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hassan, hasan fathy, Egypt, green sustainable architect
Hassan Fathy, vernacular architect for the people of Egypt
Architecture
3 min.Read

Hassan Fathy is the Middle East’s father of sustainable architecture

Tafline Laylin
By Tafline Laylin
65
hassan, hasan fathy, Egypt, green sustainable architect
Climatic conditions, public health considerations, and ancient craft skills also affected his design decisions. Based on the structural massing of ancient buildings, Fathy incorporated dense brick walls and traditional courtyard forms to provide passive cooling.

Hassan Fathy, an Egyptian architect saw the value of natural building long before it became a fad in the west.

Green Prophet has railed against projects like Dubai Burj Tower.  We have pounded our chests at the audacity of Masdar City’s “zero” footprint claim, and we have decried the potential consequences of unsustainable approaches to building and planning: $22 billion USD for a building project and “sustainable” simply don’t belong in the same sentence. 

What we really need is a compassionate and sensible voice, a voice that calls for affordable and authentic building practices. Hassan Fathy was that voice.

hassan fathy

Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy died in 1989 but left behind a legacy of 160 building projects ranging from small projects to large-scale communities complete with mosques and schools.  His impact can still be felt from Egypt to Greece and even New Mexico, where in 1981 he designed the Dar Ar-Salam community.  Fathy received several awards for his work, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1980, and founded The International Institute for Appropriate Technology in 1977.

Hassan Fathy and Architecture for the Poor

One of his first assignments after graduating in 1926 from what is now the University of Cairo was to build a school at Talkha, a small town along the Nile in Northern Egypt.  The absolute squalor of the place “haunted” Fathy: the streets were littered with rotten food and filthy water, the buildings were dilapidated, and the peasants who lived there had accepted their depressing lot.  This experience inspired him to improve the lives of those who were powerless to do so without help.

hassan fathy

Fathy wrote in his book Architecture for the Poor (links to PDF): “They needed decent houses, but houses are expensive. In large towns capitalists are attracted by the returns from investment in housing, and public bArchitecture for the Poor (odies…frequently provide extensive accommodation for the citizens, but neither capitalists nor the state seem willing to undertake the provision of peasant houses…”

Architecture for the Poor cover
 

Traditional design using mud

While other architects were seeking fame and fortune, Hassan Fathy saw the genius of incorporating traditional design and building materials.  He wrote “here, for years, for centuries, the peasant had been wisely and quietly exploiting the obvious building material, while we, with our modern school-learned ideas, never dreamed of using such a ludicrous substance as mud for so serious a creation as a house.”

locatat, local materials, architecture, design, sustainable, green building, eco building

Fathy cared more about improving the standard of living for the people he served than he did about fancy western materials and technology.

hassan fathy

In 1946 he was commissioned by Egypt’s Antiquities Department to build New Gourna Village for 3,000 families who were raiding the ruins at Luxor.  The villagers weren’t so excited about being displaced, but Fathy committed to smoothing their transition.

hassan fathy

He built thick brick walls and traditional courtyards, which both supported cultural values and created passive cooling (see design above), and enlisted the villagers as builders of their own homes. This not only reduced labor costs and created jobs, but also helped the villagers to connect with what Fathy considered a sacred space. Home for him was a place to seek solace and comfort from the outside world.

hassan fathy

Finally, Hassan Fathy respected that nature should take precedence in the design of new structures. “Architectural form should consider the forces in nature of wind, rain, even how an earthquake shaking it would make it fall in a pattern that follows the geological formation of a mountain,” he once wrote.

No doubt Dubai’s artificial World Islands would have seemed preposterous to him.

hassan fathy

In short, Fathy’s designs were affordable, congruent with nature, elevated the human condition, and they were sustainable.  We think this is a model that would better serve the Middle East than other lavish projects taking place.

