Hassan Fathy, 1900 to 1989, was an Egyptian architect and a pioneer of sustainable architecture. His philosophy emphasized building with local materials and traditional techniques. He revived the lost skill of building homes and streets out of clay bricks, and out of that native material, built houses, mosques, and even an entire village. 

Fathy had unconventional, almost romantic, views on the power of architecture to improve even the most humble home. His Westernized contemporaries dismissed his ideas as irrelevant – throwbacks to the past in a world eager to pursue modernity. Almost unknown in Western culture, his vision, so ahead of its time, is beginning to intrigue architects again.

Before beginning to design a blueprint, Fathy studied the ecological conditions of the proposed locale, especially considering which direction winds blow there during the 24 hours. He designed windows and walls pierced in lattice designs to create shade and allow cooling ventilation to run through the rooms.  His wrote about his experiences with sustainable design in a seminal work, “Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture, Principles and Examples With Reference To Hot Arid Climates.”

He had a passion for the simple beauty of curved lines, holding that rooms with walls and roofs designed around curves, rather than geometrical lines, have the power to heal.

Most of all, he believed that the poor deserve not only comfortable homes but also beautiful surroundings that reflect timeless Egyptian designs and Islamic themes. 

Fathy’s students revered him as a sort of guru, but the Egyptian government, perhaps suspicious of his unconventional approach, failed to fund his projects to completion. Yet his projects survive, some physically on the ground and some in his collection of original blueprints, drawings, and published articles housed in the archives of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in Geneva, Switzerland, and at the American University of Cairo. 

Fathy’s most impressive project was the construction of New Gourna Village between 1946 and 1952 at Luxor, Egypt. (It’s in shambles) The residents of the original Gourna lived over the Thebes cemetery. They made their living robbing the Pharaonic tombs and selling the antiquities on.  When the government woke up to the fact that priceless artifacts had been flowing out of Gourna for decades, they decided that the only way to stop the traffic was by relocating the residents. Although public officials had never been friendly toward Fathy, they granted him the construction of New Gourna in 1946.

Fathy proposed using clay bricks rather than cement to build New Gourna, although the skill had long since been forgotten in that part of Egypt. Having already successfully created clay buildings in Saudi Arabia, India and Greece, he brought skilled Nubian builders to teach the Gourna villagers. His reasoning was partly to use sustainable basic material and partly to provide the Gournians with a new, lucrative skill. Rather than robbing tombs, they would turn to agriculture, crafts, and brick-making. 

Remembering Hassan Fathy – Egypt’s Green Architect Of the People

He  invited the Gournians to participate in planning the new village, using their input in planning its buildings and layout. Important spaces like the mosque, the boy’s school, the khan and market naturally took prominence, but he was careful to oversee the smallest details in every home; for example, long benches built inside houses and courtyards, which, covered with cushions, served as  seating and even as beds for sleeping on during the hottest summer nights.

One anomaly was an outdoor theater, which still stands although it has never hosted a performance.

New Gourna village is now part of the World Heritage Centre property in Egypt.  Its homes and khan are seriously deteriorating today under factors like climate change, overcrowding, and underground water seepage. The village’s population has grown through multiple families under the same roofs, as men acquire second or third wives. The foundations, based on clay and salt, are collapsing.

There is still no modern sewage system. Sewage cisterns originally regularly emptied by trucks going around the streets, are leaking into the ground.  Residents, rightly concerned about the roofs over their heads, are clearing Fathy buildings away and building with concrete and red bricks. The Egyptian government neglects the situation. 

An article published in the Cairo Observer in 2013 argues that Fathy’s beliefs idealized the concepts of sustainable construction to the detriment of the people living in his buildings.

It’s acknowledged that New Gourna and other projects of Fathy’s were not built to withstand future changes. But Gournians, vehemently attached to their village, welcome reconstruction via UNESCO’s  World Heritage Centre, at the urging of the international association Save the Heritage Of Hassan Fathy. 

“We want to rebuild Gourna in Hassan Fathy’s spirit, although not with his materials,” they say. 

For Fathy’s spirit lives on. His “Architecture for the Poor: An Experiment in Rural Egypt” published in 1973, continues to inspire a new generation of architects around the world.

For more on Hassan Fathy and Gourna see:
Remembering Hassan Fathy – Egypt’s Green Architect Of the People
Hassan Fathy is the Middle East’s Father of Sustainable Architecture
13 Principles of Sustainable Architecture

The post New Gourna and Egyptian Architect for Social Justice: Hassan Fathi appeared first on Green Prophet.

