Restoration of Zeinab Khatoun House - Egypt
Monuments Restoration
:: Ongoing Projects
:: 2023 ::
Client: Ministry of Antiquities
Description: Archaeological Buildings
The project work includes repurposing and converting the archaeological building into multi-purpose halls, with the addition of some new ceilings to create an area for home services. Two elevators will also be erected, one for visitors and the other for services.
The works also included the implementation of a dome or metal-framed skylights (known as a Shokhsheikha) at 14 meters above the roof level of the current house, which contains a cafeteria and a panoramic corridor overlooking historic Cairo, as well as the addition of central air conditioning to all spaces of the building, electrical works that include fire alarm networks, surveillance, information, and audio networks, in addition to internal and external lighting and power works, and firefighting, which includes fire tanks with a capacity of 120 m3 and fire pumps. A concrete wall is also constructed around the campus of the house towards Al-Azhar Mosque, and an electrical transformer chamber.
It is worth noting that Zeinab Khatoun House is an ancient archaeological house located behind Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo. The house, with its beautiful design and magnificent construction, made it a destination for filming and television series. Princess Shaqra Hanim, the granddaughter of Sultan Al-Nasir Hassan bin Qalawun, built it in 1486 and remained hers until 1517 and the entry of the Ottomans into Egypt. Zeinab Khatoun is the wife of Prince Sharif Hamza Al-Kharboutli. The title Khatoun means an honorable and venerable woman. Her husband bought the house for her and named it after her. The house is considered a model of Mamluk architecture. The entrance was designed so that the guest could not see who was inside (the broken entrance). As soon as you pass through the entrance, you find yourself in the “courtyard of the house,” which ensures that light and air reach the house and the rooms it contains.