This project in Luxor is intended to provide training and support to unemployed women and particularly single parents. Arranged over three floors with a basement, the architecture echoes the local vernacular: it is arranged around shaded open courts and the roof is partly covered in domes and vaults, in line with traditional methods of cooling. The building accommodates craft workshops, a social fund bank, exhibition spaces, an IT centre, a medical centre and a cafeteria. Tourists are able to view work in progress and buy the crafts. Community participation helped to determine the centre’s programmes and the target is to benefit 1,000 families each year.

Source:

The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, 2011.