“The task of critical regionalism is to rethink architecture through the concept of region.” (Tzonis & Lefaivre, 2003) The term critical regionalism, in its sense, raises several arguments in the architectural field. Critical regionalism could debate the essence of the utopian idea of international design, that every building can be placed anywhere and function with high compatibility. Critical regionalism questions the approaches used in international design; it opens up the idea that each region could have a specific characteristic that could serve function, form, and efficiency. This could also mean that each region will be distinct in the means of materials and treatments. “Critical regionalism self- consciously seeks to deconstruct universal modernism in terms of values and images which are locally cultivated, while at the same time adulterating these autochthonous elements with paradigms drawn from alien sources.” (Frarmpton, 1983) Critical Regionalism does not intend to revisit history or dwell in the past, but to find a middle ground between two extremes. The universal design that the modernists strive to achieve by spearing Louis Sullivan’s saying “Form follows function” wherever the building might exist, and the post modernists who celebrated ornamentation for its own sake. Globalization is definitely a benefit for designers as it expands the visual cultures; yet designers need to use this design exposure in a way that could benefit the environment and maximize the built environment’s efficiency. This paper questions the possibility to use critical regionalism in promoting a region’s identity but at the same time adheres to the international developments. The aim is to explore the idea of critical regionalism applications, and whether it could relate to both international design and regional identity. Its being applied to four different interior design Master’s degree student projects in Florence, Italy. The students were given a specific building in the center of Florence to redesign but there were several fixed factors. First, the building should be a hotel that relates to the identity of the city of Florence, second, the design should be minimal, third the use of literal images or direct analogies were not allowed. The data is analyzed through a comparative study between the four projects in terms of concept, analogy, color scheme, materials and level of ornamentation. The paper represents results of this focus group of interior design students who are from different demographics with only fixed education levels’ postgraduates in either interior design or architecture, and project description.

Educational Globalization debilitates the identities, the origins and cultural, religious, etymological, racial, and ethnic foundations— challenge a country’s feeling of solidarity and cohesion. The incorporation of cultural beliefs and the ensuing generations’ patterns into the society is an essential test of globalization. Neglecting to do so; however, will have long haul social ramification. The capacity to define a character that permits agreeable development between universes will be at the very heart of accomplishing a really "worldwide soul". This research provides insights into a critical question: How are identity and agency implicated in educational processes and outcomes? Thus, the paper discusses the role of educational institutions, led by the Fine Arts and Applied Arts, with its leading role in facing the educational globalization and the dominance of foreign countries on Arab societies in the way of clothing, food and even individual behaviors. Certainly, the young designers, in the university student age, are influenced by the wave of westernization they face day and night.

The 6th of October city was established in 1970’s to be one of the national projects creating a new urban community to reduce pressure on the greater Cairo. It is consisted of residential, industrial and recreational areas. The 6th of October University was the first higher education project established in 1996 followed by several higher education projects, which played an essential role in changing the urban identity to meet the inhabitants’ needs. An analytical study of 6th October case was held through a quantitative and a qualitative data on a time line study. The study is focused on the urban growth of this urban community during the last two decades to investigate how the land uses can change the urban community in terms of the urban identity. The study results show that a significant change has occurred during the period of study, visually and functionally.

It is fundamental to maintain the local places’ identity, character and trajectory of evolution in order to create a sustainable process of urbanization. This study introduces a quantitative inventory of urban spaces in Cairo, in the early 19th century, extracted from historic maps and indexes. Urban spaces are classified in terms of geometric typology (linear and central), geometric regularity of their footprints, sizes and geographical distribution. The extracted information highlighted the quantitative domination of linear spaces and of irregularity in space footprint. It also showed a noticeable insignificant value of central spaces. However, the insignificant value of central spaces presented spatial identity of power demonstration in historic Cairo; irregularity and linearity presented sociocultural and economic identities.

This paper analyzes aspects of Egyptian history, including unique qualities that influenced the Egyptian culture and gave it its identity that has developed throughout the years until today. It will also discuss Egyptian visual arts and its critical role throughout history, including how arts have appeared and developed over Egypt’s lifetime and influenced the Egyptian citizen. Furthermore, this research sheds light on the effects of every political change that took place in Egypt, and how that could be a mirror of the Egyptian civilization, its development and its decline while considering the role of visual arts throughout and after the revolution of 2011. Analyzing Egyptian culture, education, technology, internet and multimedia after the revolution can be imperative to understand the cultural identity and the role of visual arts in Egypt. Thus the mutual relationship between arts and the Egyptian cultural identity will be questioned, along with the way that they impact each other, and finally, how both of them could play a key role in developing Egypt after the 25th of January, 2011 revolution.