More on Architecture, Middle East:
Recent Jerusalem Seminar in Architecture Focused on Green Design
Can An Ecological Peace Park Catalyze Peace Between Syria and Israel?
AECOM Teams Up with Ellerbe Beckett to Create More Sustainable Building In The Middle East

Tafline Laylin
Tafline Laylinhttp://www.greenprophet.com
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
65 COMMENTS

  3. […] Hassan Fathy is The Middle East’s Father of Sustainable Architecture – Hassan Fathy … Salam community. Fathy received several awards for his work, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1980, and founded The International Institute for Appropriate Technology in 1977. Architecture for the poor One of his first … […]

  4. […] “They needed decent houses, but houses are expensive. In large towns capitalists are attracted by the returns from investment in housing, and public bodies…frequently provide extensive accommodation for the citizens, but neither capitalists nor the state seem willing to undertake the provision of peasant houses…” – See more at: http://www.greenprophet.com/2010/02/hassn-fathy-sustainable-architecture/#sthash.FbyWvgNK.dpuf […]

  5. […] If Hassan Fathy is the father of sustainable architecture, then Nader Khalili must be his close cousin. The Egyptian and Iranian architects respectively grew up with an interest in housing poor populations and refugees with earth architecture and both made enormous contributions to the modern application of ancient building techniques. But Khalili, who spent much of his career in the United States and received awards from the Aga Khan Foundation, NASA, and the United Nations, veered down a particularly unconventional path. […]

  10. […] Hassan Fathy was an Egyptian architect who wanted to build a different world using the cheapest material the earth provides – mud. When in 1946 he was commissioned to build a new village in Luxor, he did something which many architects at the time wouldn’t even contemplate. He asked the community what they wanted and integrated the best of their traditional earthen construction techniques with his architectural expertise. What emerged was ‘New Gourna’, a stunning earthen village with natural ventilation, large bright rooms, beautiful domes — and all at low cost too. […]

  11. […] Hassan Fathy was an Egyptian architect who wanted to build a different world using the cheapest material the earth provides – mud. When in 1946 he was commissioned to build a new village in Luxor, he did something which many architects at the time wouldn’t even contemplate. He asked the community what they wanted and integrated the best of their traditional earthen construction techniques with his architectural expertise. What emerged was ‘New Gourna’, a stunning earthen village with natural ventilation, large bright rooms, beautiful domes – and all at low cost too. […]

  16. […] lauded the benefits of  ancient building techniques many times before. Both Hassan Fathy’s incredible mud structures in Egypt and ancient Syrian beehives are a model for sustainable design because neither require an […]

  19. […] Hassan Fathy is the Middle East’s Father of Sustainable Architecture AKPC_IDS += "71884,"; __spr_config = { pid: '4ef1a3d5396cef53f100007b', title: 'Earth-Friendly Vernacular Date Palm Leaf Architecture Revisited in London', ckw: 'date palm,desert,eco-building,green design,Gulf,vernacular architecture', chan: 'architecture-urban', no_slide: '', slide_logo: false, pub: '2012-04-26 10:32:33', url: 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenprophet.com%2F2012%2F04%2Fearth-friendly-vernacular-date-palm-leaf-architecture-revisited-in-london%2F', header: 'RECOMMENDED FOR YOU' }; var content = document.getElementById('simplereach-slide-tag').parentNode, loc; if (content.className){ loc = '.' + content.className; } if (content.id){ loc = '#' + content.id; } __spr_config.loc = loc || content; (function(){ var s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true; s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = document.location.protocol + '//d8rk54i4mohrb.cloudfront.net/js/slide.js'; __spr_config.css = 'document.location.protocol + '//d8rk54i4mohrb.cloudfront.net/css/p/4ef1a3d5396cef53f100007b.css'; var tg = document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]; if (!tg) {tg = document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0];} if (tg) {tg.appendChild(s);} })(); […]

      • I have written an article on New Gourna as well, which shall soon be published on a website for non-commercial purposes. May I have permission to use your images? If they aren’t yours, would you please be able to guide me to the source/s?

        Thanks!

