DIALECTIC TERRITORIES

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DIALECTIC TERRITORIES Introducing citizenship in self regulated areas. Tangier, Morocco

NICOLE ROCHETTE GARMENDIA Student Number 110064136 Tutors: Jonathan Kendall + Assemblage UCL | The Bartlett School of Architecture MArch Urban Design 2012/2013



DIALECTIC TERRITORIES Introducing citizenship in self regulated areas.

1. INTRODUCTION 2.

TANGIER: THE TERRITORY OF SELF REGULATION

2.1

Tangier: the margins of a city on the edge

2.2

Migration into urban centres: the Mediterranean in movement.

2.3

Sprawl: urban consequences of a rapid population growth

2.4

Non regulatory neighbourhoods: the territory of self regulation

3.

DIALECTIC TERRITORIES

3.1

A project on the territory: responding to a particular logic of production

3.2

Citizenship and scale: spaces for representation

3.3

A dialectic approach: the horizontal as a possibility

4. REFERENCES 5. ESSAY

Territory as a physical condition:

the case of non-regulatory housing neighbourhoods in Tangier, Morocco.

6. APPENDIX 6.1

Design iterations for Tangier

6.2

Drawing as Conjecture: The Mediterranean as a space of circulation

6.3

Brief research on the city of Cairo

6.4

Metropolitan Acupuncture: Urban oasis in Cairo

6.5

High Streets analysis: Kentish Town Road

6.6

Kentish Town Road and the river Fleet

6.7

Analysis of Euston station and square

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In a context where the predominant environment consists in a sprawling blanket of housing that spreads beyond the urban realm, a project that proposes a dialectic order attempts to generate spaces of differentiation. Having as the main objective to introduce large scale functions into homogeneous housing environments, the research insists on attaining a horizontal surface through topographic operations, in an effort to generate directionalities and enhance the qualities of the context.

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DOUBLE PAGE PHOTO BEFORE INTRODUCTION

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Previous pages: view of Mghoha neighbourhood. / Annick Meiers 2013.

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TANGIER The margins of a city on the edge.

The city of Tangier is the largest urban centre of the Moroccan Mediterranean coast. It is strategically located in one of the few meeting points (or rather proximity points) between Africa and Europe across the Mediterranean Sea, rendering it heavily strategic in geopolitical terms. At the same time, a country that historically had focused its development further south is now seeing its northern regions arise as large and constantly changing urban centres. It has been subject during the last decades to strong migratory movements both from foreign and rural regions, intensely pressuring over its built capacity. These conditions allowed for the condensation of particular urban phenomena which is transversal to most southern Mediterranean cities, mainly regarding the issue of housing large quantities of new urban populations. This issue has been dealt with differently according to the diverse contexts it is confronted with, and in the case of Tangier, the political conditions favoured a vast proliferation of self-built houses extending the limits of the urban realm.

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MIGRATION INTO URBAN CENTRES The Mediterranean in movement.

Migration plays an important role in the evolution of Mediterranean cities. The north of Morocco in particular is both a place of immigration and emigration, as migrants from sub Saharan Africa pass through Morocco expecting to reach Europe, representing a significant cultural component of the growth of urban centres. Even more numerous are the internal migrations between rural and urban zones, attracted by the work available in the area. These processes result in an accelerated growth of the urban areas, since the need for permanent residency is confronted with a saturated and degraded urban fabric and insufficient offer of adequate low-cost housing. The areas of the region which are still not urbanised come therefore into tension because of the forces that hover over it, and when the existing urban structures become surpassed by the demands, the territories outside of the urban realm become contested territories.

POSSIBILITIES OF CIRCULATION The combination of multiple movement trajectories depict the potential connections across the Mediterranean, most of which are unilateral. The Mediterranean as a space of circulation, 2013.

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Tunis

0

50

100

Tangier

200 KM

Ceuta

Selouane Melilla Zaio Aklim Berkane Ahr Beni Drar Maghnia

Algiers

Main migratory routes

Oujda Rabat

Roads and highways

Fes

Casablanca

Desert path

Mohammed V InternaƟonal Airport

Unknown trajectory

Tripoli Bouarfa

Points of departure/ crossing Transit hubs

Ghardaia

Aïn Chouatèr

Main destinations Agadir

Adrar Sabha

Djanet

Tamanrasset

Zouérat

Bordj Badji Mokhtar Nouadhibou

Tessalit Tin ZaouaƟne In Guezzam Dirkou Arlit

Bilma

NouakchoƩ

Faya-Largeau

Agadez Gao St Louis

Dakar Zinder

Niamey Sokoto Bamako

Kano

N'Djamena

Conakry

Freetown

Monrovia

Lagos Accra Abidjan

Yaounde

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Bangui


MIGRATORY ROUTES IN WESTERN AFRICA There are many trans-Saharan routes, most of which arrive to Morocco through the city of Agadez. Once across the Sahara, the Subsaharan migrants remain within their Maghrebi societies.

