Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Green Mines Community
(Egyptian Desert)
Author: Moamen El‐Sudany.
Partners:
Lecturer: Mahmoud Ramadan.
Architect: Ahmed Helmy.
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Project Concept:
This concept discusses the development of the Egyptian desert by utilizing the potentials for
reclamation regions on the Delta’s borders and the fertile lands in the desert areas. The concept
built upon the following themes; 1- development in reclamation regions in the desert, 2- agricultural
based development, 3- combined utilization of renewable energy like bio-fuels and solar energy, 3-
adoption of VLS-PV systems in to account, 4- creation of new self-sufficient community in the desert
with electrical export potentials by using VLS-PV systems.
Fig. Reclamation Regions on Delta borders.
Source: El‐Sudany., Holcim award, Middle‐East ,region, http://www.holcimfoundation.org
Project’s proposed Unit,
The proposed community unit ‘Green Mine Unit’ the name inspired from the Mine unit - that was
used in Word war II in the desert- to work as wide-range dwelling in the center of agriculture pivotal
unit system that used in the new reclamation regions. The unit is considered as dwelling and initial
storage for the daily agricultural activities. It has storage, biomass sub-tank, cycle system, technical
room for PV batteries, and other services.
Fig. The form of the unit’s complex as a combined community. Source:
http://www.advancedarchitecturecontest.org/results
Solar energy and bio-gas are the main energy sources for the unit, which using solar tracking
system shadows the unit’s southern side, to decrease the direct incident solar radiation and convert
it into energy. In addition, utilizes the agriculture residues to draw bio-fuels, like methane fuels.
The author using (Earth Sheltered Building) techniques to keep the integration between the
dwell and hard climatic conditions in the desert, and create trained local inhabitants to make their
own materials and build their own buildings.
Community Form,
By aggregate units in hundreds or thousand complex; it will create small self-sufficient community
that generates electrical energy and bio-fuels for the daily human and agricultural activities.
The uniform shapes caused by the specific urban planning, the irrigated agricultural
landscape with social structure provide this proposal with a special esthetic value. The planning is
neatly structured to assure the most efficient use of land, with using simple natural materials and the
earth sheltering technique to provide comfort in a thermal & physical sense, directs the project.
b. Ethical standards and social quality
At the present time there are large social contradictions, primarily in the African and Arab world. These
gaps destabilize many of these societies by causing urbanization, while agricultural communities erode.
The aim is to create an agricultural society that contributes in solving these issues.
The proposed project in the Egyptian desert is building new societies for present and future
generations; self supplying societies that can be a future source of crops and energy.
c. Ecological quality and energy conservation
The proposal has no option but to answer to the specific needs of a desert like environment. This implies
it faces tough environmental circumstances. Creating the foundations of a sustainable development
inside the desert requires wise management of the resources as the society develops. To stand strong as
a self supplying society in the desert, priority lies with the agricultural areas while wind‐ and solar
energy are the main source of energy and recycled materials are used for construction. New techniques
in watering will be used to preserve the limited water supplies. The agricultural civil society will depend
on the human recourses available in the local community in order to maintain the vulnerable ecological
structure the society relies on.
This affected the planning, maintenance and construction of urban society. Moreover; solar energy
cells can be made of high quality sand‐silicone ‐ which is abundant in the desert – and transferred to
new industrial societies.
d. Economic performance and compatibility
The idea of forming G‐mine societies is based on many steps and procedures. The most important one
being its self sufficiency in small scale living units resulting in self sufficiency at large, depending on
renewable solar energy and sustainable agriculture, and each unit using recyclable agricultural waste,
bio‐ thermal and biomass for energy.
Phase1: governments and NGOs financing infrastructure and irrigation, Further, finding solar
collectors for living units.
Phase2: improving the agriculture, watering and the main services depending on income from crops.
Phase3: Improving solar energy usage and locally planting new cells and electricity fields for solar
energy, using excessive energy for export.
Phase4: forming an industry whether based on agriculture or silicon sand solar cells.
e. Contextual and aesthetic impact
The uniform shapes caused by the specific urban planning, the irrigated agricultural landscape with
social structure provide this proposal with a special esthetic value. The planning is neatly structured to
assure the most efficient use of land. This combined with using simple natural materials and the earth
sheltering technique to provide comfort in a thermal&physical sense, directs the project.
Benefits of choosing the Desert,
By studying the arid Desert regions all over the world, we found out that most of these regions
are concentrated in North Africa and The Middle East. In which these regions are mostly
located in the Developing Countries,
Governments in these countries have various ideas on developing these deserts in terms of
lacking the strategies and technology needed. An example of that was: “The Development
Corridor”, elaborated by Prof. Farouk El Baz. His proposal focused on the development of the
Egyptian Western Desert.
Using conventional urban development ideas might be uneconomic for connecting these
deserts to the main service networks in their countries.
On the other hand using the self sufficiency strategy could be one of the most economic and
available systems for developing these regions.
Abilities and obstacles:
The most notable abilities of this desert region are:
1 High quality and quantity of daily solar radiations.
2 Plenty of reclamation of land in these deserts for agriculture activities.
3 Strategic groundwater storages for agriculture activities.
4 High quality air forces in open areas and mountains.
5 High purity of silicon sand, used for solar technology manufacturing.
Obstacles:
1 Arid and hot climate.
2 New urbanism and architectural ideas needed to be integrated with the surroundings.
3 The isolation from the main services and networks in their countries.
4 The lack of social communities to create not only industries and investments but also
creating economic and social developments.
5 The interference of using renewable technological systems for energy sources.
“Agricultural reclamation regions” was selected to be the area of study and design proposal.
The location is considered the best of these regions to organize new agricultural communities
depending on self‐sufficient housing and energy resources.
In other terms there are some reclamation deserts lands that suffers from the danger of land
mines which deposits from the World WAR П. The concept of “Green Mines community” is
suggested to be the symbol of development idea.
However, there are many samples of these agricultural desert regions in countries like Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, Israel and Qatar. These samples were studied to approach the urban and
architectural community's idea Green Mines community (G Mines).
The Building >>
Hassan Fathy’s building construction techniques were used to create vernacular dwelling and
adapting to the environmental resources and the abilities of the desert.
We used the ancient technique of construction methods and materials to obtain new desert
dwelling architectural technique with the use of (EARTH SHELTRED BUILDING)
That can promote integration between the houses and hard climatic conditions in the deserts,
and create trained local inhabitants to make their own materials and build their own buildings.
About the Energy >>
Insulated Deserts>
Energy can be obtained from several ways in Green Mines community ( G Mines)
A‐ Solar Energy:
PV Cells + Collectors ‐‐‐‐ > Electricity ‐‐ Water treatment ‐ Heating water.
B – Biomass:
Alcohol Fermentation ‐‐‐‐ > Fuel alcohol (Ethanol that is used in internal combustion
engines as alternative fuel).
C ‐ Methane Gas
‐‐‐‐ > by using Methane Generation Tanks (Gas from daily wastes
D – Using (4 R theory)
For control wastes ‐‐‐‐ > Reduction–Reuse–recycling ‐ Recovery