IllustrationThe short answer
Hassan Fathy (1900–1989) showed that Egyptian homes can stay comfortable in the heat by using shade, air movement, thick walls and inward-looking courtyards, and that houses should be designed around the families who live in them. You do not need to copy his mud-brick domes to benefit. His principles fit a modern villa, and many of them fit an apartment.
Key takeaways
- Ideas, not forms. Fathy's lasting lessons are about climate and people, not about arches and domes as decoration.
- Shade and air first. Courtyards, wind catchers (malqaf) and screened windows (mashrabiya) were tools for comfort before air conditioning.
- Design for the family. He designed houses around the needs of the families who would live in them.
- Learn from the setbacks. Fathy himself called the New Gourna experiment a failure, and much of the village has since been lost.
Who was Hassan Fathy?
Fathy was born in Alexandria on 23 March 1900 and died in Cairo on 30 November 1989. He graduated in architecture from King Fuad I University (now Cairo University) in 1926. In 1980 he received the Right Livelihood Award "for developing an 'Architecture for the Poor'", the Aga Khan Chairman's Award for Architecture and the Balzan Prize.
After a trip to Nubia in 1941, he studied its enclosed courtyards, vaulted roofs and mud lattice screens, and became known for reviving the traditional Nubian vault.
New Gourna: the experiment that made him famous
New Gourna lies on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor, inside the World Heritage property of Ancient Thebes. Fathy designed it to rehouse the community of Old Gourna; design began in 1946 and construction ended in 1952.
He wrote about the project in Gourna: A Tale of Two Villages, first published in Cairo in 1969, later known internationally as Architecture for the Poor. In that book he describes the experiment as a failure: the village was never completed, and the move did not suit everyone it was meant to serve.
Today, UNESCO describes New Gourna as a critical experiment in Fathy's philosophy. It runs a safeguarding project because the number of original mud-brick houses has fallen sharply and several public buildings are deteriorating.
Five ideas worth bringing home
1. The courtyard: a room open to the sky
Fathy used enclosed courtyards to give houses a shaded outdoor room and to help cool the spaces around them. His own analysis of hot, dry climates describes how courtyards, shaded and sunlit, can drive air movement between them.
Today: in a villa, a planted courtyard or a shaded internal patio works much better than a large glass wall facing an exposed garden. In an apartment, the closest equivalent is a deep, shaded balcony used as an outdoor room, with planting and a way to close it against dust.
2. The malqaf: catching the wind
A malqaf is a wind catcher: a raised shaft facing the prevailing wind that brings air down into the rooms below. Research on malqafs for Egyptian housing describes their roles as ventilating the space, cooling by air movement, and cooling the building's mass at night, and notes that orientation to the prevailing wind is critical. Fathy applied the idea at neighbourhood scale in his designs for New Baris in Kharga Oasis, a project of the mid-1960s.
Today: a true wind catcher is a villa or new-build decision, designed with an engineer. In apartments, the same principle means planning cross-ventilation: openings on two sides of the home, internal doors and transoms that let air through, and not blocking the windward side with fixed units.
3. The mashrabiya: privacy, light and air
Fathy studied how the mashrabiya, the traditional turned-wood screen, filters light and air while giving privacy. It allows people inside to see out while limiting the view in and the glare of strong sun.
Today: a wooden or metal screen on a sun-facing window or balcony gives privacy from neighbours and cuts glare without blocking air. It works best when it is functional (shading a real window) rather than a decorative panel fixed to a wall.
4. Thick walls and thermal mass
Fathy used dense, thick mud-brick walls to provide passive cooling. Heavy materials absorb heat during the day and release it slowly, which reduces swings in indoor temperature.
Today: most new Egyptian buildings use concrete frames and thin infill walls. The modern equivalents are wall and roof insulation (especially on top floors), external shading, and lighter-coloured roofs. These choices need a qualified engineer's input on the specific building.
5. Design around the family
Fathy believed architecture was for the people, and he designed houses to meet the needs of the families living in them.
