The objective of the study is to investigate, in the Egyptian context, residential satisfaction in gated communities (GCs) in relation to stages in the life cycle. The aim is to identify possible differences between the different stages in the life cycle in terms of the most important predictors of overall residential satisfaction. The study relies on a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of residents of Al-Rehab GC in Cairo, Egypt (n = 131). The sample was divided into four life cycle stage groups: young singles (YS) (n = 36), heads of young family households (YF) (n = 41), heads of households with older children (OC) (n = 34), and empty nesters (EN) (n = 20). Statistical analysis does indeed reveal differences between stages in the life cycle in relation to the most important components of residential satisfaction. In particular, for YF and OC, the social environment within the GC was the most important predictor of overall residential satisfaction. For these two life cycle groups, issues related to the needs and safety of their children were also important. In contrast, for EN, the social environment and characteristics of the area around the dwelling appeared to be much less important than for other groups. For EN, satisfaction with the dwelling unit itself was shown to be the most important predictor of overall residential satisfaction.

Community engagement is an important approach in the sustainable urban development of heritage sites. During the last two decades, a large number of studies have focused on evolving approaches to heritage protection. These initiatives have tried various approaches or models to strengthen the role of the community in the protection process. Historic Cairo is one of the most important sites on the UNESCO list of world heritage sites. In 2011, UNESCO took a new approach to sustainable urban development in historical areas, given their importance in the history of urban culture. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Community Engagement Tool for the sustainable urban development of heritage sites in two case studies in historic Cairo (Al-Darb Al-Aqaba (URHC) and Souq El-Silah) by examining the instrument of community participation used to transform the landscape of sustainable urban development. It also aims to identify the importance of community involvement in the sustainable development of heritage sites. This method adopts a case study approach and follows a qualitative research approach consisting of two parts: a theoretical part through a literature review and an analytical part through an investigation of two case studies (JSPS procedures in Souq El-Silah and URBAN procedure in Al-Darb Al-Amar). We also explore the data collected and the results of the community consultation process for both projects. The findings show that through capacity building, participatory workshops and mapping tools, local residents became dynamic decision makers in both case studies. More than 70 percent of the community members involved in the Al-Darb Al-Ahmar project reported increased ownership and involvement in heritage protection. In addition, the results of the survey show that the Community Engagement Tool effectively involves and empowers local residents in decision-making and planning processes.

The spread of COVID-19 has been recorded as one of the most severe worldwide pandemics. Workplaces are a germicidal environment for spreading viruses due to their high occupation. As a response, international health, safety, and architectural organizations have published pandemic-related guidelines to create a safe working environment for the employees. Covid-19 has impacted reshaping the internal architectural workspace design. The research shall review the published international organizations’ guidelines on workspace design and its architectural interpretations established by international design companies, which seek to create safer designs for workplaces post-pandemic. This study is a concise review of the workplace-related guidelines and precautions published by health and safety and architectural organizations such as WHO, CDC, OSHA, ASHARE, AIA, AHIA, and ILO. Secondly, aggregate data has been developed to frame and compile the design interpretations of the published pandemic guidelines recognized by several international architecture and furniture companies which has been interpreted into architectural plans of the common spaces of the office buildings. As a result, a matrix table was created which includes the common spaces in office buildings and their post-COVID architectural solutions. This matrix shall be used as a tool to be employed as a guide for design consultants in designing healthy workplaces that are resilient to airborne pandemics, which shall benefit in revisiting the architectural standards according to the published workplaces Pandemic guidelines.

The objective of this study is to investigate, in the Egyptian context, the relationships between the design characteristics of university campus outdoor spaces and students' perception of their stress-reducing qualities. The study relied on the rating of 25 photographs of university campus outdoor spaces by engineering students and professors of architecture from a different university. Professors (N=8) rated the photographs for the six more objective physical design characteristics: (1) Amount of vegetation, (2) Complexity, (3) Order, (4) Focality, (5) Variety of ground surface textures, and (6) Use of natural materials. A first sample of students (N=84) rated the photographs for six more subjective, emotional design characteristics: 1) Sense of spaciousness, (2) Sense of security, (3) Sense of mystery, (4) Sense of being away, (5) Attractiveness, and (6) Compatibility. Finally, a second sample of students (N=49) rated the spaces represented in the photographs in terms of stress-reducing quality. The results showed significant correlations between perceived stress-reducing quality and all the design characteristics investigated except Order and Focality. The study's results suggest different models for the relationship between the design characteristics of university campus outdoor spaces and the stress-reducing quality of these spaces as perceived by students. Future research will need to test these models.

Recently, several studies have discussed the concept of kinetic facades that responds to environmental variations such as solar radiation intensity and humidity levels to improve indoor environment quality. Most of these kinetic facades are actively automated; which tend to use sensors and actuators in response to the environmental stimuli. On the contrary, recently, passive adaptive strategies have become an efficient alternative to active-automated strategies. The passive strategies depend on utilizing the passive actuated materials in facade systems design by taking advantage of self-adaptation of the materials' structure in response to environmental variations without using energy. Accordingly, the study argued that using these smart materials in fabricating solar shadings has a positive impact on buildings' energy consumption. However, these shadings may lead to minimizing the Window-to-Wall Ratio, therefore, decreasing the daylight levels inside the space. Therefore, the study aims to present a multi-objective optimization for passive adaptive shadings that integrate smart materials to balance the daylight and solar radiation inside the space. The research goes through three consecutive phases. First, the shading module and building geometry modeling. Second, a multi-objective optimization that aims to generate a set of Pareto-optimal solutions; a set of non-dominated alternatives. Third, a performance comparison between three of the optimal solutions and the base case model without any shading elements. The results show that the optimal solutions can decrease 51-80% of the solar radiation intensity while keeping the illuminance levels at moderate levels inside the office space.