Adaptive Reuse of ministerial buildings in Egypt to achieve sustainable urban development | ||||
JES. Journal of Engineering Sciences | ||||
Article 8, Volume 53, Issue 3, May and June 2025, Page 246-269 PDF (1.62 MB) | ||||
Document Type: Research Paper | ||||
DOI: 10.21608/jesaun.2025.349853.1404 | ||||
![]() | ||||
Authors | ||||
Eman Metwally Ahmed ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
1The department of architecture, The Higher Institute of Engineering - El-Shorouk Academy, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
2The department of architecture, Faculty of Engineering - El Materiya, Helwan University, Egypt, in the department of architecture, College of Engineering and Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia | ||||
Abstract | ||||
Adaptive reuse is a sustainable strategy that repurposes existing buildings to minimize environmental impact, preserve cultural heritage, and support urban regeneration. This study evaluates the adaptive reuse potential of key ministerial buildings in Cairo following the relocation of government offices to the New Administrative Capital. A multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach integrated with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was employed to assess the suitability of reuse strategies based on five dimensions: architectural integrity, economic feasibility, environmental sustainability, legislative considerations, and social impact. The methodology involved spatial analysis, and site visits, utilizing overlay analysis and heat mapping to identify optimal reuse opportunities. Findings reveal that these buildings can be repurposed into innovation hubs, cultural centers, research facilities, hotels, and mixed-use developments, contributing to Cairo’s sustainable urban development. The Ministry of Education building is well-suited for scientific and medical research centers, the General Organization for Physical Planning building for urban heritage and planning initiatives, and the Ministry of Housing building for commercial, entrepreneurial, and hospitality functions due to its high economic viability. By leveraging data-driven spatial analysis and sustainability assessments, adaptive reuse can transform underutilized government assets into economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and culturally significant spaces, supporting Egypt’s urban development agenda. | ||||
Keywords | ||||
Adaptive Reuse; Ministerial buildings; Sustainable urban development; Egypt | ||||
References | ||||
[1] (CAPMAS), C. A. f. P. M. a. S., 2024. Population of Egypt. [Online] Available at: https://www.capmas.gov.eg/Pages/populationClock.aspx [Accessed 3 august 2024]. [2] (GOPP), G. O. f. P. P., 2012. Greater Cairo Urban Development Strategy, Cairo: GOPP, UN-HABITAT, UNDP.
[3] Abdulameer, Z. & Abbas, S. S., 2020. Adaptive reuse as an approach to sustainability. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 01 July, 881(1), p. 012010.
[4] Ahmed, S. H. & Mahmoud, M. F., 2024. Preserving Heritage Areas within the Framework of Sustainable Investment for Historic Government Ministry Buildings after Their Move to the New Administrative Capital. International Design Journal, 14(1), pp. 95-109.
[5] Almeida, C. P., Ramos, A. F. & Silva, J. M., 2018. Sustainability assessment of building rehabilitation actions in Old Urban Centres. Sustainable Cities and Society, January, Volume 36, pp. 378-385.
[6] Arenas, N. F. & Shafique, M., 2024. Reducing embodied carbon emissions of buildings – a key consideration to meet the net zero target. Sustainable Futures, June, Volume 7, p. 100166.
[7] Arfa, F. H., Lubelli, . B., Quist, W. & Zijlstra, H., 2024. A model of the adaptive reuse process of heritage buildings: Validation on four cases in the Netherlands. Design Studies, March, Volume 91-92, p. 101252.
[8] Aytac, D. O., Arslan, T. V. & Durak, S., 2016. Adaptive Reuse as A Strategy Toward Urban Resilience. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 01 October, 5(4), p. 523.
[9] Banda, L. O., Banda, C. V., Banda, J. T. & Singini, T., 2024. Preserving cultural heritage: A community-centric approach to safeguarding the Khulubvi Traditional Temple Malawi. Heliyon, 30 September.10(18).
