A Future for the Past, The Mountain Architecture of South Tunisia

USEK - Holy spirit University of Kaslik

Project idea

From a land far, faraway place,
Where the caravan camels roam.
Where you get to know an unfamiliar culture and tongue,
Sculpted the mountains and made it there home.
They Took refuge from the enemies in the depth of the rock and hid their goods at the top.
They sculpted the pathways in between and lived in complete discrete.
They tricked the world with the invisible and by which they were invincible.
No one would recognize their houses even though they were more than thousands.
Who are those people? And were they illegal?
Tattooed their faces with symbols of phrases,
They made up their own language,
Survived every invasion without harm nor damage.
By intelligences outsmarted the rest,
Invented the invisible without an architect.
Took refuge in disguise,
Camouflaged with the mountain and harvested their supplies.
The birth of the culture was in Tunisia but some settled in Algeria.
At the upmost high towards the south you fly,
12 hours by bus later you will arrive.
Get ready to fall in love with the land of magic and sand,
The land of the people that were rejected by many, they lived in caves and talked differently,
Danced in ways and dressed vividly.
Berbers was their label and until today is what we call the unstable,
Difference was always the issue it is why they lived so far and demanded so little,
They rooted in the land by all means and lived their traditional simple lives unfamiliar with machines.
Modernization was the new, therefore by force they cut there roots, cutting off water and electricity supply,
Oh, how cruel!
Moved them out of the cave and told them to stop their old ways,
It’s time to stop the traditional and start with the modern acceptable.
How could they leave their homes of land? After generations of working hands?
To live far away was in no chance,
They went down the mountain as requested but only down the foot was where they settled
2 km away from the past built the new homes of concrete and glass.
Is that what modernization is all about?
Houses and mosques and for the rest you have to drive out?
Unknowingly they forgot about the services which made them hate the flat surfaces.
Never were they ready for such an unmerciful act, to harshly move the Berbers from there natural habitats!
Therefore, every sunset of every day,
Crawl the families back to their caves,
Or the cradle if I may.
Turned again into gems by night even with the unfair rules of the new government,
when the evening falls is what they look forward to everyday the most,
to bring back the lifestyle of what was once worthwhile,
With every ceremony weddings or fests Berbers brought back life to what was once their nests.
Lights music and dance every night of everyday the mountains are filled with chants till the present day!
Douiret, Chenini and Guermessa,
Share the same ongoing story,
Of brilliance and sustainability highlighted then with force and misery,
Fought back with willpower of attachment to the roots and ancestor’s commandment!

In the summer of 2018, I had the opportunity to participate with my university in an international workshop titled
“Vers Une Lecture Renouvelee Des Architectures Des Montagne Du Sud Tunisien”
that impacted my life, captured my heart and soul and opened my eyes to a disappearing heritage that is in need of saving!

When an inhabited place transforms into an uninhabited one, the memory and souvenirs are erased. But every person has the tendency to travel back in time even if it was full of misery reliving a Deja-vu experience revitalizing of what was once erased.
This detachment that reinforced an attachment au-delà de physique. This separation of the Berbers space towards a civilized modern world down the foothill. A bouleversement between the earth and the sky. How to revitalize this threat between the traditional and the modern on the one hand and the 3 mounts; Douiret, Chenini and Guermessa on the other?
The dream of a return transformed into a reality by the help of a voyage to the past. This attachment and rooting to the past pumps blood into a deserted space by day and yet full of life by night. Put in a trance, they return to the principle uterus to celebrate ‘the-every-night’ and traditional ceremonies. A chain is reformed and reconstructed once again whenever they reunite. How can we create a portal that will connect and interconnect the poles between the ancient and modern?
A chain that has been scattered and disconnected revitalized by architectural infrastructures that will give it back its long-lost value. A portal, an in between, a mi-chemin between the inhale and the exhale, to live the present with the souvenir of the past and a vision for a brighter future.

