Politecnico di Milano: Student Wins The Fondazione Prada Degree Award

Ahmed Ashraf Anwar Mohamed Morsi has won the fourth Fondazione Prada degree award with his graduation thesis “Adaptive reuse, creative industries, and the politics of arts-led redevelopment in downtown Cairo”.

This means that Morsi, who graduated in Architectural Design and History at Politecnico di Milano, can now do a six-month, one- or two-year master’s degree in an international school or university and then complete his training with a six-month internship at Fondazione Prada.

The award commission recognised the innovative character, applied methodology, use of sources, editorial prowess and originality of his thesis, which studied the reconversion that started in 2011 of many temporarily abandoned buildings in the centre of Cairo thanks to the proliferation of new creative industries. His thesis analyses the socioeconomic and political repercussions of these dynamics that combine the adaptive reuse of existing buildings with urban redevelopment guided by art and culture.