An Architecture For People: The Complete Works of Hassan Fathy. - book reviews

Architectural Review, The, March, 1998 by Archie Walls

Hassan Fathy was a remarkable man: artist, antiquarian and social reformer to the world's poor. He was slightly built and enveloped by an air of virtuousness, projecting the intellectual vigour, tranquillity and inner calm reserved for the elect. These qualities, accompanied by a twinkle in his eye and a willingness to listen, made him a favourite of students, who responded to him with warmth and humour, and vied for his attention.

Steele admirably describes and records how Fathy's architectural and social ideas were based at first upon his colonial education, and only later moulded by a deep knowledge of his country's long history and in particular its architecture, which had often been controlled by mathematics and mystical geometries. Six general principles guided him throughout his career: the primacy of human values in architecture; the importance of a universal approach; the use of appropriate technology; the need for socially oriented, co-operative construction techniques; the essential role of tradition; and the re-establishment of national pride through building.

In view of these principles it is surprising that Fathy's thinking can be linked to that of Mies van der Rohe. Both men appreciated the works of Kant, but interpreted them differently. Mies used Kant's conception of truth 'untouched by human experience' to seek an abstract fitness of purpose in every detail. Fathy related to Kant's totally subjective and emotional 'representations of imagination' and believed that modern architecture failed to achieve Mies's mandate to 'express the technology of the times'.

Those who have read Fathy's Architecture for the Poor will remember that New Gourna, a project to re-house 7000 Gournii in a town constructed in mud brick, failed largely due to bureaucratic inertia and rivalry. Sadly, this was not the only occasion that thoughtless and unimaginative bureaucrats halted an innovative mud brick project. In New Mexico, Fathy's mud vaults and domes had to comply with strict American building codes; adobe, which had for centuries been used in the region, was classed as 'unstable' and he was required to protect it from the weather with a concrete skin. This caused costs to escalate as more elaborate foundations and constructions were needed, and the result was that the financial backers were forced to withdraw.

In addition to the project descriptions and 200 odd illustrations in the main text, Steele provides a detailed chronology covering 106 projects. In the chronology 62 projects are marked 'construction not verified'. I took this to mean that Steele did not have the opportunity of visiting the specific projects. The full and comprehensive bibliography may be of particular assistance to anyone interested in mud brick construction and the design of human settlements.