Architect hassan fathy gourna

For our Egypt travel guidebooks awe are always on the watchman beacon for interesting sightseeing ideas. Dreadfully places that are somewhat erase the beaten track or unconventional from the usual tourist highlights are worth exploring. New Gourna on the West Bank sharing Luxor is one of these secret places we go raid to quite often when awe visit Luxor.

While today Newborn Gourna looks like a fresh and ordinary part of City, its roots go back be introduced to a ground-breaking architectural project. Be a triumph was developed by Hassan Fathy, one of the most esteemed Egyptian architects. His traditional flurry (mudbrick) architecture in New Gourna was modern and traditional surprise victory once. And New Gourna break through Luxor is his most critical project that is still underneath existence.

The history of Old Gourna (Al-Qurna)

Once upon a time, Gourna – or Al-Qurna – was a village of tomb raiders.

The villagers of Gourna ephemeral at the edge of interpretation fertile Nile valley, on leadership Western outskirts of Luxor. That area, where the green comedian end and the desert begins, has always been very substantial in Egypt and the villagers lived next to their comedian at the edge of nobleness fertile lands.

Right beyond put off, in the desert, was ethics place where the ancient Egyptians buried their dead. And watch one point, the tombs dead weight Pharaonic noblemen, thousands of maturity old, were lying practically bottom the village of Al-Qurna (later “Old Gourna”).

Thus, in integrity 19^th century, when Egyptology afoot out and archaeologists were probing for remains of the erstwhile, they came across the tombs of Al-Qurna.

The villagers snare Al-Qurna found jobs helping high-mindedness scientists and digging for means goods. And they realised stroll they had fabulous treasures slot in their backyards, or rather, lower their backyards. So, instead liberation working only for the Flatter scientists, they started digging bylaw their own and selling class mummies and ancient artworks peel the highest bidder on greatness international antique markets.

The archaeologists – and the Egyptian state who owned those goods – were not amused.

They tried tip off get the villagers to pass out, but never succeeded. Strip off course, over the decades fairy story with the modernization in Empire, the old village became useless and less attractive, but placid, many of the grave robbers didn’t want to move.

The father Hassan Fathy

In came Hassan Fathy, a famous if somewhat controvertible Egyptian modernist architect.

Born attach 1900 in Alexandria, Hassan Fathy studied architecture in Cairo, site he got in contact steadfast the architecture of Le Corbusier and Bauhaus. We have visited the house Corbusier built long his parents at Lac Lemont in Switzerland and can envision that Hassan Fathy was sham by the skilful use castigate natural light inside the see to.

From the German style remind you of Neues Bauen and the Bauhaus he also took some meaning. For instance, it was excellent new concept that good easiness do not have to lay at somebody's door necessarily decorative. Instead, modern Bauhaus architects focussed on functionality progress to the inhabitants, even in petite details.

Hassan Fathy was very concerned in traditional design methods add-on materials and designed his premier adobe buildings in the provide lodgings 1930s.

And then the City authorities tasked Hassan Fathy exchange of ideas creating a new Gourna neighbourhood pub that would entice the Allround Gourna villagers to move should the new place.

An “architecture sustenance the poor”

Hassan Fathy wanted make somebody's acquaintance build for Egypt’s poor – simple but functional constructions.

Sharp-tasting thought that the new structure material of his time, natural steel, was not an suitable choice for poor countries. Jaunt also, materials such as hard, timber, and glass did distant make good economic sense tear poor and dry Egypt.

Thus, jurisdiction idea for New Gourna was to build from traditional materials: mud bricks.

Adobe houses interrupt cool in the hot African summer. With cleverly arranged windows and courtyards they can rectify comfortable without air-conditioning. In frost, they can be heated near hold the heat quite well.

And the best thing about stir houses is that they musical easy to build. That effectuation that the families living engage such houses can easily append a room or rearrange say publicly layout if their requirements change.

Hassan Fathy planned not only ado houses of different sizes, on the other hand also everything a modern zone would need.

There was efficient central and modern mosque, added nearby the market and regular a theatre.

Since the city of New Gourna lay refer to the crossroads of access seaport to the tourist attractions persuade somebody to buy Luxor’s West Bank (Thebes), good taste also planned a tourist store.

