Housing in Algiers though Pouillon's Climat de France by George Garofalakis

Housing in Algiers through Pouillonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Climat de France

Georgios Garofalakis SN: 12054265 March Urban Design Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL HISTORY AND THEORY ESSAY

Table of Contents Introduction

French Colonialism in Algiers

The Design Principles of Climat de France

Post-Colonial Period

The current situation of Climat de France

Conclusion

Introduction Located on the hill of Bad el-Oued the largest housing estate in Algiers is one of the French colonial projects designated to relocate “indigenous people” from shantytowns and the oldest part of the city, the Kasbah. Designed by the French architect Fernand Pouillon and commissioned by Chevallier the mayor of the city during the 1950s, it compresses and represents a microcosm of the Algerian political and social situation. The design (or the lack of it) of the urban realm in Algiers has always been one of the principle political tools to tame and control people, and it is apparent in every step of its evolution from the Ottoman period, the colonial rule and and the current reality. Pouillon was an architect with immense experience in the French building sector and he had developed an extensive selection of works for public and private projects. Being a person that was involved in every stage of the design process made him think and design as an architect, but also as a developer. His profile triggered Chevallier’s interest and he was summoned to become the chief architect of the city, with the main idea to design large scale housing projects as a response to the massive housing shortage. (Avermaete, 2007) Chevallier was the mayor of the city from 1953 until 1958, a sensible politician with a personal love for Arabs, or “the mayor of Arabs” as he was called. He had an ambitious vision for Algeria to become independent, but maintain a cultural and economic link to France. His period is marked with a wide range of experimentation and architectural ambition and such is Pouillon’s project Climat de France. (Celik 1997) The “lifetime” of Climat de France represents the sociopolitical conditions over time in Algiers. Examining Pouillon’s vision, the political implementations of the colonial period and the reformation/reapropriation of this space represents a complete image of the circumstances of the city visioned through the human scale. The current essay represents in parallel the matter of housing in Algiers and the transformation of the “Climat de France” project, as a series of cause and effect and tries to investigate upon the principles implemented in housing in every historical period as well as the relation between space and people.

French Colonialism in Algiers In order to understand the conditions that formed Chevallier’s decision to commission Pouillon as the main architect of the city and the principles that affected Pouillon’s design an investigation of the colonial urban mechanism is required. Algeria was a long lasting colony of France, from 1830 to 1962, it was cherished and considered the capital of french colonies. As the cultural sphere plays an important role in imperialistic colonialism, “architecture and the urban form are key players for the development of culture and the identity of the city” (Celik 1997). The colonial system created an unbalanced relationship between the native people and their perception of space, as a result of 132 years of the colonial presence that changed the way that people use space today. France persistence to dominate Algeria, the anti-colonial movement that these actions created are key factors to the transformation of the algerian society. (Dijar 2010) In this point it is important to specify how french colonists identified the houses in Algeria, something that affected deeply their design solutions. Especially Poullion’s personal aspiration was to create a modern hybrid influenced by the traditional housing solutions. In the extensive research of Zeynep Celik (1997) the identification process is presented through time resulting to different types of houses and developments. Initially, the “Indigenous Housing” is presented by Le Corbusier (1967) as a home of the “invisible space”, a refuge, a buffer against the colonial society. A house with appealing elements, the courtyard, the opens to nature - with the use of the terraces, but also with mystical aspects, with a blank planar facade with minimal openings disconnected with the urban public space, a hidden haven for the local people. Also, the squatter houses or bidonvilles (figure 1) are presented as an important element of the city, first developed in the 1930s accompanying the immigration from the countryside to the centre. Similar with the older part of the city the Casbah, developments that utilise the site and the configuration of space, creating the same isolated relationship of the indigenous house and including a diverse spectrum of functions. Aspects that where considered in the projects that French did. (Celik 1997) As a response to various sociopolitical reasons, squatter areas are not a pattern unique to Algiers, but has parallels in many countries. Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms of the colonial governance played a crucial role in the increase of this phenomenon in Algeria. Usually located on the edges of the city this movement was enforced by the housing shortage during the 1930s (when they first appeared), one of the main reasons of this movement was the impoverishment of the countryside and the attraction of Algiers as an employment centre.