There are varieties of visions, visual solutions and plastic relations for various painting topics, but the landscape painting is still the closest subject to the identity of the place. When the artist translates the realistic features of the place describing it with his special style and touches, this represents a record for characteristics of a certain period related to this place. It might also depict the landscape by his sense, telling us with his painting brush the story of its heritage. The artist links it with the reality experienced -here the memory adds the highest value to the view and translates features of nature of this place in terms of form- or feelings and influence through the ages. When Van Gogh was influenced by a city, like Arles in France, he produced the most beautiful of his paintings, which appeared to show his style and colors. Actually, we see this city through a creative artist with radiant colors, each panting as a celebration or a poem singing the beauty of this place. And when Maurice Utrillo was influenced by a city -like Paris in France especially Montmartre district with its steep winding streets, picturesque windmills, snowfall, and clouds of gray affected- he created his most important paintings of landscape. The paintings reflected the nature of this place by his simple style which seems like a zap from the internal inventory of the artist about this place.

The view of the outside scene of one of the cities in the painting is an expression mainly used about history and identity. It also expresses the last imagination and prophecy of the future. Not Just an embodiment of the scene in the street or part of a building or a temple in the picture, but it is a reflection of the identity of the people in all its elements. The search is a selective study of a group of contemporary Egyptian artists who dealt with the theme "landscape" of contemporary photography in Egypt is: Fathi Afifi, Chant Avedissian, Mohamed Abla, Amr Kafrawy and Mona Marzouk. This paper deals with the impact of the modern Egyptian city of the contemporary Egyptian imaging through following five artists with different ages, educational backgrounds and methods of modern processors and contemporary paintings.

The great cities in Egypt have been exposed to radical changes in its form and design since the second half of the Twentieth century. The study discusses these changes and their effect on the artistic production of the contemporary Egyptian painters. The positive and the negative aspects of this continuous relationship between the artist and the surrounding environment feature are presented, prominently, here. Did the changes in the urban design reflect in the paintings of these artists? How did the Egyptian artists receive and respond to these major urban changes in their paintings? The study deals with the most important changes in the design of the great cities in Egypt. This is coupled with a comparative study of the selected examples from the works of the contemporary painters, with the real image of the urban designs revealing interesting insights about the dynamics of this process.

The identity of an animated character means who he really is, or what are the characteristics that would never change? How the character sees himself and how others see him? It includes shape, color, race, beliefs, and choices in life. The more the storyteller gives identity to his animated character, the more it is sound and convincing. In that sense, it touches the audiences’ hearts as they feel its pain or happiness. In other words, they are involved in the story and united with the character. As the story begins, characters and settings are presented before the audience to get an overview of the characters’ identity. Then, more elements are to show up, like the conflict, the problem that needs to be solved and the rising actions, which are series of events that lead to the high main point or the climax. It is considered as a turning point of the story after which the falling actions come. The falling actions are events and complications that start to loosen the plot. Gradually, the solution shows up as the story ends either happily or tragically. Throughout the story line, these groups of events that form the story sometimes account for the appearance of an identity crisis that impact the character. It means that he is uncertain of his feelings about himself; he gets confused about what type of person he is or what is the true purpose of his life. It always takes making an existential that plays a big role in the story line. The identity crisis appear in Toy Story 1995 to Buzz light-year when he discovers the truth of himself; that he is a toy, not a space ranger as he thought before. This made him give up hope of returning anywhere. It took him sometime to accept the fact of himself after seeing how Woody struggles to return them both to Andy. He tries his best to save his friend and return home safely, as being dictated by the role’s vision. In Toy Story 2 1999, the identity crisis appear to Woody when Buzz strikes him with the fact that he is not a collector’s item. He is a child’s play thing, he is a toy. Then, a decision has to be made to return to Andy, and the struggles start with the Prospector. In Toy Story 3, 2010, the identity crisis appear to Woody at the end of the story. He was suffering to be away from all his toy family that will be left in the attic, so he wrote on the box to be donated and he attached himself in, with them hoping that Andy gives him a very warm goodbye and leaves him with the rest of the toys in good hands. In Finding Nemo 2003, the identity crisis for Nemo is when he chooses to touch the boat, even though it is a dangerous thing, just to prove to his father and his friends that he is brave. It led him to fall in the capture and to meet other fish.

