| The Octagon | |
| Native Name: | الأوكتاجون |
| Alternate Names: | State Strategic Command Center |
| Status: | Under construction |
| Image Alt: | Front view of The Octagon |
| Location: | New Administrative Capital |
| Location Country: | Egypt |
| Start Date: | 2018 |
| Owner: | Ministry of Defense |
| Cost: | $400,000,000 |
| Floor Area: | 50590378square feet[1] |
| Floor Count: | 5 |
| Architectural Style: | Pharaonic |
The Octagon (Arabic: الأوكتاجون) will be the new headquarters for the Egyptian Ministry of Defense, being a part of a much larger initiative of moving all governmental offices to the New Administrative Capital.[2] [3] The establishment of the new headquarters aims to be the largest in the Middle East and the world, located in the New Capital, Greater Cairo.[4]
The headquarters extends over a total area of 22000acres, with about 50500000ft2 of it serving as floor area.[5] It includes 13 zones – each with its own specific role – making it the largest defense headquarters and office building complex in the world surpassing The Pentagon in the United States.[6] [7] The Octagon is a part of a big establishment, which as a whole has worship venues, clubs, hotels, schools, playgrounds, residential projects, shopping malls, hospitals, and complexes for civil and administrative services. The place is secured by two Republican Guard units, and other means of security.[8]
The (Octagon) State Strategic Command Center is composed of six centers:
In addition to a number of warehouses that secure the country's needs of strategic goods.[9]
The Octagon acquired its name because of its octagon-like architectural design, made up of the eight outer octagon-shaped buildings, thus representing all eight branches of the Egyptian Armed Forces. The entity as a whole consists of 10 buildings, 8 of which are external and two internal ones. Each building has eight facets connected to each other, with corridors connected to the heart of the structure known as the "main building," which is located in the middle.[10] While there are 2 central ministerial buildings located in the center of the octagonal structure, both connected to each other and to the rest of the eight external buildings by longitudinal corridors.
The Egyptian Ministry of Defense/Ministry of War[11] headquarters' architecture was influenced by Ancient Egyptian architecture, as they've used pillars to support the buildings in a Pharaonic style.