A new community arts space has been completed in Cairo, Egypt, by CLUSTER (Cairo Lab for Urban Studies, Training and Environmental Research), working in collaboration with London-based THISS Studio and Cairo-based Orient Productions. Located in Agouza Children’s Park in Giza, part of the Greater Cairo metropolis, the project transforms one of the city’s few remaining publicly accessible green spaces into an independent outdoor cultural venue.
Design as a form of resistance
Titled Pergola and located close to the Nile riverfront, the vivid red, 10-metre-tall structure establishes a new focal point in Cairo’s emerging cultural scene. Inspired by public bandstands and other open, sheltered stages, it responds to the city’s accelerating gentrification and the commercialisation of neighbourhood parks. Pergola proposes an alternative model of urban development grounded in community access, cultural programming, and public stewardship. In doing so, it positions design as a form of resistance at a time when rapid, investment-driven development increasingly threatens local heritage and public life.
Pergola builds on CLUSTER’s “Along-the-Line” project, a modular public installation previously developed for the same park. As a continuation of this work, the project contributes to the organisation’s long-term efforts to reclaim contested urban sites and advocate for inclusive public space.
A flexible, community-centred structure
The design shifts easily between active and passive uses. With lighting rigs, speakers, and a compact secure backstage, the venue will host performances, concerts, film screenings, and community events. On days without programming, the cantilevered canopy provides generous shade and seating, functioning like a contemporary bandstand. The space can also support informal community celebrations such as birthdays or graduation ceremonies.
A park under pressure
Agouza Children’s Park reflects Cairo’s wider struggle for public space. Adjacent to the 6th of October Bridge, one of the city’s busiest highways, the park has faced gradual encroachment over the past decade. Large billboards and commercial signage now occupy parts of the green space, heightening concern that the park could disappear altogether. Pergola’s placement beside the bridge directly engages this context: its bright, fire-engine red form is deliberately conspicuous among the visual noise, asserting the presence of culture and community in a contested landscape.
Recycled materials and sustainable construction
Aside from its steel frame, Pergola is constructed almost entirely from recycled plastic waste collected from the Nile and nearby construction sites. The material was supplied by three Egyptian innovators in plastic reuse: Reblox, VeryNile, and TileGreen. In a city grappling with acute waste mismanagement, the project demonstrates the potential for large-scale material reuse in construction and brings circular-economy thinking into the architectural discourse of the region.
Collaborative design process
CLUSTER previously partnered with THISS Studio on a project in Karachi and invited the London-based practice to join the Pergola team, recognising their shared commitment to sustainable design. Drawing on THISS Studio’s international design and public-realm experience, alongside CLUSTER’s embedded local knowledge, Pergola’s design emerged from a fluid exchange between the two practices.
A week-long workshop in Cairo initiated the process, convening community groups, students, designers, and park stakeholders. Through co-design sessions, model-making, and public consultation, the project’s direction evolved over six months. For THISS Studio, the collaboration offered a significant opportunity to apply responsible material practices outside a European context and adapt them to Cairo’s cultural and urban realities.
The project’s success reflects a sustained openness to community insight. Realising Pergola required careful engagement with local structures, ongoing coordination with partners, and respectful navigation of the social and bureaucratic landscape. This commitment helped ensure that the resulting structure would be welcomed, used, and cared for by those living around it.
A six-month cultural programme
Orient Productions will curate a six-month programme of free public events centred on sustainability. Aimed at both the park’s longstanding community of children and families and visitors from across the city, the programme includes folklore concerts, contemporary dance, clown performances, film screenings, and other cultural activities. Through this wide-ranging line-up, Pergola invites audiences to reflect on rapid urban change, consider how heritage shapes the present, and explore new ways of reading the city.
Sustaining culture, reclaiming space
Pergola is one of four major commissions funded through a wider grant programme by Art Jameel and the British Council. Within Cairo’s fast-changing urban environment, where public land is increasingly under pressure, the project stands not only as a built intervention but also as a statement about how design can support community agency and environmental stewardship.
Pergola opened to the public on 10 October 2025 as part of a city-wide arts initiative. Both civic structure and architectural gesture, Pergola asserts itself as a landmark on the Nile. It reclaims contested ground, offers a platform for contemporary culture, and demonstrates the transformative potential of collaborative, community-rooted design.
Q&A with Sash Scott, Co-Founder, THISS Studio
Archello: Pergola is described as “design as a form of resistance”. How did sustainability — both environmental and social — guide your vision for the project from the outset?
Sash: From the outset, we approached Pergola as both an environmental and social act of resistance. Sustainability for us meant not only reducing waste but rethinking the lifecycle of materials and their cultural role in public space. We prioritised creative reuse and circular construction, sourcing recycled plastic waste from the Nile and local construction sites through pioneering Egyptian suppliers. In doing so, we wanted to challenge dominant building norms and demonstrate that sustainable, community-driven design can be bold, visible, and celebratory. Socially, the project is rooted in reclaiming public space — creating an accessible cultural venue that serves the local community while foregrounding the value of reuse in shaping a more equitable urban future.
Archello: The structure is made almost entirely from recycled plastic waste sourced from the Nile and construction sites. How was that material adapted for use at this scale and what challenges did it present during fabrication?
Sash: Pergola’s vivid flank walls and canopy are made from modular recycled plastic bricks by Reblox, reaching eight metres — the tallest structure to use this material to date. Recycled plastics from the Nile, sourced by VeryNile, were adapted for the canopy cladding, while TileGreen supplied the colourful recycled floor tiles.
Each supplier’s process produced different material properties, so we worked closely with Reblox’s engineers to refine the system and ensure safety and stability. The result showcases how recycled plastics can perform structurally and aesthetically at an architectural scale.
Archello: The project’s collaboration with Reblox, VeryNile, and TileGreen connects architecture directly to Cairo’s locally recovered materials. How did those partnerships shape both the design process and the project’s message about material reuse?
Sash: We wanted Pergola to celebrate and amplify the innovative work already happening in Cairo around recycled materials. Each partnership directly informed both the design and construction. VeryNile’s recycled plastic sheets offered the perfect balance of translucency and durability for the sun-shading canopy, while Reblox collaborated with us to develop a staggered wall configuration that maximised the structural strength of their recycled bricks at this unprecedented height. TileGreen’s recycled floor tiles provided a resilient alternative to traditional cement finishes, allowing us to test and challenge conventional building techniques.
Together, these collaborations grounded the project in the city’s emerging circular economy — turning material reuse into both a design driver and a public statement about local ingenuity.
Archello: How did working within Cairo’s distinct environmental and cultural context influence your approach to material experimentation and sustainable design on Pergola?
Sash: We were very much led by our collaborators in Cairo to ensure the project was delivered with genuine cultural and environmental sensitivity. CLUSTER’s deep understanding of the city — its morphology, urban fabric, and political dynamics — was essential in guiding every decision. Pergola became not only an exercise in material innovation but also a political one. Realising it required extensive negotiation and collaboration with local authorities, community groups, and park stakeholders to ensure the structure could exist and be embraced by its users.
Ultimately, the project’s success lies in that process — in combining international design experience with local knowledge to create something that is environmentally responsive, contextually grounded, and socially meaningful.
