ARCHITECT HASSAN FATHY AN ARCHITECTURE FOR PEOPLE DESIGN ELEMENTS OF HASSAN FATHY GOURNA MOSQUE ABD AL-RAHMAN NASSIF HOUSE

2. Hassan Fathy
Egyptian Architect
(1900 – 1989)

3. Introduction
 The master builder, Hassan Fathy (1900-
1989) 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.
 He was unique in believing that this
language could exist alongside that of an
aggressively modern one that cut all ties
with the past he Designed 160 separate
projects from modest country retreats to
fully planned communities, markets,
schools, theatres, places for worship and
for recreation.

4. Architectural Perspectives
 Ancient design methods and
materials
 Utilizing a knowledge of rural
Egyptian economic situation
 Space design suitable to
surrounding environ- ment
 Low cost construction without
using R.C.C and steel
 Training locals to build ones own
house

5. SIX MAJOR PRINCIPLES THAT
FORM THE CRUX OF FATHY'S
WORK :
• The belief in the primacy of human
values in architecture
• The importance of a universal rather
than a limited approach
• The use of appropriate technology
• The need for socially oriented,
cooperative construction techniques
• The essential role of tradition
• The re-establishment of cultural pride
through the art of building

6. Design Elements
Mud brick (Adobe) walls
Thick walls
Wind-catcher and Qanat
Decorative screens
Building orientation and
placement of windows
Domes and Vaulted roofs
Courtyard

7. Adobe Walls

8. Thick Walls

9. Wind-Catcher And qanat

10. Screened Walls And Placement
Of Windows

11. Domes And Vaulted Roofs

12. Courtyard

13. ROLE AS AN ARCHITECT:
• As an architect, he was influenced
the most by the monumental
architecture in the Pharaonic
period also, strongly influenced
intellectually by the concept of the
vernacular arch. of the Nubians.
• Hassan Fathy’s main purpose was
housing the poor in developing
nations by applying the concept he
was strongly influenced by which
is the vernacular architecture of
the Nubians which opened up his
mind to discover the true essence
of the heritage and being inspired
by the ancestor’s work.

14. • His goal was to combine between a comfy descent housing & being poor,
because after all, home is where the person should feel comfy at ease
serene and cool no matter what was the temperature and the
circumstances outside.
“ Matchbox houses" were too hot in the summer and too cold in winter.
Nubian craftsmen were masters at constructing domed and vaulted roofs of
. mud work which they also used for the walls.

15. • Hassan Fathy developed his own ideas, inculcating traditional Arab styles like
the malkhaf (wind catcher), the shukshaykha (lantern dome) and the
mashrabeya (wooden lattice screens) which could be combined with the mud-
brick construction
• He designed complete communities including utilities and services, country
retreats, and special projects and homes.
• Hassan Fathy had already worked for decades in his beloved Egypt before he
designed and built for the homeless community of Gourna, Upper Egypt,
which attracted international acclaim.

16. • One would enter a home made out of local natural resources with dome
shaped ceilings and no electrical air-conditioning, to find a sudden
descent of peace and calm within a cool atmosphere.

17. GOURNA MOSQUE
The elevation

18. Plan And Sectional elevation
Guma Mosque, Gourna

19. Screens in Window

20. Vaulted roof at Gourna Theatre

21. Ventilation system

22. ABD AL-RAHMAN NASSIF HOUSE
Location: Saudi Arabia
Date: 1973
Building type: residential
 The house was built with stone block recovered from the demolition of
the traditional tower houses in the old city, which the client
unsuccessfully tried to save.
 Rather than using the familiar dome over the majlishere, he felt that an
octagonal shukshieka would be more regionally appropriate, and the use
of this particular element carries over into a larger house designed in
tabuk.
 The importance of the Nassif house comes mainly from its early idealistic
and innovative attempt to revive Jeddah’s lost heritage at the time when
it was invaded by the modern office blocks and shopping malls which
necessitated the demolition of many of its historic buildings

23. >The house consists of two
storey with a double-height
reception hall, ten different
rooms, service areas,
internal courtyard with
fountain and open courtyard
with garden pavilion on the
first floor.
>The house featured Arabic
Islamic elements including
domes, mashrabiyyahs (wooden
lattice work), thick walls,
enclosed patios and fountains
of marble
.
>Nassif house evoked the value of tradition at a time when the
influence of the International Style was widespread because of
the oil boom of that period.
>It also drew the attention of the people to their architectural
heritage and stimulated the realization that Jeddah was the only
remaining example of Red Sea architecture in Saudi Arabia.

24. Old Nassif House,
Jeddah

Entrance from the
courtyard
Inner courtyard with
pavilion

25. Overall Understanding
 Mud brick – Low heat radiation, low cost, availability
 Thick wall – high insulation
 Small windows not facing the sun.
 Windcatcher – Air circulation, a pressure gradient used to
get away with the hot air.
 Qanat – Used with windcatcher to cool the interior air by
deep cut canal in the floor filled with water.
 Screens – Restrict glare of light
 No use of R.C.C and Steel for high heat radiation
 Courtyard with partial greenery to screen dust and sand in
the prevailing wind.

26. Design Phillosophy
 Low cost construction
 Usage of local materials and vernacular architecture
 Training of local people in construction to reduce labor
cost
 Against western techniques and ‘Matcbox houses’
 Design development with energy conservation technique,
Study of temperature and wind patterns.
 Passive cooling