Port Said: Contemporary Architectural Heritage Identification and Registration
The case study of Port Said was initiated in 2004 as a joint venture between the project and the école de Chaillot; a French Architecture University concerned with the study of historical buildings, and with the participation of Alliance Française and EUROMED. Port Said was selected because of its unique colonial architectural heritage and a main objective was to raise the awareness of the authorities of the devastating effects the loss of its heritage would entail.
Port Said was established in 1859 in connection with the construction of the Suez Canal, and quickly grew to become one of the most important port cities in the world. Travelers and business people gathered in the city which was the first stop-over on eastbound ships. Evidence of this prosperous period is plentiful throughout the city with European-style villas and buildings constructed for the Suez Canal Authorities. Port Fouad, on the eastern side of the Suez Canal opposite Port Said, was inaugurated in 1926 as a residential district. Villas and white brick houses were initially occupied by foreign nationalities such as Greeks and Armenians, and are now in various stages of neglect and ruin.
Today, the historical urban city centre is being irreversibly changed by unchecked demolition and building. Many of the buildings are in a poor state of preservation and careful restoration is needed to preserve the wooden balconies, facades and other architectural elements.
An inventory of the central part of Port Said started with an Egyptian-French team visiting Port Said in May 2004 for three weeks. The main goals of this phase of the case study was to
· Continue the work started in December 2003 by "Citeres EMAM"; a team from a French research center specializing in the modern architecture in the Mediterranean, to identify and locate buildings with significant value.
· Propose a project of restoration and re-use of an old caravanserai (wakala), located on one of the oldest small islands, now threatened by demolishing.
· Propose protection regulations to preserve the valuable buildings and control random constructions in the future.
The main role of EAIS, acting as the representative of the SCA, was to assist the team in their surveying work and to establish communication channels with the local authorities (governorate and Taftish authorities) and active inhabitants concerned with the preservation of the local heritage.
The inventory produced around 350 individual datasheets, one for each house, combining the address, previous and current occupation, number of floors and one or more photos from different angles. In addition, these buildings were also located on cadastral maps as a first step to add them in EAIS's GIS. EAIS has compiled a list of the valuable buildings that are threatened and need urgent registration, based on the consultation of the French team, local Taftish and members of local independent associations.
As a direct result of this case study, it has been possible for EAIS to produce reports to the SCA Secretary General, effectively stopping the demolition of two very important buildings in Port Said; Simon Arzt and Al-'Abbasi Mosque. They are now in the process of registration, meaning that the SCA will have the power to protect and preserve these buildings. The registration campaign continues with Villa Fernande currently Under Registration Process. Al-'Abbasi Mosque has now been registered and Simon Arzt is still surviving, waiting an official decision.
To view a sample of the datasheets produced click here
To view photos of the buildings of Port Said click here
