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Monastery of Preservation

Part 1 Project 2018
Mahmoud Amgad
Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport - Smart Village Campus Cairo | Egypt
The project proposes a global DNA safe house for millions of living species to “save the beauty of nature”. A frozen sanctuary aims to ‘collect, preserve and store tissue, viable cells and DNA from living creatures for use in conservation programmes and to enable society to benefit itself. It preserves DNA samples to ensure against their loss either because of extinction or of large-scale regional or global crises.

Mahmoud Amgad

Tutor(s)
2018
A global DNA safe house for millions of living species, a frozen sanctuary to ensure against their loss either because of extinction or of large-scale regional or global crises.
The approach starts with a gradually descending movement into the ground, a ceremonial welcoming, animated by imprints of nature on both sides.
The project is an extension of the existing Svalbard Global Seed Vault, located in the Norwegian remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago, about 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) from the North Pole.
From traces to textures, the imprints of nature are always present. A unique way to describe the beauty and connectivity of nature.
As one of the driving investigations for the project, textures and imprints were studied as an integral part of the materiality of spaces and of the narrative at large.
‘The Void’, a central space to which different parts of the project are attached. One can get a glimpse of ‘The Shrine’ (the central archival vault) from above.
The exhibit, a grand hypostyle hall consisting of 22 pillars. A space where nature on earth is celebrated.
Programmatically the project revolves around three main activities, ‘The Parlour’, ‘The Shrine’, and ‘The Dormitory’.
The vault is the most sacred space, ultimately visible from everywhere yet only accessed in times of distress.
A place for sacred enlightenment… a spiritual journey… a pilgrimage.
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