Hassan Fathy: Earth & Utopia

Hassan Fathy is Egypt s best-known 20th-century architect

Shortlisted for The Richard Schlagman Art Book Awards 2019

"Through drawings, interviews and Fathy's own writings, this book is the first for a generation to seriously explore his fascinating legacy" - Financial Times

"a substantial and solemn tribute to the Egyptian architect" - Observer New Review

Hassan Fathy is Egypt's best-known 20th-century architect. He embraced traditional, vernacular forms, techniques and materials and throughout his career promoted their use as part of a campaign to improve the conditions of Egypt's rural poor.

Earth & Utopia chronicles this lifelong commitment through personal interviews conducted by the author, photographs and drawings from the Hassan Fathy archives, and Fathy's own writings on the subject, many of which are published for the first time.

This book will be essential reading for students, academics and general readers interested in Fathy, and the development of Arab and vernacular architecture, earth construction, architecture for the poor and sustainability.