The Cinemas Of Cairo

Nostalgia comes in many forms, it is the seeking of past-tense sentiment or historical romanticism allowing one to indulge their feelings in a memory, or an era which more so than often contributes to emotional simplicity, and when these notions formulate the core foundation of an organization or a simple project, through what I’d like to call active nostalgia, it shoves through reality like wildfire, and perhaps recaptures the essence of social and cultural heritage.

The Cinemas of Cairo is an architectural research project by the Architecture and Urban Design program at the German University of Cairo (GUC) in cooperation with the Cairo Lab for Urban Studies, Training and Environmental Research (CLUSTER), with a focus on historical movie theatres in Downtown Cairo.

The mere activity of going to the cinema was once the pinnacle of entertainment in Cairo, and while it has more or less established itself within the Egyptian community, The Cinemas of Cairo seeks to evoke fascination in the all-embracing features that correspond to Cairo theatres; their urban context and historical stance, as opposed to gentrification and the irreversible modification and decay undergone over these buildings.

Perhaps in an effort to emphasise on the legacy of such architectural designs and arouse a support system to preserve cultural and social heritage, The Cinemas of Cairo captures sentimental photographs depicting the beauty of such historical works. 

Check out The Cinemas of Cairo's Facebook page here.