Denver Firm Wins Contract to Design Massive Egyptian Project

OLC Architects working on Cairo Financial Center, due to open in 2010

The Cairo Financial Center will include 8.1 million sq ft of office, conference, hotel, retail and parking space on 15 acres located approximately 15 minutes from Cairo’s city center.

Rendering courtesy of Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative

Under terms of the biggest contract in company history, Denver-based Ohlson Lavoie Collaborative will serve as the architect-of-record on the design of the Cairo Financial Center with its 8.1 million sq ft of office, conference, hotel, retail and parking space.

The project will equal the size of three Empire State Buildings spread out across 667,000 sq ft, or about 15 acres.

The first stage of the $730-million CFC is scheduled to open at the end of 2010 and will include a 3,000-car underground parking structure, a 16-screen theater complex, 600,000 sq ft of office space and 950,000 sq ft of retail shops.

The second stage is due to open by 2013 and will include 3,000 additional underground parking spaces, 1.1 million sq ft of office space, 800,000 additional sq ft of retail space, a 100,000-sq-ft exhibition and conference center, a health club and a five-star, 450-room hotel.

The project will surround 160,000 sq ft of open plaza highlighted by water features, a Roman amphitheater for outdoor performances and shopping arcades.

“OLC is honored to have the opportunity to work on this kind of project with such high international recognition,” said Maged El-Sheikh, OLC senior principal and Middle East managing director. “We are eager to help create a thriving center that will become the region’s commercial jewel.”

Only a 15-minute drive from Cairo’s city center, the CFC has been in the planning stages since 1995. It will overlook the Citadel, a prominent, 12th-century Islamic landmark, and parts of Historic Cairo that have been listed in the World Heritage Committee since 1979.

Developers received a building permit for the CFC in 2005, and competition for architectural design re-assignment began in 2006, with OLC winning the competition over top local and international architectural firms. OLC is working closely with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization to ensure design compliance with historical restrictions.

“We will create a unique complex that includes a hotel, offices, commercial and retail center for the residents, business people and tourists of the Cairo area, offering the most modern amenities,” said Khaled Nassar, general manager and engineer of the CFC. “We believe OLC is the best choice to help bring this dream to reality.”

To address design constraints imposed by the proximity of Historic Cairo, and to avoid competing with or imposing upon the nearby Citadel, OLC used the context of the well-known Mokattam Hill surrounding the location as inspiration for the facility’s design. The project will blend into the hill with a “stepping” approach that also allows unobstructed views of the historic scenery.

OLC has 76 employees, 18 of whom are assigned to the Cairo office. Currently, the office is purchasing additional space in anticipation of doubling its present staffing level.