Place Lalla Yeddouna by Alanna Lauter

Place Lalla Yeddouna

A Neighborhood in the Medina of Fez, Morocco

In 1981 UNESCO declared the Medina of Fès, Morocco a world heritage site. Founded in the 9th century and home to the oldest university in the world, Fez reached its height in the 13th–14th centuries under the Marinids, when it replaced Marrakesh as the capital of the kingdom. The urban fabric and the principal monuments in the medina – madrasas, fondouks, palaces, residences, mosques and fountains - date from this period. Although the political capital of Morocco was transferred to Rabat in 1912, Fez has retained its status as the country’s cultural and spiritual center. The program that I will be establishing the study and execution is based off of the competition that was conceptualized and published by The Agency of Partnership for Progress (APP), with its implementing partner, the Agency for

the Development and Rehabilitation of the city of Fez (ADER-Fès). With the Medina of Fès there is the constant struggle of compromising the historic milieu of place with the much needed infrastructural and architecture interventions that are needed to provide a sustainable substance for future development and use. Since this is a site that holds the largest outdoor tannery in, houses the largest mosque and university in Africa and is the oldest capital of Morocco the revitalization of this historic place is imperative for future endeavors of the Medina. Other issues that will be implemented throughout the study will be passive design techniques, natural ventilation, connecting the historic zones with the new, economic rehabilitation, recycling materials and infrastructure components.

Alanna Lauter 5th Year Design Studio Proposal

Fes, Medina

PROGRAM BREAK DOWN — — Cultural + Artisanal Spaces — Hospitality Spaces — Retail Spaces — River Remediation Spaces [environmental infill] — Infastructural Basic Building systems

SQUARE FOOTAGE APPROXIMATIONS 足37,835 ft2 足4,520 ft2 5,269 ft2 12,296 足ft2 20,101 ft2 Total estimated sqaure footage:

approx. 80,000 ft2

[7,400 m2]

Place Lalla Yeddouna Competition Site Overview provided by [phase eins

Respecting Heritage, Celebrating the Future:

Place Lalla Yeddouna and typical street of the Medina of Fez

Background and objective [Provided by client] The Agency of Partnership for Progress (APP), with its implementing partner, the Agency for the Development and Rehabilitation of the city of Fez (ADER-Fès), is issuing this competition for the design of a site in the Medina of Fez, Morocco, known as Place Lalla Yeddouna. The competition is being conducted in the context of an international development program funded by the United States of America, acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), in accordance with the Millennium Challenge Compact (the “Compact”) signed on August 31, 2007, between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Morocco.

THE CLIENT The Government of The Kingdom of Morocco Represented by Agence du Partenariat pour le Progrès - APP Rabat, Morocco Implementing entity L’Agence pour le Developpement et la Réhabilitation de la Ville de Fès - ADER-Fès Fez, Morocco Financial support of the United States of America through the Millennium Challenge Corporation Washington, United States of America In Co-operation with: Secrétariat d’État Chargé de l’Artisanat Wilaya de la Région Fès Boulemane

Commune Urbaine de Fès Commune Urbaine Méchouar Fès Jdid

THE PROJECT Place Lalla Yeddouna A Neighborhood in the Medina of Fez, Morocco The competition site of approx. 7,400 sqm [approx. 80,000 sqft] is located in the Medina of Fez, which is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site since 1981. Place Lalla Yeddouna is a strategic location at the nucleus of this oldest part of Fez. The Medina is a mosaic of small-scale, modest, sandcolored houses, and its endless labyrinth of narrow streets, where we can find still preserved as a living museum, an antique mode of life, full of history and shrouded in mystery. The area of Place Lalla Yeddouna, where the city was founded on the two banks of the main river in Fez (“Oued Al Jawahir”), used to be one of the key links between the two sides of the old city.

expected to be a cultural site exemplary of our time and the region, and a stimulator and generator for the development of other projects in Fez, its region and Morocco. The competition task comprises the urban design for the Place Lalla Yeddouna, the preservation of historic buildings as well as the design of new buildings

