Post-COVID Rooftop Activation: An Educational Paradigm for Urban Design Schools in Egypt

Abstract

The rooftop is a vivid spatial culture in Egyptian cities and an integral part of the urban fabric, yet it has not been integrated within the urban design educational aspect. This paper aims to highlight the importance of facilitating rooftop activation in architecture and urbanism studios, stressing the vital role of rooftops as a spatial prophylactic design in the post-pandemic city. The paper embraces an exploratory approach through which the reader gains a theoretical insight into the nature of urban design education in Egyptian schools. It adopts Nikos Salingaros’ concept of living patterns, i.e. creating socio-geometric design patterns to establish a healthy environment. The findings propose a novel design theory, prophylaxis, which can be facilitated in design studios to address post-pandemic cities. Additionally, they reveal the expected role of architects and urbanists in tackling inequalities in designing spaces.