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URBAN RECOVERY
URBAN REGENERATION
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Bazar Abbas Recovery Lab of Port Said
November 2022 - January 2025
Urban Narratives
Our exploration delves into the realm of urban narratives, collective memory, and the intricate interplay of conflict, recovery, and heritage interpretation. Within Port Said's Arab and European districts, we conduct site-specific studies, focusing on how years of conflict and warfare have shaped local urban narratives and influenced heritage interpretations. A focal point of our investigation is the Timber Veranda, known as Taracina, an integral component of Port Said's architectural heritage. Through this journey, we aim to unravel stories of the past and yet to initiate a process of engaging the local community in heritage interpretation and protection.
Project Measures
Background
Bazar Abbas is a unique hybrid of local architecture and European modernism that has suffered extensive damage as a result of past conflicts on the Suez Canal. This combined architectural typology is repeated in different shapes and forms all over the city of Port Said, a city with a short yet turbulent history: a history of wars and displacements, prosperity and abandonment, colonialism and resistance, marginalisation and power reclamation and many more. These multiple layers of history have been manifested in the architectural and spatial articulation of the city, as well as within the daily life practices of Port Said residents.
heritage of Port Said has received little to no recovery measures after suffering in multiple series of wars and conflicts since the mid-20th century until today. Therefore, the project aims to activate the recovery process of the downtown area through the implementation of small-scale, people-centered strategies for urban conservation and development. The initiative takes Bazar Abbas as a catalytic pilot project not only because this building represents an outstanding architectural heritage but also for its indispensable position in the collective memory and identity of the city, interlinked to conflict, resistance, displacement, and daily struggles.
The project offers two-fold measures by producing direct tangible results like physical reconstruction and urban heritage mapping while at the same time targeting community empowerment. In this context, the partial reconstruction of the Bazaar will preserve its original features, including the timber verandas. In addition, the combined research, education and training initiatives will recapture the collective memory of the Bazaar’s socio-cultural importance, preserve and transfer local reconstruction techniques and eventually provide a model for urban heritage recovery in the historic core of Port Said.
Bazar Abbas: Recovery Lab of Port Said is a two-year initiative led by Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg in partnership with Galala University, Al Yakaniya for Heritage and Arts, Port Said Ala Ademo and Alliance française de port-saïd. It is funded by the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Narrative Mapping
This workshop is the first event in the series of activities planned for the project “Bazar Abbas: Recovery Lab of Port Said’’ and will address the questions of urban narratives and collective memory, conflict and recovery, urban mapping and heritage interpretation through the perspective of local communities in Port Said. During the workshop, participants will be provided with various inputs addressing the themes mentioned above. Then they will carry out a practice to document and map local-centred urban narratives of Port Said affected by years of war and conflicts in the city. Timber veranda or Taracina, an integral component of Port Said`s Architecture, will be regarded as a leading element during the practice. The outcome of this workshop will further be developed and employed for the planning workshop in September 2023 that will focus on formulating urban recovery guidelines in the historic core of Port Said.
The workshop, in particular, targets Egyptian students and researchers in the fields of architecture, urban planning, and heritage studies. Participants in five groups carried out site-specific studies within the so-called Arab and European neighbourhoods of Port Said with a special focus given to the effect of war and years of conflict on local urban narratives and heritage interpretations. Timber veranda or Taracina, an integral component of Port Said’s Architecture, will be regarded as a leading element during the practice. The workshop had the capacity for twenty-one participants from nine universities.
Through Locally guided city walks, site observations and interviews with locals as well as heritage advocates, the groups went through an intensive experience of exploring Port Said from local viewpoints with its diversity and plurality. Moreover, the workshop focuses on presenting these (heritage) narratives in acreative and accessible way and with a view to the role that they should play in recovery decision-making. Therefore,the outcome of this workshop will further be developed and employed for the planning workshop in September 2023 that will focus on formulating urban recovery guidelines in the historic core of Port Said and the tourism workshop in June 2024 will focus on developing sustainable tourism guidelines for the same study area.