The Art of painting relies on the employment of the painting’s vocabularies in an idiomatic meaningful format under the framework of the dialogue form. Such methodology occurs at times and in a new style to create new systems and formats at other times (Form Structure). The dilemma lies between these two frameworks where there are reality and mind, sensory and mental or visible and invisible, that is, between what is perceived by the eye of idiomatic semantics forms and what is realized in accompanied suggestive or figurative meanings. The interpretation of the invisible in the vision of Oriental Art is different from the vision of the western art because the spirit of the culture is manifested in the first to incorporate the individual in the group. As in the universe, it removes intervals so that the individual may seem similar to his surroundings in order to reach the infinite and unlimited aspect. This vision is based on a type of intuitive knowledge in the form of detection or discovery, which is based on the dualism of the visible and the invisible. Therefore, the receiving process is unlimited to the aesthetic pleasure that focuses on the form alone, and it is an existential process that is based on the dialogue between the receiver and the artwork. Islamic Sufi aesthetic thought tries to find the sensory effects in the universe. It is not concerned with the mental abstract perceptions of geometric shapes associated with the western logic." Islamic abstraction would not seek to meet the formal requirements such as a mathematical current of Mondrian or freeing the spirit of the form extracted from the content, internal necessity of the structure or the internal empathy for the colors and meanings. It does not intend to reach ideal purity in the form so as to realize the artistic feeling in Malevich. It tries to find natural laws, including geometric shapes ,and then its loads them with facts and meanings towards the absolute. It results in a new standard vision that will create another independent reality which does not end with just watching the painting so as to combine the idea with the artistic vision to denote the meaning"(Abu Elmaggd, 2011).

Within each culture, the multi-source origins play an essential role to form its distinct moral and aesthetic values, which emphasize the cultural identity. These values were accumulated through ages. That’s why every single cultural tributary should be traced, to demonstrate the extent of its impact on specific city identity formation. The Egyptian government pays due attention to Siwa Oasis because of its special historical and cultural characteristics. It happens in co-operation with one of the Culture Ministry sectors "the General organization for Cultural Palaces", that adopted the idea of reviving the project of city studios. Such initiative has been established before at the city of Luxor. For example, a financial and logistic support was provided for the initiative in a similar context. From this standing point, this paper provides a historical study about Siwa Oasis since its inception at the Ancient Egyptian era and through the Greco-Roman, the Coptic-Islamic era, and the Arab influences till now. Also, I will review the Siwa studios grant: procedures, different sessions and the most interesting aspect of it, which is the exhibitions. The historical and cultural overview will include: the Significant monuments in the city, location and environment, population and their language, traditions, and custom, and finally, the Siwa Oasis features nowadays. Reviewing the project stages will include: how to apply? On what bases the participants was chosen? Also, information about the time schedule, the site-visits, etc. Finally, I will analyze some artworks from 2009 till now in order to emphasize the importance of such activity on the cultural map.

Can a normal individual learn more about a country’s identity through art and rather a type as simple as caricature art? How do identity and caricature art relate to one another? Exhibited art often faces similar questions. The term ‘identity’ mainly refers to a first impression formulated in relation to a nation and is often linked to a piece of land. A complete picture of a nation’s identity cannot be simply formed as involved are components, complexities, and even contradictions. No specific concept is involved or implemented in the process but rather an integrated system of data with physical, psychological, moral, and social aspects along its lines. This system and induced spirit is embodied in the interiors of a place to give a sense of continuity and distinction. In other words, identity separates the physical from the psychological. The concept of identity encompasses a set of symbolic meanings, spiritual and cultural, that is accumulated over time to give a sense of belonging to the individuals living in a certain place. As a result, a sense of loyalty and pride is passed on to the people making them aware of their social environments and cultural rights which could be expressed through caricature art to reflect their experienced identities. Caricature art is a simplified language, usually embodying a scene from public and everyday life, used by a ‘watani’ (Patriotic) individual to express his or her identity within the framework of sarcastic comedy. The identity of the Egyptian is the product of civilized movements by Egyptians through the ages.

