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As part of a joint venture with ADM, an Egyptian skylight and construction company, OpenAire has been selected to design and build a custom retractable skylight for the New Cairo City Village Mall. The shopping center, located in the elegant New Cairo neighbourhood of Palm Hills Katameya, will offer a premium shopping, leisure and entertainment experience with international and local brands, numerous dining options, family entertainment facilities, and more.
Once built, OpenAire’s skylight will measure 265’ (80.59m) long by 118’ (35.88m) at its widest point and will open up 100%, providing fresh air and sunlight to shoppers and diners. It will fit in beautifully with the modern, highly architectural look of the center, which is designed by celebrated Egyptian architect Shehab Mazhar. OpenAire’s custom skylight will play a major role in creating his vision of an “enclosed openness” that offers a distinctive indoor-outdoor experience with unprecedented appeal.
“We are in the business of creating experiences, ” says Mark Albertine, President, OpenAire. “Our buildings offer patrons incredible amounts of natural light and air, and offer owners the benefits of year-round enjoyment, energy savings, and lower life cycle costs.”
OpenAire was selected for the project by Palm Hills Developments (PHD), who are the developers of both the shopping mall and its surrounding community. They had seen examples of OpenAire’s work for other applications, and were excited by the possibilities it offered in a retail environment.
“This project really shows how our retractable building systems can benefit a variety of applications, ” says Albertine. “As more and more clients see the potential in our structures and skylights, the solutions that started off as aquatic and waterpark enclosures now cater to a wide variety of commercial applications.”
Work on the skylight is well underway, and OpenAire expects it to be completed by fall 2011. The New Cairo City Village Mall will open to the public in late 2011.
About OpenAire
OpenAire has been designing and manufacturing beautiful, high-quality retractable roof enclosures and skylights for over 20 years. Their projects include the LEED Gold certified Salinas Aquatic Center in Salinas, California, Roseville’s Mike Shellito Indoor Pool, Big Splash Island in French Lick, Indiana, the Palms Casino & Resort in Las Vegas and the world’s largest indoor waterpark with a retractable aluminum dome in Ukraine. By combining your unique vision with OpenAire’s expertise, incredible venues are a reality.