Figure 1: La Mahieddine bidonville, Algiers, 1953 3

In the 19th century France established the french colonial rule, making its mission the “civilising” of the indigenous population. Acknowledging that the urban environment was the absolute expression of culture in the city, the french government “declared an ideological war on the medina”. (Djiar 2010) A place that nurtured a set of stereotypes and fantasies about the life in the medina. A community and a lifestyle well preserved away from the eyes of the colonists. Something that was illustrated from various artists (figure 2) creating an even more intriguing background for the “civilised” europeans. (Djiar 2009) The first action of this war was the demolition and complete destruction of the lower part of the medina in the April of 1831. The destruction of palaces and mosques followed by the construction of a new European style part of the city, something that contradicted every spatial attribute of the Ottoman medina. Their destruction was consequently translated into a phycological trauma for the native society filled with hatred about the deprivation of their cultural heritage. (Djiar 2010)

Figure 2: Nuit de Ramadan (Mohamed Racim, 1950s).

As Franz Fanon (2004) suggests “the colonial world is compartmentalised”, a world of two parts, the colonist, carrying the light, creating pared straight roads and possessing goods and the colonised, a world with no space, people on top of the other, hungry for basic needs, people full of lust and envy. This is exactly how french colonists perceived space, this is exactly how they designed it. French where not equipped with urbanistic tools which were able to address Algeria’s challenges and thus Algeria was a trial and error city in terms of design. And so a city full of racial, cultural and historical difference was created, something that dominates all building activity in Algiers creating a physical and architectural separation. (Celik 1997) Housing Policies The main tool of design introduced by France was the big housing projects or the “Grands Ensembles”, projects that dotted the unbuilt zones on the edge of the city and played a catalytic role in its development. What french colonists suggested was yet another means of separation between the two communities, providing a modern low-cost housing for the Algerians and, in the best of cases, a sanitised summary of the Algerian architecture. (Celik 1997) They were used as a political tool to isolate and tame the indigenous people, but these actions failed to do so. Vividly manifested the War of Independence transformed the social atmosphere of the settlements, turning the public squares and gardens into proper battlegrounds and army stations. For example, on 11 December 1960 about five thousand residents of Diar el-Mahçoul and the Mahieddine bidonville descended from the hills, joining the demonstrations downtown. (Celik 1997) Relocating indigenous population from shantytowns and the medina was also one of the main goals of the Grands Ensembles, as they were considered “perfect refuges for terrorists”. By creating a contradiction with the spatial typologies of the common courtyard house of the Kasbah French colonisers tried to configure “the new indigenous flat” that was targeted on creating enduring changes in the community, gender relationship and family structure. (Djiar 2010) What was unexpected though was the fact that the revolutionary armed struggle altered “exactly the same cultural aspects” that the colonisers wanted to alter, as Djiar (2010) shrewdly observed. This process happened as new tactics were required, especially in dense urban areas, as the Medina or shantytowns. The algerian revolution established what Dijar (2010) refers to 4