The unique location of Alexandria city in the Mediterranean Basin has attracted several artistic civilizations ever since the time of Ptolemy. This has been the case during the Roman era, and the subsequent eras throughout which Alexandria remained the window of Egypt and most of the Middle East to the European cultures and arts. As a result, Alexandria has witnessed the cultural and artistic renaissance during the second half of the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, since "Muhammad Ali" –and his family–permitted the foreign delegations to come and form colonies fused with the human component of Alexandria that had a unique character. Consequently, the foreign artists’ rooms were widely spread and the Alexandrian pioneers of painting art, of the first and second generations, studied under their supervision. Despite being trained by foreigners, their sense of belonging to the Egyptian identity or their participation in laying groundwork for a national art project deeply rooted in the heritage of the nation wasn’t affected. However, they were receptive to maturely cope with the modernity of the western schools of arts. Mahmoud Said, a painter, after completing the art foundation phase, employed his art to portray the modern Egyptian man as a national hero. This portrayal was possible through his use of environmental elements and characters. Seif Wanli was one of the most receptive Egyptian painters to the modern and contemporary western schools of art. He was allegedly known to be unconcerned with the issue of national identity; however, Alexandria kept its high rank in his art despite being characterized by global features. Adham Wanli remained loyal to his impressive and symbolic realism as Alexandria, with all its components, was the core of his artistic creativity. Hamid Aweys left his hometown and went to Alexandria and spent most of his age therein. His belonging to the identity and environment of that ancient coastal city was the same as that of the previously mentioned artists. He was inspired by the city’s environmental and cultural elements in a distinctive way.

In the center of Cairo, there remains a street named “Baab El-Bahr”- or “A gateway to the sea”. This street once led to the shore of a wide sub-canal from the Nile River. Today, it only leads to the famous “Ramses square”, which still holds the name of the ancient statue of “Ramses the 2nd” that has been relocated to Cairo-Alexandria desert road in August 2006. The city witnessed major changes in its urban morphology across the 19th and 20th centuries as it lost its role as a platform for trade and instead turned out to be an everyday scene for controversy and dispute. Through an investigation of the key principals which generated the city’s morphology and its massive transformation, this study aims to support future urban regeneration methodologies, urban development policies and city expansion visions.

Studying the methods of plaster wall decorations is considered one of the complementary elements of the architectural vocabulary that reflects the cultural and ideological heritage identy of the time period. Wall decoration has broken the barrier of time and place, and the political and doctrinal differences, expressing in an abstract way the truth about the beilefs of both the Far Morocco Idrisid and Sebia Idrisid in kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where they did not use any symbol or sign that demonstrates their belonging to Shi’i Muslims, so-most probably- they belong to Sunni Muslims. This study aims to track the foundation phases of Idrisid state in Far Morocco during the century (2-4THA.H/8-10TH A.D) and its extension to the east in the Tihama Asir region during the century (14THAH/20THAD). The research problem lies in trying to detect the link and the nature of the relationship between the two states despite their differences in time and place through studying the natural strategic crossings, as well as the political circumstances that contributed in the transfer of the influences of Far Morocco Arts to Sebia region in the southwest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which contributed in enriching the plaster decorative arts of the facades of the Idriss Ashraaf’s palaces, and their merging with the local artistic nature of Najd, Yemen. This study has revealed- through following the analytical descriptive method- the emergence of some influnces coming from the countries of East Asia and India and the countries of the African continent due to Sebia’s geographical location as a port on the Red Sea and its presence on both the coastal trade way and caravans.

The idea of this research was developed as a result of the new direction of urban development taking place in The Arab Republic of Egypt along with the emergence of new cities that mark a new age in Egypt’s modern history. This paper also highlights the importance of completing important national projects with the highest possible standards and least possible cost in order to satisfy the people’s needs. Egyptian artists have always excelled in the field of architecture as their creations are still present today and they all mark these architects’ interaction with the natural environment in terms of the materials used. These characteristics are now a way to distinguish Egyptian artists because of the different analyses carried out for the modes of movement, the intersection of lines, shapes, light, colors, and consistency along with the various cultural values that contribute to the enrichment of Egyptian history. There is a set of visual determinants and characteristics that are exclusive to every city, this, in turn, shows each city in its aesthetic form that distinguishes it from others. This is dependent on a group of environmental and design-based characteristics that are used when aesthetically designing a city. This is starting with its morphological model, which is concerned with the overall aesthetic design of the city, and ending with applying the values of the design of urban coordination of sites (Landscape), which is concerned with the design of public spaces. A good design is one that applies all the visual and aesthetic determinants needed for their formation. The concept of identity is considered one of those concepts that are hard to accurately explain, as it’s more of an ecological concept rather than a scientific one. Identity plays a leading role in the design of buildings that manage to reflect the environment which it’s in, as it is considered the main criterion for measuring the success of the community. On that basis, the identities of buildings are developed as a result of employing specific elements. The built environment therefore is an effective means through which the community can confirm its identity and distinguish itself among other communities.

