Until 16 May, Casa Árabe in Madrid is showing the exhibition Hassan Fathy: against the tide, curated by José Tono Martínez, which includes plans, models, photographs and books by the man known as “the architect of the poor”.
Hassan Fathy (Alexandria, 1900 – Cairo, 1989) is one of the most exciting figures in the history of contemporary architecture. Before the materials professorships of our time existed, Fathy looked to the age-old properties of adobe, sun-dried clays and sands mixed with straw, as a readily available and inexpensive building material with high thermal insulation capacities. This age-old tradition has been fundamental in the desert, where there are sharp temperature contrasts between day and night. This exhibition brings together plans, models and photographs of emblematic works by Hassan Fathy, as well as his architectural vocabulary. Special attention is given to the New Gourna project in Luxor (1945 – 1949), which brought him worldwide fame. It is an example of comprehensive urban planning, now protected by the World Monuments Fund and UNESCO.