[10] Barnes, C., 2024. The impact of urban regeneration and environmental improvements on well-being. International Journal of Education and Humanities, 18 September, 16(2), pp. 442-449.
[11] Cucco, P., Maselli, G., Nesticò, A. & Ribera, F., 2023. An evaluation model for adaptive reuse of cultural heritage in accordance with 2030 sdgs and European quality principles. Journal of Cultural Heritage, January, Volume 59, pp. 202-216.
[12] Farrag, N. M. & Abouhadid, M., 2018. The Viability of Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings as Schools in Egypt. Current Science International, September, 7(3), pp. 337-343.
[13] Foster, G. & Saleh, R., 2021. The circular city and adaptive reuse of Cultural Heritage index: Measuring the investment opportunity in Europe. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, December, Volume 175, p. 105880.
[14] Governorate, C., 2022. Governorate neighborhoods. [Online] Available at: https://www.cairo.gov.eg/ar/Pages/CairoDistricts.aspx?SubmID=40 [Accessed 8 August 2024]. [15] Hamida, M. B., Remøy, H., Gruis, V. & van Laar, B., 2024. Towards promoting circular building adaptability in adaptive reuse projects: A co-developed framework. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 25 july.
[16] Hariram, N. P., Mekha, K. B., Suganthan, V. & Sudhakar, K., 2023. Sustainalism: An Integrated Socio-Economic-Environmental Model to Address Sustainable Development and Sustainability. Sustainability, 6 July, 15(13), p. 10682.
[17] Hegazi, Y. S., Shalaby, H. A. & Mohamed , M. A. A., 2021. Adaptive Reuse Decisions for Historic Buildings in Relation to Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort—Cairo Citadel, a Case Study from Egypt. Sustainability, 13(19), p. 10531.
[18] Herwijnen, M. v. & E. E., 2020. Reuse of spaces and buildings | espon, Luxembourg: ESPON EGTC.
[19] Hong, Y. & Chen, F., 2017. Evaluating the adaptive reuse potential of buildings in conservation areas. Facilities, 07 March, 35(3/4), pp. 202-219.
[20] Hoursan, F. & Mofidi , M., 2024. Revitalizing Golshan and Sharifieh caravanserais: a study in adaptive reuse and urban preservation. Discov Geosci 2, 15 August.Volume 2.
[21] Jiang, L., Lucchi, E. & Curto, D. D., 104767. Adaptive Reuse and energy transition of built heritage and Historic Gardens: The sustainable conservation of casa jelinek in Trieste (Italy). Sustainable Cities and Society, October, Volume 97, p. 104767.
[22] Kaarwan, T., n.d. Adaptive Reuse and Sustainability: Reducing Environmental Impact. [Online] Available at: https://www.kaarwan.com/blog/architecture/sustainability-in-adaptive-reuse?id=477 [Accessed 10 December 2024]. [23] Kee, T. & Chau, K., 2020. Adaptive reuse of heritage architecture and its external effects on sustainable built environment—hedonic pricing model and case studies in Hong Kong. Sustainable Development, 13 September, 28(6), pp. 1597-1608.
[24] Lah, L., 2019. Adaptive re-use of the built heritage. Prostor, 28 June, 27(1 (57)), pp. 140-151.
[25] Langston, C., 2010. Green adaptive reuse: Issues and strategies for the built environment. Computational Risk Management, 25 September, 12(12), pp. 199-209.
[26] Lescrauwaet, L., Wagner, H., Yoon, C. & Shukla, S., 2022. Adaptive legal frameworks and economic dynamics in emerging tech-nologies: Navigating the intersection for responsible innovation. Law and Economics, 30 October, 16(3), pp. 202-220.
[27] Liu, Y. et al., 2023. How can urban regeneration reduce carbon emissions? A Bibliometric Review. Land, 30 June, 12(7), p. 1328.
[28] Lo Faro, A. & Miceli, A., 2019. Sustainable strategies for the adaptive reuse of Religious Heritage: A Social Opportunity. Buildings, 28 September, 9(10), p. 211.