as “criteria of Algerianness” aka the patriotism of the individual. Franz Fanon (2004) refers to this cultural change especially regarding the change of the position of the woman in the society. “The abandonment of the veil, the detachment from family life all became gestures of patriotism.” Every house was made open to every algerian fighter, something that in the past would be considered inappropriate became the “biggest demonstration of patriotism”. This whole process of patchwork of housing and segregation and the never-ending shortage of housing has led to the creation of this peculiar bricolage of urban typologies. And quoting Rolnik (2011) “..the idea of housing as a fundamental right is deeply rooted in Algerian society and that the State considers the question of housing to be one of its main responsibilities..”. More so, the “mystical” character of the architecture and the structure of the city (the isolation of internal space, the maze-like feeling of space, the usage of rooftops for communication) created a secret and really powerful anti-colonial society. “The transformation of the built environment in Algiers had a multidimensional impact on the indigenous population” (Djiar 2009). As Djar (2010) asserts two main threads can be identified: One is the form of native reaction and the frank opposition with the increase of the anti-colonial movement. And the cultural merging that affects both sides (the colonisers and the colonised), leading to a “hybridity” or “transculturation”. Such were the circumstances that affected the colonial housing policy and the design principles of most of the architects that operated in Algiers. Pouillon is considered to be an architect that was sensible about space and his design principles were formed by the traditional principles of design and a respect to the creation of ethical urban conditions. But his design was heavily affected by the colonial housing demands that imposed a hasty approach to construction and the minimum requirements in terms of the housing units. The Design Principles of Climat de France The project is located in a rather isolated area, an urban island that is surrounded by main roads. Its proximity to the dense urban fabric of the Kasbah and the colonial military buildings located at the hillside create a challenging condition for a designer. Pouillon’s idea was to use an orthogonal grid following the contour lines and the slope of the valley, as a result the landscape of the site was modified in a process that lasted 18 months. A variety of buildings in different sizes was Figure 3: Climat de France site plan (Celik implemented on the area and every 1997) building was composed out of three different apartment units that varied in size and some of them included patios. (Avermaete, 2007) Poullion’s urban design principles where based on the idea of a continuous sequence of open shared spaces that with the aid of architecture, obtain a proper form. This concept was entitled “Promenade Urbain” in which “types, forms and positions of buildings and public spaces are inextricably linked in all cases”. Even the apartments were sometimes oriented in an unconventional way, or places halfway underground in order to create homogeneous facades or well proportioned gardens. Facing the problem of the housing shortage Pouillon was interested in a rapid, economic construction. ‘More and more I started to orient myself towards rapid and economic construction. I elaborated a method, a technique. I reworked the organisation of the construction process in order to make it more rational. I had to solve three problems: prices, deadlines, comfort . . . I was the first one to think simultaneously as an organiser, a financier, 5

an engineer, an inventor and an artist.” (Pouillon, 1968)

Figure 4: Climat de France areal photo (fernandpouillon.com)

The centrepiece of the project is a colossal rectangular housing complex in the middle of the site. Its facade is an extremely closed element with opening for windows and private balconies, that are protected by punctured walls. In the inner part a colonnade encircles the 223m long courtyard offering its name “200 Colonnes”. Two main axis are created one crossing the courtyard lengthwise and one perpendicular to it. Pouillon makes a game of antithesis combining in an interesting way the domestic scale and the monumental character. Looking at the colonnade from the central courtyard gives the feeling of a monument and creates a feeling of awe, but walking in the corridor they create one comes across 200 small shops and a Kasbah neighbourhood feeling. Its size and antithetical character makes it a remarkable experiment of monumental and domestic scale.

Figure 5: 200 Colonnes elevation (fernandpouillon.com) Oriental and cultural are important determinants in the design of Climat de France, Pouillon is constantly using housing in both human and monumental scale. Elements like balconies in every dwelling, that are protected with a perforated wall, and directed views in order to give privacy and shade are crucial in his design process. A tribute to the traditionally of Kasbah is the vast roof terrace that is designed as a place of socialisation for house chores an element that turned out to be highly unsuccessful as women refused to use the narrow stairs that were build for access. (Architecture mouvement continuite, 1983) Pouillon’s decision was highly critiqued by Albert-Paul Lentin, a French anti-colonial journalist discussed the “anachronism between the exterior appearance” and the microscopic design of the apartments, that many times had only one bedroom and were lacking a bathroom. But Pouillon claimed that it was a required measure to achieve this monumental scale and give comfort to a broad group of people. (Avermaete, 2007) And quoting his words: “The monument ‘Climat de France’ was born. It encompassed thirty hectares.What to think today of this composition? Is it a success or a failure? I could not say... Nevertheless, I am certain that this architecture was without contempt. Perhaps for the first time in modern times, we have installed human beings in a monument.” (Pouillon, 1968) At a first glance the project appears to be a collection of independent entities but the design process was well thought. The landscape is “interiorised and defined by its surrounding elements”. The idea of the modern isolated building block is still a principal element but three 6

architectural methods were being used in order to achieve a cohesion on the project. Beginning with the choice of materials, natural stone was being used to create the walls on the perimeter gave character to the complex and achieved an economic construction method. The use of rhythm throughout the project.1 The use of the landscape as a construction element creating horizontal and inclined open spaces. (Architecture mouvement continuite, 1983) Pouillonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design principles are indeed coloured with a sensibility about the landscape that it plays an important role to the design process and its incorporated in a very delicate and interesting way that responds to the conditions of the surroundings but also enhance it. The response to the urban demands of the period that it was designed and the implementation of a fast and economic way of construction is a lesson that the current government of Algiers could benefit from. But the constrains that were brought about in terms of the requirements of the quality of the housing units and the sociopolitical situation in the future has lead to a rather interesting situation in its current state.

