Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention

Ayman Abdel Tawab

doi:doi:10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12

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Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention

Ayman Abdel Tawab

Published in Urban and Regional Planning (Volume 3, Issue 3)

Received: 30 July 2018 Accepted: 22 August 2018 Published: 1 November 2018

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Abstract

Despite its location inside the World Heritage Site in Luxor, New Gourna Village has never been recognized as one of the elements that contribute to the World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value. In order to consider New Gourna among the World Heritage Site’s contributing elements, it should enjoy an Outstanding Universal Value and should also satisfy the conditions of authenticity and integrity. The aim of this study was to scrutinize the possibility to recognize New Gourna as one of the elements that contribute to the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site in Luxor. The previous aim was achieved by evaluating the level of significance of the heritage values that New Gourna enjoys, as well as their authenticity and integrity, using a proposed methodology. According to this methodology, the level of significance of the values that New Gourna enjoys was evaluated against a list of criteria that were largely derived from the world heritage criteria. Another methodology, which was based on the Operational Guidelines’ definitions of authenticity and integrity, was used to evaluate the authenticity and integrity of the village. The findings revealed the significant contribution of New Gourna towards the World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value despite the decline of the village’s authenticity and integrity. The continuous demolition of the buildings designed by Hassan Fathy in the village and the replacement of these buildings by modern concrete buildings represent the major aspect that emphasizes the decline of the authenticity of New Gourna. On the other hand, the decline of the physical condition of the few remaining earthen buildings designed by Hassan Fathy in the village is the main aspect that emphasizes the decline of the village’s integrity. The study suggests revising the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site in Luxor so as to recognize New Gourna among its contributing elements and to undertake all the possible measures to preserve New Gourna.

Published in	Urban and Regional Planning (Volume 3, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12
Page(s)	92-101
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Earthen Heritage, New Gourna Village, Hassan Fathy, World Heritage Sites, Authenticity and Integrity Evaluation

References

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[3]	Cantacuzino, Sherban, ARCHITECTURE IN CONTINUITY, BUILDING IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD TODAY. New York: Aperture, 1985.
[4]	Abdel Tawab, A. G., “Hassan Fathy’s humane considerations in design and the significance of New Gourna,” in Mileto, C., Vegas López-Manzanares, F., García-Soriano, L., and Cristini, V. (eds.), Vernacular and Earthen Architecture, Conservation and Sustainability, SOStierra 2017 International Conference on Vernacular Earthen Architecture, Conservation and Sustainability; Proc., Intern. Conf., Valencia, 14-16 September 2017. London: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.
[5]	UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Egypt - UNESCO World Heritage Centre [Online]. Paris: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, n.d. Available from: http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/eg [Accessed 28 July 2018].
[6]	UNESCO, Safeguarding project of Hassan Fathy’s New Gourna Village, A UNESCO Initiative. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2011.
[7]	UNESCO, Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 2017.
[8]	Supreme Council of Antiquities, “Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis” Overlayed on ESA 1:2500 Cadastral Maps. Cairo: Supreme Council of Antiquities, 2006.
[9]	Feilden, Bernard M., Conservation of Historic Buildings. Oxford: Architectural Press, 2003.
[10]	Mason, Randall, Assessing Values in Conservation Planning: Methodological Issues and Choices, in Marta de la Torre (ed.) Assessing the Values of Cultural Heritage. Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, 2002.
[11]	English Heritage, Sustaining the historic environment: new perspective on the future. London: English Heritage, 1997.
[12]	Jokilehto, J. (2006). WORLD HERITAGE: DEFINING THE OUTSTANDING UNIVERSAL VALUE. City & Time 2 (2), 1-10.
[13]	Abdel Tawab, Ayman G., Introduction to Urban Conservation. Saarbrücken: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2013.
[14]	Steele, James, AN ARCHITECTURE FOR PEOPLE, THE COMPLETE WORKS OF HASSAN FATHY. London: Thames and Hudson, 1997.
[15]	Pyla, Panayiota I. (2007). Hassan Fathy Revisited, Postwar Discourses on Science, Development, and Vernacular Architecture. Journal of Architectural Education 60 (3), 28-39.
[16]	Serageldin, Ismail, Hassan Fathy. Alexandria: the Bibliotheca Alexandria, 2007.
[17]	Abdel Tawab, Ayman G. (2014). The World Heritage Centre’s approaches to the conservation of New Gourna Village, and the assessment of its authenticity and integrity, Alexandria Engineering Journal. Alexandria Engineering Journal 53 (3), 691-704.
[18]	Fathy, Hassan, Architecture for the Poor. Cairo: the American University in Cairo Press, 2000.
[19]	Save the Heritage of Hassan Fathy, Save the Heritage of Hassan Fathy [Online]. Geneva: Save the Heritage of Hassan Fathy, n.d. Available from: http://fathyheritage.over-blog.com/ [Accessed 24 March 2018].
[20]	World Monuments Fund, New Gourna Village: Conservation and Community. New York: World Monuments Fund, 2011.
[21]	World Monuments Fund, New Gourna Village \| World Monuments Fund [Online]. New York: World Monuments Fund, 2017. Available from: http://www.wmf.org/project/new-gourna-village# [Accessed 25 March 2018].
[22]	Minke, Gernot, BUILDING WITH EARTH, Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture. Berlin: Birkhaüser – Publishers for Architecture, 2013.
[23]	Farag, al-Said Ahmed, Abbas Mahmud al-Aqqad and the Journeys of the North and South. Al-Mansura: Dar al-Asdiqaa for Publishing, 2010. (in Arabic).
[24]	Attia, Salah, In Memory of the Dean of the Arab Literature, Literature Ordeal of his Readers. Dar al-Gomhuria for Publishing, 2010. (in Arabic).
[25]	Abdel Tawab, Ayman G. (2018). The Conservation of New Gourna Village According to Hassan Fathy’s Philosophy and Ideas. Journal of Architecture and Planning 30 (1), 145-164.
[26]	Doughty, Dick (1999). From the Nile to the Rio Grande. SAUDI ARAMCO World 50 (4), 47-52.
[27]	Abdel Tawab, Ayman G. (2012). Area-based conservation: The strengths and weaknesses of the Egyptian emerging experience in area-based conservation. Alexandria Engineering Journal 51 (2), 137–152.

