مجلة العمارة والتخطيط
استعراض
مقالة وصول حر The Conservation of New Gourna Village According to Hassan Fathy’s Philosophy and Ideas(دار جامعة الملك سعود للنشر, 24/05/1438) Ayman G. Abdel TawabMotivated by the declining condition of New Gourna, the international association “Save theHeritage of Hassan Fathy” made an appeal to several international conservation organizations to help with theconservation of the village. Responding to this appeal, the World Heritage Centre embarked upon a study of thevillage and a conservation initiative. The study recommended adopting two approaches to the conservation ofNew Gourna, one of which is based on the conservation of the village according to Hassan Fathy’s ideas. Thestudy summarized these ideas as “architecture that is based on appropriate technology or sustainability”. The aimof this study is to discuss the architect’s genuine ideas concerning New Gourna, which should guide the conservationworks in the village. The subject of the study was approached by means of a theoretical review of a broadliterature that explores Hassan Fathy’s ideas, one of which is Hassan Fathy’s own book entitled “Architecturefor the Poor”. An individual conservation initiative of one of the houses that Hassan Fathy designed in NewGourna, which reflects a clear understanding of his ideas, was explored as well. The previous literaturereview was supported by a number of interviews carried out in Egypt and the United States. The study revealedthat the architect’s main idea of the project was to sustain the traditional qualities of Old Gourna’s communityby introducing an architecture that responds to its diverse contexts. The study suggests adopting an approachto the conservation of the peasants’ houses that depends on sustaining and enhancing the traditional qualitiesof New Gourna’s community, instead of restoring the particularities of Hassan Fathy’s original design.