The many lives of New Gourna: alternative histories of a model community and their current significance

Abstract

This article uncovers several different and occasionally competing interpretations of Hassan Fathy's famous design of the village of New Gourna: a pilot project of the late 1940s for revitalising rural Egypt. Based on archival and field research, and a critical analysis of the reception of Fathy in different contexts, the article re-examines New Gourna from alternative points of view, with the goals of revisiting Fathy's vision and of uncovering the nuances of its response to culture and modernity. The alternative stories about New Gourna not only situate the model village within the socio-political circumstances of its locale, but also contemplate the role of this model community within broader discourses on nationalism, decolonisation, modernisation, modernism/anti-modernism and environmentalism. Through an interdisciplinary outlook that integrates historical and theoretical perspectives on modern architecture with critical perspectives on the cultural politics of modernisation, representation and post-coloniality, the article considers the role Fathy's project played (and still plays) in the formation of contemporary conceptions about local tradition and cultural identity, and about modernism, urbanism, technology or ecology. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Journal of Architecture is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)