MIDAR Concludes a Major Architectural Design Competition within the Project to Establish a Cultural Center and Community Hub in Mostakbal City, Supporting Community and Cultural Development

MIDAR for Investment and Urban Development, the master developer of Mostakbal City and MADA in New Cairo, in collaboration with Ain Shams University, organized a major architectural design competition under the slogan "Everyone Wins with MIDAR". The competition was held as part of MIDAR’s project to establish a cultural center and community hub in Mostakbal City, designed to bring together learning, social interaction, and cultural exchange.

The competition allowed students to gain first-hand insights into the stages of city planning and development and to contribute their ideas to the design of a community and cultural project within a city built on a future vision, making Ain Shams students part of the future of the modern, integrated cities developed by MIDAR.

The competition spanned 45 days, bringing together 16 teams of Architecture students from the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University. As part of the competition, participants visited Mostakbal City to explore its urban features and study the proposed project site before developing and evaluating their designs. The competition concluded with a closing ceremony to announce the results, honor the winners and all participants, distribute the awards, and celebrate the students’ creative projects and ideas.

The competition offered total prizes worth EGP 870,000, distributed among all 16 participating teams in recognition of their contributions. The MEMORA team won first place with a prize of EGP 150,000, followed by the SIA team in second place with EGP 150,000, and the Form Follows Curiosity team in third place with EGP 150,000. Three teams ranked from fourth to sixth place, each receiving EGP 90,000, while the remaining 10 participating teams were recognized with incentive prizes of EGP 15,000 each, celebrating the contributions of all students who took part in the competition.

For his part, Eng. Ayman ElKousey, CEO & Managing Director of MIDAR for Investment and Urban Development, said that the competition reflects MIDAR’s commitment to empowering youth and supporting young talent and creative ideas. He highlighted the company’s commitment to recognizing all participating students, emphasizing that taking part in the competition is itself a valuable experience worthy of recognition.

ElKousey also praised the successful collaboration with Ain Shams University, noting that the students’ experience extended beyond competition and design to include a comprehensive field experience in Mostakbal City over 45 days. The experience took students through a complete design journey, from studying the site and understanding its requirements to developing their visions and designs for the project. This reflects MIDAR’s role not only in developing infrastructure, facilities, and road networks, but also in supporting ideas and initiatives that help shape the future of its cities.

For his part, Prof. Dr. Amr Abdel Salam Shaat, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Ain Shams University, emphasized that the competition represents a distinguished model of cooperation between academic institutions and the urban development sector. It provided students with an opportunity to move from theoretical learning to practical application and test their creative capabilities in designing real projects that serve the community.

He added that the participation of Architecture students in the competition, including the field visit and study of the project site and its requirements, contributed to enhancing their design skills and connecting their academic knowledge with the actual challenges facing urban development projects. He further affirmed that the Faculty of Engineering at Ain Shams University is committed to fostering an educational environment that supports innovation and creativity, while providing students with new opportunities to engage with the job market and national and development projects.

The Dean of the Faculty expressed his appreciation to MIDAR for Investment and Urban Development for this initiative and for providing students with the opportunity to take part in a comprehensive design experience. He noted that such partnerships represent a valuable addition to the educational process and contribute to preparing a new generation of engineers capable of developing innovative and sustainable solutions that serve the community and help build a better future.

The launch of the competition comes as a model of cooperation between MIDAR and Ain Shams University, aiming to link academic education with practical application by giving students a real opportunity to apply their theoretical studies within a fully integrated urban community. The competition also reflected MIDAR’s approach to developing integrated communities that go beyond urban development to provide spaces that support community and cultural development in Egypt.