Heliopolis style is an early 20th-century architectural style developed in the new suburb of Heliopolis in eastern Cairo, Egypt. The Belgian Cairo Electric Railways and Heliopolis Oases Company, responsible for planning and developing the new suburb, created the new style to implement an exclusive distinctiveness to the design of its buildings. The revival style is a synthesis of Moorish Revival, traditional Arabic, Persian Revival, and European Neoclassical architecture styles.
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Style
The goal of this style was to successfully implement the aesthetic and functional advantages of the influencing styles. Combining the qualities of these types brought Moorish and Persian facades, Arabic spatial volumes, and European floor plans, and Neoclassical and Moorish interiors together in a homogeneous unit.
The Heliopolis style integrated qualities, including:
Examples
The Heliopolis suburb is the only example of this unique architectural style, and is still very well preserved. The Heliopolis style is represented there by a large ensemble of buildings in a wide area with the historic form-language. The Heliopolis Palace, originally a grand hotel opened in 1910 and now a presidential palace, is an exceptional example.
Architects practicing at the time in this style included Charles Ayrout and Henry Habib Ayrout.