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APA Style

Ayman Abdel Tawab. (2018). Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention. Urban and Regional Planning, 3(3), 92-101. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12

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Ayman Abdel Tawab. Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention. Urban Reg. Plan. 2018, 3(3), 92-101. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12

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AMA Style

Ayman Abdel Tawab. Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention. Urban Reg Plan. 2018;3(3):92-101. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12

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@article{10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12,
  author = {Ayman Abdel Tawab},
  title = {Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention},
  journal = {Urban and Regional Planning},
  volume = {3},
  number = {3},
  pages = {92-101},
  doi = {10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.urp.20180303.12},
  abstract = {Despite its location inside the World Heritage Site in Luxor, New Gourna Village has never been recognized as one of the elements that contribute to the World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value. In order to consider New Gourna among the World Heritage Site’s contributing elements, it should enjoy an Outstanding Universal Value and should also satisfy the conditions of authenticity and integrity. The aim of this study was to scrutinize the possibility to recognize New Gourna as one of the elements that contribute to the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site in Luxor. The previous aim was achieved by evaluating the level of significance of the heritage values that New Gourna enjoys, as well as their authenticity and integrity, using a proposed methodology. According to this methodology, the level of significance of the values that New Gourna enjoys was evaluated against a list of criteria that were largely derived from the world heritage criteria. Another methodology, which was based on the Operational Guidelines’ definitions of authenticity and integrity, was used to evaluate the authenticity and integrity of the village. The findings revealed the significant contribution of New Gourna towards the World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value despite the decline of the village’s authenticity and integrity. The continuous demolition of the buildings designed by Hassan Fathy in the village and the replacement of these buildings by modern concrete buildings represent the major aspect that emphasizes the decline of the authenticity of New Gourna. On the other hand, the decline of the physical condition of the few remaining earthen buildings designed by Hassan Fathy in the village is the main aspect that emphasizes the decline of the village’s integrity. The study suggests revising the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site in Luxor so as to recognize New Gourna among its contributing elements and to undertake all the possible measures to preserve New Gourna.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention
AU  - Ayman Abdel Tawab
Y1  - 2018/11/01
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12
T2  - Urban and Regional Planning
JF  - Urban and Regional Planning
JO  - Urban and Regional Planning
SP  - 92
EP  - 101
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1697
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12
AB  - Despite its location inside the World Heritage Site in Luxor, New Gourna Village has never been recognized as one of the elements that contribute to the World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value. In order to consider New Gourna among the World Heritage Site’s contributing elements, it should enjoy an Outstanding Universal Value and should also satisfy the conditions of authenticity and integrity. The aim of this study was to scrutinize the possibility to recognize New Gourna as one of the elements that contribute to the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site in Luxor. The previous aim was achieved by evaluating the level of significance of the heritage values that New Gourna enjoys, as well as their authenticity and integrity, using a proposed methodology. According to this methodology, the level of significance of the values that New Gourna enjoys was evaluated against a list of criteria that were largely derived from the world heritage criteria. Another methodology, which was based on the Operational Guidelines’ definitions of authenticity and integrity, was used to evaluate the authenticity and integrity of the village. The findings revealed the significant contribution of New Gourna towards the World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value despite the decline of the village’s authenticity and integrity. The continuous demolition of the buildings designed by Hassan Fathy in the village and the replacement of these buildings by modern concrete buildings represent the major aspect that emphasizes the decline of the authenticity of New Gourna. On the other hand, the decline of the physical condition of the few remaining earthen buildings designed by Hassan Fathy in the village is the main aspect that emphasizes the decline of the village’s integrity. The study suggests revising the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site in Luxor so as to recognize New Gourna among its contributing elements and to undertake all the possible measures to preserve New Gourna.
VL  - 3
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Ayman Abdel Tawab