Map according to information found in these sources: - Overland and maritime migration routes to North Africa, the Middle East and Western Europe / de Haas, Hein (2007): The Myth of Invasion: Irregular Migration from West Africa to the Maghreb and the European Union . International Migration Institute, University of Oxford - L’immigration subsaharienne au Maroc / MGHARI, Mohamed, 2008, Euro-Mediterranean Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM).

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40 35 30

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10,6

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2 years

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10-12 years

Length of stay of subsaharan migrants in Morocco, 2007.

Still frame from the movie “14 kilometros”

“La question migratoire au Maroc : données récentes” CARIM 2011.

ROUTE CHECKS IN THE SAHARA

http://immigrationclandestine.com/

Still frame from the movie “14 kilometros”

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Place of entry of subsaharan migrants to Morocco

THE JOURNEY

“L’immigration subsaharienne au Maroc, Analyse

Route d’Adrar, panoramio.com.

AMERM 2008.

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4 years

THE START OF A JOURNEY

CLANDESTINE IMMIGRATION TRUCKS

16

3 years

socio - économique”


THE JOURNEY Migrants find themselves spending long periods of time in the places they traverse. The north of Morocco receives an important amount of immigrants into its urban centres.

Immigrants outside an immigration centre in Melilla

Subsaharan immigrants in the road to Ceuta, 2012.

http://www.dw.de

Type of habitation of subsaharan migrants in transit in

Men detained in Bouarfa

Morocco (% by nationality)

http://www.agora-presse.com

Source: “L’immigration subsaharienne au Maroc, Analyse

socio -

économique” AMERM 2008.

Future plan of subsaharan migrants in Morocco

Harraga (immigrants in Arabic)

“L’immigration subsaharienne au Maroc, Analyse

http://www.jansochor.com/photo-essay/haraga.html

socio - économique”

AMERM 2008.

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Tangier Prison Status: In use (2011) Location: Tangier Type: Prison Detention Timeframe: Long-term Security: Secure Management: Prison Administration (L’administration pénitentiaire)

Tétouan Prison Status: In use (2011) Location: Tétouan Type: Prison Detention Timeframe: Long-term Security: Secure Management: Prison Administration (L’administration pénitentiaire)

Oued Laou Prison Status: In use (2011) Location: Oued Laou Type: Prison Detention Timeframe: Long-term Security: Secure Management: Prison Administration (L’administration pénitentiaire)

Al Hoceima Prison Status: In use (2011) Location: Al Hoceima Type: Prison Detention Timeframe: Long-term Security: Secure Management: Prison Administration (L’administration pénitentiaire)

0

5

10

20 KM

Circulation and detention Frontier line Detention site Roads Railways

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TRANSITING NORTH MOROCCO The northern coast of Morocco and other north African countries are currently undergoing strong changes, 0

5

10

20 KM

Circulation and detention Frontier line Detention site

mainly due to urban population increases. Map according to information found in Global Detention Project updated April 2011. www. globaldetentionproject.org

Roads Railways

Prison de Oujda Nador Prison Status: In use (2011) Location: Nador Type: Prison Detention Timeframe: Long-term Security: Secure Management: Prison Administration (L’administration pénitentiaire)

Status: In use (2011) Location: Oujda, Eastern Morocco (border with Algeria) Type: Prison Detention Timeframe: Long-term Security: Secure Management: Prison Administration (L’administration pénitentiaire)

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Fahs-Anjra Fahs-Anjra

Tanger-Assilah Tanger-Assilah

Tetouan Tetouan

Larache Larache

Chefchaouen Chefchaouen

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5 5

10 10

20 KM 20 KM

Administrative divisions of Tangier Tetouan region, 2004 Administrative divisions of Tangier Tetouan region, 2004 Province/Prefecture limit Province/Prefecture limit Commune limit Commune limit Urban commune Urban commune

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Chefchaouen

THE TANGIER PENINSULA Administrative organisation of the region, highlighting the urban communes. According to Les évolutions du découpage administratif de la péninsule tingitane. 1956-2004 / Le Tellier, Julien: “Les recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord”.

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0

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20 KM

Permanency in the region Populated area Approximative location dead bodies Roads

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SPRAWL Urban consequences of a rapid population growth.

