seven inverted pyramids form a cultural network above the bustling city of cairo

seven enormous steel spiders take over the city 

architect marchisciana saverio adriano envisions ‘the seven new pyramids for cairo’ as a cluster of seven scattered inverted pyramids standing among the bustling city in egypt. the structures resemble enormous steel spiders with very tall and slender legs that seem to besiege the metropolis. emerging as cultural and educational hubs, and serving also as observatories, the points form an autonomous urban system hovering above.

modern cairo is a chaotic expanse of houses and concrete that is rapidly overwhelming the traditional plantations of date palms and ancient vegetable gardens. egypt’s remaining agricultural land is being depleted and replaced by large neighborhoods saturated with buildings, devoid of parks or public urban spaces. this problem of spontaneous suburbs that grow up without adhering to any urban planning rules is a concern for many polluted metropolises in africa, asia and south america.

panoramic view of the city of cairo, with the new cultural pyramids

all images courtesy of marchisciana saverio adrian 

seven centers of cultural creation

according to the foregoing situation, ‘the seven new pyramids for cairo’ aims to disseminate new positive ideas striving to regenerate this disordered african metropolis. the architects conceived the pyramids as privileged points of observation and as places for reflection and moral thinking. they sought to highlight the urban catastrophe of the present-day cairo, placing it on display as if it were a vast contemporary art installation. 

the architects wanted to give meaning behind the shape of the structures: designed as inverted pyramids, with their peaks pointing downwards, they criticize the uncontrolled urban development that is destroying nature and its fragile ecological systems. their grand size establishes a dialogue with the ancient pyramids of the pharaohs while representing a new city of culture. the idea of creating parallel cities superimposed on existing ones is a suggestion for future development, growing on multiple levels in a more efficient and ecological way.

the chaotic city seen from the cultural pyramids

bouncing off the chaotic city into the cultural hubs 

each pyramid will be identified with the name of one of the ancient egyptian gods. they will host a school of architecture and urbanism, a papyrus restoration institute, a national library, a school of traditional crafts, a faculty of botany, and other educational facilities. together they will constitute a cultural loop that has the potential to educate and prepare the new generations of cairo professionals and managers, based on principles of better landscape and environmental sustainability.

all the pyramids will be connected by a monorail system, with a station at the base of each pyramid, possible to move around from place to place. large panoramic lifts and stair towers, positioned inside the columns, will lead visitors from the chaotic- into the cultural-city. terraces at the top of the pyramids will act as large panoramic squares opening towards the scenery, where students and tourists can stroll and discuss in a modern high-level version of the greek agora. 

the cultural pyramids besiege the city of cairo

the new pyramid seen from below

panoramic lift and monorail train

link station for the seven pyramids

the upper terrace functions as a panoramic agora

sketch showing the new pyramids as steel spiders, and the chaotic city that is engulfing the fertile soil of the nile

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3D drawings of the pyramid

3D view of the seven pyramids (the cultural loop)

the laboratories of the papyrus restoration institute

the new national library of cairo

project info:

name: the seven pyramids of culture for cairo
architects: saverio adriano marchisciana

location: cairo, egypt

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina petridou | designboom