VISION E-Book

Abdel-moniem El-Shorbagy

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Hassan Fathy is one of the most important architects of the twentieth century, whose works have had a widespread influence on the architecture of the Islamic world and whose ideas have extended to the Western world. This book focuses on the complexity of Fathy's architecture and the richness and range of its theoretical intentions, as well as assesses his attitudes towards modernism and the International Style. The relationship of his philosophy to movements such as Post-modernism, community architecture and self-help building, eco-architecture and sustainability and tendencies such as neo-vernacular and earth building are also examined. In addition, important issues such as auto-colonialism and symbolism in architecture and critical responses to his works and philosophy are discussed. However, this is an essential reading that explores and reveals the significance of Fathy's approach while placing him within the wider perspective of twentieth-century architecture.

Leseprobe

Abdel-moniem El-Shorbagy

VISION

Hassan Fathy in the Context of 20th Century Architecture

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG80331 Munich

.

 VISION

Hassan Fathy's Architectural Philosophy

Dedication

To my wife, five children and extended family

Content

Acknowledgment                                                                         

Introduction                                                                                  

Chapter 1The Ideology of the Modern Movement            

Chapter 2 Modernism and the Developing Countries         

Modernism and Third World Countries     Modernism and Religious Buildings     The Phenomenon of Universality     

 Chapter 3 Mid-Twentieth Century Architecture                 

Vernacular Architecture and RegionalismPostmodern Architecture                 Eco-Sustainable Architecture     Earth Architecture     Community Architecture                             

Conclusion                                                                                 

Appendix 1 Chronology of Fathy’s Life and Career             

Appendix 2 Awards, Affiliations Conference sand Competitions

Appendix 3 Glossary                                                             

List of Illustrations                                                                    

Bibliography                                                                                                              

Acknowledgements

This book would not have been possible without the help and support of several people. I would especially like to acknowledge the Aga Khan Trust for Culture for their kind permission to use Hassan Fathy’s archive. I owe more than mere thanks can express to my dear wife Mervat El-shafie, thank you for your love, insight, and faith. To my five children Marwa, Mona, Maha, Engy and Ahmed, as well as my extended family, Ashraf Zaki and Ahmed Tolba, thank you for your sincere love and caring.

Introduction

The Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy (1900-1989), was one of the early architects whose architectural philosophy and theory have contributed to many of the main themes running through the development of the twentieth architecture. Fathy remains a profoundly important figure, partly because of the way in which his work mirrors the complexity of those cultural, traditional, and socio-economic changes that have taken place during the second half of twentieth century. The sheer span of time involved in Fathy’s career, from 1927 to 1989, makes the study of his architecture fascinating as well as challenging. Fathy’s career encompassed the development of modern architecture and the International Style from the 1930s to the 1970s, as well as the formulation of the Postmodern Movement from the 1970s onward. The intention here is not to examine these diverse aspects of recent architecture in detail but to demonstrate the range of architectural approaches that have drawn inspiration from Fathy’s example.

Without question, Fathy was one of the most significant architects of modern times and he deserves to be seen as a figure comparable in importance to architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. The fact that Fathy’s architecture stands largely in opposition to that of the leaders of the modern movement in no sense reduces his significance. However, his ability to resist the pervasive influence of modernism is a measure of his standing within twentieth-century architecture. It is also significant that Fathy’s international standing as an architect began to increase at the same time as the contributions of the leading figures of modernism began to be subjected to greater critical scrutiny.

The most important contribution of Fathy to twentieth century architecture probably lies in his commitment to regionalism. He pulled together a collection of traditional positions and tendencies towards vernacular forms as well as a celebration of local materials and methods of construction. Fathy’s architecture and philosophy also focused attention on particular architectural approaches and themes within scholarly debate and helped bring them onto the architectural agenda. These are earth architecture, self-help building and community architecture and sustainability. Fathy raised questions of entirely different movements and tendencies and his work and philosophy represented a central element in the critical issues and evolution of twentieth century architecture.

More has probably been written about the architecture of Fathy than about any other contemporary Egyptian or Arab architect. Although, Fathy’s architecture occupied a curious position in the Islamic world, his reputation spread internationally after the publication of his Architecture for the Poor (1973). Fathy’s book summed up his philosophy and critical views of twentieth-century architecture and contributed to an understanding of his contribution to architecture. Architecture for the Poor was extensively reviewed in the western architectural press, and has remained in print ever since. The significance and complexity of his philosophy was the subject of several monographs, which focused on an appraisal of Fathy’s place in Arab-Egyptian culture in specific, as well as in the international context. The majority of the written materials about Fathy have generally expanded knowledge of Fathy’s ideas and works but they tend to examine these in isolation, and do not consider Fathy’s role in the development of twentieth century architecture as a whole.

Other books have drawn attention to Fathy’s influence on the younger generation, but they were mainly limited to Arab architects and make no reference to his influence on Western architects. However, the purpose of this book is to deepen our understanding of Fathy’s approach to design, his place within the larger context of twentieth-century architecture, and the changing perception of his works and philosophy of design. It assesses the complexity of Fathy’s architecture and the richness and range of its intentions. It also examines his attitudes towards modernism and the International Style as well as issues such as auto-colonialism and symbolism in architecture and critical responses to his works and philosophy. The relationship of his philosophy to recent movements, including Post-modernism, community architecture and self-help building, eco-architeture and sustainability, along with tendencies such as neo-vernacular and earth building, are also examined.