Egypts visionary architect 9 it is somewhat ironic that hassan fathy, whose name is so closely associated with architecture for the poor, built much for wealthy patrons. Early in his career he began to study the preindustrial building systems of egypt to understand their aesthetic qualities, to learn what they had to teach about climate control and. Hassan fathy, born in 1900 in alexandria, egypt, was an egyptian architect, artist and poet who had a lifelong commitment to architecture in the muslim world. Egyptian architect hassan fathy died in 1989 but left behind a legacy of 160 building projects ranging from small projects to largescale communities complete with mosques and schools. At this point, it is important to indicate that architecture of hassan fathy is an innate. May 21, 20 hassan fathy died in 1989 but left behind a legacy of 160 buildingprojects ranging from small projects to largescale communitiescomplete with mosques and schools. Green prophet has railed against projects like dubai burj tower we have pounded our chests at the audacity of masdar citys zero footprint claim, and we have decried the potential consequences of unsustainable approaches to building and planning. He was slightly built and enveloped by an air of virtuousness, projecting the intellectual vigour, tranquillity and inner calm reserved for the elect. Hassan fathy is the middle easts father of sustainable. Hassan fathys vernacular architecture linkedin slideshare. He was an egyptian architect, artist and poet who had a lifelong commitment to architecture in the muslim world. Yet change is inevitable, and new forms and materials will be used, as has been the case throughout history. We have pounded our chests at the audacity of masdar citys zero footprint claim, and we have decried the potential consequences of unsustainable approaches to. He used his knowledge of mathematics and music investing them in simple domestic.
Before it was fashionable or even fathomable, he was championing earth architecture in the hopes of bringing decent. Hassan fathy is one of egypts most wellknown and revered architects. Laurie baker and hassan fathy s approach article pdf available july 2015 with 2,476 reads how we measure reads. Hassan fathy believed in the social responsibility of the architect and acted accordingly throughout his life. To attain this objective, the research methodology will rely on. He was far ahead of the thinking of the times and was widely known for his ideas. Balkrishna doshi is one of indias most influential architects, and was honored with the prestigious pritzker architecture prize in 2018. Laurence wilfred baker, born on 2nd march 1917 in birmingham, england, moved to india at the peak of the indian independence struggle against the british. Using mud bricks, the native technique that fathy learned in nubia, and such traditional egyptian architectural designs as enclosed courtyards and vaulted roofing, fathy worked with. Hassan fathy s is a name that is instantly recognisable among arab architects and conjures up idyllic images of handsmoothed walls and domes covered in adobe, nestled in a verdant countryside. He is one of the few architects who gained his fame not through flashy and complicated structures but through simple, costeffective designs for the people. The countryside if you were given a million pounds, what would you do with them. Hassan fathy devoted himself to housing the poor in developing nations and deserves study by anyone involved in rural improvement. Architecture for the people presents the first comprehensive survey of the.
He was a cosmopolitan intellectual, with knowledge of western and eastern literature and philosophy, absorbing the influences of very different traditions. However, when one looks at the photographs of his works, they do not look like modern architecture but traditional, moreover vernacular, buildings. It contains an account of his family background, his childhood and education, the influences of the egyptian vernacular and islamic architecture which helped shape his identity and the influences of modem architectural movements on his early. Architecture for the poor describes hassan fathys plan for building the village of new gourna, near luxor, egypt, without the use of more modern and expensive materials such as. Hassan fathy died in 1989 but left behind a legacy of 160 buildingprojects ranging from small projects to largescale communitiescomplete with mosques and schools. The goal was to use local materials and techniques to relocate old gourna, a community of amateur archeologists that had sprung up near the ancient sites, and. Additional resources in msel green buildings fathy to. Vernacular architecture hassan fathy, an egyptian architect, has taught on the faculty of fine arts in cairo and served as head of its architectural section. Hassan fathy march 23, 1900 november 30, 1989, egyptian arabic. I went instead into the polytechnic, where t chose to study architecture. Mar 28, 2016 in this article originally published by the cairo observer as hassan fathy. Yet, ironically, back in new gourna, the people he had hoped to help are not as appreciative. Aug 06, 2012 in 1946 hassan fathy, egypts green architect, built a model village near luxor called new gourna out of mud. Sep 14, 2011 trends in international architecture changing a single item in a traditional building method will not ensure an improved response to the environment, or even an equally satisfactory one.
Architecture and environment by hassan fathy since antiquity, man has reacted to his environment, using his faculties to develop techniques and technologies, whether to bake bread or make brick, in such internal psychological balance with nature that humanity historically lived attuned to the environment. Fathy utilized ancient design methods and materials. Dearest hassan fathy, we know you are not alive anymore, although we wish you were, so you could continue designing unrivalled architecture, but we would like to take the time to dedicate a tribute to you by collating some of your most spectacular works in this article. A question they were always asking us when we were young, one that would start our imagination roaming and set us daydreaming. Architecture for the poor describes hassan fathy s plan for building the village of new gourna, near luxor, egypt, without the use of more modern and expensive materials such as steel and concrete. An indispensable architect in the history of modern islamic architecture is the egyptian hassan fathy 1900 89. Hassan fathy was one of those pioneer arab architects that touched on art hassan fathy 1900 1989, arabic. Balkrishna doshi download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. The article tries to delve into the idea of why hassan fathy perhaps emerged as a. Sustainable architecture for the poor here and there. Fathys role constructing the village of new gourna during the mid1940s i call into question the implications of his traditionalist mudbrick architectural practice and recast it as an expression of the uniquely modern political, economic and cultural circumstances of egypt at. Laurie baker and hassan fathys approach article pdf available july 2015 with 2,476 reads how we measure reads. After i graduated i went one day to supervise the building of a school at talkha.
