Vernacular Heritage Contribution to Sustainable Architecture • Environmental Sustainability in Vernacular Architecture
Fig. 12-14 New Gourna Village of Hassan Fathy, Egypt (photos: M. Achenza).
• The openings are arranged along the main direction of the wind. These are small in size to prevent heat dispersion and rainwater seepage. To achieve this, the opening design has marked splays with a trapezoidal geometry outward and elliptical inwards. • A channelling system dug into the rock conveys rainwater into a water tank, which is placed under the storage (fig. 11). • The inner walls are usually whitewashed with lime in order to improve lighting. • A wood oven or fireplace provides an efficient heating system. Concerning contemporary examples, also the village of New Gourna (Egypt) designed and built by H. Fathy in the 1940s, incorporates most of the previous strategies. Concerning the harmonization between the man-made and natural environments (principle n.1), this was achieved through the use of traditional materials and building techniques inherent to Egyptian heritage and still preserved in the skills of local craftsman (mud bricks). As stated by Fathy: “I had to try to give my new designs that appearance of having grown out of the landscape that the trees of the district have” (fig. 12). Beyond an economic necessity, this material was necessary for use in the particular climate and served the well-being requirement due to its thermal properties (low heat conductivity) and the thickness of the walls (principle n.4). The bricks were produced in a brickyard in the village, reducing transport emissions and fostering a low-energy productive system (principle n.3) (fig. 13). The hot and dry Egyptian climate required the shading of building spaces from solar radiation and a cooling system which used moving fresh air in order to guarantee satisfactory human comfort. For this aim, in continuity with traditional techniques, Fathy’s project paid attention to the exploitation of local bioclimatic resources: sun and wind (principles n.2 and n.4) (fig. 14). These factors influenced the building orientation and architectural solutions (the madyafa (north facing loggia), the courtyard, the dorka’a (central square), the malkaf (wind catch), the mashrabiya (wooden screen), etc.). In addition, the village also provides solutions for the safety and health of inhabitants (principles n.4 and n.5). These concern the protection of mud bricks from damp, the cooking and heating system (the Kachelofen system) from polluting fumes and dirt and safeguarding of the water supply (public pumps).
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