Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Heritage Conservation: Business and Architecture Students Unite in the Adaptive Reuse of Bayt Al-Razzaz

At the School of Business Administration, we are proud to engage in a collaborative partnership with the Architecture and Urban Design (ARUD) program at the School of Engineering and Applied Science for the Adaptive Reuse of Bayt Al-Razzaz initiative. The project was initiated by Dr. Dina Shehayeb, the Program Director of ARUD, to foster interdisciplinary collaboration between ARUD and the Business School. Our students are integrating the commercial and business aspects into six project ideas developed by the ARUD students for the Adaptive Reuse project.

It is worth noting that three courses from the Business School are integrated into the project: Brand Management, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Marketing Research, under the supervision of Dr. Noha Alaa, Dr. Vasilya Sultanova, and Dr. Menna Kaoud.

Meetings were held with both schools and relevant stakeholders, in addition to a tour of the historical location of Old Cairo guided by Dr. Dina Shehayeb, who showed us around the surroundings of ElDarb El Ahmar. The tour included a visit to Bayt Yakan, a privately-renovated 17th-century house managed by Dr. Alaa Habashi, who generously provided our students with a full briefing about the restored house. We then met with Dr. Omniya Abdel Barr, Head of Development at the Egyptian Heritage Rescue Foundation, and her team at Bayt El Razzaz, where we had a tour of the place and received a briefing about the history and plans for the house.

The students are diligently engaged in refining their projects to translate architectural concepts into commercially viable and feasible ventures. We acknowledge the support of our TAs from both schools: Ms. Sara Sayed, Ms. Menna Magdy, Ms. Haidy Hassan, and Ms. Sohad El Nagar.