Project description

Douiret;
The pearl of the south suffering financially due to the misusage of the most important agriculture found in its territory the olive oil knowing that Douiret has the largest olive tree in the world.
Therefore, a project that will be a source of life and future for the ruins and its skilled people taking advantages of the Agri-Resources.
In a village known worldwide for its olive agriculture a program that offers how to treat and be treated by oil is what’s needed!
Therefore, an Agriculture gastronomical center with advanced oil mills and workshops along with a thermal bath Hammam using the locally produced soap and skin oils for guests to immerse themselves in local culture.
Respecting the existing habitations penetrated by a flow of movement and patios to integrate natural elements. Being aware of the sensitive site with its tangible and intangible aspects
A circular boundary around the existing olive trees ever circulating ramp visible from one end and excavated on another either being outdoor or floating a mis~niveau indoor overlooking the manufacturing process of oil, And the ability to stop and enter either to the gastronomical experience on the right or the educational and land art display on the left.
Followed next the extra sweating climb to arrive to the hammam with its Cold, Moderate, and Warm spaces being the one excavated, immersed in the rock area and the capacity then to visit the adjacent ruins on 2 vertical levels.
The project will light up the desert sky, Land art will be displayed and highlighted, the hammam consisted of Fire bath, stone fountains drinking streams, sulfated water, flower bath ,cold bath and outdoor baths.

Douiret loutiya;
In an area devoid from services the essential of local medical center and a day care is much needed along with shaded areas utility shops and municipality functions in perfect relationship with the neighborhood through a reduced geometry to the minimum expression ~the town-hall
On the ground floor nothing but a public re-encountering platform fenced from the roadside with an habitable wall offering public functions, With an underground level of seminar rooms and auditoriums for the municipality encounters through a line so that nature and program are interlaced and coexist under the same cover defining the limit of the exterior place belonging to the mosque landmark.
The platform is now offered to the people for various activities, Daycare for the children or offering medical services for the elderly, Bus stops, public restrooms and drinkable water fountains info boxes and money exchange windows all what you need to facilitate the life on the flat surface.

Chenini;
The archaeological treasure distant 2 km from the modern one, devoid of youth and young blood.
How can we assure an architectural project that will act like a magnet to attract the young generation and make them settle in?
The event in the city under the name of a vertical ghost. A surprise element that will pump blood to the alleyways.
What other than a cultural center a point of attraction for local events a cinematographic space for exposition with a virtual experience can make them stay in the homeland?
In perfect relation with the existing ruins, A penetrated sober element linking the ground floor to reach the main destination the ksar at the very top of the village. A historical stratification.
Vertical and longitudinal dynamics.
Starting off with permanent gallery at the ground floor at double height with a bookstore overlooking the exposition and a theater halfway embedded in the ground using its roof gradin as an extension to the cafe where on this level inside the neighboring ruins a new space is created to start off the virtual reality path Or the option of continuing the vertical path to reach the level of the temporary gallery where artist can come and expose their artifacts seasonally, finally the paths combine in a final gradin to reach the destination of the ksar.
Therefore, a duality between 2 entities, a partially excavated volume stands for the time less dimension of the site. The building sums to disappear to reflect its environment or to underline the context. The visitor hence can now walk freely through the expositions while constantly projected in the outside space

Chenini Loutiya;
To the fact that the locals need to drive out more than a 2-hour drive to shop any merchandise,
This platform will bring the merchandise to them from the concept of a caravanserai.
Merchants from all over the world are welcome to come and stay for as many days as they demand. On the ground floor a khan like structure integrated the limiting exterior place of the mosque with a series of colonnade divided with curtains of locale textile with the ability to expand to the exterior. And on the underground level the option of Hotel rooms, A dining area and business meeting rooms along with a special storage area including lockers and a fridge room to store the goods! Without forgetting the essential Hammam, For whoever wants to access the mosque!
A dissolved structure with a clear construction that encompasses the space around the mosque in a respectful distance, Surrounding the minaret like a frame, Not only in floor plan but also between the different columns, there are always structures framing the view, The merchant will be able to walk through freely in and out without interruptions , The building generates different open spaces that can be used in various ways for merchants, events , exhibitions or just to enjoy the view of the courtyard in shade.

