ENR 2025 Global Best Projects
Best Project, Renovation/Restoration: Zeinab Khatoun Residence
15th century Cairo home is reborn

The restoration of a 15th-century Cairo residence preserved its historical, social and architectural context.
Zeinab Khatoun Residence
Cairo, Egypt
Best Project, Renovation/Restoration
Submitted by The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.)
Owner: Cairo Islamic and Fatimid Neighborhoods Development Authority
Lead Design Firm: Misr Consult – Engineering House of Expertise
Contractor: The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.)
The restoration of this 15th-century residence in a historic area of Cairo—one of the few remaining examples of Mamluk architecture—focused on preserving its historical, social and architectural significance while allowing for sustainable reuse. The project involved conserving historic materials such as stone floors and wooden elements like doors, ceilings and windows, as well as replicating original plaster finishes to restore deteriorated areas.
The building’s architectural significance lies in its features: a wooden entrance, open central courtyard for passive ventilation, elaborately carved wooden ceilings, latticed wood screens, gypsum windows with colored glass and traditional spaces that illustrate social hierarchies and environmental design.
The team stabilized the structure, upgraded systems and prepared the building for public use. To preserve the structure’s architectural integrity, all mechanical, electrical, HVAC and fire protection systems were installed either beneath original stone floors or within wall cavities, while the courtyard and rooftop were left unchanged to maintain original environmental logic.
“From reinforcing the building’s structural integrity without affecting its historic appearance to modernizing [its] infrastructure ... the project team delivered a structurally sound, historically respectful and technically equipped heritage building,” said The Arab Contractors in its entry.
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