Tangier is currently the main destination of migratory movements in the region, and has for the last decades gone through a rapid urbanisation process. After Tangier lost its international status and was annexed to Morocco, the city expanded beyond the limits of the international period, observing an intense population growth precisely while the city did not have any plans or orientations for the development. As a result, Tangier observed an intense growth, a random expansion resulting in an uneven territory, a city that is polarised between a compact centre and a dispersed periphery. The sense of dispersion is amplified by the topography: scattered pieces of the city attempt to function as a whole in what is an uneven piece of land, with infrastructures laboriously attempting to connect it and with a noticeable deficiency of basic services. This sprawl, a result of the city bound migration confronted with a saturated and degraded urban fabric and insufficient low-cost housing has put pressure over the preexisting farm land, modifying the periphery of the city in a substantial manner. The authorities have attempted to control this sprawl, mainly through the enforcement of a limit to the urban area, without effectively reducing the rate at which the footprint of the city continues to grow. Within this scenario, a particular type of habitation appears especially marginalised and numerous. The most peripheral and hilly areas are covered with a blanket of single family housing units, with a visible homogeneity.

URBAN REGION Satellite image showing the north peninsula with its two major cities, Tangier and TĂŠtouan, facing the Spanish coast. Google earth satellite image, 2013.

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URBAN AREA Satellite image showing the surface of the urban area and its reaches. Google earth satellite image, 2013.

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URBAN LIMIT The Urban Agency of Tangier has drawn a limit for the growth of the city, attempting to incorporate land ownership and future developments into the equation. Tangier’s urban territory and limits / Agence Urbaine de Tanger, 2013.

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0

ACCELERATED GROWTH RATE

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500

1000

Urban growth until 1919

Map according to historical Google earth satellite

until 1948

images.

until 2002

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1000

Urban growth

The urban footprint is already surpassing the limit established by the Urban Agency.

500

2000 m

until 1919 until 1948 until 2002

2000 m


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TANGIER’S HILLS The brick predominance is evident even from afar, rendering the hills red and saturated with housing. This page: view from Aouama neighbourhood / http:// www.tripmondo.com/morocco/region-de-tangertetouan/aouama/

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HOUSING SPRAWL Recent neighbourhoods have reached a high density, leaving small isles of empty land between them that has not yet been built. This page: view of Beni Makada district. / Nina Vidic, 2013.

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NON REGULATORY NEIGHBOURHOODS The territory of self regulation

Close to 30% of Tangier is now built through a single typology. It is officially referred to (among other less adequate terms) as Non-Regulatory Housing (NRH). Its advance dates back to the 1970s and presented a strong growth in the 80s and 90s, and basically consists on a collection of significantly populated neighbourhoods scattered around the city’s hills and former agricultural areas. The logic of addition of single family units into neighbourhoods creates a condition where vast zones are dormitory areas, with a high dependency to the central parts of the city and without network services. These types of constructions are easily recognisable since they share a very particular typology: their typological homogeneity is based upon structural principles, economic logic, and space qualities, together with a common isolation condition and a particular legal framework.

A REPETITIVE MODULE The self-built typology has spread rapidly and is present throughout the city, generating impressive scenarios.

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NON REGULATORY AREAS These developments are located mainly around the south and south-east areas of the city: neighbourhoods such as Beni Makada, Bir Chifa, Moghogha, Sania, Tanja Balia, etc. represent different relevant products of this process.

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500

1000

2000 m

Recognition of non regulatory housing areas Urban footprint Non regulatory neighbourhoods Urban limit

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A BLANKET The repetition of the module is even more evident when the slope is stronger, generating views towards the hills which are covered with similar housing blocks. In most cases, the limits of established neighbourhoods can be easily recognised.

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OCCUPATION OF FARMLAND The advance of self built housing is seen as a menace to the remaining agricultural land surrounding Tangier, even though most of it is located on the hills. This page, top: Limites entre les terres agricoles de Bousemlal et le quartier Korret Sbaâ (2003) / Le Tellier, Julien: “Les recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord” This page, centre: Vues du lotissement de Prévention (Tétouan, 2003) / Le Tellier, Julien: “Les recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord”

EVOLUTION FROM RURAL VILLAGES The non-regulatory housing neighbourhoods continue to multiply and some have grown out of a densification of previous douars or rural villages. Rural inhabitants and migrants come together in a semi-urban condition that permeates the region.

