The mud-brick houses of Baris Al Gedida lie about 2km north of the original town. Hassan Fathy, Egypt’s most influential modern architect, designed the houses using traditional methods and materials, intending Baris Al Gedida to be a model for other new settlements. Work stopped at the outbreak of the Six Day War of 1967, and only two houses and some public spaces have ever been completed.
The site was abandoned and never lived in.