Sayed Karim Villa in Cairo

Notes

The villa sits in an 800 sqm hexagonal plot where the building code requires a three-meter setback from the side facing the street and five-meter setbacks from the other sides. Pertinently, the trees already existing beyond the setback limit were left untouched so the villa could benefit from their shading.

In order to maximize the garden space, under the constraint of the plot’s small size, the architect elevated the ground floor on pilotis and left only the spaces for circulation, servants, and the playroom closed. The most prominent element in the building is the spiral staircase enclosed with a curved glass wall and accessible directly from the entrance. The playroom is sheltered with a sliding curtain wall allowing it to completely open onto the garden. Facing the entrance and playroom, a water basin is set in the outdoor space defined with the building’s L-shaped volume.

The first floor consists of two wings, one for the living and dining spaces and the other for a master bedroom with its utilities. These two wings are separated with the reception space. The living room overlooks the garden through a frosted glass wall which, upon opening, transforms the living room into a big veranda. The living room consists of four fixed zones: a sitting space, a space to play the piano, a space facing the chimney, and a space for playing cards. The dining room is elevated half a meter from the living room and faces the kitchen. The second-floor houses bedrooms, an office space, and family lounge.

As for the materials used in the project, the entrance features red tiling, the pilotis are cladded with black mosaic, and the chimney wall extruded on the façade is built in local red stone.

Sources

Majallat Al-Imarah, 1950, Volume 10, (no.1-5)

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