Green prophet has railed against projects like dubai burj tower. Islamic art under european influence and contemporary trends. Hassan fathy architecture global ecovillage network. Hassan fathy biography childhood, life achievements. Talkha is a small country town on the river in the north of the delta, opposite mansoura. See more ideas about vernacular architecture, building design and architecture. This thesis examines the career of the egyptian architect, hassan fathy 19001989. Published for the united nations university by the university of chicago press chicago and london. Just like the great master of western architecture, frank lloyd wright, hassan fathys genius was initially appreciated mostly by an intellectual. Additional resources in msel green buildings fathy to yeang books title.
Hassan fathy, founder of the international aga khan architectural awards recognized organic approaches to architecture long before it became vogue to do so. In 1946 hassan fathy, egypts green architect, built a model village near luxor called new gourna out of mud. Hassan fathy 19001989 is arguably the most widely known and influential egyptian architect of the 20th century. As one looks upon the vestiges of fathys 65year old experiment, with its graceful architecture and. Using mud bricks, the native technique that fathy learned in nubia, and such traditional egyptian architectural designs as enclosed courtyards and. See more ideas about vernacular architecture, architecture and building design. Hassan fathy is the most famous of the egyptian architects, who used traditional materials, means of construction, and vernacular styles in his search for an inexpensive form. Exposed in one of the major architecture and planning references, architecture for the poor. In this article originally published by the cairo observer as hassan fathy. Jan 29, 2012 the house was a legacy of hassan fathy 19001989, a renowned egyptian architect dubbed the father of architecture for the poor. The new gourna village was an experiment project built between 1946 and 1952, it was meant to relocate a community living on top of ancient egyptian pharaonic tombs to reduce damages to ancient treasures. It contains an account of his family background, his childhood and education, the influences of the egyptian vernacular and islamic architecture which helped shape his identity and the influences of modem architectural movements on his early works.
Fathy s role constructing the village of new gourna during the mid1940s i call into question the implications of his traditionalist mudbrick architectural practice and recast it as an expression of the uniquely modern political, economic and cultural circumstances of egypt at. As a resident of southern california im concerned that this obvious need to regard the conductivity of materials as well as their application in architecture and landscape architecture is. He was the epitome of sustainable no pretence living, a man whose life and work spoke more to people within his community than perhaps any other architect in the world. Hassan fathy egyptian architect 1900 1989 the master builder, hassan fathy 19001989 was one of the first architects to break with modern architecture and to found a new approach based on a conception of interpreting forms and masses from the past.
The competing logics of sustainable architecture 8 idealized concept of place integration of global environmental concerns into conventional building design strategies urban vision of the compact and dense city harmony with nature through decentralized, autonomous buildings with limited ecological footprints ensuring the stability, integrity and flourishing of global and. Hassan fathy, an egyptian architect saw the value of natural building long before it became a fad in the west. Safeguarding project of hassan fathys new gourna village. Hassan fathys is a name that is instantly recognisable among arab architects and conjures up idyllic images of handsmoothed walls and domes covered in. His major contributions were to socalled vernacular architecture which, inspired by traditional nubian and islamic materials and styles, urged an approach to the built environment that was economically and ecologically sustainable and responded to contextual needs of the. Article pdf available march 2009 with 2,535 reads how we measure reads. This year, 2017, marks the centenary birth anniversary of arguably indias greenest architect, laurie baker, who was often called the father of sustainable architecture. An exclusive volume presents ideas championed by one of the mos.
He designed and built superb villas of adobe and stone, but mainly hegrappled headon with housing the poor. Hassan fathy is the default setting for social housing in architecture. Hassan fathy received international awards for his architecture for the poor. Hassan fathy, an egyptian architect, has taught on the faculty of fine arts in cairo and served as head of its architectural section. Fathy was recognized with the aga khan chairmans award for architecture in 1980. Architecture for the rich, there is a critical relook and rework of the principles and philosophies of hassan fathy s work in new gourna and his deliberates vis a vis personal ideologies. Architecture for the poor describes hassan fathys plan for building the village of new gourna, near luxor, egypt, without the use of more modern and expensive materials such as steel and concrete. He has received the union of international architects gold medal, the egyptian governments national prize for arts and letters, and the aga kahn award for architecture. Hassan fathy from egypt and charles correa from india. An experiment in rural egypt by hassan fathy, published in 1976, these ideas inspired a new generation of architects and planners worldwide through an integration of vernacular technology with modern architectural principles. Architecture for the rich, there is a critical relook and rework of the principles and philosophies of hassan fathys work in new gourna and his deliberates vis a vis.
Environment and architecture hassan fathy equipo bonsai. Architecture for the poor hasan f athy 1 prelude dream and reality paradise lost. Hassan fathy was born in 1900 in alexandria, egypt. Fathy worked to create an indigenous environment at a minimal cost, and in so doing to improve the economy and the standard of living in rural areas. Designed by a pioneer of sustainable architecture, hassan fathy, the village of new gourna in luxor, or ancient thebes, was commissioned by the egyptian department of antiquities in 1945.
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