Sayyida Zainab Mosque
Cairo, Egypt
Merit Award
Sent by: The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.)
Owners: Ministry of Awqaf (Endowments); Department of Military Works.
Main design company: MCG Mentor Consulting Group
General contractor: The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.)
titleCivil and structural engineer: Department of Maintenance of Palaces and Monuments, The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.)
The Sayyida Zainab Mosque in Cairo is of great cultural importance in Egypt, which made restoring the building without compromising its architectural identity of great importance to the project team.
Meeting the tight project schedule added to its challenges, while the budget for the work had to increase after fluctuations in the local currency exchange rate led to a 100% increase in the prices of the raw materials.
The mosque has hundreds of marble columns, chandeliers and mosque lamps decorated with Islamic symbols. A ground-penetrating radar was needed to accurately identify and detect gaps in its stone facades to be replaced. Laser scanning was used to replicate areas of new construction to match the mosque’s historically celebrated style.
Among the added features are interior walls decorated with artistic wood and marble paneling, a renovated patio outfitted with fine granite and more entrances to improve the flow of patrons during peak hours, according to the filing.
The contractors explain that services at the mosque continued throughout the project, thanks to the strict coordination of public spaces so that congregants could be removed from the hustle and bustle of construction and pray in peace.