Ariel View of Site Location

In the future, Place Lalla Yeddouna will become a dynamic, mixed use, urban space that will benefit both residents of and visitors to the Medina. It will offer educational programs, residencies, artisan workshops, boutiques, cafes and other recreational facilities, attracting young and old alike. The site is expected to become a major catalyst for artisan development, with spaces for educational programs, residences, artisan production, shops, restaurants, cafés and other services. The new complex will support activities for youth and adults. With its unique architectural character representing the regional building tradition and with its surrounding urban fabric, excellent accessibility and functionality, Place Lalla Yeddouna is

Al Jawahir River: Fez River — view looking North

Chouara Leather Tannery

Chouara Tannery — Sheep’s Wool Drying Area

Chouara Tannery — Traditional Leather Cleaning Processing Area

Chouara Tannery â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Traditional Leather Cleaning Processing Area

Surrounding Area Conditions â&#x20AC;&#x201D; View looking South across river

Chouara Tannery Containers

Part of the exploration that will take place during the semester will be an urban typology catalogue that will begin to analyze building typologies in this region. This will start by understanding the courtyard typology through circulation, building masses, density (urbanistically and vertically) and environmentally. BASES OF THESIS: Conservation • Tradition and Lifestyle: handicrafts, craft masters, traditional production and culture • History: Historic buildings, historic urban elements (Fountain of Lalla Yedouna, Bin Lamdoun bridge, Mulberry tree etc.), history of the leatherwork and metalwork (Artisan’s workshop, traditional produc tion techniques) • Nature: Natural urban elements, surface and ground water, landscape (trees, plants), natural resources (soil, water, air)

Rehabilitation • Fez River Rehabilitation: Fez River rehabilitated with natural techniques that minimizes costs. The aim of this rehabilitation project is cleaning river water and surroundings of the river, also to stop odor problems. Of course the main objective is always making sustainable urban environment. After rehabilitation the river will have a new ecological cycle and eventually provide new clean open space. This rehabilitation can include reorganization of the river edges and a new landscape design. • Existing Building Rehabilitation: The building rehabilitation process has been thought with local, sustainable and recycled construction materials. There are new natural ventilation, water management, shading, infrastructure and structure system reinforcement concepts for the rehabilitation of buildings.

Surrounding Area Conditions â&#x20AC;&#x201D; View looking North onto the Medina Waste Management â&#x20AC;˘ Since this site is located right next to the largest outdoor tannery in the world it is prone to all the processes and toxic materials that they use with the traditional cleaning and preserving ingredients for the leathers and cottons. At the moment the smells that over take this site are so bad that tourists and visitors are advised to hold mint leaves under their noses in order to block out the pungent smells of the tannery.Part of the infastructural program of this project will have to be dedicated to waste manegement and solid waste collection. This is important for the river rehabilitation portion of the project so that the river can become a toxic-free zone. With this new system of waste collection there will have to be a portion of the project that will have to explore the sewage, rainwater and cable networks.

Passive Design â&#x20AC;˘ This includes but is not limited to natural ventilation studies through court yard spaces, recycled materials, orientation, lighting studies and rainwater collection, storage and reuse. Another aspect of the passive design strategies will be to look at soil conditions to understand what type of building will be applicable to this site and how if any new systems of building can be applied to this area that would be beneficial. These soil studies are also important to note in order to introduce more environmental practices such as plant life and new ecologies that can help neutralize and then filter the air. This will be followed by studying different types of plants that can work in contaminated sites to remove harmful odors and chemicals and provide the soil proper nutrients in this arid climate. 17

Fes, Medina looking south onto the Medina

Fes, Medina circa 2001

Fes, Medina looking east onto mountains

Fes, Medina circa 2015

Place Lalla Yeddouna

A Neighborhood in the Medina of Fez, Morocco

Since this was part a competiton back in 2011 there are a multitude of precendents that I can use for analysis and resources for my own exploration of this site and program. The three precendents that I would use are the three finalists of the project: •1st Michel Mossessian (London, United Kingdomi) with Yassir Khalil (Casablanca, Morocco) • 2nd Laura Valeria Ferretti, Maurizio Marcelloni and Valeria Botti (Rome, Italy) with Bahia Nouh (Fez, Morocco) • 3rd Moxon Architects, Benn Addy (London, United Kingdom) with Aime Kakon (Casablanca, Morocco) Also presented on the competition board website the jury has composed a highly detailed reponse to each of the projects. I will use parts of these responses to help develop the ideas urbanistically and programgatically for my project. www.projectcompetition-fez.com/projects_projectcompetition-fez_results_e.htm

