Architecture for the Poor:
An Experiment in Rural Egypt
by Hassan Fathy
Architecture for the Poor describes Hassan Fathy's plan for building the village of New Gourna, near Luxor, Egypt, without the use of more modern and expensive materials such as steel and concrete. Using mud bricks, the native technique that Fathy learned in Nubia, and such traditional Egyptian architectural designs as enclosed courtyards and vaulted roofing, Fathy worked with the villagers to tailor his designs to their needs. He taught them how to work with the bricks, supervised the erection of the buildings, and encouraged the revival of such ancient crafts as claustra (lattice designs in the mudwork) to adorn the buildings.
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Dwellings:
the Vernacular House Worldwide
by Paul Oliver
Dwellings is an exploration of the types and forms of vernacular houses around the world and how they are constructed, decorated,and inhabited by their occupants. This is a useful survey of how different communities cope with issues of climate, migration, mass development and symbolic and cultural meaning in architecture.
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Home Work:
Handbuilt Shelter
by Lloyd Kahn
Among the intriguing domiciles described in Home Work are a Japanese-style stilt house accessible only by a cable across a river; a stone house in a South African valley whose roof serves as a baboon trampoline; multi-level treehouses on the South China Sea; and a bottle house in the Nevada desert. Over 1,500 photos illustrate various innovative architectural styles and natural building materials that have gained popularity in the last two decades such as cob, papercrete, bamboo, adobe, strawbale, timber framing, and earthbags.