At the premises of Tahrir Campus of the American University in Cairo lies a whole new world for children to design.
Last week, it was a full house at The Golden Cubes Awards' 6thth round, held in the Marriott Room, Tahrir Square, AUC. Pop-up books, 3D printers of imaginary sustainable cities and ancient Egyptian temples, puzzles of elements of intangible cultural heritage, and many more items were on display across the room. Such are the prototypes of the submitted creative edutainment works that connect children with architecture.
The beginning
The awards are the brainchild of Professor of Architecture and Culture Activist Heba Safey Eldeen, who founded the Architecture and Children Egypt programme in 2011. The project is part of Safey Eldeen’s Built Environment Education Hub (BEE), a member of the International Union of Architects (UIA) work programme and its Architecture and Society Network. “It took 5 years of networking to launch the first Egyptian GCA award in 2016," Professor of Architecture and Culture Activist Heba Safey Eldeen told Ahram Online.
World Urban Forum for children and Nabta magazine
Officially launched in 2016 but halted for a few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Golden Cubes Awards have 4 categories: Schools-institutions- written, Print and audiovisual media, and visual media. Forty works were exhibited, of which 20 competed. The Children Urban Hub won the award in the institutions category for “The World Urban Forum for Children." Nabta won the award in the print media category for “Nabta Magazine for Children.”
Represented by Professor Aya ElKhouly, the Children Urban Hub is a pioneering initiative that empowers children to shape child-friendly cities actively. Collaborating with educators, urban planners, and policymakers, the initiative ensures children's voices are heard in city design.
Nabta, on the other hand, is a magazine dedicated to establishing a connection between children and the environment in ways that are fun and educational. Founded by Professor Walaa Hussien, the online and printed magazine strives to establish a strong connection between children and the environment by providing a first-hand experience through writing for the magazine or reading.
Meet the jury
The jury was headed by Alia Abdel-Hadi, professor and pedagogue at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University. It also included Mohamed Abu Samra, architect, community development, and expert urban designer; Amir Gohar, professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Bristol; Menna El-Husseini, professor; Farah Gendy, architect; and Heba Safey Eldeen, professor of architecture and cultural activist. The panel also included the awards' sponsors, namely Ahmed Hosny Radwan, professor, Ahmed Serri, architect, and Ahmed Abdel Bari, professor.
“The first round kicked off ten years ago in 2016. I am very happy with the diversity and the criteria. They are all excellent, and all serve in passing on the ideas using audiovisual, written, and produced material. I thank you all, and I encourage you to spread the word to benefit as many Egyptians as possible," explained Professor Alia Abdel-Hadi in her opening speech.
Similarly, Mohamed Abu Samra highlighted the importance of the knowledge acquired from such awards, noting that architecture must reflect people's culture, jobs, and the ways they manage their lives. He pointed out that the architecture that does not reflect all that is not architecture, adding that "when we teach the child all this, we show him that he is a key element in the process for architecture, which is the art of building societies, not only buildings."
The works exhibited
The rest of the participants were granted special mention awards. Their prototypes were carefully exhibited for the audience to experience. Among the games that were displayed were Ancient Egyptian Architecture by Arckiddo, Islamic Architecture games, Palestine Symbol Game by Hanin Osama, Islamic Architecture Game by Adham Walid, Nancy Hossam, and Jana Yasser, Alshamandoura film by Mohmed Rageb, Wando City by FabMind, Craftino’s Adventure All Over Egypt book by Master Crafter, and many more.
“The works presented here are very inspiring and very different, and I have learned from them. I was one of the first to join this programme and win an international award,” added Farha El-Gendy.
“In Egypt, we have 140 universities, 73 percent of them provide architectural programmes under various names, and still you can see the negative practices. Therefore, I believe that the individual initiatives are as important as the university programmes," concluded Professor Ahmed Hosny Radwan.
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