The Architecture of Hassan Fathy
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CONTESTED REPRESENTATIONS AND THE BUILDING OF MODERN EGYPT: THE ARCHITECTURE OF HASSAN FATHY Max Nobbs-Thiessen Bachelor of Arts, Simon Fraser University, 2004 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Department of History O Max Nobbs-Thiessen 2006 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2006 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Max Nobbs-Thiessen Degree: Master of Arts Title of Thesis: CONTESTED REPRESENTATIONS AND THE BUILDING OF MODERN EGYPT: THE ARCHITECTURE OF HASSAN FATHY Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Mary Ellen-Kelm Department of History Dr. William L. Cleveland Senior Supervisor Professor of History Dr. Derryl MacLean Supervisor Associate Professor of History Dr. Thomas Kiihn Supervisor Assistant Professor of History Dr. Donald Malcolm Reid External Examiner Professor of History Georgia State University Date DefendedIApproved: DECLARATION OF PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website www.lib.sfu.ca> at: chttp:llir.lib.sfu.calhandlell8921112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesislproject or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Revised: Fall 2006 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the career of the architect Hassan Fathy as a case study for the Egyptian experience of modernity during the mid-twentieth century. I argue that the discussion of modernity has neglected the Middle East and positioned the West as the singular centre of modem life. I challenge this view through a discussion of twentieth century cultural history which looks at how the issues of modernity and culture, as expressed through architecture, developed as part of an interconnected global dialogue. By analyzing Fathy's role constructing the village of New Gourna during the mid-1940s I call into question the implications of his traditionalist mud-brick architectural practice and recast it as an expression of the uniquely modern political, economic and cultural circumstances of Egypt at that time. Furthermore, by arguing that Fathy's traditionalist architecture was based upon essentially modern ideas I challenge his status as a founding father of post-modern architecture. Keywords: Modern Egypt; Modernity; Cultural History; Modern Architecture; Hassan Fathy Subject Terms: Egypt -- History -- 2oth Century; Egypt -- Culture -- 2othCentury; Architecture, Modern; Fathy, Hassan To My Lovely Wife Kathy-Ann and In Memory of Dr. William L. Cleveland who always kept me honest ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the generous support of innumerable family members, friends and colleagues. I would particularly like to thank my wife Kathy-Ann, and my parents Linda and Laurie, who provided continuous encouragement and support throughout the past two years. Also, I would like to thank my supervisors: Dr. Cleveland, Dr. MacLean, Dr. Kiihn, and my external, Dr. Reid, who all provided wisdom, thoughtful insight and constructive criticism. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge my fellow graduate students as well as the faculty and staff of the Simon Fraser University History Department who all contributed to making my Graduate Studies an absolute pleasure. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. Approval ............................................................................................................................ ii ... Abstract ............................................................................................................................. iii Dedication ......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vi .. List of Figures .................................................................................................................. vii ... Quotation ........................................................................................................................viii Introduction ........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: New Gourna as Rhetoric ..............................................................................12 Chapter 2: New Gourna and the Conservative Social Order ......................................50 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................92 Bibliography .....................................................................................................................98 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: New Gourna. ca . mid 1980s......................................................................... 14 Figure 2: Village Mosque. New Gourna. ca . mid 1980s............................................. 14 Figure 3: Talkha Primary School. (1928. sketch by Hassan Fathy) ............................29 Figure 4: The Husni Omar Villa. (1930. sketch by Hassan Fathy) ..............................30 Figure 5: al-Harini Villa. (1938. sketch by Hassan Fathy) ..........................................30 Figure 6: The Iraq Housing Project. (ca 1950s. sketch by Hassan Fathy) ...................32 Figure 7: Contemporary Urban Sprawl in the Outskirts of Cairo ................................39 Figure 8: The Old Village of Gourna. ca . mid 1980s.................................................. 63 Figure 9: The Old Village of Gourna. ca . mid 1980s.................................................. 65 Figure 10: Abandoned House. New Gourna. ca mid- 1980s.......................................... 80 Figure 11 : Hamed Sa'id House. constructed 1942......................................................... 83 Figure 12: Hamdi Seif al-Nasr House (1945. Watercolour by Hassan Fathy) ..............87 Figure 13: Photograph of Hassan Fathy outside his site office in New Gourna. ca . mid 1940s................................................................................................ 89 vii I am for richness of meaning rather than clarity of meaning.. -Robert Venturi ... Vlll INTRODUCTION Modernity, as a collective image in the minds of historians, enjoys incredible nuance and texture - it is a word that calls to mind so much more than simply a matter of the recent past. It is an image of socialists and anarchists debating long into the night in the caf6s of Vienna and Barcelona; or, if as in a Degas, whiling away the oppressive loneliness of the city over a glass of that bitter green elixir - absinthe. The images shift and grow in depth - the barefoot wonder of modern dance Isadora Duncan - that oversexed Grecian goddess in flowing translucent white robes who took a sledgehammer to the dying conventions of old Europe as she swirled and undulated across the stage.' Nijinsky and the Ballets Russes performing 'Rites of Spring' in Paris, May of 1913, offending every respectable or traditional sense of beauty and movement. Just one more shot across the bow of a society whose death would be drawn out over the following four bloody years.2 Other images circulate and intermingle, building in intensity; the surging of a locomotive hissing steam and rushing forward - speed - as only a Boccioni sculpture could capture. The perspective shifts, encompassing the awe of watching Gustave Eiffel's tower rise above the church spires of Paris, or wandering in and about the technological marvels displayed inside Joseph Paxton's oversized greenhouse during London's Great ~xhibition.~A final flash, as hundreds of thousands of young men go over the top, losing their lives in an instant. These images become nothing less than the historians' drama - a struggle between triumph and tragedy - 1 Mark Franko, Dancing Modernism: Performing