Cultural identity // Innovative materials // Multisensory experience
Interior surfaces mimic the essence of the Egyptian context
Reejy Atef A. Mikhail
There is a strong connection between Egypt’s water, land and air, in which the calm movement of the Nile River in relation with the smooth lines of the Great Sand Sea forms a constant flow in Egypt’s topography. In addition, dust represents another type of flow that fills Egypt’s air because of the desert that covers more than 90% of the country’s land. The proposed coating surface reflects the harmonic relation between the three elements of the Nile River, Great Sand Sea and dust through the tactile-visual perception. The paradox that the user experiences by communicating with the surface is the core concept of the retail project, in which the surface is visually dynamic depicting the water and sand dunes movements; on the other hand, it is physically rough imitating the dust grains. The tactile perception is the invisible aspect of the surface that can be seen only by touching it, giving the retail spaces a sensorial experience.