Hassan Fathy Building | Architecture

The outstanding feature of Sa Bassa Blanca Museum (msbb) is undoubtedly the building designed by Hassan Fathy (Cairo,1900-1989). He was already 78 years old and had never before built anything in Western Europe when he drew up the plans of the Hispano Moresque building, which he called a “ribat”,  what means "fortress", retaining only the outside walls of a former farmhouse. White crenellated walls, traditional vaults and domes punctuate the otherwise flat terraces of the edifice surrounding a central courtyard with gardens and fountains. Most windows are covered by wooden lattices called “moushrabias" and the doors and floor tiling are antique elements brought from Andalusia, Northern Spain and Morocco.

The existing “Aljibe” or underground water reservoir was transformed into an exhibition space in 1994 and in 2007 the new underground area “Sokrates” was brought into service. Neither competes with the architecture of the great Hassan Fathy.