Sustainable Architecture And Local Construction Tradition Hassan Fathy’s Way

By Ahmed ElDakroury

At the beginning of Hassan Fathy’s architectural career, many people doubted him and did not believed in his ideas about sustainability while others supported him, which slowly render him an established architect and an important representative of what we today call ‘sustainable architecture’. This article aims at presenting the sustainable aspect of Fathy’s architecture and the relation to local cultures and traditional building techniques.

Hassan Fathy was an Egyptian architect born in March 23, 1900 and died in November 30, 1989. He is well recognized architect among the Arab architects especial for the dome structure and the hand-smoothed walls covered in adobe. His work was mostly noted for using adobe and traditional material. The use of natural material was inspired by the traditional architecture in Egypt. Hassan Fathy in his work insisted in revisiting traditional ways of building because he believed that the ancient ways of building for each country,

could be the most fitting to use in a

region because they were ways that were used and tested in practice during many centuries. His idea was that we, as architects, have to think as traditional local craftsmen, use traditional ways of building and relate it with the newly thought and brought up technology. Accordingly, he argued that: “once a particular tradition is established the architects is to keep this tradition going with his own invention and in science to give it that additional momentum that is save it from coming to a standstill” 1 . This vision is what distinguished Fathy’s architecture; sustainable architecture created along lines that work with the surrounding, using local resources and catering to the needs ofits inhabitants.

By the late 1930s, Fathy’s work was showing awareness of local architectural details that allowed and helped in maximizing the amount of natural light and ventilation inside the house. He gained the knowledge all by studying and understanding how traditional ancient Egyptian architecture worked with its

environment. Moreover, Fathy believed deeply that architecture should respond to the needs of the inhabitants, and by needs he meant both the physical needs as well as the psychological ones. He argued that: “in

nature, no two men are alike … they will differ in their dreams. emerges from The architecture of the house the dream; therefore, in villages built by their inhabitants we will find no two

houses identical” 2 . –Hassan Fathy, architecture for the poor.

Hassan Fathy wrote this in his book ‘Gourna: a tale of two villages’ which was republished in the west as ‘Architecture for the Poor’. He wrote this book after he designed and built the new village of Gourna where he designed every single house according to the needs of each one of the inhabitants that were assigned to move to the “new village”. Gourna is a housing project located in Luxor on the West Bank of the Nile River, it was built between the period of 1945 and 1948, it was designed to house 174 persons. The project typology is using arches because it was typical in traditional Egyptian architecture and Hassan Fathy wanted to maintain that identity, and to reinforce that idea, Hassan Fathy used adobe bricks because it is the traditional material and also for its thermal characteristics. The project was considered a failure at first because the people didn’t want to move into the new houses but fifteen years later, and after the inhabitants settled in and started their new life, it was considered to be one of the most successful projects. Hassan Fathy designed it to gain the most advantage of its surrounding, by using natural ventilation and lighting. In summer, the houses

stay cool and comfortable although Egypt climate is hot in summer. And in winter, the houses are warm and cozy, this was all achieved by using the right material and by allowing the sun light to heat up spaces and then store the energy in materials with thermal mass, such as adobe walls, to be then distributed when needed, naturally. Hassan Fathy lived in one of the houses for 15 years in that village, and currently, there are people living there and not willing to move out although the government has introduced offers of “better living houses”. People claim to be emotionally attached to the place and they do not want to leave it because it already satisfies their needs and gives them the comfort level they desire. And for some other inhabitant, they claim they have helped in building the houses which grew them to be attached to it. In a way, we can see how the inhabitant can grow connection to the living space all just by integrating something of identity in it. This attachment proves that Fathy’s concern for relating spaces with specific needs was eventually successful.

Fathy can be considered as an architect that was thinking ahead of his age and era. He managed to achieve such a level of design by understanding how architecture was built and designed in the past, and understanding the traditional material that was used, when it was use, how it was used and why it was used. Hassan Fathy believed that the best way to design and build something is by starting to look at what is underneath your leg which motivates the concept of using as found natural material which motivates the sustainable movement. Which relates to the reason of why Hassan Fathy use adobe a lot in his designs, adobe is the natural material in Egypt, that gives tradition character, but also for its technical qualities; it is a thermal mass material that can preserve a steady temperature providing comfort, and for its economical qualities; it is a cheap material because it is the local material, and also can be easily built by local technicians which saves time, thus price.

To conclude we can say that Hassan Fathy’s work can indeed be considered a precious offer to sustainable thinking. His aspect of sustainable thinking was inspired by the traditional way of building that was experienced and implemented in the ancient time. He also emphasizes on the use of natural material believing that the natural material ‘grows’ like a natural element in a region based on its need and adapting to its climate and conditions, thus, it is best to use natural material to achieve a highly efficient and sustainable design/project. ______________

Fathy, H. (n.d.). Architecture for the poor. 1st ed. p.62. Fathy, h. (2017). Hassan Fathy: Egypt's architect of the poor. [online] Aljazeera.com. Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/03/hassan-fathygoogle-inspired-works-170323084504344.html [Accessed 15 Jan. 2020].