  24. […] Hassan Fathy is the Middle East’s Father of Sustainable Architecture AKPC_IDS += "65436,"; __spr_config = { pid: '4ef1a3d5396cef53f100007b', title: 'Piping Sunlight with Solotubes, Plastic Bottles and Islamic Architecture', ckw: 'daylighting,green design,Islamic Architecture,Middle East,Solotubes,sustainable design', chan: 'architecture-urban', no_slide: '', slide_logo: false, pub: '2012-02-10 07:09:12', url: 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenprophet.com%2F2012%2F02%2Fsolotubes-plastic-bottles-islamic-architecture%2F', header: 'RECOMMENDED FOR YOU' }; var content = document.getElementById('simplereach-slide-tag').parentNode, loc; if (content.className){ loc = '.' + content.className; } if (content.id){ loc = '#' + content.id; } __spr_config.loc = loc || content; (function(){ var s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true; s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = document.location.protocol + '//d8rk54i4mohrb.cloudfront.net/js/slide.js'; __spr_config.css = 'document.location.protocol + '//d8rk54i4mohrb.cloudfront.net/css/p/4ef1a3d5396cef53f100007b.css'; var tg = document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]; if (!tg) {tg = document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0];} if (tg) {tg.appendChild(s);} })(); swfobject.embedSWF("http://www.youtube.com/v/buMyJPQLS9U&rel=0&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=0", "vvq-65436-youtube-1", "560", "453", "10", vvqexpressinstall, vvqflashvars, vvqparams, vvqattributes); […]

  26. […] Hassan Fathy is the Middle East’s Father of Sustainable Architecture AKPC_IDS += "63305,"; __spr_config = { pid: '4ef1a3d5396cef53f100007b', title: '13 Green Building Tips From Nader Khalili Student ', ckw: 'earth architecture,eco-building,green building,green design,Hassan Fathy,Middle East,nader khalili,space architecture,Sustainable Architecture,sustainable building', chan: 'architecture-urban', no_slide: '', slide_logo: false, pub: '2012-01-12 20:23:50', url: 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenprophet.com%2F2012%2F01%2F13-green-building-tips-nader-khalili%2F', header: 'RECOMMENDED FOR YOU' }; var content = document.getElementById('simplereach-slide-tag').parentNode, loc; if (content.className){ loc = '.' + content.className; } if (content.id){ loc = '#' + content.id; } __spr_config.loc = loc || content; (function(){ var s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true; s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = document.location.protocol + '//d8rk54i4mohrb.cloudfront.net/js/slide.js'; __spr_config.css = 'document.location.protocol + '//d8rk54i4mohrb.cloudfront.net/css/p/4ef1a3d5396cef53f100007b.css'; var tg = document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]; if (!tg) {tg = document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0];} if (tg) {tg.appendChild(s);} })(); […]

  42. […] It’s hard not to compare Dubai and Cairo – two cities that occupy many of our worried green thoughts. Although different on so many levels, one thing stands out: despite being relatively young and stroppy, Dubai is definitely the cleaner city. Sure, there is litter along the beaches and in other more isolated areas, but when compared to Egypt, the Emirate comes out squeaky clean. Even so, French Architect Dominique Gauzin-Müller told Almasry Alyoum that she can envision a sustainable urban future for Egypt, particularly if the country embraces wisdom advocated by their very own father of sustainable architecture – Hassan Fathy. […]

  52. بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
    شكرا على هذا الموضوع و بالله عليكم اذا كان يوجد شئ اخر عنكم عنهذا الموضوع بالذات ان ترسلوه لي باسرع وقت ممكن فانا في امس حاجة له
    و لكم جزيل الشكر

  57. The Arts' Center at Kibbutz Neot Smadar in Israel's Arava, is an impressive ecologically sound structure that incorporates natural materials and a natural cooling system based on water and wind.

  59. What's good about Fathy is that he used his common sense! It seems like he saw an injustice and did what he could to make it better for everyone. He didn't just build a building that suited him. I don't know why this kind of compassion disappeared for a while, but I'm glad it's making a comeback with this green movement!

  61. Very interesting design for natural cooling,Has anyone got an idea what the apparatus is on the right side,it looks like an earthen pot with maybe water to cool the warm air,any ideas?

Comments are closed.

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