Bustan - 园林吧

Bureau LADA: Bustan, or pocket garden, is one of the two courtyards characteristic of the traditional affluent Cairene housing typology. The two spaces helped establish a cooler microclimate, as the temperature and air pressure difference between indoor and outdoor spaces created a dynamic airflow or ‘chimney effect.’ This effect was strengthened when courtyards contained vegetation or traditional water elements, allowing for a measurable reduction in temperature and improved living comfort. Attuned to local climatic conditions, these houses contributed to the resilient, porous urbanity of Heritage Cairo. Of the 600 houses once present, only a few remain, and their disappearance exacerbates ongoing climatic and social crises. Many have been lost to densification, speculation, and successive waves of urban redevelopment, including recent infrastructural projects. A call for the ‘re-greening’ (el Habashi) of the remaining Cairene courtyard typologies is therefore both urgent and necessary.

©Bayt Yakan

Bustan is also the name of a community garden situated in the courtyard of the privately restored 17th-century Beyt Yakan (House of Yakan) in Cairo. This garden serves as the first pocket in a hopeful ecological network for Heritage Cairo, linking local knowledge of growing practices with the invisible flows of social ecology and community engagement. Co-created with the local community – who serve as its caretakers – the garden contains drought-resistant, edible, and medicinal plants and functions as a space for talks and knowledge exchange. The planting scheme, which was developed collaboratively with the community, incorporates their ancestral growing techniques and preferences while integrating existing vegetation. Herbs used in daily cooking, along with lemon and fragrant bergamot citrus plants, were among the most requested additions.

©Sherifa Hamid

The storytelling area is an integral part of the design, which centres around a Moringa tree. An elegant metal coulisse, built on-site by local craftsmen, defines the garden’s rhythm and sightlines. It also enhances the depth and visual layering of the design by playing with viewlines and offsetting the form of the historical gate, while simultaneously supporting sun-shading textiles that can be adjusted throughout the day to follow the sun’s movement. Additionally, Bustan functions as an orchard, disseminating seedlings for pocket and balcony gardens throughout Darb el Ahmar neighbourhood.

This approach proposes moving beyond purely technology-driven ‘sustainable’ solutions and working towards a relational environment that attunes the garden’s typology and ecology with social behaviour. By enabling entanglements across class, gender, natural resources, and other species, the project encourages local communities to take ownership of their garden. Rooted in knowledge exchange among the diverse actors present in the area, it seeks to provide a fresh perspective on Heritage Cairo, negotiating existing preconceptions of its physical state, the diversity of its communities, and the potential for restoration. However small, this garden and the agency of a community in shaping their bustan embody hope for new forms of ‘social ecologies’ in Heritage Cairo.

©Sherifa Hamid

©Bayt Yakan

©BureauLADA

Design: Bureau LADA and Bayt Yakan
Team: Lada Hršak, Alaa el-Habashi, Rawan Darwa, Yasmeen Hesham, Doha Ibrahim, Sarah Radi, Aghathon Moussa, community of al-Yakaniya
Support: Holger Gladys, Nermin Elsherif
Illustrations: Šime Jannink
Horticultural advice: Ahmad el Sayed, Dina Samir, Frans Boots
Client: Dutch Creative Industries Fund, NL, Bayt Yakan, EG
Publication: ‘In Search of a Garden to Drink Tea’ design Ahmed Hammoud, editors Karim Yasin Goessinger, Lada Hršak

Published on March 24, 2025