Aga khan award for Architechure 2001

The Nubia Museum in Aswan has been awarded the prestigious International Aga Khan Award for Architecture
One of the purposes of the Nubia Museum was to record Nubian heritage and stress Nubian identity and pride. In this it has been a resounding success. The museum compound, planned as a cultural and civil centre with facilities for scholars, includes halls for anthropological and ethnological studies and a reference library. It is filled with Nubians from all walks of life, who proudly show their heritage to their children, all brought up and educated in Egypt. Groups of schoolchildren visit at weekends
the Nubia museum would not only display salvaged artifacts representing an endangered -- even lost -- culture, but would provide a living memory of Nubia and its heritage. The museum emphasizes the relationship that has linked Egypt and Nubia throughout history.
The museum has been cited for an Award for its success in integrating the past, present and future by creating in a single building an educational institution dedicated to Nubian history, a contemporary focus for the revival of Nubian culture and a museum designed to promote and preserve cultural artifacts for the future. Built to save the archaeological remains of the area flooded by the Aswan High Dam, the museum was chosen for the high quality of its construction materials and its attention to detail. The building also successfully adapts local architectural styles without imitating them. The appropriate scale and choice of materials create a building that is stylistically integrated into the city of Aswan. Nubian monuments in the surrounding gardens have made the museum a centre for community life. As an educational resource, both for local residents and the international community, it saves the Nubian culture for present and future generations
 Aswan's Nubia Museum, which has been chosen from among 427 projects submitted to the jury in the current cycle for an Aga Khan Award for Architecture The museum was one of nine to receive the prize
The plans were drawn up by the late Egyptian architect Mahmoud El-Hakim, who designed the delightful antiquities museum in Luxor. The building, inspired by a combination of Nubian and ancient Egyptian architecture, is surrounded by stepped terraces built to harmonies with the rocky nature of the area. The museum itself meshes with its surroundings and stands at a low elevation so as not to distort the physical panorama. The traditional Nubian style is clearly reflected in the design of the façade, the door and windows, and especially in the vaulted main entrance, a feature which dates from prehistoric times and survives in Nubian houses today  
The award is organised around a calendar spanning a three-year cycle, and is governed by a Steering Committee chaired by the Aga Khan. Prizes totaling up to $500,000 -- the largest architectural award in the world -- are presented every three years to projects selected by an independent Master Jury.
The Age Khan Award has completed continuous cycles of activity since 1977, and documentation has been compiled on over 6,000 building projects located throughout the world. To date, the Master Juries have identified 75 projects to receive awards. The Eighth Award Cycle covers the period from1999 to 2001 K
 Project Data
Clients: Nubian Antiquities Salvage Fund; Supreme Council of Antiquities - Gaballah Ali Gaballah, Secretary General; Nubian Museum - Ossama A W Abdel Meguid, Director.
Sponsors: UNESCO; income (International Council of Museums).
Architect: Mahmoud El-Hakim.
Consultants: Arab Bureau for Design and Technical Consultation - Mohamad Yusri Abdel Khalik, Project Architect; Architectural Team - Ahmed Kamal Abdel Fattah, Mohamed Tharwat, Lilly George.
Museum Display Designer: Pedro Ramírez Vásquez.
Landscape Architects: Dr Werkmeister & M Heimer Landscape Architects - Hans Friedrich Werkmeister, Principal; Sites International Landscape Architects - Laila El-Masry Stino, Principal, with Maher Stino and Khaled Mostafa.
Contractors: El-Nasr General Contracting Company - Hassan Allam, Construction; Silver Knight Exhibitions Ltd, Interiors.
Site Area: 50,000m2
Built Area: 10,110m2
Cost: EGP 57,000,000 (USD 15,000,000)
.This worthy prize, the Age Khan Award, will be shared by the Nubia Museum, the Supreme Council of Antiquities, late architect Mahmoud El-Hakim, and the Arab Bureau and Sites International Landscape Architects
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established in 1977 by his Highness the Aga Khan, the 4th hereditary Imam of the Shi'a Ismaili Muslims. The aim was to enhance the understanding and appreciation of Islamic culture as expressed through architecture; the method was to seek out and recognise examples of architectural excellence. The judges looked at aspects as varied as contemporary design, social housing, community improvement, development, restoration, re-use and conservation, as well as landscaping and environmental issues. The Aga Khan Award seeks to identify and encourage building concepts which successfully address the needs and aspirations of societies in which Muslims have a significant presence.
 

 
 

Main Page