Crédit Agricole Egypt Headquarters

The primary design objectives are to design a good standard office building on international standards that will serve the CAE headquarters requirements for the next 10 to 20 years in terms of capacity and quality of workspaces, services and high-level corporate image. Design within the regulatory context while developing a maximum capacity of usable surface. The workspaces should be flexible to accommodate movement and change within the staff. Spaces should be dividable, able to be partitioned or function as open space.

The building should allow for the clear special separation between services, staff and visitor use. The new building should be suited to all the needs of the Crédit Agricole Egypt while offering the possibility of being either let of sold to a third party in the future. Above all, the project should be considered as an excellent real-estate investment for its proprietors.

MASTER PLAN CONCEPT

Three objectives are in mind when the master planning was set out; provide a strong visible street front presence, create an interior garden as focal point of the site and anticipate the second stage in a campus composition.

The facades on the street front approach the site setbacks and particularly at the street intersections. This is to assure the best possible visibility from the different approach ways.

Exterior signage can therefore be applied directly onto the facades at corners. Between building corners the elevations are recessed to both accentuate the corners and provide a welcoming plaza to the south main entrance, east staff entrance and drop off and western docking area. The folds and recesses animate the building’s volume as primary gestures while preserving simplest possible building floor plates.

The garden is situated on the natural grade and reveals an additional usable floor “garden level” located beneath the main ground floor. The garden and garden level both organizes the building into a “U” shape focused around an oasis and bring together the community functions of the company. The garden is symbolic of the company well-being and growth. It is an inviting place for daily enjoyment at breaks as well as a prestigious ceremonial space for company events. Designed for low upkeep, the garden will provide an attractive showcase of sustainable design.

“The campus” configuration is a highbred solution whish recognizes the conditions of the site. The major advantages are; it seeks to make the most of the site by occupying the perimeter of the sites three road fronts while creating a central private garden. It also offers an asset to the second phase construction. In the event that a third party develops the second phase against the property limit, two factors should be noted. First the CAE first phase campus composition places the majority of the facades as far as possible from the separating limit of the two lots and therefore provides intimacy to the workspaces. Secondly the interior garden should be designed to create a thick enough foreground to filter views towards the north and any eventual undesirable vis-à-vis.

ACCESS AND VISUAL ORIENTATION

Arrival to the site is a design factor and has been addressed at two levels. First as a visual repair from the roadways, both the ring road as well as the south-bordering road. Secondly, the differentiation of access of different users of the building; VIP drop off, visitor outside parking, staff parking, deliveries or drivers is to be clear.

The front façade (South), which is visible from both potential arrival ways, will be dedicated to VIP vehicle drop off or pedestrian access to the main reception hall.

The staff entrance will be to the East on the ground floor as well as the staff mini-bus drop off. Staff parking will be located to the northwest away from the main entrance and management parking will be located to the east. Deliveries to the kitchens, drivers’ areas and waste removal will be on a service court to the northwest of the building.

The southeast corner and eastern façade will provide the outside visitor parking area, as it is readily visible and immediately accessible. It is also the closest point to the branch bank.

Shading system

High efficient façade

Grey Water Recycling

Water-saving sanitary appliances

Recycled materials

Low-emitting materials and finishes

High efficient lighting

Daylight sensors

Occupancy sensors

Sustainable sourced timber

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems

Smart design (passive design strategies)

Regional materials

Daylighting maximised