This study will examine the role of geometric patterns in selected examples of Egyptian architecture, interior architecture and art. Ancient Egyptian, Coptic, and Islamic periods are the selected historical ages from Egyptian heritage due to the abundance of different works and styles with geometric pattern characteristics during their periods. In addition to the historical periods, the study will demonstrate some selected models from Egyptian contemporary architecture and arts. These models include architectural projects, traditional craft products and artistic works with geometrical characteristics. The study aims, through the extracted information, to increase the awareness about the effective role of geometric patterns as an architectural and artistic capability and to clarify the degree of freedom, flexibility and functionality as an inherent feature through demonstrating the different practices, styles and materials.

Cities evolve and grow rapidly in a manner that is unprecedented throughout their long history. This great acceleration and growth is governed by many overlapping and intersecting factors (Economical, Social, Political, etc.), the process of identifying the city’s character or identity is no longer an easy task. This appears more clearly in historic cities and historic areas that in most cases contrast with the civilizational, cultural and urban extension of the mother city. This therefore justifies the importance of polyphonic and edificial aesthetic works as they are elements of consistency and solidity of urbanism. Cities and their various components (facilities & planning, objectives & economics, construction & architecture) have witnessed a new turn and were influenced by many factors. These factors and their results should therefore be identified in order to understand how they reflect on cities and how artistic and aesthetic works reflect on the form and identity of cities.

Cityscape painting or Urban Landscape Painting is an art that depends on city scenes and their elements such as streets, buildings, types, composition and other city elements. This kind of art considers cities as a source of inspiration, because it reflects all the different sides of the cities like its identity, ancientness, modernity, size, density, interstitial space built forms, and of course the architectural design. Moreover, this research is concerned with this form of art that reflects all the differences between the artists’ technical trends and the artistic visions of each one separately. This will be discussed given the interest to find the mutual effective relationship between the artist and the city through an analytical comparison between different examples of paintings that dealt with cities as a subject.

This is a paper that is written in relation to a rotoscope painting animation film project that the researcher is currently working on. The film, in a way, is about women. By interpreting both their tangible realities and inner spaces, polar entities co-exist in a way that seems to cancel their disparity. The project includes moving images of painted spaces and architectures that work within the context of the film as psychological doors to the otherness of the self, a mirror, or a medium to express dreams, psychosis and the unconscious mind.

Egyptian heritage is known to be a result of many great civilizations. With various traditional elements and special features that add prominence to its cultural aspects, it carries magnificent aesthetic values and visual forms. Nonetheless, and due to the different nature of the cities and provinces in Egypt, styles and features in each region have taken different paths. For instance, Ancient Egyptians influenced some areas while others were more affected by Islamic or Coptic civilizations. Some regions were preserved in Nubian folk art heritage form. In the past, the country had a clear and unique identity that reflected its characteristics, environmental benefits and socio-cultural attributes. However, today the identity is faded and is nearly completely wiped by Western notions erasing our ideas, identities, and thoughts. This study focuses on the elements of heritage, their impact on people and the way these elements inspire interior architecture, form and psychology. This study aims to discern the elements of heritage and identify the character and special criteria of each civilization such as the Ancient Egyptian, Islamic and Nubian folk art heritage with special references and clarifications as to the criteria of reviving the traditional identity in contemporary interior design. This study will also include an analysis of user preferences in relation to discussed features. Keywords

The mosque is considered one of the most important buildings of the Islamic city since the Prophet’s Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him), and maintenance is considered an important element and a cornerstone of buildings in general. This is due to the deterioration of public buildings generally given the bad use and common ownership of the mosque and in turn, its facilities have deteriorated. Some mosques belong to historic buildings, so maintaining them is of extra importance. In light of the status of the construction and maintenance systems of historic mosques in Egypt and the limitations and problems faced, this paper presents a proposed guide for the preventive maintenance of historic mosques. It also provides clear evidence for workers in the field of maintenance of mosques including the key elements that need to be taken into consideration while preparing the preventive maintenance plan for mosques. The preventive maintenance of the mosque needs a range of tools and methods in order to succeed. Planning and scheduling for items are major elements among these tools. In order to achieve integration between the elements and the different phases mentioned above, we need to formulate them in a form of an integrated guide with completed elements and dimensions. To find a guide for the maintenance of the mosques we should clearly identify the principles and rules for that guide. This comes through clarity of the purpose, the elements required to be controlled, how to control them, the statement of the time and places and the economic aspects of the guide. This research aims to find a guide for the maintenance of historic mosques, by making a case study for the Mosque of Abul-Hajjaj in Luxor.

