5-Star Hotel and Service branded Apartments.

Masterplanning, architecture and landscape design by Giò Forma

The project establishes a strong dialogue between built form and landscape, with a bespoke façade design expressing a contemporary reinterpretation of local identity through light and texture.

In the heart of New Cairo’s Sixth Settlement, this retreat redefines five-star hospitality through a contemporary, place-sensitive approach. It blends bioclimatic architecture, natural materials, and a soft, informal atmosphere to create a space of calm, comfort, and connection. Shaped by identity, nature, and future, the design invites guests into a sanctuary where tradition is reinterpreted and innovation enhances well-being. In a context where everything is new, we define architectural canons by looking inward, not outward to international influences. New Cairo is a city with its own architectural DNA still in the making — a living organism continuously shaping its identity. This retreat embraces that evolving character, becoming more than a destination: it is a living experience that listens to its context and carries it forward.

The project draws inspiration from the elemental presence of water, taking the Nile Riveras its primary reference. A sequence of fluid spaces — from shaded courtyards to open plazas — is shaped by the movement, reflection, and sound of water. Inspiredby the timeless flow of the Nile, water is reinterpreted as a design language. Still pools, gentle cascades, and sculptural fountains create immersive transitions between hotel, residential, and retail areas. Reflections animate the facades. Movement becomes space.

Kemet— the ancient name for the Black Land — evokesthe fertile soils shaped by the life-giving waters of the Nile. This elemental relationship between earth, water, and vegetation forms the conceptual foundation of the project. Within the hotel, residences, and retail promenade, water features and planting are treated as essential design instruments. Vegetation guides and shapes the spatial journey — framing views, casting shadows, softening transitions, and defining thresholds. In this contemporary reimagining of Kemet, natural elements are choreographed to create contrast and harmony — dryness and lushness, enclosure and openness — evokingthe fertile, stratified landscapes nourished by the Nile, and accompanying visitors through a sequence of layered spaces.

A defining ingredient of the design is the use of multilayered volumes — a composition of overlapping elements that build rhythm, depth, and continuity. Inspired by the way water gradually shapesand layers the landscape along the Nile, these morphological formsgo beyond simple stacking: they create a fluid architectural language where each level contributes to a sense of movement and spatial richness. The result is a structure that feels alive, shaped by light, shadow, and the dynamic relationshipbetween built form and open space.

Perforated sunshades are more than just protection from the sun — they become part of the architectural languageof the building. The textured surfaces naturally filter light, creating dynamic shadow patterns that shift throughout the day and add depth to the facade. Inspired by traditional textures, the cut-out patterns bring lightness and character, turning each terrace into a space suspended between inside and outside, between light and material.

In collaboration with SYDEN