1001 street chairs of cairo captures the essence of egypt

1001 street chairs of cairo captures the essence of egypt 
a seat made of a palm fiber crate and a mutilated office seating
all images © sidewalk salon

after four years of documenting the streets of cairo, manar moursi of studio meem and david puig of ediciones de a poco publishing present ‘bastard chairs of cairo’. the images are a selection from the upcoming book ‘sidewalk salon: 1001 street chairs of cairo‘, a portrait of the city that shows how people repair, restore, and redesign their chairs. often, combinations of disparate elements coexist in semi-harmonic, but always effective, ways. seats are cannibalized, fractured components compliment each other’s missing parts. they blend the artisanal and the industrial, organic and synthetic. as a whole, each chair suggests the essence of cairo; a city stuck in the middle, equal parts rural country and booming metropolis.

video courtesy of sidewalk salon

‘1001 street chairs of cairo’ is an intimate look at not only cairo, but egypt in its entirety. the book is currently seeking funding for printing and production. you can support sidewalk salon here.

(left) cappuccino construction
(right) hybrid specimen from the streets of cairo

(left) fractured bodies complement each other
(right) plastic and cardboard fusion

(left) a harmonic fusion of two colorful plastic forms
(right) the electric chair of cairo

(left) handicapped seat supported by a box
(right) a legless chair on top of a discarded bucket

(left) a blue plastic stool sits between the bare iron legs of an old chair
(right) frankenstein creation

designboom has received this project through its ‘DIY submissions’ feature, which welcomes readers to submit their own work for publication. see more designboom readers submissions here.