Rehabilitation of the Center of New Gourna Village  

             
Location : Luxor, Egypt   Year : 2017   Owner : National Organization of

              Urban Harmony

   Work-scope : Executive drawings,

                       Implementation
             

Our vision about the rehabilitation process does not start with various forms of physical interventions, but by extrapolating the site, in an analytical and critical way, to discover those potential energies that give the physical existence its value. This vision starts with understanding the values the building previously held in order to predict what it could give in the future. In addition, to design how it can interact with the local community current needs and create it is on vital role in everyday life.

Hence, our vision of rehabilitating valuable sites has two main objectives:

Ensuring cultural continuity, by revealing the historical value of these sites, the development of their architecture, and their relationship to the surrounding urban area. In addition to the disclosure of cultural messages, provided by those sites in the past, to understand what could be possible for present and future.

Ensuring physical continuity, by adopting means of restoring the original physical presence, taking the necessary measures to remove any threatening factors and prevent any future threats.

This vision requires us to deal with the site in a conscious manner that respects its cultural mission on one hand, and its physical existence on the other hand. Which necessitates rehabilitation in two parallel axes:

  • PLANNING FOR A MODERN REUSE
  • PHYSICAL REHABILITATION
  

We urge the need to rehabilitate the center of new Gourna village, which mainly consists of many public buildings and public open spaces, include:

  • The Khan
  • The Mosque
  • The Theater
  • The Village Hall (Omudeya House)
  • Hassan Fathy’s Residence
  • The Market-place

As well as the main public space starting from the entrance of the village and the spaces surrounding those buildings in addition the modern buildings within this zone and rehabilitating them.

The Physical Rehabilitation of the Village Center

The process of the physical rehabilitation of the valuable sites of the New Gourna is a main part of the vision for the rehabilitation of the New Gourna Village Center; this process is built on three Phases as the following:

Phase One: The Physical Rehabilitation of the Khan & the Mosque

  1. The Rehabilitation of the Khan.
  2. The Rehabilitation of the Mosque.

Phase Two: The Physical Rehabilitation of the Theater, Hassan Fathy’s Residence and the Market-place

  1. The Rehabilitation of the Theater.
  2. The Rehabilitation of the Hassan Fathy’s Residence.
  3. The Rehabilitation of the Market-place.

Phase Three: The Physical Rehabilitation of the Village Hall, the Modern Buildings and the Main Square

  1. The Rehabilitation of the Village Hall.
  2. The physical rehabilitation process of the main square including the spaces between the buildings of the center, specially the public piazza with the village entrance.
  3. Increase the Efficiency of the roads in the village.
  4. The Possibility of rehabilitating the houses, which are listed by the National Organization of Urban Harmony (NOUH).