It is clear how the techonological developments along with globalization depleted the identity of civilizations and peoples, so it is necessary for the intellectuals and the artists to work hard in order to assure the identity of the cities. Such sacred goal could be achieved via increasing the people’s awareness. The identity of the cities will, directly, help in achieving the elevation and excellence of cities in order to maintain the uniqueness of their personalities and artwroks. In doing so, sublime values and morals, like the spirit of nationalism and patriotism of their people will be cultivated and harnessed. However, neglecting that may result in the dismantling of their identity accompanied by other sideaffects, like losing the cities’ historical, economic, political, social, religious or scientific identity. This study is analysing and comparing the models for a distinct identity of the industrial cities ranging from Egypt, Europe to America in the twentieth century until now. It also investigates if the contemporary arts have a role to assert a distinct identity of the industrial cities in this period of time or not. Art is the language of the place and the revealer of its identity. Statues in squares are a pulpit. Urban spaces help cultivating such language emphasizing of the culture of its residents and the policy of the responsible administrations. Technical works in the industrial cities represents the identity of the city, which is totally different than other cities. The identity of the industrial states is affected by several factors. Firstly, the cultural factors- where the establishments of culture and identity occur through arts, the awareness and understanding of the audience, and their tastes of the Arts. Secondly, the economic factors which cost and enrich the attraction of investors and manufacturers. Thirdly, the political factors assist the governments in seeking the elimination of the socisl problems concerning the political success. It is majorly perpetuauted by providing factories and living needs in these cities; leading to the negligience of the artsitic, social and moral factors. There should be a relationship between these borderlines and the used machinery to achieve compatibility between life circumstances and the beauty of the artwork. Drafting Fine artwork, and its impact on manufacturers’ motivation and encouragement, by expression or symbolism or movement within the artwork, and the emphasis on the moral value of the work in gaining respect and dignity. Spatial limits : Egypt, Europe, America, and limiting the study to on one city from each. Time limits: from the twentieth century until now.

Through architectural and engineering skills, humanity leaves its mark upon the earth. Urbanization started from Mesopotamia in west Asia where the Mesopotamian societies flourished. They evolved into various landscapes from the metal-rich highlands and elevations of southeastern Turkey to the Syrian deserts, from the woodmen of the Levant to the bogs of southern Iraq. Mesopotamian civilization, along with its architecture, survived more than three thousand years. The architecture of the Mesopotamian civilization is not only portentous in its outlook and proficient in planning, but it’s also considered rational and technical with respect to its environment. The civilization was very first of its kind, having technology and urban settlements that laid the foundation of future modern settlements. It considered the region’s environment and climate as pivotal in the development of its culture and architecture. This study discusses how the people, consciously or unconsciously, shaped the land or landscape around them in relation to their environment. This study is both basic and applied, according to architectural research methods. By content, the research in this article is according to the process of design and construction and the data in this research will be analyzed morphologically and technically. The Mesopotamian people used mud bricks, aqueducts, wooden beams, Archimedes screw, courtyard and tripartite houses. The study in this article proves that all these constructions and the techniques used were according to their environmental and climatic conditions.

Egypt is defined as an agricultural country where its people put all produced crops to use, whether as food or clothing. An agricultural waste like straw, palm fronds, leaves and others are used in building and interior designing; they’re part of an individual’s lifestyle and culture. As time passed, all of this changed given that local agricultural materials were replaced with technology and new building materials. Farmers became uninterested in what happened to this waste that was burned as a means of disposal, this process has direct effects on public health and the environment. This research examines the problem of palm fronds (agricultural materials) as a wasted renewable source in Egypt. It will attempt to find methods to link these materials with Egyptian handicrafts using new treatments in manufacturing with the cradle to cradle idea to produce compressed panels, wallpapers and other objects used in interior design. This research is important because it aims to find sustainable environmental materials with modern designs using agricultural waste.

This research will inspect factors with higher impact that are predicted to be more influential in the relation between architecture, interior architectural design and the psychological status of residents and users. The level of awareness about the importance of this relation is the basic introductory factor. Identity, privacy and safety impacts, health concerns, accessibility degree, open spaces feature, aesthetic sense are the main parts of the research. Most parts consist of two divisions. The first identifies the nature of each factor. The second recognizes the important architectural consideration needed to realize the psychological condition of residents and users. The research aims to increase the concern about the importance of the interaction between interior architectural design and human psychological behavior. An introduction of a group of important consideration can be used to help designers choose and apply a suitable interior architectural design that match psychological needs through sound relations between architecture, interior architecture and the psychological status of residents and users.

