This presentation brings together still photography and an immersive video installation exploring the work of Egyptian Modernist architect Hassan Fathy.

Searching for models that might address the urgent contemporary problems of housing, poverty, and environmental sustainability, Collins (English, b. 1956) reconsiders Fathy’s mid-twentieth-century utopian experiments in sustainable architecture and rural community building at New Gourna and New Baris in Egypt.

Her installation underscores the visual and philosophical connections between the ancient Egyptian structures and Fathy’s historically grounded, forward-looking designs, and prompts us to meditate on the past as well as contemplate new solutions for the future.