Confidential Hospitality Project – Madinaty
The short version is this: To give back to his country, a visionary developer looks to the desert just east of Cairo and sees immense possibilities. In the new capital city of Madinaty, he wants to build something special. Something that caters to the most prominent families, business leaders, and dignitaries from across the world. So he builds a luxury hotel of sweeping proportions.
The site consists of handsome buildings—hotel, spa, ballroom, lakeside restaurant, children’s area, and, at the exterior, a few dozen villas. All are stitched together with formal gardens of magnolias, azaleas, and crepe myrtles.
Every detail of every space was carefully considered. To create the ideal wedding venue, the ballroom’s event lawn was raised for privacy and a pavilion added to provide a lovely backdrop for photographers. And for the bride? In one of our design conversations, more than an hour was dedicated to the particulars surrounding the application of her makeup. Who is the woman? What products does she use?
After all, when paying tribute to your homeland, every pattern, every color—from doorknob to dormer—is a matter of national pride.
What do you do when your design includes petals, screens, arches and a desire to maximize daylighting within a comfortable range? You make sure to chat with our researchers with expertise in design process and energy efficiency. Out of a design space that generated 810,000 possible combinations of input parameters for open versus shaded courtyard design alternatives, our researchers were able to recommend the highest performing options to enhance daylight.
Hisham Talaat Moustafa, CEO and Managing Director & Mohamed Atef Heriba, Vice President, Technical Affairs
When it comes to sustainability in the desert, there’s quite a lot to consider. So we chose a combination of traditional construction materials and methodologies and paired them with the latest technology and engineering. The hotel, a pioneer in the new district, set the example for modern infrastructures that recycle waste water, provide better transportation, and increase energy efficiency.
Key sustainability strategies? Deep-set screened windows. They reduce direct sunlight and provide for generous views. We also included many operable windows to naturally ventilate interior spaces.
To save water, we installed drip irrigation, plant species that thrive in desert conditions, and on-site storm water detention.
