Since 2006 the Cairo University, Faculty of Engineering and the Brandenburg University of Technology in Cottbus, Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Urban Planning are cooperating in the fields of urban design and architecture in historic context.

During the last years, this cooperation was focussed on Joint Workshops, the exchange of master students, the implementation of the joint master program Urban Design – Revitalization of Historic City Districts and the establishment of a cooperation network with further universities from the Middle East. With the elaboration and establishment of the joint master program the Alexandria University, Faculty of Fine Arts was integrated in the cooperation activities. These three partner universities conducted with the funding of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) the project Transformation Partnership for Urban Design and Architecture in Historic City Districts from 2012 until 2015. In the frame of this project the partners cooperated in Joint Teaching Activities and Joint Research Activities.

With the Conference “Historic Districts of Tomorrow” the three partner universities reflected the experiences in joint teaching and joint research activities of the last years and open new perspectives for further cooperation activities between the three partner universities and with further partners who share the interest in the development of historic districts in our towns.

About two hundred participants of the conference followed the different sessions and debates. The main topics of the conference were “everyday life in historic districts”, “revitalizing historic districts” with a focal on Cairo, Port Said, Alexandria and other port cities of the Mediterranean and comparisons with experiences from urban revitalization processes in European cities. One specific session was about the experiences and challenges of Egyptian – German master programs in the field of urban planning, urban design and heritage conservation. The Conference was accompanied by an exhibition of the results of the Urban Design and Architecture Workshop, which were conducted in the frame of the transformation partnership project from 2012 until 2014 and about selected projects from the Egyptian – German master programs, and here especially from the double degree master program “Urban Design – Revitalization of Historic City Districts”, offered by Cairo University, Alexandria University and Brandenburg University of Technology since 2013. Parallel and integrated in the Conference a Meeting of Architecture Students (MAS) with about fifty participants from more than twenty architecture departments of Egypt took place, in which the students discussed the architecture challenges of the next generation.

Further info and contact: wessling@b-tu.de