Eden “The Impossible City”
Personal Info
Name: Ahmed Tareef Arafa
Nationality: Egyptian
Institution / Company: Arab Academy for Science and Technology (AAST)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahmed__tareef/
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/ahmed.t.arafa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmed-tareef-62278a132/
-HONOURABLE MENTION of Non Architecture Award Competition | Category: Aspatial
“In societies where modern conditions of production prevail, life is presented as an immense accumulation of spectacles. Everything that was directly lived has receded into a representation.” Guy Depord.
In an era of pandemic, health is a fortune, awareness is a must, and separation is mandatory for survival but as humans social interactions and intimacy are crucial.
The project is the story of Ed and how he breaks out of the quarantine cycle and discovers this new world in the digital realm to regain “Normal”, Ed is a representation of every locked down human and the character that walks you through the project.
The impossible city of Eden is a placeless parallel world for the locked down people with unusual boundaries only to enhance the living experience of what they had in the now forbidden “Out there”.
The City is formulated by implementing the impossible boundaries to the “normal” urban fabric (Shifting gravity – infinite space – perception variation).
The Educational-Space focuses on shifting gravity and present like pixel art with a floating river, islands and two types of classes.
The Trade-Space focuses on infinite space, consist of intersecting planes and pathways to form an uneven grid that when combined form stores that keep expanding.
The Work-Space focuses on the variation of perspective, how one space can be many, the representation of a higher power and how to break this capitalist idea by making an individual platform that flies around the space (can transport him/er wherever he/she wants).
Project Type: The Project is divided into four spaces, The City (illustrated in the street and node views) which contains The Educational-Space, Trade-Space and Work-Space, each one has its own unique characteristics that defines it.
Jury Comments
– Mariana Cabugueira
Outstanding plurality and variety of spaces and dimensions. Representation and total control of graphics. This project stands out clearly on spatiality richness amongst all submissions. There is something quite more successful on the realistic renders rather than the gaming ones, an inherent elegancy and absolute control of colour pallete. Extremely successful. I would zoom the main images and increase their size on page to maximize its impact.
