The Baron Empain Palace is a unique architectural masterpiece, located in the heart of the Heliopolis district of Cairo.
It was built by the Belgian millionaire Baron Edward Empain who came to Egypt from India at the end of the nineteenth century, where he was inspired to build the palace. The inspiration emerged after he discoveredthe Ankurwatvi temple in Cambodia and the Hindu temples of Orissa.
The palace was built by the French architect, Alexandre Marcel, and was designed and decorated by Georges Louis Claude. Its construction was completed in 1911. The palace combined two architectural styles, one of which belongs to the European Renaissance, especially for the external statues and the interior decorations of the palace. As for the palace itself, it belongs to the Cambodian style. The monument is decorated by an impressive richness of ornamentations: monkeys, elephants, lions and snakes, statues of Buddha, Shiva, Krishna and other Hindu deities. The marble of the palace was brought from Italy. The importance of this palace is due to the fact that it is the first building in Egypt built entirely of reinforced concrete with the “ Hennebique” system, a technique invented by the French engineer Francois Hennebique to strengthen concrete by embedding rebar in the lower face of the concrete slab. The palace tower rotates 360 degrees in order to provide a panoramic view from all directions and to make sure as well that the entire building revolves in the direction of the sun’s rotation. The palace holds a rare architectural heritage and artistic value. It was unique among the palaces of that era.