Built in 1172, the 150-foot tall Hadba Tower is part of the Great Nuris Mosque. According to Iraq’s UNESCO office, the minaret has been bowing since the 14th century.

Attempts to shore up the structure were made in the 1970s, but cracks have continued to appear along its base. Like its Italian cousin, Hadba’s tilt is partly due to poor ground conditions; the minaret sits on swampy land.

In 2012, Ninawa Province authorities signed a memorandum of understanding with UNESCO that would allow for a study on how best to preserve and protect the leaning minaret. But international experts in restoration and geology are prevented from visiting the site due to uncertain security in Mosul.

The city, an epicenter of Sunni extremism, is a flashpoint for sectarian and ethnic clashes.

“Security conditions in Ninawa today – and probably in the near future too – simply don’t encourage any investment in this area,” a local engineer told Middle East Online.

The minaret (called “the hunchback” by locals) could be saved by removing its ancient interior and replacing it with stronger materials. Alternatively, the whole minaret could be disassembled, its base reinforced, then reconstructed in its original position.

The people of Mosul love their leaning tower. Al Hadba is featured on the ten dinar bank note, and on stamps and coins and frequently appears in the names of  local businesses and sports teams. Local legend has it that the minaret bowed when the Prophet Mohammed (MPBOH) passed by and has remained prostrate ever since.

When the world misbehaves, of course we turn to the human impacts.  But it’s a heart-breaker when our violence also fails to protect cultural heritage, history, and natural environment.

Images of Al Hadba from SkycraperCity and SFGate

The post Iraq’s leaning Hadba Tower is dangerously close to collapse appeared first on Green Prophet.

Head to the heart of any Middle Eastern city and find a vibrant commercial hub, usually in the shadow of a major mosque – the bazaar. An Iranian bazaar with incredible history (Marco Polo shopped there!) may now win the 2013 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

Organically composed of interconnected structures, with a maze of corridors and vast interior, Tabriz Bazaar is both straightforward and complex.  For centuries, its nooks and crannies and open space set a public stage for retail therapy, social meetups, and politics.

Maybe you’ve seen the world’s biggest bazaars?  There’s Istanbul’s labyrinthine Grand Bazaar, Europe’s most-visited attraction with15 million annual shoppers; Cairo’s Khan el-Khalil, which put a stranglehold on the Medieval spice trade, inciting Columbus to go sailing; and Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where conservative and pro-Khomeini bazaaris (shop owners) organized to help finance the Islamic Revolution.

So what makes this one stand out?

Tabriz Historic Bazaar has been rocking cultural exchange and commerce for millennia.  Pin its staying power on location: it’s smack central on the old Silk Road, antiquity’s busiest trade route.  Moroccan explorer Ibn Buttata visited and raved about the beautiful slaves who modeled jewelry to the wives of rich Turks.  Marco Polo was a repeat customer.

Tabriz, an ancient city with Bronze Age origins, is capital of the East Azerbaijan province of Iran.  Its history is fascinating: an important 9th century military base and twice capital of Azarbin, it evolved into a desirable zip code for 14th century artists and philosophers.

In the run-up to the 1600s, manufacturing grew and diversified (weaving, metallurgy, weapon and tile production, leatherworks and soapmaking) and trade expanded.

The city had rough patches.  It was sacked by Tamerlane, then by the Iranians, Ottomans and Russians.  Even Mother Nature took a turn, sending in earthquakes and floods.  Through it all, the bazaar remained an enduring commercial and economic center fro Tabriz and northwestern Iran.

The building bears history’s scars. Its last reconstruction followed a devastating earthquake in 1780.

In 1975, it became officially protected by the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organization, which oversees protected monuments. Tenants then undertook minor rehabilitation via a smart policy of endowments and tax exemptions.  In 2010, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The spectacular brick structure covers about 67 acres with almost 4 miles of covered shops and product-specific “sub-bazaars” for gold, carpets, shoes and food.  It’s used for important Islamic holidays, like the Day of Ashura when merchants cease trading for about 10 days and the bazaar hosts religious ceremonies.

It’s increasingly rare in the Middle East for urban development to cast heritage in a catalyst role.  Rather than abandon the bazaar in pursuit of a modern market, or cringe-inducing mixed-use “lifestyle destination”, the people behind this project elected to rejuvenate Tabriz by preserving its history.

Tabriz Bazaar developed over the centuries, remaining true to it’s core function as an economic, social, political, and religious complex where different activities and cultures are integrated in a unique living environment.  Kudos to this project from keeping Iran’s storied past fit for present purpose.

Images from UNESCO

The post Architects Embrace Iranian History at the Tabriz Bazaar appeared first on Green Prophet.