From 65 entries the jury selected 24 Finalists. The question was the same — a floating market on the Cairo Nile — but the answers went in every direction: islands and boats, markets that drift with the current and markets that dock, crafts, kitchens and plants carried on the water. Here is a first reading of each project in a sentence, in order of team number, before the results are announced at the closing ceremony.

Teams

  • Team 1 — ReDelta: ReDelta is a floating recycling station at Al-Sha'eer Island in the Nile Delta, conceived as a last line of defence against pollution for Egypt's food basket.
  • Team 2 — Above & Below: A modular floating market at the Nile's bifurcation in Zamalek, planned from a central core with units spreading outward like lotus petals.
  • Team 3 — The Nile Threads: A landmark on an island facing Fuwwah, shaped as a boat skeleton whose coloured ribs recall kilim threads pulled from the Nile.
  • Team 4 — Beyond the Banks: A pedestrian spine across the Nile links Manial Island with Giza and two market buildings: one for Upper Egypt's heritage and crafts, the other for Lower Egypt's urban life.
  • Team 7 — Mina Project: Inspired by King Menes (Mina), who unified Upper and Lower Egypt, the project is a seasonal floating market that travels from Aswan to Cairo each summer.
  • Team 8 — Wasl: A fixed floating market near Qasr El Nil Bridge in central Cairo, whose chain of platforms spans from one bank to the other in a form based on water hyacinth petals.
  • Team 10 — Jazeera: A network of floating plazas in eight Nile governorates, served by a fleet of hotel vessels travelling in flotillas of four.
  • Team 11 — Confluence: A market on the Rosetta (Rashid) waterfront, inspired by the city's identity as the meeting point of the Nile and the Mediterranean.
  • Team 12 — Mada: A market extending Aswan's urban fabric onto the Nile, drawing on the terraces of Qubbet Al-Hawa, Nubian cubic forms and local stone colours.
  • Team 13 — Iteru: Iteru reads the Nile as layers built up over time, extended to the values it generated: knowledge, material, nourishment, beauty and craft.
  • Team 14 — Nile Fabric: Nile Fabric is a floating market linking three districts: Al-Fustat for craft and making, Garden City for culture and performance, and Zamalek for art and dining.
  • Team 15 — Masar: Masar, meaning “Path,” turns Maadi Island into one route along a main spine linking nature, recreation, trade, craft, food and culture.
  • Team 17 — Re:Nile: Re:Nile reimagines the floating market as a regenerative hub based on circular economy principles: waste collected from the Nile is recycled into new products sold in the market.
  • Team 18 — Wisaal: Wisaal is a floating market that connects visitors with Egypt’s regions, crafts and nature.
  • Team 19 — Mirsa: Mirsa is a riverfront cultural marketplace that brings Egypt’s coastal identities to the Nile.
  • Team 20 — Shabak: Shabak is a permanently anchored floating market inspired by the fishing net, the traditional clay oven and the Corniche snack carts.
  • Team 21 — Rawafid: Rawafid presents the floating market as a journey through the Nile, drawing on its tributaries, islands and points of convergence.

Individual participants

  • Individual 2 — Zahret Al-Nil: Zahret Al-Nil is a floating cultural market in Cairo whose plan unfolds towards the water like lotus petals, drawing on the lotus as an ancient Egyptian symbol of life and renewal.
  • Individual 5 — ASET: ASET is a chain of 14 circular platforms on piles, joined by a winding bridge between the mainland and Philae Temple Island.
  • Individual 11 — Lilia: Lilia is an upscale floating market on the Nile Corniche in central Cairo, inspired by the lily pads along the river.
  • Individual 15 — Mahfal: Mahfal is a waterfront project in Maadi, Cairo, that aims to turn the Nile from a view into an interactive experience, moving visitors from city noise to calm.
  • Individual 16 — Dialogue Across Time: Dialogue Across Time is a floating market in central Cairo organised as a network of platforms around a public “Time Plaza”.
  • Individual 17 — The Nile Court: The Nile Court is a floating market on the Roda–Manasterly waterfront in Cairo, formed as an archipelago of modular pavilions around an open courtyard.
  • Individual 18 — Nile Restoration Market: Nile Restoration Market is a floating market on Cairo's Nile waterfront that gives back to the river by planting native aquatic plants, especially papyrus.

Every project has its own page: the team and its members, the full concept and the board in detail. The places, awards and mentions are announced at the closing ceremony on 26 September 2026.