Due to the scarcity of wood, the two predominant building materials used in ancient Egypt were sun-baked mud brick and stone, mainly limestone, but also sandstone and granite in considerable quantities.
From the Old Kingdom onward, stone was generally reserved for tombs and temples, while bricks were used even for royal palaces, fortresses, the walls of temple precincts and towns, and for subsidiary buildings in temple complexes.
The core of the pyramids came from stone quarried in the area, while the limestone, now eroded away, that was used to face the pyramids came from the other side of the Nile River and had to be quarried, ferried across, and cut during the dry season before they could be pulled into place on the pyramid.
Hassan Fathy (1900 – 1989, Arabic: حسن فتحي) was a noted Egyptian architect who pioneered appropriate technology for building in Egypt, especially by working to re-establish the use of mud brick (or adobe), and traditional, as opposed to western, building designs and lay-outs. Fathy was recognized with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture Chairman’s Award in 1980. His architecture is known for natural ventilation, through windcatchers, in Arabic: Malkaf, which is derived from the neo- Islamic architecture. Mudhouses are still built in Egypt in the country side. It is a tradition that has lasted since the Ancient Egyptians, which was the way poor people built their houses in contrast to rich people who lived in palaces .
In hot areas cement houses retains the heat. Mud houses are a cheap, effective, sustainable alternative.
Climate sensible design and building in dry areas creates temperature moderation in houses and storehouses.
Related resources
Due to the scarcity of wood, the two predominant building materials used in ancient Egypt were sun-baked mud brick and stone, mainly limestone, but also sandstone and granite in considerable quantities.
From the Old Kingdom onward, stone was generally reserved for tombs and temples, while bricks were used even for royal palaces, fortresses, the walls of temple precincts and towns, and for subsidiary buildings in temple complexes.
The core of the pyramids came from stone quarried in the area, while the limestone, now eroded away, that was used to face the pyramids came from the other side of the Nile River and had to be quarried, ferried across, and cut during the dry season before they could be pulled into place on the pyramid.
Hassan Fathy (1900 – 1989, Arabic: حسن فتحي) was a noted Egyptian architect who pioneered appropriate technology for building in Egypt, especially by working to re-establish the use of mud brick (or adobe), and traditional, as opposed to western, building designs and lay-outs. Fathy was recognized with the Aga Khan Award for Architecture Chairman’s Award in 1980. His architecture is known for natural ventilation, through windcatchers, in Arabic: Malkaf, which is derived from the neo- Islamic architecture. Mudhouses are still built in Egypt in the country side. It is a tradition that has lasted since the Ancient Egyptians, which was the way poor people built their houses in contrast to rich people who lived in palaces .
In hot areas cement houses retains the heat. Mud houses are a cheap, effective, sustainable alternative.
Climate sensible design and building in dry areas creates temperature moderation in houses and storehouses.
Related resources
A residential project: people live here as their primary home.
An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).
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