The Mediterranean city of Alexandria is not only the premier port in Egypt but, given the city’s rich cosmopolitan mix of Egyptian, Greek, Italian, and Levantine residents throughout the better part of the 20 century
The Mediterranean city of Alexandria is not only the premier port in Egypt but, given the city’s rich cosmopolitan mix of Egyptian, Greek, Italian, and Levantine residents throughout the better part of the 20 century, boasts an architectural heritage that is the envy of any Mediterranean town.
Change has overcome Alexandria, however, and it has not been kind to the city or to its wealth of heritage. In the early 20th century, Alexandria was home to some 232,000 permanents residents; today the population has reached five million.
Exodus
The spectacular rise in population has been detrimental to Alexandria’s unique Mediterranean character. The villas that once graced the city’s winding, some 20-km long Corniche, and whose gardens and lush greenery lined its peaceful avenues, have given way to high rise buildings and huge traffic that crowd out what used to be leisurely, open spaces. Predictably, land prices soared as real estate developers rushed to use the scarce space to provide millions with housing.
It did not help that the political and economic socialist policy of Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Egypt’s president from 1953 to 1970, drove away many of the foreigners—among them many Jews—who had lived and thrived in Egypt. Alexandria especially suffered because it was home to many of Jews and foreigners; they left and, whether directly or years later, sought to sell their property. Egyptians also came upon hard times as economic woes persisted; their children and grandchildren moved out of the family home, selling villas and old homes to developers.
As the population continued to balloon, the destruction of Egypt’s modern architectural heritage spread countrywide. It became economically non-feasible for a family to live in a house or villa in areas where urbanisation was swiftly taking over. The State failed to provide a legal framework that would have protected this heritage without undermining the economic interests of the property owners.
Save Alexandria
Alexandrians concerned about the demolition of their city’s heritage have established an NGO, Save Alexandria. A couple of months ago Save Alexandria was able to halt the demolition of the Cicurel villa in the city. Today, the group is banding together to prevent the demolition of the Aghion Villa, which was built by Auguste Perret (1874 – 1954) in 1927.
The Aghion is an important modernist villa reflecting Alexandria’s 20th-century society and architectural culture. It was commissioned by one of Alexandria’s wealthy Jewish families and was apparently sold after the 1952 Revolution and the departure of the owners. It survived until 2009 when there was an attempt to demolish it. On 28 August last year, a bulldozer arrived at dawn to gut the façade on the garden side, where the cupola, uncannily, is still standing. Today it stands partially destroyed—by order of its owners—and abandoned, bereft of all its original splendour.
Although the villa was listed among the protected monuments recently issued by the Egyptian authorities, nothing has been done about the demolition. It does not help at all that since the 25 January Revolution there has been a sizeable lapse in security in Egypt coupled with an associated rise in the crime rate. The lack of policing has encouraged widespread violations of the law, and a large proportion of these violations occurred in the building sector. Non-licensed buildings that violated building regulations sprung up everywhere, while heritage buildings were pulled down overnight.
Slow derioration
The demand for housing in Alexandria is such that the land is now worth millions. Both the current owners and real estate developers want to see it destroyed so that they can erect four buildings on the property.
The slow process of deterioration chosen by the owners will probably allow the building, after the fateful gutting, to be declared a future, perhaps an immediate, safety hazard and require its destruction. This type of action is in fact frequently practised so that a developer can obtain the demolition of a property which is supposed to be protected.
In view of the owners’ efforts to demolish the building, Save Alexandria is reciprocating with efforts to spread awareness of the significance of the building and to ensure that it is conserved. It would cost millions to compensate the owners who, admittedly, have every right to compensation, and to rescue the building and return it to its original magnificence. Is the task so impossible?
WATANI International
18 June 2012