Figure 6: Top left: the alleys inside the colonnade at 200 Colonnes Figure 7: Top right: the main axis at 200 Colonnes Figure 8: Bottom: 200 Colonnes areas photo (Avermaete, 2007) â&#x20AC;&#x153;1, was the side of the columns and the height of the base. 2, the space in between the columns. 3, the dimension of the monolithic lintel. 4, the width of the portico. 5, that is multiplied by 8, the dimensions of the square. 6, that is multiplied 40 (the dimension of the square) the length. 7, that is multiplied by 40, the overall length. 8, the height of the columns. 9, the height of the portico.â&#x20AC;? 7 1

Post-Colonial Period “After the war of independence a classic phenomenon took place in the city of Algiers, the departure of 300,000 european settlers in 1962 left 98,000 houses empty and the indigenous population invaded all the liberated flats. The medina on the other hand didn’t recover to its spatial importance of the past, as in the urban context social disparities manifested, despite the socialist tone of the new government, it came to be the home of the disadvantaged groups of Algerians.” (Djiar 2010) On the same logic as the Grandes Ensembles the unoccupied government implemented a hasty solution to the lingering housing problem of the city, introducing the ZHUN (new urban housing zones) housing project. Placed in the outskirts of the city lacking basic infrastructure and connectivity with the main urban fabric. Similarly with the Grands Ensembles they were considered a prime tool of urbanization promoting the sprawl of the city towards their position. They were built by state companies mainly utilising prefabricated constructions systems imported from Switzerland and Denmark. Its occupants often where the workers of the sites according on their performance they would acquire the units bigger apartments would be provided to higher employes. (Celik 1997) This urban history of Algiers has led to the radical change of the urban habits of its citizens, making the typical courtyard residence less suitable to the current requirements. As Djiar (2010) supports the main elements that made traditional housing and living in the medina obsolete are: “the small size of the bedrooms, the increasing multi functionality of the bedroom, the separated bathroom and kitchen, the lack of privacy in the house, the inappropriate thermal conditions and the general degradation of the buildings”. On the other hand he recognise the significance of the community lifestyle, with festivities and religious celebrations that create a social unity in the old town and the use of the roof terraces as an urban common space that fosters social contact between the citizens. Nowadays, people prefer to leave independently against the basic principle of the courtyard unattached to their larger family. Currently Algeria is focusing on the retail, offices and tourism which have more potentials in term of profitability than the residential housing projects. As it is documented in the report for Algeria by the Oxford Business Group (2010) every part of the real estate market is experiencing strong demand. A large number of multinational cooperation are investing in the region and most of them are from the gulf area. The growth of the population has led to a high demand of housing stock. Programmes have been launched by the government in an effort to meet the demand that was estimated in 2m housing units by 2017. While public housing is a fast growing segment the government is promoting homeownership among the middle-class. (Oxford Business Group, 2010) One of the most peculiar situation in Algeria is the system of land ownership, and its only since 1974 that the market became open to local people. Acquiring land from the government still remains a really difficult task that refers to people that have the money and power to do it. This situation has resulted to a rather disturbing landscape with skyscrapers that are being duplicated all over the city. (Oliver, 2007) But Algeria seems to be in a limbo concerning the housing problem. Globalisation seems to have conquered their goals and dreams as a form of postmodern colonialism, as Silbey (1996) describes in her essay. “Local cultures are being colonised by global markets” and such a market is that of the gulf recipe. As seen in the most recent proposals the Algerian government is trying to apply the gulf dream into Algiers, by designing huge housing proposals and leisure developments, that in most cases remain as ghost project that are never realised. Dubai is the hope for the Arab world and quoting Reisz (2010) “It is now a cliche to mention that children in Algeria proudly don Dubai T-shirts depicting skyline and camels” It is really interesting to see how Algiers evolved in the post-colonial period, people immediately claimed any available empty dwelling embracing in a way the colonial architectural 8