The environmental and social role of closed oriental balconies (Mashrabiyas) remains a significant vernacular aspect of Middle Eastern architecture. However, nowadays this traditional Islamic window element with its characteristic latticework is used to cover entire buildings as an oriental ornament, providing local identity and a sun-shading device for cooling. In fact, designers have reinvented this vernacular Islamic wooden structure into high-tech responsive daylight systems – often on a massive scale and using computer technology – not only to cover tall buildings as an oriental ornament, but also as a major responsive daylight system. It is possible to use the traditional architectural Islamic elements of the Middle East for problem solving design solutions in present-day architecture. The potential for achieving these solutions lies in the effective combination of the design concepts of the traditional elements with new smart materials and technologies. Hence, modern mashrabiyas could be a major responsive daylight system. Contextual information drawn from relevant theory, ethnography and practice is used to form a methodological framework for the modern mashrabiyas with high-tech responsive daylight systems. The main results set boundaries for the viability of computer technology to produce mashrabiyas and promote a sustainable way of reviving their use within Middle Eastern buildings.

Historical, archeological parks such as Antoniadis garden, Al-shallalat gardens and the zoo are important assets in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. These parks suffer from severe neglect, damage and encroachments of street vendors. This study aims to find aesthetic solutions to improve these parks as part of Alexandria’s cultural heritage on the national and global levels. Mural paintings could be used to beautify the entrances of these parks along with the seating units, garbage bins, and water tap basins. This mural painting process could be well suited with the architectural styles of these parks to preserve their identity and still fit within the history and civilization of the ancient city of Alexandria. This will protect the historical features of these parks and make them touristic destinations instead of being abandoned and neglected over time.

Please allow me to express my interest in participating in the event; the agenda and objective are of high significance for discussing the maturity and development of a sustainable "cultural and creative infrastructure" powered by cultural policies and practices. Involvement and lobbying for such topics is essential for the cultural and creative dynamics where creative cities attract creative people. While navigating through a search engine and typing a name of a city, the first images to appear visualize the built environment of the city. For instance when you type Cairo into Google, you will be mainly looking at the Pyramids and built environment around the Nile in addition to the Old City of Cairo. If you type in New York you will find images of skyscrapers positioned around the natural landscape of the city, and so on and so forth. Thus tourism depends a lot on the built environment and the touristic standard is subject to the built environment, type and quality of tenants attracting the general public and of course the natural landscape. Arts and architecture play an important role among the built environment having both tangible and intangible economic impacts resulting from touristic attractions as well as other means; Cairo was once described as the most beautiful city in the world with the rich urban fabric and prosperity of the arts and architecture. In a country like Egypt where segmentation between the different social levels is becoming a real threat for future generations, it is crucial to work with all stakeholders including the authorities, civil society and the general public with objectives that would aim to serve all interests and gain a positive public opinion.

The traditional housing of Baghdadi has undergone many transformations in the past century. This is noticed in many districts of traditional Baghdad and its heritage. In this period, architectural styles with Western influences were observed as a result of the political conditions and foreign colonization that swept the country. German architecture, English and French and other models in our old heritage stores, especially in the neighborhood of CREMAT in Salhia - Baghdad. With this level of complexity of the models, we have to disclose and study during the research process to reach the mechanisms and adaptation of Western models designed for an environment of a different nature adapted to our environment and the local Baghdad and take advantage of these global experiences in the design process. Therefore, the research highlighted the influence of Western culture on our Baghdadi architectural culture to preserve the landmarks of the past so that future children can see it. Ever since man’s historical awareness of the past, the present and the future, he tried to record his present and preserve his past for the future. The urban heritage reflects the cultural identity of man: his past, his present and his future. Our Baghdad Municipality has been characterized by functional organization of the elements of the house, relying on the internal courtyard to provide the necessary privacy to the population and the use of local construction materials such as bricks, plaster, stone and palms and the use of the sheds in the internal atmosphere of the rooms. All examples of Baghdadi heritage architecture share a distinctive architectural character that belongs to the region and reflects all of its cultural, environmental and social conditions. Therefore, the research will try to reach the impact of these civilizations on the Baghdadi style, especially in the residential architecture of Baghdad. The objective of the research was to describe the effects of Western culture on the architectural style of the Salhia area and its adaptation to the local style of the region while attempting to come up with new and traditional indicators of transformation in residential patterns. In order to address the research problem, which is the phenomenon of divergence in the decisions of the traditional residential patterns in the locality of the CREMAT - Salhia, and to verify the goal of the desired research, the research plan is to analyze the chronological sequence of the ancient models in the region and identifying the identity of each model and then how to diagnose changes in traditional architectural styles through its holistic calendar and the appearance of the architectural style of the Salhia in this architectural form. The results showed the impact of Western cultures on the identity of the Baghdad residential area.