Guermessa;
The most forgotten mount, suffering from erosion and lack of restoration and attention even when the new city is only 1 km away refusal of memory and the will of a return exists no more
Therefore, how can we transform an uninhabited ghost town in ruins back to life? And how to protect what’s left?
Transforming the field into an experimental one for scientists, researchers and students to highlight the dwelling and protect them from erosion giving them back a monumental feature,
Archaeology center libraries field school site labs and an open-air museum,
A platform for eternity to guarantee the durability of Guermessa
Embedded in the mountain path flowing over the ruins like a magic carpet to protect them from the continuous erosion.
On the ground floor exists the remains of what used to be the Agora of the region called the “Tirka”.
Therefore, the visitor arrives roam and wander around the ruins then takes the vertical passage to arrive to the main platform, Respecting the hierarchy of space;
Public spaces being the literary cafes and info box - semi private being the classrooms workshops and archaeological library - private laboratories excavated in the rock.
The elevation contemplating the landscape, the public area overlooking down the troglodytes through voids, And the private labs embedded in the rock.
In total discrete to complete and not compete with the existing.
Displaying and valuing what was going to perish, in continuous dialogue with the past, Highlighting the importance of archaeology, In perfect perforations for a continuous connection with the sky. A dynamic relationship with the surrounding world the underworld and the upper one.

Guermessa Loutiya;
Due to the overly dense and populated area, the ground floor will be sacrificed only for a public re-encountering platform.
It is time to enhance in the Islamic religion and entertain all sorts of locals, Respecting the steps of spiritual growth.
Accessed through a ramp from the principle route, starting off with the Madrasa, Imaret known as the “kahwa”, And the Hammam, Ending the hierarchy of spaces with a spiritual ramp circulating around the mosque Elevating us spiritually and physically to the ground floor.
The peoples place is now consecrated to the public to encounter freely in a way to highlight and value the city’s spiritual and only landmark.
Whereas on the underground level a space of re-encountering of all generations in well-structured hierarchy of spaces, starting up with a madrasa in which is it never too late to start learning about the Islamic religion, as well as a place reserved for Guermessa’s women to create and exhibit all kinds of art work from carpets to pottery. Then the imaret to cater the madrasa, and a place for encountering over a cup of coffee or during the holy month of Ramadan. Next comes the final step before accessing the mosque, The hammam for wudu.

Elevation;
The use of the Berber symbols that used to be tattooed on the faces as perforations in the elevation. To each project its own symbol!
For Douiret the symbol of the olive tree and the fertilizing water.
As for Chenini the city devoid of youth, the symbol of the weaving comb that signifies the fertility and creativity
And for Guermessa the completely forgotten village in ruins slowly perishing the symbol of the fly representing life reproduction and ardor.

And now the Quarantine effect models!
With the financial crisis hitting hard and the complete lock-down on everything besides supermarkets.
The result would be the cooked couscous model!
The initial idea stroke with a throwback to when It was only few days in our adventure in the desert and sarcastically my friend would imply that all we do is eat couscous and walk through couscous referring to the landscape of the region...
A more than a thousand years old dish originally cooked by Berbers and has a shocking resemblance to the sand stones used in Tataouine!

Technical information

The buildings siting and orientation are the first strategic moves towards sustainability.
The past is present and the past is future.
The aim was to be able to Reduce the consumption to the maximum without compromising the aesthetic beauty.
To Adapt to the context in the modest of ways to complete and not compete with the surrounding emerging slowly from the earth and interacting with the surrounding.
Resulting with A twist of retour au passé in the new city and projecting a new touch of contemporary in the old city.
Therefore, in the NEW cities of concrete jungles we bring back the earth vernacular primitive materials of skilled handwork and sweat of the birth construction, more the less the ecological construction!
Whereas in the OLD city the jump from primitive archaeology to the technology in the most sustainable yet high-tech ways. And due to the presence of one of the largest salt lakes in Africa “Chott el Djerid”.
And wanting to have a ghost effect of ever existing in a way leaving the site empty as found.
Therefore, from this landscape a new kind of architecture will be created,
A combination of salt and a waste material such as starch,
A strong water proof light wright translucent and inexpensive bricks.
Mixing 90% salt and 10% starch resulting in translucent white salt bricks.
Capable of competing with its strength many well-known materials such as masonry and concrete.
Resulting with an elevation of white bricks integrate the remnants of the surrounding habitation into a new contemporary face.
Articulated with perforations to fill up the space with diffused light to create a serene calmness and odd timelessness.