Projected Sources: After communication with the project manager of the competiton CAD files, maps, and other image files will be provided by : [phase eins]. Eichelmann Hossbach Lehmhaus Dipl. Ing. Architects BDA VBI Cuxhavener Str. 12-13 D-10555 Berlin Germany office@phase1.de www.phase1.de

Place Lalla Yeddouna

A Neighborhood in the Medina of Fez, Morocco

Other Resources + Preliminary Findings Making Headway www.mcc.gov

Country Ownership: Sharing Risk and Leveraging Resources in the Medina of Fez Anyone who works at the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) or at a Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) hears persistent ticking. It is the sound of the clock running on the five-year deadline for MCC compacts, which commences the moment implementation begins (which MCC refers to as “entry into force”). It seems to get louder as the compact’s end approaches. MCC and partner countries design projects with the five-year timeline in mind, and the time limit creates strong incentives to complete compact activities on time. Despite the care that goes into compact development, however, things do not always go according to plan. The Fez Medina activity, part of the Morocco Compact, is a good example of how MCC works with its partner countries to manage completion risks associated with the five-year clock. The Fez Medina activity is an ambitious and challenging undertaking. The project includes renovating four 14th and 15th century fondouks in the ancient Medina of Fez, as well as a public square called Place Lalla Yedounna (PLY), and renovating or reconstructing approximately 20 buildings surrounding PLY. The sites will eventually house production and sales facilities for some of Fez’s world-renowned artisans, as well as boutiques, cafes, restaurants, a hotel, and other services—all intended to improve livelihoods for artisans and to revitalize the medina, where an estimated 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. One site, Fondouk Barka, has been reserved for use by women artisans.

Project Summary Document

Fondouk Sbitriyine, pictured before and after excavation, awaits renovation.

WORLD BANK

ROYAUME DU MAROC Regional Holcim Awards competition

Gold 2008 Africa Middle East River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Project data

Type of project Landscape design Estimated start January 2009 of construction

Main author Name Profession Organization

Aziza Chaouni Architect Extramuro, LLP

City/Country

Fez, Morocco

Further author(s) & legal guardian(s) Further authors: 1. Tajima, Takako, Urban Planner, Los Angeles, United States; 2. Zemmouri, Faiza, Economic Development Consultant, Fez, Morocco; 3. Cenzatti, Marco, Urban Planning Professor, Cambridge, United States; 4. Alissa, Reem, Landscape Architect, Berkeley, United States; 5. Ferri, John, Construction Manager, Los Angeles, United States; 6. Brunn, Dan, Architect, Los Angeles, United States; 7. Kann, Vesna, Architect, Toronto, Canada

REHABILITATION OF THE FEZ MEDINA

Comment of the Holcim Awards jury Africa Middle East

Resuscitation timeline and the new economic model.

The preeminent feature of this project consists of the comprehensive approach to environmental revitalization and urban renewal. The Fez River, a historic lifeline traversing the medina of Fez, is now faced with a diminished role due to serious pollution and risks drying up. The future water-diversion to a new sewage treatment plant allows the mostly covered river to be laid open again and thus regain its potential as a public amenity. The project proposes interventions at city-scale master plan and site-scale projects for cleaning the degraded water as well as the remediation of heavily polluted sites such as the tannery at Chouarra. The jury commended this project because of the coupling of a comprehensive socio-cultural and economic program to an environmental remediation initiative. In particular, once implemented, the proposal has the potential to restore the vitality of the city of Fez for its residents and visitors by mitigating the two major threats now facing the river. Equally, the proposed transformation of existing nuisances through community supported programs such as a leather-craft centre, recreation facilities for children, water-cleaning wetlands and botanical gardens is highly commended. The project promises to be a strategic environmental intervention creating a myriad of social beneﬁts.

