Rawabet Textile Cultural Center in Akhmim Village

Rawabet Textile Cultural Center.

"Going back to culture is the first step forward"

Introduction:

By Linking the past and present through space and craft, Rawabet cultural center is attracting many visitors into experiencing the magnificent craft of handloom making in Akhmim village that linked the different cultures.
In a journey and an un-forgettable interactive experience, “Rawabet” aims to educate the future generations about the significance of our culture, hoping to enhance the knowledge and appreciation of the traditional crafts.

Location:
Akhmim Village in Sohag, Egypt.

Akhmim, which is located east of Sohag Governorate, is the oldest city for the textile and silk industry in the
world, since pharaohs’ era and throughout history, as mentioned by (El-Ghouet, 2021) It was called the city of 10
thousand looms and it received a huge fame with its textiles and embroidery, According to (El-Saqati, 2020) the
textile crafts in Akhmim is threatened with real extinction due to many circumstances can be summarized into the
lack of spaces that encourage craftsmen to work and display their products (Abaza, 2020), and the lack of new
designs inspired from the culture, there comes the role of interior design in providing innovative environment that
support the integration between designers and craftsmen with focusing on the psychological effects of the space
on users in order to boost their creativity and productivity.

Project’s Concept:
Woven fabrics produced by hand-looming have two main intersected directions namely “warp and weft”, where “warp” runs vertically among the fabric and “weft” runs horizontally, the “warp” represents the different cultures and eras, while the “weft” represents the “past-present-future” timeline and the craft passing through history, linking different cultures and heading to the future.

SDGs that the project supports:
1- GOAL 8: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all:
-PROMOTE POLICIES TO SUPPORT JOB CREATION AND GROWING ENTERPRISES

2- GOAL 11: Sustainable cities and communities:
-PROTECT THE WORLD’S CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE
-SUPPORT LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IN SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT BUILDING

- Project Aims:
-Integrating designers with craftsmen in an innovative environment that focuses on the psychological effects of the space to enhance their creativity and productivity.

-Enhancing visitor experience in interactive exhibitions that promote the knowledge of the craft and Akhmim heritage.

Systems:
-natural ventilation
- air conditioning
- solar system
- wind catchers
- sun breakers on windows
- heat decreasing systematic window glass
- Natural lighting
Sustainability
- natural lighting
- natural ventilation
- solar system to decrease the use of electricity
- heat decreasing materials
- use of local materials (surrounding materials)

Project designed and presented by: Nada Mohamed Fekry
-Faculty of Arts & Design - Interior Department - MSA University -

Under the supervision of:
-Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rasha El Zeiny,
-Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hoda Madkor
-Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dalia Ezzat
-Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ola Hashem
-Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Abdelhalim Salama
-LA. Rasha El-Shiaty