Water Tower Competition Kicks Off with Cash Award

AUC and the Real Estate Development and Investment Company Tameer have collaborated to hold a water tower competition for AUC students with a cash award of EGP 30,000.

The University’s Career Center, Department of the Arts, Department of Architecture, and Tameer plan to implement the winning project to convert the water tower located outside the campus near the Pepsi Gate into a piece of street art by 2019.

“We were invited by Mr. Haynes Mahoney, Special Advisor for Arts and Community Engagement, to meet with Mr. Antoine El Khoury, Managing Director of Tameer, who was interested in AUC’s experiential learning and recruitment services,” Soha Hassan, experiential learning manager at the Career Center told The Caravan.   

Hassan explained that when El Khoury showed great interest in students’ development and AUC’s Neighborhood Initiative, a special committee was formed for this purpose.

The competition requires students to show creativity with the new design of the water tower. Students from relevant majors such as Visual arts, Graphic Design, Architectural Engineering, Construction Engineering, and Business Administration, or who demonstrate talents in these disciplines, are encouraged to participate. 

A team of experts from faculty will organize and direct interdisciplinary workshops to monitor the development of the competing teams’ projects.

These faculty members include Magda Mostafa, associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Architecture, Bahia Shebab, Nagla Samir and John Hoey, associate professors of practice in the Department of the Arts.

Workshops will be held on October 30, November 13 and 27,  to equip the students with the needed skills for the competition, before they submit their final portfolios on November 29.

The portfolios must include five pieces of work demonstrating relevant talent. This may include any work that demonstrates capabilities and skills related to the project, from photography, design, and creative works to business planning and construction knowledge.

The criteria for choosing the winning team of three to four people include: aesthetic attractiveness and creativity, technical feasibility of the production (method statement), compliance to the agreed budget (to be announced), and compliance to the conditions of the local authorities.

“The winner gets an award of EGP 30,000 and will be announced on December 19, also a chance for an educational trip that will function as a mini-internship with Solidere (a joint-stock company for the development and reconstruction of Beirut) in Lebanon,” said Hassan.   

After attending Tameer’s information session on October 17 at Moataz Al Alfi Hall, Visual Arts Sophomore Nadine El Dabbaby expressed her praise for the practicality of the competition and showed interest in joining.

“This event is a major step in affecting the community especially the community of AUC because it might seem like a small project but it gives a large impact beyond recognition,” she said.

Other attendees at the information session also shared El Dabbaby’s interest.

“It’s a great opportunity because it’s a real life project and it would be a great jumpstart to any of our professional careers later on,” said Graphic Design student Nour Amr.