PROJECT SUMMARY DOCUMENT MAY 1998

Project description by author

Relevance to target issues by author

The medina of Fez was founded in 789 AD as two separate nuclei on the banks of a river. In time, the two sides grew and fused into one. For the majority of its history, the Fez River remained the city spine and an integral urban element. Over the course of centuries, however, dependence on the river to support a growing population and a ﬂourishing leather tanning industry severely impacted water quality. By the 1950s the river had degenerated into the sewage channel named “River of Trash” and half of its course through the medina was paved over to allow vehicular access. The erasure of the river was extended in 2004 and completed in 2007 despite Fez’s designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Quantum change and transferability By approaching issues from a multi-performative perspective, our project embodies a powerful methodology relevant to developing countries where resources are scarce and the demands for basic needs are immediate. The project’s approach is especially appropriate to countries in the Maghreb and Middle East where medina quarters are a common urban typology currently facing an acute crisis. The lack of open public spaces and the dearth of infrastructure adapted to contemporary needs affect the residents’ quality of life and open the medina to speculation, deterioration, or museiﬁcation. Our project demonstrates that careful interventions could help the medina evolve to meet its dwellers’ needs while preserving its urban integrity.

The city’s Department of Water and Power is currently implementing a new system that will channel sewage towards two treatment plants. Soon, the “River of Trash” will cease to receive water discharged after only primary sewage treatment and regain its potential as a public amenity. If rehabilitated, its impact will be inordinately salient to the unique urban context of Fez. Indeed, the intra-mural population of the medina not only lacks public open spaces, but is also experiences a rapid deterioration of its environment due to over-densiﬁcation and aging public infrastructure. In support of its current initiative, the Department of Water and Power commissioned us to propose a rehabilitation plan for the river as well as interventions along its banks. Our proposal is a strategic plan that addresses the ecology of the river and the social and economic concerns of the city. It works at two scales: city and site. Based on an in-depth analysis of the urban and ecological context of Fez, the project at the city scale is a master plan with recommended measures for improving regional water quality. At site scale, the project is a set of three critical interventions strategically phased to enhance water quality, remediate contaminated sites, create open spaces, and to build on existing resources for economic development.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF DESIGN UNIT FOR HOUSING AND URBANIZATION

UHU/GSD/Harvard ADER-FES

AGENCE POUR LA DEDENSIFICATION ET LA REHABILITATION DE LA MEDINA DE FES

Page 1

While uncovering the northern part of the river, the three projects take advantage of vacant sites to reestablish its connection with the city fabric. The “el-Rcif” site stitches the transportation hub with the river bank circulation system and allows for the cleaning of runoff water. The Andalous site offers the ﬁrst children’s playground in the medina, coupled with a constructed wetland. The Chouarra tanneries site offers a botanical garden and a new center for design and leatherwork. The overall effect creates a project that elevates rivers as a form of urban infrastructure that possesses the potential to stitch or blend disjuncture between the needs of a 21st century population and the historicist imperatives necessary to preserve the integrity of a UNESCO World Heritage designation.

Ethical standards and social equity Our project aims to enhance the social, economic, and physical well-being of locals through the provision of new public spaces, strategies for economic development, and health and safety advances by the treatment of contaminated water and soil. While contaminated sites in less affluent areas are disregarded, our project addresses polluted sites in the poorest areas of the city. Ecological quality and energy conservation The project embraces a number of measures to improve water quality and consequently enhances wildlife habitats. Our introduction of constructed wetlands manages excess floodwater, cleanses storm water, and promotes groundwater recharge and habitat creation. Our third site intervention converts soon to be vacated tanneries, which are heavily contaminated with chromium, into a public botanical garden thanks to a precise phasing system using Indian mustard remediation.The project construction will be performed by local labor using traditional building techniques: on-site baked clay bricks and white plaster which are energy efficient and blend with the surrounding fabric.

Master plan for regional water quality improvement.

Evolution of the Medina of Fez.

Chouarra tanneries pit restoration and path remediation.

Sebou River watershed and water quality.

Rcif public transit hub.

Detail section of restorer.

Andalous bank playground.

Chouarra tanneries.

Economic performance and compatibility Thanks to collaboration with foreign and local economists our project proposes new strategies for the local leather industry to align with international standards. As polluting tanners are moved to a new industrial area their tanneries are converted to design co-operatives for high-value artisanal goods. The new designs replace the current mass produced items bringing wealth to locals. Contextual and aesthetic impact The project will rehabilitate a historical river with heavilycompromised integrity by a succession of coverings and sewage dumping. The project will uncover the northern part of the river, which is now an unused concrete refuse wasteland. The restoration of high water quality, will help to restore the river as an integral part of the city’s urban fabric and as an active public axis.

