The Along-the-Line project is designed and implemented by CLUSTER, with the support of the British Council in Egypt as part of “Prototype City;” an urban program experimenting with new ideas to promote civic engagement in several cities around the world. Along-the-Line is a series of modular elements placed in a linear composition providing different functions spanning from recreational, educational and cultural elements, all of which are designed to accommodate children and grownups. It has several anchor elements such as a foldable library, an expandable puppet theater box, workshop tables, and a series of playful elements.

The design process involved an extensive research of the neighborhood to map out public space accessibility challenges to pedestrians, including different gender and age groups as well as those with special needs. It also involved a series of stakeholders’ engagements with local authorities, public institutions and community organizations in the area. The under-utilized 6 October Community Park in Agouza was selected as a site for Along-the-Line due to three reasons: Its proximity to, and thus accessibility via a set of road networks; its adjacency to a public library as well as the presence of a number of social institutions in its vicinity, including schools, youth centers, religious centers and an orphanage; and finally its potential unprogrammed “empty” space that could utilized for alternative activities catering to various community groups.

The design approach of Along-the-Line follows the edge of the park to avoid preempting other activities at the park green fields and existing trees. To engage the local authorities, and overcome their initial skepticism, CLUSTER organized an opening event and a 4-month art and cultural program including story-telling sessions, puppet shows, musical performances and crafts workshops for children.