The Contemporary Value Of Hassan Fathy’s Design Practice In New Gourna Village

Chinese contemporary rural development originated from the rural reform movement in the field of sociology in the 1930 s.After the slogan of new rural reconstruction was put forward in 2005,the participation of architecture has changed from sporadic intervention,and now it has become a trend.During the 20 years of vigorous development,contemporary rural development has changed from social responsibility to economic development.The hot and cold changes and development puzzles need to be reflected: 1)The way in which architects intervene in the countryside;2)The attitude of facing reality contradiction;3)And the cognition and persistence of the value of modern architecture itself,all need to find a fulcrum in the past experience.In this context,it is worth recalling the first rural practice of modern architects.In 1945,Hassan Fathy practiced in the New Gourna village in Egypt,which was the earliest attempt to combine local skills with modern technology.Over the past80 years since the project came to an abrupt end,the appropriate technical principles,local working methods and nationalism consciousness explored by Hassan Fathy have had a far-reaching impact,while the success or failure of New Gourna has been repeatedly debated.In view of this,this research aims to: 1)To study Hassan Fathy and his practice in New Gourna village;2)Clarify the cognitive changes of the architectural community and society on the practice of Hassan Fathy and New Gourna village;3)Based on the problems of rural development in China,this paper discusses the contemporary value of the practice of New Gourna village.This paper is divided into three main parts.The research of each part is as follows:Firstly,review of practice.the paper reviews Hassan Fathy’s main practical experience in the rural field and professional course;Then,around the reconstruction of Gourna village,it sort out 1)The origin and goal of new village construction;2)Hassan Fathy’s design principles and methods;3)The process and results of new village construction.This paper reveals the interactive relationship between Hassan Fathy’s exposition and rural practice,as well as the complexity of social intentions and the progressiveness of design ideas.Secondly,sort out cognitive transformation.Based on the combing and analysis of nearly 400 main documents since 1940 s,this paper mainly divides the research on the cognitive process of Hassan Fathy and New Gourna village into three periods: 1)the period of misunderstanding and criticism;2)the period of recognition and praise;3)the period of reflection and examination.By explaining the cognition of modern architecture on traditional and vernacular values in different periods,and their interaction with Hassan Fathy’s work here,this paper summarizes the change of viewpoints in New Gourna’s practice from failed experiments,creation of demonstrations,to continuous research.At the end of the paper,reconstructing contemporary value.On the basis of the above,it explains the multiple values of New Gourna’s practice in the cognitive transformation,and maps with the development process of contemporary rural development in China.And then,from three aspects: 1)the construction of the third world modern local style with low cost;2)the overall thinking beyond the basic design category of architecture;3)the spiritual promotion of modern architects’ involvement in local development,confirms that New Gourna’s practice demonstrates how to expand the connotation of architectural discipline,and provides the origin and support for architects to intervene in the confusion of the countryside.At the same time,to discuss the relevance between the challenges Hassan fathy faced at that time and the problems of methods,cognition and attitude in Chinese rural development at present,and summarizes the demonstration value of New Gourna’s practice to Chinese contemporary rural development: 1)The real expression based on regional restrictions is the basis of local architectural innovation;2)Learn from vernacular to change the architectural form,and the comprehensive design method for site-specific practice,these are effective ways to enrich the existence and value of architecture;3)The attitude of know what is impossible and do it is the spiritual guidance for architects to face setbacks and challenges.