The need to establish new cities emerged in the seventies of the last century in Egypt. The necessity emerged because of different reasons such as decreasing te pressure on greater cities and their infrastructure, creating new investments and job opportunities. Furthermore, it aimed to the rarefaction of the concentration of inhabitants around the narrow side of the Nile valley and its Delta. It even moved towards the vast desert in order to redraw the urban map of Egypt. So, the success of these new cities is measured by how much people they attract to settle and their input to local income according to general policies and goals which could be achieved through several strategies and mechanisms. Therefore, this research tries to discuss different policies in order to develop new cites, in particular, in addition to the efficient strategies and mechanisms which are necessary to decrease the consumption of resources and to achieve maximum benefits out of the available potentials.

Feminism as a global movement was and is still working on achieving women rights & liberation in different ways and by using different tools. Art in general and mural painting as a public art in specific, are very eloquent tools to help present feminist causes to different societies. These societies vary from a nation to another, from a culture to another, depending on the extent of suffering that women endure and also depending on how strong the feminist movement is in that particular society. Despite the fact that feminism is a global movement, each society’s identity is reflected differently in such kinds of arts, especially when looking at occidental and oriental worlds where ethics and traditions are distinctly different. These differences shall be normally reflected in contemporary public art, like in subjects, messages, styles, and even concerning the amount of the architectural or structural available areas for such kind of arts. This is what the researcher will try to clarify through a kind of analytical comparison between occidental and oriental societies concerning the feminist movement. This includes its murals as a public art, especially in Egypt where feminist public art can be considered limited, the matter that may lead to some significant conclusions about the importance of such art, its role and its effect on the society.

Due to living in a society plagued by acceleration and significant development in building technology, information, and computer applications, a transformation in Arts and Architecture has resulted in a neglect, whether deliberate or non-deliberate, in the dimensions of moral and non–physical values such as heritage and civilization. It is safe to say that such neglect has led to the creation of Architectural products with no identities. As a result, an appearance of new architectural trends that includes Green and Smart Architecture, for instance, was identified. This new type of Architecture generally relies on merge between the use of the natural and surrounding environment in serving the design process as well as the use of modern computer applications, fixtures, technology, and new building materials combined to provide a comfortable and safe environment for users. When traditional Arab Architecture is the product of a rich experience of its manufacturers’, it presents an integrated mixture between each of the non–physical features represented in religious beliefs, traditions and customs prevailing in the community, and the physical elements that include the effects of the natural environment, climate changes, building materials, and natural resources available. Screening and Mashrabiah represent a very important element in traditional and Arab Architecture. It is also still being used nowadays in Modern Architecture after enduring a study of its functions, benefits, new materials and applications such as smart Mashrabiah. The conclusion of this research provides recommendations of new applications and Architectural treatments for Screening and Mashrabiah and their possible use as unique identity factors that represent our modern Architecture both in the Arab world and worldwide.

The research explores the impact and influence the community has on the identity of a city. The construction of the city follows certain standards acquired by the nation with respect to its ideologies and ambitions while the essence of the city is shaped and formed by the communities. The community is based on a mix of tradition, culture and habits, creating the identity of the group. The individual, as part of the larger group, shapes the identity of his/her city. The essence of the city reflects the identity of its community. The norm of a certain community along with its irregularities constructs the identity of their surrounding, hence the city. Therefore, one can assume that the identity of a citizen is equal to the identity of the city. In a visual art project consisting of a series of digital prints (mixed media), the researcher explores the relation between man and his surrounding atmosphere; between man and his home; between man and his city. This visual project delves in presenting how the surrounding atmosphere is affected by the human identity living within it. The community paints the city with its color, thus the city reflects its community.

The high pace of technology has redefined street furniture as smart devices that contribute to build future cities. Thus, it is a combination of passion; skills, ideas and tools of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) converted into finished products. ICT is a catalyst for cities to address these challenges in a ‘smart’ manner that links and strengthens networks of people, businesses, infrastructures, resources, energy and spaces. On the other hand, one of the most important components to be adopted for designing Smart Cities is the IT service management (ITSM). It refers to the entirety of the activities directed by policies, organized and structured to plan, design, operate and control ITSM offered to citizens by adopting a process approach towards management, focusing on their needs and stressing continual improvement. New trends in urban planning are heading to draw a new future- a Smart City that is able to link the physical capital with the social one. Street furniture, as an important element of Smart Cities, is a term used to define objects in public spaces. Such concept is related to the context of wireless infrastructure and house small-cell units. They are considered –visually- as common and tolerable places to the public. This research will focus on smart Street-Furniture design as a standard guide for designers and planners of the "New Cairo Administrative Capital", which is currently under construction as the first Smart City in Egypt.