CAIRO: The newly-created Cairo governorate council of trustees launched a campaign this week to remove all advertising banners and posters from façades of old buildings in downtown Cairo. The council is also embarking on a maintenance project to bring back the luster of architectural gems scattered throughout the area. The Abdeen district already began removing adverts and banners plastered on buildings in Qasr El-Nil Street. El-Gharb district will start removing the signs next week after giving residents four days notice to remove the signs themselves. The campaign aims at preserving the architectural style of Cairo s old buildings [marred by] the ugly signs and advertisements, said Khaled Mustafa, spokesman of Cairo governorate. Law 2003 for the year 2007 limits the height of buildings, specifies the appearance of the exterior, and details the materials to be used in the construction process. Cairo Governor Abdel Azim Wazeer said that the governorate cooperates with civilian organizations to preserve the distinct architectural style of these buildings by repairing and repainting them, unifying the frontage appearance of the shops, specifying the location of air conditioners and bringing glamorous balconies and terraces. Signs and advertising banners will be replaced with a unified board at the entrance of each building. The campaign targets Tahrir Square, Gomhouria Street, Ramses Square, Opera Square, Abdeen Square as well as Al-Azhar Street, Salah Salem Road, the Citadel and Port Said Street. The law states that shops should be located on the ground floor of buildings, which should not exceed 18 meters in height. If a building will be demolished and rebuilt, the new structure should be the same size as the old one because the streets are already narrow and cannot accommodate any expansions. According to the governor, there will be an agreement with two urban planning companies to create underground parking lots instead of having cars lined on up both sides of the already narrow streets. The buildings downtown boast distinct architectural styles from different epochs, many modeled after European style buildings. The Terry Building, for example, resembles the Lafayette Building in Paris Many of these buildings are now inhabited by businesses - doctors, lawyers, travel agencies, and many others- who now have to look for new ways to advertise their services. "We complied with the campaign because it comes from the governorate and we can t reject it, said Abdel Hamid, a porter in the Sednawy building, "we removed the signs and advertisements and are now guiding people to the offices. A similar renovation project took place in Heliopolis in 2005 in preparation of the centenary of the town, built in 1905 by Belgian industrialist and financier Baron-General Edouard Louis Joseph Empain. A council of trustees will be formed in Maadi to implement a similar restoration project to save old houses from being replaced by high rises and building blocks.
