The American University in Cairo (AUC), known for excellence on an international level, has created new spaces for social contact, extending its institutional status to cover the role of a versatile cultural center.
The refurbishing includes the opening of the Tahrir cafeteria, a more informal place of social contact with lively architectural space that combines original architectural parts with a very Italian ‘fantasy’ of contemporary style. The project by Style Design Architects covers the lower part of the old stone walls with new panels of white wood, formulating a space with tables and chairs by Pedrali with honed forms that offer not only comfort and sustainability, but also a pleasant visual contrast with the impressive sequence of ogival arches.
The architects have enhanced the void generated by the high ceiling with minimalist tubular suspension lamps, while at the center the long, linear and ultra-thin tops of the Arki Table reflect the convivial character of the interiors. Here socializing happens while comfortably seated on the Fox chairs that juxtapose the structural and chromatic rigor of the tables with the harmonious mix of the polypropylene shell, in tones of sand and light blue, and the profile of the legs in ash.
Wood, seen in the paneling with horizontal boards, the benches and counters against the wall, is also utilized in the Nym chairs and stools created by CMP Design. A contemporary reinterpretation of the Windsor chair, with an arched wooden back grafted seamlessly into the solid wood seat. Lighter but no less expressive, the Malmö chairs and Lunar tables are joined by the Intrigo chairs and the Babila stools.