Department of Architectural Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

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APA Style

Ayman Abdel Tawab. (2018). Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention. Urban and Regional Planning, 3(3), 92-101. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12

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ACS Style

Ayman Abdel Tawab. Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention. Urban Reg. Plan. 2018, 3(3), 92-101. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12

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AMA Style

Ayman Abdel Tawab. Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention. Urban Reg Plan. 2018;3(3):92-101. doi: 10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12

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@article{10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12,
  author = {Ayman Abdel Tawab},
  title = {Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention},
  journal = {Urban and Regional Planning},
  volume = {3},
  number = {3},
  pages = {92-101},
  doi = {10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.urp.20180303.12},
  abstract = {Despite its location inside the World Heritage Site in Luxor, New Gourna Village has never been recognized as one of the elements that contribute to the World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value. In order to consider New Gourna among the World Heritage Site’s contributing elements, it should enjoy an Outstanding Universal Value and should also satisfy the conditions of authenticity and integrity. The aim of this study was to scrutinize the possibility to recognize New Gourna as one of the elements that contribute to the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site in Luxor. The previous aim was achieved by evaluating the level of significance of the heritage values that New Gourna enjoys, as well as their authenticity and integrity, using a proposed methodology. According to this methodology, the level of significance of the values that New Gourna enjoys was evaluated against a list of criteria that were largely derived from the world heritage criteria. Another methodology, which was based on the Operational Guidelines’ definitions of authenticity and integrity, was used to evaluate the authenticity and integrity of the village. The findings revealed the significant contribution of New Gourna towards the World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value despite the decline of the village’s authenticity and integrity. The continuous demolition of the buildings designed by Hassan Fathy in the village and the replacement of these buildings by modern concrete buildings represent the major aspect that emphasizes the decline of the authenticity of New Gourna. On the other hand, the decline of the physical condition of the few remaining earthen buildings designed by Hassan Fathy in the village is the main aspect that emphasizes the decline of the village’s integrity. The study suggests revising the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site in Luxor so as to recognize New Gourna among its contributing elements and to undertake all the possible measures to preserve New Gourna.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Reconsidering the Significance, Authenticity and Integrity of New Gourna Village within the Context of the World Heritage Convention
AU  - Ayman Abdel Tawab
Y1  - 2018/11/01
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12
T2  - Urban and Regional Planning
JF  - Urban and Regional Planning
JO  - Urban and Regional Planning
SP  - 92
EP  - 101
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1697
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.urp.20180303.12
AB  - Despite its location inside the World Heritage Site in Luxor, New Gourna Village has never been recognized as one of the elements that contribute to the World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value. In order to consider New Gourna among the World Heritage Site’s contributing elements, it should enjoy an Outstanding Universal Value and should also satisfy the conditions of authenticity and integrity. The aim of this study was to scrutinize the possibility to recognize New Gourna as one of the elements that contribute to the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site in Luxor. The previous aim was achieved by evaluating the level of significance of the heritage values that New Gourna enjoys, as well as their authenticity and integrity, using a proposed methodology. According to this methodology, the level of significance of the values that New Gourna enjoys was evaluated against a list of criteria that were largely derived from the world heritage criteria. Another methodology, which was based on the Operational Guidelines’ definitions of authenticity and integrity, was used to evaluate the authenticity and integrity of the village. The findings revealed the significant contribution of New Gourna towards the World Heritage Site’s Outstanding Universal Value despite the decline of the village’s authenticity and integrity. The continuous demolition of the buildings designed by Hassan Fathy in the village and the replacement of these buildings by modern concrete buildings represent the major aspect that emphasizes the decline of the authenticity of New Gourna. On the other hand, the decline of the physical condition of the few remaining earthen buildings designed by Hassan Fathy in the village is the main aspect that emphasizes the decline of the village’s integrity. The study suggests revising the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site in Luxor so as to recognize New Gourna among its contributing elements and to undertake all the possible measures to preserve New Gourna.
VL  - 3
IS  - 3
ER  -

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