Alexandria: Villa Aghion by the Perret brothers

The destruction of Egypt’s modern architectural heritage is widespread in cities across the country. In previous posts (#destruction) various reasons for this have been mentioned and they range from legal and inheritance issues but the state is mostly to blame for failing to provide a legal framework that protects this heritage without undermining the economic interests of the property owners. Additionally corrupt local governments and the lax regulations regarding building code and building heights have further threatened surviving structures, many of which were designed as villas surrounded by gardens. Such villas, even if they survived, their value as villas has been jeopardized because no one would invest in a villa overlooked and surrounded by 10+ story apartments.

The Villa Aghion built by the Perret brothers in Alexandria in 1926-1927 is considered an important modernist villa reflecting Alexandria’s society and architectural culture. It had survived until 2009 when there was an attempt to demolish it. Today it stands partially destroyed and abandoned. This has been the fate of many more less high-profile structures in Alexandria, Cairo, Mansoura and other cities. Below is an excerpt from a 2009 article by Clea Daridan about the status of the villa:

Although the everyday worries of the population and the immediate needs of families in the city are in no way negligible, how is it possible to allow such destruction and progressive denial of national heritage without any reaction ? The study of this villa is not enough to ensure its existence but the awareness of its importance to heritage, especially by Egyptian authorities, should have established the right to bequeath it to future generations. Although the villa appears in the list of protected monuments recently issued by Egyptian authorities under law 144, nothing has been done however and no surveys have been possible.

Read the full article, here.