the sun direction, amount of natural light during the day, the climate, color combination, and water needs.

As the Egyptian climate is hot and sunny, plants like the Spanish cactus and Schefflera that can retain water and tolerate sun were chosen.

More

The objectives of the Tag Sultan Generator Room Green Walls were to cool the micro climates around the generators, reduce sound pollution, blend the buildings with the landscape, and improve the experience through design and nature.

The result is an inspired urban green solution which created sustainable spaces and elevated the quality of life for all of the Tag Sultan residents.

Year: 2018
Owner: Madinet Nasr Housing Development
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Building Type: Multi-Family Residential
Type: Living Wall
System: Custom
Size: 25833 sq.ft.
Slope: 100%
Access: Accessible, By Appointment

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Developer: Madinet Nasr for Housing & Development (MNHD)
Greenwall Designer & Landscape Architect: Schaduf
Greenwall System: Schaduf
Greenwall Installation & Maintenance: Schaduf

All the Info:

View the Tag Sultan Generator Room Green Walls project profile to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

Project of the Week Video Feature

Watch the Tag Sultan Generator Room Green Walls Project of the Week Video below or see it on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube:

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week 6/04/18 video photo credits: Courtesy of Schaduf, Madinet Nasr for Housing & Development (MNHD) and MNHD’s Facebook page.

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Love the Earth, Plant a Roof (or Wall)!

By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher & Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summits Host