[29] Mısırlısoy, D. & Günçe, K., 2016. Adaptive Reuse Strategies for heritage buildings: A holistic approach. Sustainable Cities and Society, october, Volume 26, pp. 91-98.
[30] Mohamed, R., Boyle, R., Yang, A. Y. & Tangari, J., 2017. Adaptive reuse: A review and analysis of its relationship to the 3 es of Sustainability. Facilities, 07 March, 35(3/4), pp. 138-154.
[31] Mokhtar , N., Ayman , M. & Abouhadid, M., 2020. Approaches of Adaptive Reuse of Historic Buildings in Egypt: A review of Literature. Cairo, IEREK.
[32] Nassef, M., Mohammed, N. & Ibrahim, M., 2023. Investigating the Socio-Economic Sustainability within the Egyptian Museums over the Last Decade. Sustainability, 12 December, 15(24), p. 16746.
[33] Nocca, F., Bosone, M. & Orabona, M., 2024. Multicriteria Evaluation Framework for Industrial Heritage Adaptive Reuse: The role of the ‘intrinsic value’. Land, 12 August, 13(8), p. 1266.
[34] Rabbat, N., 2023. Artforum. [Online] Available at: https://www.artforum.com/features/circling-the-square-architecture-and-revolution-in-cairo-197121/ [Accessed 5 September 2023]. [35] Regona, M., Yigitcanlar, T., Hon, C. & Teo, M., 2024. Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Development Goals: Systematic Literature Review of the construction industry. Sustainable Cities and Society, August, Volume 108, p. 105499.
[36] Selim, H. S., Mayhoub, M. S. & Abuzaid, A., 2024. A Comprehensive Model to Assess Sustainable Architecture in Emerged Megacities: A Closer Look at Cairo’s New Administrative Capital (NAC). Sustainability, 13 June, 16(12), p. 5046.
[37] Service, E. S. I., 2024. Government to evacuate downtown area from ministries, re-use it as hotels. [Online] Available at: https://sis.gov.eg/Story/203849/Government-to-evacuate-downtown-area-from-ministries,-re-use-it-as-hotels/?lang=en-us [Accessed 29 December 2024]. [38] U.-H., 2011. Cairo - a city in transition. [Online] Available at: https://unhabitat.org/cairo-a-city-in-transition-2 [Accessed 2 November 2024]. [39] U., 2024. Law no 117 on antiquities protection. [Online] Available at: https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/en/legislation/egy/law_no._117_of_1983_on_antiquities_protection/chapter_iii/articles_40-47/law_no_117_on_antiquities_protection_.html [Accessed 26 December 2024]. [40] Vafaie, F., Remøy, H. & Gruis, V., 2023. Adaptive reuse of heritage buildings; a systematic literature review of success factors. Habitat International, December, Volume 142, p. 102926.
[41] Van Laar, B., Greco, A., Remøy, H. & Gruis, V., 2024. What matters when? – an integrative literature review on decision criteria in different stages of the adaptive reuse process. Developments in the Built Environment, April, Volume 18, p. 100439.
[42] Vardopoulos, I., 2019. Critical sustainable development factors in the adaptive reuse of urban industrial buildings. A fuzzy DEMATEL approach. Sustainable Cities and Society, October, Volume 50, p. 101684.
[43] Vardopoulos, I. et al., 2023. Urban buildings sustainable adaptive reuse into tourism accommodation establishments: A soar analysis. Discover Sustainability, 30 November.4(1).
[44] Wang, S., Zhang, J., Wang, . F. & Dong, Y., 2023. How to achieve a balance between functional improvement and heritage conservation? A case study on the renewal of old Beijing city. Sustainable Cities and Society, November, Volume 98, p. 104790.
[45] Yassin, A. M. & Shawky, K. A., 2022. Reuse of The Heritage Buildings; An Innovative Approach. International Design Journal, 12(2), pp. 311-318. | ||||
Statistics Article View: 480 PDF Download: 484 |
||||