What makes us the premier design firm in the MENA region and Sub-Saharan Africa?

The answer comes in one all-encompassing word: Versatility.

Versatility is what allows us to meet the requirements of diverse projects and respond to the needs of different individuals. Versatility is what allows us to innovate and adapt wherever we are in the world. Versatility is also how we always manage to reconcile cost-effectiveness with great quality.

Our extensive range of engineering and design services plays a great role in enhancing this versatility as well:

ECG’s engineering services cover MEP, infrastructure, transportation and process engineering, in conjunction with a range of supplementary engineering services. These include civil and environmental engineering, together with fire protection, lighting, communications, security, and building management systems.

Our design services, on the other hand, cover Front-End Engineering & Design (FEED), Conceptual Design, Preliminary Design, Basis of Design Reports (BODRs), Schematic Design, Design Development, Detailed Design, Design Optimization, Construction Documents, Value Engineering and Computer Simulations.

We will admit we are perfectionists. When it comes to architectural design, we want to be innovative, functional, beautiful, environmentally friendly, and above all, we want to leave a legacy for the generations to come. We also want to bring all that to every possible structure. Whether it be a bridge or a highway, an exterior or an interior, we want it to shine.

Although this perfectionism keeps us up all night, it also pays off. We are very proud of our contributions to some of the most prestigious projects in the region: From landmark high-rises and mega residential compounds, to business parks and LEED compliant buildings, and from acoustics and vertical transportation to conveyor systems and much more.

The new head office complex of Crédit Agricole Egypt (CAE) was planned to accommodate headquarters staff from different locations in Central Cairo; provide CAE with a high-quality head office building that enjoys a clear identity and prestigious image; and fulfill banking requirements in terms of features, modularity, and flexibility.

The complex is located in the 5^th Settlement of New Cairo over a land area of 20,385 m². It comprises a stateof-the-art two-wing building implemented on a footprint area of 5,100 m², along with services and landscaped areas serving up to 1,500 employees.

With a gross floor area of 24,655 m², the building consists of two basements, garden level, ground floor, and three typical floors arranged as follows:

• basement: building management room & security room; central document center; archiving area; storage rooms; maintenance rooms; drivers’ room; gymnasium; two prayer rooms & ablution area; main IT communications and data center; staff restaurant & associated facilities; loading bay and post room; and training center comprising four training rooms and an auditorium; lobby dedicated to guests and breaks; and parking areas 
• garden level: the garden is situated on a natural grade, revealing an additional usable floor (garden level) located beneath the main ground floor; the garden and garden level both organize the building into a “U” shape focused around an oasis of palm trees and large boulders
• ground floor: open working spaces; retail branch with separate entrance & self-contained facilities; safe room for cash storage; central reception and waiting area; and reception and  employee meeting area
• 3 typical floors: open spaces comprising groups of four to six workstations separated by filing cabinets; cellular spaces around the internal core for fire protection and confidentiality; individual offices; board room; internal meeting rooms equipped with videoconferencing facilities; breakout spaces and pantry facilities; and multifunctional photocopying/printing  room

The complex was designed to meet the qualifications required for LEED Platinum certification. In the process, full LEED documentation was prepared, including feasibility studies, daylight simulation, and others. The LEED Platinum rating already attained entails that the bank’s head office complex has achieved 80+ out of 100 points in the different categories relating to green building design: water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials, resources, and indoor environmental quality.

ECG’s LEED coordination also involved the development of an energy simulation model to evaluate the building’s form and orientation in relation to its overall energy efficiency. Meanwhile, to satisfy the needs of this particular project in terms of accurate modeling and coordination among different disciplines, ECG used the Revit BIM package throughout the design process, starting from schematic design all through the subsequent design stages.

ECG’s scope for this project covered value engineering, conceptual design (retail branch), schematic design (structural & MEP), design development (all disciplines), detailed design (all disciplines), LEED coordination, LEED documentation, tender documents, tender action, and construction supervision, as well as Architect of Record services.