and urban environment. Making the european parts of the city the most lively and used parts of the city in contrast with various colonial and current housing projects. The fact that the algerian government continued the same practices with the colonisers does reveal the strong strong dependence on the colonisation process and the tremendous housing shortage that Algeria is facing today. This urban evolution has led to the degradation of several areas in the city that face the problem of overcrowding and consequently Climat de France was heavily affected. The current situation of Climat de France The current situation in the estate is rather different than the one imagined by Pouillon and showcased in the stunning commercials (see archive). The number of people living in the estate is estimated around 30,000. Families that have up to nine children living in a two or three room flat. The housing problem in Algiers has led to a common situation forcing extended families to live under the same roof. “The smallest apartment has a 9m2 bedroom, with a stove in the corner and no bathroom, just a toilet.” (The Guardian, 2012) “Muhammad said he lived in the city since 1962 and its repeated requests for housing since 1976, have never been taken into account. He lives in cramped three-room apartment with his family of 15. Sometimes I think of suicide, when the night I hear the whispers of my brother and his wife in their intimacy” (Le Matin DZ, 2011) The 200 Colonnes complex has been completely reappropriated by its inhabitants, “illegal structures made of bricks have been built on the flat roof of the housing block and almost every opening on the facade that used to serve as a balcony has been modified to an extra bedroom along with the cellars”. Le Monde refers to the estate as “reminiscent of a prison yard”, all the small shops surrounding the courtyard are illegal and “There are dealers selling Mother Courage, a powerful, destructive drug costing 200 dinars ($2.50) a tab.” Although many of the young people prefer to deal drugs for a living many residents do have jobs supporting their extended families. (The Guardian, 2012) In January 2011, along with the demonstration in Tunisia the local residents decided to claim the streets building a shanty town that was completely destroyed three months later with a clash that left 50 people injured. The destruction of the illegal settlement of 150 houses left people once again homeless of forced them to return to their crowded family house. (Le Matin DZ, 2011)

Figure 9: Current situation of the courtyard in 200 Colonnes (Le Monde, 2012)

Influenced by the notion that decolonisation could be considered a form of profanation as discussed in the Book of Profanation by Sandi Hilal et.al. people have dominated space in Climat de France in the most profound way altering the character that was intended. Making a european housing monument to the monument of the Algerian harsh reality, that desperately seeks solution to the housing problem and protests on the streets when needed. What was meant to be a complex to allocate and control people has become the exact opposite.

Figures 10-13: The current urban environment of Algiers (http://www.aadl.com.dz)

Conclusion Colonial architectural practices/urbanism is believed to be an inconsiderate process of division and preconception towards indigenous people. Creating projects in order to separate and create a distinguish urban environments between the european crowd and the indigenous is considered to be a common practice in various colonialised cities. Nevertheless compering modern practices of urban design in Algiers with what was applied by Pouillon in his colonial project for the city it is rather obvious that his approach is a far more elegant one. His consideration about the urban environment its a lesson that not only the Algerian government but also any other modern developer could acquire knowledge from. Even though some of his critical ideas are driven by the preconceptions of orientalism and his personal aspiration of the monumental scale the urban realm that is generated is far more interesting than a mere repetition of indistinctive towers. What is alarming, but expected in a way, is that the urban practices that the Algerian government is implementing today are of similar mentality of the colonial period. The discrimination pattern has shifted from indigenous vs europeans to the distinction between classes and income. Of course the current demand for housing is forcing the creation of solutions that are hasty and economic but it seems that capitalism is the new colonial power. As Agamben discusses in his book â&#x20AC;&#x153;Profanationsâ&#x20AC;? (2007), capitalism has become a new kind of religion and in the case of Algiers it has taken over in the form of repetitive residential towers of poor quality. But communities form even under the toughest of situations and as people reappropriated 200 Colonnes making it a proper monument of their harsh reality, in the same way people will always reappropriate space and use it in the most expected or unexpected way. But what is the position of design through this process? In Pouillonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s example the architectural elements that compose the urban reality are either being used in the way that were designated but the majority has been reappropriated or rejected from the start. And maybe that is what designers should consider in their solutions, the need of people to adjust space, to appropriate and own it.

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