Zones distribution
The participants were organized into five groups, each consisting of four to five
members with diverse study levels and backgrounds, ensuring a balanced and
collaborative dynamic. The division of participants into these groups was determined based on the specific location that was the focus of their work. This approach allowed for a comprehensive exploration of the urban context, with each group bringing their unique knowledge and skills to address the specific challenges and opportunities.The participants were organized into five groups, each consisting of four to five members with diverse study levels and backgrounds, ensuring a balanced and collaborative dynamic. The division of participants into these groups was determined based on the specific location that was the focus of their work. This approach allowed for a comprehensive exploration of the urban context, with each group bringing their unique knowledge and skills to address the specific challenges and opportunities.
Zone 1
Zone 3
Palestine Street
Palestine Street, an ancient waterfront boulevard in Port Said, rich in history and iconic structures, once the first sight for incoming ships, now a vibrant hub of commerce and public life, was the focus of a diverse team aiming to document its Suez Canal narratives, observe its changing landscape, and infuse contemporary perspectives from individuals with varying architectural and urban planning backgrounds.
Zone 5
Zone 2
Firyal Garden
In the historic Firyal’s Garden zone of the European district, chosen by Khedive Ismael for the Suez Canal opening, a diverse team aimed to commemorate the area's heritage by exploring its rich memories and the enduring impact of challenges faced over time on its inhabitants' collective recollections.
Zone 4
Mohamed Ali Street
Situated between the Arab and European Districts, Mohammed Ali Street, a witness to wartime memories and popular resistance, was the subject of a diverse team's exploration into its heritage significance, investigating its role in connecting or dividing the two areas and its impact on memories and events, with members from various cultural and educational backgrounds.
WORKSHOP REPORT
PILOT RESTORATION
As part of the preparation for the urban recovery workshop , a survey was conducted in May and June 2023 in order to gather information on the perception of Port Said residents about Bazar Abbas, its significnce and the role it plays in their daily lives. This survey targeted seventy one interviewees, male and female and from different age groups. Interviews were condcted in different locations in the city from passerbys, shopkeepers and customers.
URBAN RECOVERY
Background
Bazar Abbas is a unique hybrid of local architecture and European modernism that has suffered extensive damage as a result of past conflicts on the Suez Canal. This combined architectural typology is repeated in different shapes and forms all over the city of Port Said, a city with a short yet turbulent history: a history of wars and displacements, prosperity and abandonment, colonialism and resistance, marginalisation and power reclamation and many more. These multiple layers of history have been manifested in the architectural and spatial articulation of the city, as well as within the daily life practices of Port Said residents.
heritage of Port Said has received little to no recovery measures after suffering in multiple series of wars and conflicts since the mid-20th century until today. Therefore, the project aims to activate the recovery process of the downtown area through the implementation of small-scale, people-centered strategies for urban conservation and development. The initiative takes Bazar Abbas as a catalytic pilot project not only because this building represents an outstanding architectural heritage but also for its indispensable position in the collective memory and identity of the city, interlinked to conflict, resistance, displacement, and daily struggles.
TOURISM
Project Partners
Background
Bazar Abbas is a unique hybrid of local architecture and European modernism that has suffered extensive damage as a result of past conflicts on the Suez Canal. This combined architectural typology is repeated in different shapes and forms all over the city of Port Said, a city with a short yet turbulent history: a history of wars and displacements, prosperity and abandonment, colonialism and resistance, marginalisation and power reclamation and many more. These multiple layers of history have been manifested in the architectural and spatial articulation of the city, as well as within the daily life practices of Port Said residents.
heritage of Port Said has received little to no recovery measures after suffering in multiple series of wars and conflicts since the mid-20th century until today. Therefore, the project aims to activate the recovery process of the downtown area through the implementation of small-scale, people-centered strategies for urban conservation and development. The initiative takes Bazar Abbas as a catalytic pilot project not only because this building represents an outstanding architectural heritage but also for its indispensable position in the collective memory and identity of the city, interlinked to conflict, resistance, displacement, and daily struggles.