Today: this may be his most useful lesson for any client. Before choosing finishes, map how the family actually lives: who cooks and how, where guests are received, where children study, who needs quiet. A layout that fits the household matters more than any style.
What not to copy
- Decoration without function. Arches, domes and mashrabiya panels added purely for looks miss the point. Fathy's forms came from climate and construction.
- Mud brick without the right builders. Earth construction needs specialist knowledge and maintenance. New Gourna's decline shows what happens when buildings are not maintained or adapted to how people actually live.
- Ignoring the residents. Fathy's own account of New Gourna is a reminder that good climate design does not succeed if the people living there do not want it.
Apartment or villa: what applies where
| Fathy idea | Apartment | Villa or new build |
|---|---|---|
| Courtyard | Shaded balcony as an outdoor room | Planted courtyard or internal patio |
| Malqaf (wind catcher) | Plan cross-ventilation between two sides | Possible as a designed element, with an engineer |
| Mashrabiya | Screens on sunny windows and balconies | Screens, shaded loggias, screened façades |
| Thick walls | Insulation, external shading, curtains | Insulated or heavy walls, roof insulation, shading |
| Vaults and domes | Not practical | Possible with specialist builders and approvals |
| Design for the family | Layout and storage planned around daily life | The same, from the first sketch |
Common mistakes
- Treating "Hassan Fathy style" as a decorative theme rather than a way of designing for climate.
- Adding a large unshaded glass wall to a courtyard, which defeats its purpose.
- Blocking the only cross-breeze in an apartment with a fixed kitchen unit or wardrobe.
- Copying a historical form, such as a dome, without an engineer and a builder who knows the technique.
- Designing a beautiful house that does not match how the family lives.
Questions to ask your architect or designer
- Where will the shade come from on the sun-facing sides?
- How will air move through the home if the air conditioning is off?
- Can we create an outdoor room (a courtyard or deep balcony) that is usable in summer?
- Which windows need screening for privacy and glare?
- How does this layout reflect how our family actually lives?
Related articles
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FAQ
Who was Hassan Fathy? An Egyptian architect (1900–1989), born in Alexandria, best known for reviving mud-brick building and traditional climate-aware design. His best-known project is New Gourna village near Luxor, and his book Architecture for the Poor made his ideas known internationally.
What is a malqaf? A malqaf is a wind catcher: a raised shaft on the roof that faces the prevailing wind and brings air down into the rooms below. Fathy used it in several projects, including designs for New Baris in Kharga Oasis.
Can I build a Hassan Fathy house today? You can apply his principles to almost any home: shade, cross-ventilation, courtyards, thick or insulated walls, screened windows and rooms designed around the family. Building fully in mud brick, with vaults and domes, needs specialist builders and permits, and is more realistic for villas and rural or desert sites than for city apartments.
Is New Gourna still standing? Parts of it are. UNESCO has run a safeguarding project because many original mud-brick houses have been lost and several public buildings are deteriorating.
Did Hassan Fathy's ideas work? His climate principles are still studied and applied. But Fathy himself described the New Gourna experiment as a failure, partly because the village was never completed and residents did not all accept it. The lesson is to design with the people who will live there, not only for the climate.
Sources
Checked 9 November 2026.
- Right Livelihood: Hassan Fathy
- NC State University, Architecture from the Global South (quoting the American University in Cairo): Hassan Fathy
- UIA: Hassan Fathy, Gold Medal
- Wikipedia: Hassan Fathy (secondary source for the Nubia trip, the Nubian vault and the book's history)
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Safeguarding project of Hassan Fathy's New Gourna Village and launch news (30 Sept 2010)
- Hassan Fathy, Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture (United Nations University Press): online edition
- Shady Attia, Designing the Malqaf for summer cooling in low-rise housing, PLEA 2009: paper
- Illinois Institute of Technology, student research on courtyard, malqaf, mashrabiya and thermal mass: PDF
- WATANI: Hassan Fathy and New Baris
- Al Jazeera: Hassan Fathy: Egypt's architect of the poor (23 Mar 2017)
We review this article every 12 months, or sooner if a cited source changes.