Hassan Fathy

He married his loving spouse Aziza Hassanein. Though the couple did not have any children of their own, his nephews and nieces were sure to preserve the legacy of their uncle.

Fathy’s most significant contribution to architecture was his concerns with the problems of the poor in contrast to modern architects. Modern architecture called for mass housing and the use of expensive material compared to his love for the more traditional and economical mud. His ideas may not have coincided with the times, but today they are greatly respected.

This great humanitarian passed away at 89 years old on November 30, 1989. He died peacefully in his home.

On March 23, 1900 this prolific architect was born in Alexandria, Egypt. His family was quite wealthy and as a child he loved painting and drawing.

In 1908, his family moved to Cairo. His childhood love for drawing followed him into young adulthood, and his talent allowed him to be accepted into ‘King Fuad University’ now known as the ‘Cairo University’, to study architecture.

In 1926, he graduated with a focus on engineering and architecture. The same year he landed his first significant job as an engineer in the ‘General Administration of Schools’.

From 1930 to 1946, he worked as a professor at the ‘Faculty of Fine Arts’. During his early time as professor, he was enlisted to build a school at Talkha.

In 1946, Egypt’s Antiquities Department hired him to build the ‘New Gourna Village’. He used traditional brick and mud to build with and enlisted the villagers to build their future homes. He was extremely successful in creating buildings that were sustainable and affordable.

In 1949, he was appointed to be the ‘Director of the Educational Buildings Department’ of the ‘Ministry of Education’. His time here highlighted the differences between his architectural style and modernist trends.

He became the ‘Head of the Architecture Department’ at the ‘Faculty of Fine Arts’, in 1953. During this time, he completed multiple projects including the ‘Alexandria Resthouse’, the ‘Muhammad Musa Villa’, the ‘Harraniya Weaving Village’, and the ‘Fares School’.

In 1959, he temporarily left Egypt and worked for the ‘Doxiadis Organization’ in Greece. He worked on major projects in Iraq and Pakistan advocating his traditional designs which were much more congruent with nature.

In the late 1930s, he completed his first project design, the village of new Gourna. The village was built to resettle the tomb robbers that had settled in the ‘Valley of the Kings’ and ‘Valley of the Queens’.

His visions were rattled with economic issues, but his design earned him international acclaim as he appeared in British professional journals, a British weekly, and praised by Spanish, French, and Dutch professionals as well. This opened up doors for him and launched his career forward.