Urban Morphology + the Social Vernacular

Abstract

The skyscraper is the ultimate (Western) “formal typology” created by the urban booms of the last century and most recently appropriated as the agent of rapid globalization. However, as a means of densifying urban fabric – and consequently reducing sprawl and congestion – it is conspicuously absent from some of the world's densest cities, particularly those within the Middle East. This project investigates the lack of tower constructions in Cairo's dense urban and medieval fabric, and ultimately proposes a speculative skyscraper that verticalizes the complex interrelationship of informal social networks and urban/civic form.