International Workshop Cairo
Empowering the Informal City
Climate Justice in Cairo's Self-Built Neighbourhoods
A four-day international workshop exploring DIY climate adaptation measures in Cairo's Self-Built Neighbourhoods. With CLUSTER, AP+E and Loom: Practice for cultural transformation. Taking place from Monday 15 - Thursday 18 September 2025 in Cairo, Egypt. More info soon
Ticket Info
The standard participation fee for this workshop is €250. Please note that travel to and accommodation in Cairo must be arranged and covered by participants themselves. We are also offering four free spots for local participants based in Egypt. If you would like to apply for one of these spots, please send an email to info[@]schoolforthecity.nl, including A motivation letter (maximum 400 words) and your CV.
Empowering the Informal City - Climate Justice in Cairo's Self-Built Neighbourhoods
This four-day workshop, organised by the Independent School in collaboration with CLUSTER: Cairo Lab for Urban Studies, Training and Environmental Research (Egypt), AP+E: Practice for Architecture & Research (Netherlands/Ireland) and Loom: Practice for cultural transformation (Netherlands), builds on the ongoing research project ‘Empowering the Informal City’ which explores community-driven, climate-adaptive solutions for Cairo’s informal neighbourhoods.
Locally referred to as Umm al-Dunya ('Mother of the World'), Cairo is one of the oldest, largest, fastest growing and hottest urban conglomerations on the planet. Its 23 million inhabitants largely live in illegally built informal neighbourhoods, which make up around 70% of the city. These neighbourhoods often lack basic services, and consist of a ‘compact housing typology, which are particularly vulnerable to the escalating climate crisis.
This workshop will investigate solutions to improve indoor climate and energy performance in typical housing units. Participants will design prototypes, as a starting point for broader discussions on climate adaptation and justice.
Activities will take place at ALFABRIKA, a creative lab in Ard al-Liwa (Cairo) run by CLUSTER, fostering collaboration between designers and local craftspeople.
About Cluster
CLUSTER (Cairo Lab for Urban Studies, Training and Environmental Research) was founded in 2011 in Downtown Cairo (Egypt), as a platform for urban research, architecture, art, and design initiatives. Working in Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, Port Said, Amman, Beirut, Tunis and Tangier, CLUSTER aims at establishing a space for critical urban discourse and design practice, negotiating the blurred boundaries between formal/institutional regulations and everyday urban informality.
About AP+E
AP+E is an office for architecture and research based in Ireland and The Netherlands, founded by Jeffrey Bolhuis and Laurence Lord. The practice is driven by a strong interest in the social and cultural value of architecture, working internationally on a wide range of public, cultural & educational projects as well as urban and regional development studies and research projects.
About Loom
Loom is a practice for cultural transformation, founded by Katía Truijen, Mark Minkjan, Michiel van Iersel, Radna Rumping and René Boer. They provide reflections, propositions, rehearsals, and real-world alternatives that bring people together around urgent issues. Loom develops open, experimental formats to help find and unlock the transformative potential of people, places and organisations. Loom is grounded in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and links with an international network in the arts, culture, design, public policy, media and heritage, bringing together local situations and global issues.
Preliminary Programme
Monday 15 September
Workshop Day #1
Tuesday 16 September
Workshop Day #2
Wednesday 17 September
Workshop Day #3
Thursday 18 September
Workshop Day #4
‘Empowering the Informal City’ is supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL