Cairo University Delegation at the Faculty of Architecture at Gdańsk Tech | The Faculty of Architecture at the Gdańsk University of Technology

The week-long visit of Cairo-based urban planners—engaged both in teaching and in research on various spatial planning issues—was dedicated to the topics of port city urbanism and the revitalisation of waterfronts in historic metropolitan centres. The guests explored the historical city of Gdańsk, including the redeveloping post-shipyard areas, as well as the city centre of Gdynia. A key part of the programme was the visit to the Revitalisation Department of the Social Innovation Lab (LIS) at the Gdynia City Hall, which provided an opportunity to learn about internationally recognised outcomes of the Gdynia OdNowa programme. A presentation by Agnieszka Jurecka-Fryzowska, Head of the Revitalisation Department at LIS, concluded with an engaging discussion, during which geographically distant contexts converged in the diagnosis of shared causes and urban processes.

As a continuation of the collaboration between the Faculty of Architecture at Gdańsk Tech and FRUP Cairo University, a joint educational initiative will be launched in the upcoming academic year 2025/2026. It will take the form of a design studio for master’s students of the English-language programme in Spatial Development, within the course titled Large-scale Urban Project's Development. The studio, conducted as a Joint Design Studio, will allow international students from both institutions to explore the contemporary concept of the “productive city,” with specific reference to the Gdańsk area along the Martwa Wisła river, near Litewska Street.

This topic was the focus of a study visit and a staff meeting seminar prepared by Assoc. Prof. Dorota Kamrowska-Załuska and Dr. Anna Rubczak, who had previously led a student summer workshop on this site as part of the ENHANCE university network in 2024. The implementation of the Joint Design Studio—under the working title Productive City on the Waterfront – Creating an Innovative Redevelopment Process. Case Study: Litewska Site—will be coordinated by Dr. Noha Ahmed Abdelaziz Mohamed, Head of the Department of Urban Design at FRUP CU, and Dr. Gabriela Rembarz. The selection of the theme and the urban patronage for the studio have been initiated by the Office of the City Architect of Gdańsk.