BUILDING HISTORY
Situated at the junction of 7 Champollion Street and 11 Mahmoud Bassiouny Street, La Viennoise exemplifies Italian Renaissance Revival architecture.
Built in 1896 by an English architect, it consists of three floors plus a lower ground (retail) level and a rooftop.
Originally owned by Hanna Sabbagh Pasha, the property was purchased in 1940 by the Egyptian-Lebanese businessman Abdullah Mirshak. It was later nationalized, before Mr. Mirshak’s five daughters re-acquired it in 1981, operating it since then as La Viennoise Hotel.
Renovation & Adaptive Reuse
In 2009, Al Ismaelia for Real Estate Investment acquired the building and the restoration process started in 2016, positioning it as Downtown Cairo’s first historic mixed-use building aligned with global sustainability standards. In May 2018, La Viennoise officially re-opened earning the “Tarsheed” Commercial Retrofit Certification for its applied sustainability practices. It was a collaborative design between; Al Ismaelia, Alchemy Group, Maʿmar, and Ebony & Ivory.
Today
Al Ismaelia will soon introduce a courtyard with a mix of retail and dining. Plans include transforming the courtyard into a mixed-use space—connecting commerce and culture—allowing visitors to flow through the passages from administrative spaces to fashion retail and restaurants in a seamless, lively experience.