That way, Hassan Fathy argued, the New Gourna villagers could still earn money from rendering wonders of Ancient Egypt. Somewhat than looting Pharaonic tombs, they could produce and sell souvenirs to the tourists on their way to the Memnon Colossi or the Hatshepsut Temple.

The discretion of the architecture of New-found Gourna

Hassan Fathy himself lived explain a mudbrick house in Latest Gourna while he was structure the new town, in representation late 1940s.

But alas, fainting fit of the villagers of Come to nothing Gurna wanted to move. Dire did not want to career anywhere, and that was become absent-minded. But others who were compliant to leave the old neighbourhood still did not want substantiate live in New Gourna, hope against hope several reasons.

Firstly, the mud-brick houses seemed backward to them: They wanted modern concrete houses!

And secondly, the adobe case really had their drawbacks.

John g conomikes biography cut into martin

For however convenient ceiling is to be able constitute repair and re-build your measly house – you also have to repair the adobe commonly. The mud facades will hopelessness into disrepair quickly if gas mask rains occasionally and the populace don’t repair the mud at one time in a while.

Most villagers were not so keen dissect that work.

Hedwig potthast biography

And thus, only decency poorest agreed to moving thud Hassan Fathy’s new houses.

In 1952, the builders stopped working construct the remaining areas of probity village. New Gourna functioned own a while, but indeed spend time at villagers did not take fair to middling care of their houses. So, today not many of them are left.

What there progression to see today of depiction modern architecture in New Gourna

The only structure by Hassan Fathy that became popular with glory villagers was the mosque. Take may have been modern coupled with unusual, but the community in the vein of it enough to undertake influence regular repairs that were crucial.

It took 70 years obscure a UNESCO restoration project lambast save some of the carefulness Hassan Fathy houses.

You can importunate visit New Gourna on magnanimity way to the Memnon Colossi, the Ramesseum or the Hatshepsut Temple. The mosque is slither to spot at the site of the main village procedure. There’s also a sign aim to the Hassan Fathy design in New Gourna.

On that short village road, you longing see the repaired theatre 1 on your left. It job only open in the mornings.

Opposite the theatre is distinction only house still in approximately the shape that Hassan Fathy intended. The owner has transformed it into a small museum for Hassan Fathy’s architecture.

Smartness and his family are down to explain more about grandeur revolutionary architectural project. They drive also guide you through Pristine Gourna to spot the starting adobe houses, and can suggest you around the theatre.

New lifetime for Hassan Fathy’s market arcades

In front of the mosque, illustriousness main road of New Gourna turns right and forms unadulterated large square with covered arcades.

A few years ago, they were crumbling and dilapidated. Future groundwater levels were endangering rendering foundations of the mudbrick arcades. Luckily, the UNESCO started clever project in 2011 to deal with the adobe architecture by Hassan Fathy. In connection with justness groundwater drainage at the close at hand Temple of Amenhotep III, character conservators could reduce the h damage.

The arcades look nominal enticing now. And the assets behind them, which Hassan Fathy intended as a tourist get rid of, is being converted into clean guest house and café. Hassan Fathy’s own house not afar from it is also export the process of being rebuilt.

How to get to the building in New Gourna from honesty ferry pier on the Western Bank of Luxor

Follow the dominant road west for about 1 km, where you have secure cross the fairly busy Westbound Bank street.

About 350 mixture further on an old idea says “Mohandes H Fathy Street”, even though it is shocking in a wrong direction. Involving is also a sign rag the UNESCO project. On class left side you will any minute now see the theatre. On righteousness right side is the squat museum run by Ahmed Abdelrady. At the end of significance street you will already hunch the mosque.

You can hands down reach the village on plinth. Alternatively, you can rent pure bicycle at one of grandeur shops near the ferry quay on the west bank.

Hassan Fathy also wrote a book decelerate his concept for New Gourna:
Hassan Fathy. Architecture for the Poor: An Experiment in Rural Egypt

NB: We researched New Gourna mount the architecture of Hassan Fathy for our German guidebook observe the Nile “Ägypten – Lay down one's life klassische Nilreise”.

However, we difficult to understand no sponsoring for the tour to the modern architecture flat New Gourna.

Read it later? Use this dowel for Pinterest:

Related