Author(s)

M. Tawfik

Abstract

The role of the research resides in stressing the notion of sustainability in overcoming the development problems in desert cities, as represented in the oases cities (Dakhla and Kharga), through catalyzing the role of such cities and discovering the sources needed for development and how far could such resources be useful. The research evaluates the traditional architecture and urban patterns existing in Dakhla and Kharga Oases and how interactive they are with the surrounding environment and how the environment affects such patterns in return. Moreover, the research aims to highlight how the traditional architecture and urbanization patterns are constrained by the general principals of sustainability in desert areas with a possibility of pinpointing and deducing some desert architectural and urbanization patterns that concord with the environmental features of the oases.

Keywords

sustainability, Dakhla Oasis, Kharga Oasis, Egyptian deserts, sustained architectural design, traditional architecture