Tahrir Square Informal Architecture: a shading device

As Egyptians returned to Tahrir Square on July 8 for an open sit-in until the basic demands of the revolution are fulfilled, the necessities of life in the public square are being organized. Unlike the February sit-in, when the weather was much cooler and the sun less harsh, in July the sun is an element that must be taken into account. This is why it is necessary for a shading device to be constructed over the camp area in the grassy roundabout.

The area to be covered is large, there isn’t a single authority in charge of installing the shading device. Over the course of the last 24 hours volunteers with large spans of fabric, safety pins, staples and ropes and a few scaffolding structures erected parts of a shading device that is composed of smaller pieces tied together with pins and staples. By the end of the night the device was stunning. Constantly in motion because of the summer breeze, allowing varying amounts of light through, layered at parts, set high at some points and almost coming to the ground at others. It has the feel of an unfinished design, it is a work in progress.

This is a piece of architecture/sculpture created by the people in response to basic necessity. I hope those who were rushing to create a Tahrir Square monument are watching… and learning.

Video by Sharif Abdel Kouddous of Egypt Reports.