Editor's Note: Two endearing men, Hassan Fathy and Laurie Baker, changed the way we think about sustainable housing today. They brought back age old techniques from the brink of extinction to do more with less. Hassan Fathy wanted to bridge the gulf that separates folk architecture from formal architecture. Laurie Baker carried Gandhian values of honesty and sincerity to the buildings he designed. He believed that beauty was related to truth and therefore a stone house should look like it is made of stone. This issue features the work of these soulful architects. --Ragu & Nisha

Hassan Fathy planned the village of New Gourna, near Luxor, Egypt, without the use of more modern and expensive materials such as steel and concrete. Using mud bricks, the native technique that Fathy learned in Nubia, and such traditional Egyptian architectural designs as enclosed courtyards and vaulted roofing, Fathy worked with the villagers to tailor his designs to their needs.

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Benny Kuriakose was one of the privileged few who worked under the tutelage of Laurie Baker which involved both learning and unlearning. And he recalls the choices Laurie Baker made and how it transformed the landscape around him.

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