Architecture for the poor : an experiment in rural Egypt / Hassan Fathy

Foreword by William R. Polk -- Preface -- 1. Prelude: dream and reality -- 2. Chorale: man, society, and technology -- 3. Fugue: architect, peasant, and bureaucrat -- 4. Finale: Gourna dormant -- 5. Appendix I. Cost analysis of labor and rates of the execution of works -- Appendix II. In-service training -- Appendix III. Organization of work -- Appendix IV. Foundations -- Appendix V. Brick making -- Appendix VI. Cost analysis at the moment when the project was handed over to the ministry of social -- Glossary -- Illustrations.

Architecture for the poor describes Hassan Fathy's plan for building the village of New Gourna, near Luxor, Egypt, without the use of more modern and expensive materials such as steel and concrete. Using mud bricks, the native technique that Fathy learned in Nubia, and such traditional Egyptian architectural designs as enclosed courtyards and vaulted roofing, Fathy worked with the villagers to tailor his designs to their needs. He taught them how to work with the bricks, supervised the erection of the buildings, and encouraged the revival of such ancient crafts as claustra (lattice designs in the mudwork) to adorn the buildings.