Alanna Lauter 5th Year Design Studio Proposal TECTONICS, VOL. 22, NO. 5, 1051, doi:10.1029/2002TC001460, 2003

Tectonic shortening and topography in the central High Atlas (Morocco) Antonio Teixell, Maria-Luisa Arboleya, and Manuel Julivert Departament de Geologia, Universitat Auto`noma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain

Mohammed Charroud De´partement de Ge´ologie, Faculte´ des Sciences et Techniques Fe`s-Saı¨ss, Universite´ Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco

Received 24 September 2002; revised 13 May 2003; accepted 26 June 2003; published 9 October 2003.

[1] Three cross sections of the Moroccan High Atlas illustrate the structural geometry and relationship between tectonic shortening and topography in this Cenozoic intracontinental mountain range. The structure is dominated by thick-skinned thrusting and folding, essentially by inversion of Mesozoic extensional faults and by buckling of both preMesozoic basement and its sedimentary cover. Detached, thin-skinned thrusting is limited and apparently related to basement underthrusting, which did not always create structural relief. Despite the high topography, tectonic shortening is moderate, with faults and folds being spaced and separated by broad tabular areas. Section restoration indicates that shortening decreases along strike from east to west in the High Atlas, while topographic elevation generally increases. This inverse correlation suggests that crustal thickening does not fully explain the observed topography and suggests a mantle contribution to uplift. This is supported by geophysical indications of a thin lithosphere and by alkaline volcanism in the vicinity. Mantle-related uplift, which occurs in a broad region, may also explain the scarce foreland basin record adjacent to the High Atlas. The relief of the Atlas Mountains is interpreted as a combination of crustal isostatic and INDEX TERMS: 8005 Structural dynamic topography. Geology: Folds and folding; 8010 Structural Geology: Fractures and faults; 8110 Tectonophysics: Continental tectonics—general (0905); 9305 Information Related to Geographic Region: Africa; KEYWORDS: intraplate tectonics, inversion, folding, topography, High Atlas, Morocco. Citation: Teixell, A., M.-L. Arboleya, M. Julivert, and M. Charroud, Tectonic shortening and topography in the central High Atlas (Morocco), Tectonics, 22(5), 1051, doi:10.1029/2002TC001460, 2003.

1. Introduction [2] The Atlas Mountains of North Africa are considered as type examples of intracontinental chains [Mattauer et al., 1977; Rodgers, 1987; Ziegler et al., 1995]. They formed during Cenozoic times in the interior of the African plate ahead of the Rif-Tell plate boundary orogenic belt (Figure 1a). Like other intracontinental chains, the Atlas experienced moderate crustal shortening and exhumation. However, they have a very high topography, with peaks of over 4000 m. [3] Many earlier studies have dealt with aspects of the evolution of the Atlas system from rift or transcurrent sedimentary troughs during the Mesozoic, to compressional belts of tectonic inversion in Cenozoic to recent times [Choubert and Faure-Muret, 1962; Mattauer et al., 1977; Schaer, 1987; Laville, 1988; Jacobshagen et al., 1988; Laville and Pique´, 1992; Beauchamp et al., 1996, 1999; Frizon de Lamotte et al., 2000; Gomez et al., 2000] (among others). However, some important tectonic questions are still unsolved, including the compressional structural style, whether it is thin-skinned or thick-skinned, the mode of basement involvement, the total orogenic shortening, the origin of the elevated topography, and the reasons for the scarce development of peripheral foreland basins. Our discussion of these points is based on three new cross sections through the High Atlas of Morocco combined with geological and geophysical considerations from neighboring areas (the Moroccan Meseta, the western end of the Algerian High Plateau and the Anti-Atlas, Figure 1a). The modes of compressional deformation in the interior of the continent and the contribution of crust and mantle to topography are addressed more generally in the discussion.

2. Geological Cross Sections [4] The Alpine foreland in front of the Rif-Tell orogen consists of several intracontinental mountain belts and plateaux. The High Atlas forms the most prominent mountain chain (Figure 1a), extending for 2000 km in a roughly west-east direction from Morocco into Algeria and Tunisia, where the range is known as the Saharan Atlas and the Tunisian Atlas respectively. This belt, together with its NE-SW branch in Morocco known as the Middle Atlas, is

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Place Lalla Yeddouna

A Neighborhood in the Medina of Fez, Morocco

Original Competition Breif