Design Criteria

Context-Sensitive Heights

Building height must respect the scale of surrounding heritage structures and not disrupt the established cornice line of the historic district.

Skyline Preservation

Visual continuity of the historical skyline must be maintained. New development must not create abrupt vertical interruptions in the roofscape.

Material Selection

Facades must use natural and contextual materials consistent with the historic built environment. Synthetic cladding and metal panel systems are not acceptable.

Colour Palette

Earth-tone and muted colours only. The warm ochre-to-cream palette of the historic district must be respected and continued in all new or restored facades.

Openings

Window and door openings must be proportional, recessed from the facade plane, and consistent with the vertical emphasis of the historic architectural language.

Architectural Rhythm

Facade bays, openings, and structural elements must ensure visual coherence and rhythmic continuity with adjacent heritage buildings along the street.

Transparency Ratio

Excessive glazing is prohibited. Solid-to-void ratios must reflect the traditional wall-dominant character of the Fustat streetscape.

Heritage Compatibility

All facade treatments must visually integrate with the surrounding architectural context. Conspicuous contrast with heritage neighbours requires official justification and approval.

Reflection Control

Reflective, glossy, or mirror-finish materials are prohibited. All surfaces must have a matte or textured quality consistent with traditional masonry.

Local Identity

Materials must reinforce the regional architectural character of historic Cairo. Imported or industrially manufactured finishes that disrupt visual continuity are not permitted.

Paving

Natural, textured paving materials must be used throughout the public realm. Smooth concrete, asphalt, or ceramic finishes are incompatible with the heritage streetscape.

Street Furniture

Urban furniture must be minimal, contextual, and designed to recede visually. Brightly coloured, branded, or oversized elements are not acceptable in heritage settings.

Pedestrian Priority

All streetscape interventions must actively encourage walkability and pedestrian comfort, prioritising human scale over vehicular access.

Infrastructure Integration

Utilities, conduits, and service infrastructure must be concealed within structures or below ground. Exposed cabling, pipework, or plant equipment on facades or in streets is prohibited.

Lighting Integration

Streetscape lighting must be heritage-sensitive — low-level, warm-toned, and integrated within the paving or furniture composition rather than mounted on oversized columns.

Visual Continuity

The cohesive urban character of the public realm must be preserved across all interventions. Piecemeal or stylistically inconsistent treatments along a single street are not permitted.

Sign Size

Signage must be small-scale and subordinate to the facade composition. Dimensions, area, and projection distance are regulated by NOUH standards (Law 119/2008, Art. 36).

Sign Placement

Signs must be integrated within the facade composition — located within dedicated sign bands or recessed zones — and must not interrupt architectural elements, cornices, or mouldings.

Illumination

Only soft, indirect lighting is permitted on signage. Internally lit signs, LED displays, and neon or animated lighting are prohibited in heritage zones.

Rooftop Advertisements

Rooftop signage and advertisements are categorically prohibited within the heritage area and its buffer zone, as they disrupt the protected skyline profile.

Visual Corridors

No signage or advertisement may obstruct sight lines to heritage landmarks, monuments, or designated view corridors from the public realm.

Graphic Compatibility

Typography, graphics, and colour must be designed to respect the heritage context. High-contrast commercial graphics inconsistent with the historic character are not permitted.

Colour Temperature

All lighting must use warm colour temperatures (2700–3000 K). Cool-white or daylight-spectrum lighting is incompatible with the warm stone palette of the heritage area.

Fixture Visibility

Technical lighting fixtures must be concealed or integrated into architectural elements. Exposed industrial fittings, conduits, and equipment are not acceptable.

Glare Reduction

Excessive brightness and light spillage onto adjacent facades or into the sky must be avoided. Directional, shielded fittings are required in all heritage settings.

Architectural Lighting

Subtle accent lighting on heritage structures is encouraged to enhance night-time legibility of significant facades, arches, and minarets — provided it respects the character of the structure.

Plant Selection

Only native or regionally appropriate species may be planted in heritage settings. Exotic ornamental plantings that contrast with the arid regional character are not suitable.

Planting Density

Planting must be controlled and balanced — neither so sparse as to appear barren nor so dense as to conceal architectural elements or encroach on pedestrian routes.

Visual Corridors

Planting design must not obstruct sightlines to heritage structures. Tree canopies and shrub masses must be managed to preserve key views from the public realm.

Ground Surfaces

Hard landscape surfaces must use natural, textured materials — stone sets, compacted gravel, or brick — consistent with the material palette of the historic district.

Restoration

Restoration works must preserve original architectural elements — including structural systems, openings, decorative finishes, and material composition — with minimum removal of historic fabric.

Adaptive Reuse

Buildings may be adapted for new uses provided the intervention maintains the heritage identity, spatial hierarchy, and architectural character of the existing structure.

New Additions

Any addition to a heritage building must remain visually subordinate to the original structure — smaller in scale, set back from the primary facade, and clearly distinguishable without being disruptive.

Facade Alteration

All modifications to the external appearance of a building in a designated valuable area require advance official approval from the competent authority. Unauthorised alterations carry legal liability under Law 119/2008.

Walkability

All public realm interventions must prioritise pedestrian circulation, comfort, and safety. Vehicular intrusion into pedestrian-priority zones of the heritage area is to be minimised.

Visual Clutter Reduction

Unnecessary urban elements — oversized signage, redundant furniture, exposed infrastructure, and ad-hoc additions — must be minimised or removed to restore visual calm to the public realm.

Coordinated Urban Elements

Lighting, signage, paving, and landscape must be designed as a coordinated, coherent system rather than independently specified — ensuring visual harmony across the public realm as a whole.

Historical Atmosphere

The overall atmosphere of the public realm must preserve the heritage character of the area — prioritising materials, scale, and quietness over commercial intensity or contemporary branding.