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GROWTH PROCESS These pictures show the changes occurred between 2009 and 2013 from the same point of view. Some areas that used to be slums have evolved into more permanent settlement, while the only open land left belongs to a cemetery. Unlike the bidonvilles or slums, these dwellings are rarely subject to relocation procedures, since they are not built on state owned land, are of fairly solid construction and widely distributed. This page, top: View of Bir Chifa, 2009 / http://nikoetluceontheroad.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/aiel-kebir-acte-2-tanger.htm

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AN ESTABLISHED SITUATION The extents of this model of housing can be seen throughout the entire region. This mechanism of building has resulted in a permanent condition, which could be considered the main social housing programme in Tangier Various images / Le Tellier, Julien: “Les recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord�

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LAND SECURING The designation of non regulatory has to do with a common “irregular” condition regarding existing urban laws. This is not only a legal issue: this particular form of access to urban land has significant effects in the resulting urban fabric and its configuration. The first step towards attaining urban land consists in building a parapet which is allowed outside of the urban limit. Morocco has a very low land registration rate and most plots of non regulatory buildings are not registered in the cadastre. The farmlands go through a process of illegal subdivision of property, and the “mother” titles are fragmented into several individual plots that do not have property titles registered with the cadastre and land conservation services. This page, top: Réserves foncières gelées au bord de la route de Tanger (Tétouan, 2003) / Le Tellier, Julien: “Les recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord”

RAPID CONSTRUCTION AND ILLEGALITY The need to “secure” property promotes a fast building procedure, and this necessity explains the proliferation of uniform building techniques and housing typologies..

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CLUSTERING PROCESS Areas densify progressively, usually starting from a single agricultural settlement or through a system of plot divisions that respond to different motives. This page: Google earth satellite image of Jamaa Ben Mohamed, Tangier. 2003.

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BUILDING PROCESS This building systems is strongly embedded in the Moroccan culture. The addition of rooms and floors follows the needs of a growing and extended family, even though the current process is more standardised and structurally solid. This page, top: Les phases de l’autoconstruction (Cote, 1998) / Le Tellier, Julien: “Les recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord”.

STAGES OF COMPLETION Single family houses at different stages. Most houses are built progressively, adding floors as they are required. The more recent developments however immediately contemplate the upper floors.

LOCAL AND LOW TECH The prevailing building system is explained by economic reasons as well as the available building knowledge, In lack of a better or less expensive alternative, even the ceilings are built with bricks, held together by a series of concrete joists This artisanal method allows the system to be adapted depending on the particular circumstances, resulting in a very flexible but efficient system.

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SPACE FOR GROWTH Most buildings display their stages of incompletion. Some buildings are kept closed until it is sold to someone else, in a speculative trend that keeps increasing in the region.

A CONSTANT PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTION Until the built fabric has reached its maximum capacity, neighbourhoods are in an ongoing construction phase. Materials are stocked on the rooftops awaiting for the next floor to be built, as soon as the budget allows it. The historical growth of a particular neighbourhood can then be inferred from the status of the built fabric.

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3,00 mt 3,00 mt 3,50 mt (variable)

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THE GRID: THE CONJUGATION OF SIMPLE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS The typological uniformity is manifested through the construction technique. A 3Basel x ETH 3 mt square module is of ETH study Studio ETH of Basel Studio construction study Basel ETHof Studio study process construction Basel construction study process of construction process process ETH Studio Basel study of Studio construction process the basic building block of the non regulated areas, and can be understood as a political technology. Single building unit Single buildingSingle unit building Single building unitSingle unitbuilding unit

46 UCL | The Bartlett School of Architecture | MArch UD These types of constructions These types are easily ofThese constructions recognisable types Theseoftypes are constructions since easily These of constructions they recognisable types share areofeasily aconstructions very are since recognisable particular easily they recognisable are share typology: easily since a very they recognisable since their particular share they typological ashare very typology: since particular ahomogeneity they verytheir share particular typology: typological a very typology: particular their homogeneity typological their typology: typological homogeneity theirhomogeneity typological homogeneity is based upon structural is based principles, upon economic is structural basedisupon based logic, principles, structural upon andisspace economic based structural principles, qualities, upon logic, principles, structural economic together and space economic principles, with logic, qualities, aand common logic, economic space together andisolation qualities, space logic, with qualities, condition and together a common space together and with qualities, isolation aa common with together condition a common isolation with and isolation acondition acommon condition and isolation a and condition a and a particular legal framework. particular legalparticular framework. particular legal framework. legal particular framework. legal framework.

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PHASED CONSTRUCTION Analysis of the possible variations in the building process of a single unit. The system allows for certain flexibility but maintains throughout its variation the basic module and principles. ETH Studio Basel study of construction logic: Madinat Errahma (draft), 2008. /http://www.studio-basel. com/projects/casablanca-08/student-work/madinaterrahma.html

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RANDOM PLACEMENT When the parcelling is not strict, the resulting fabric depends strongly on the circumstantial location of roads, neighbours and networks. This is even more evident when the terrain has stronger slopes.

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LINEAR ORIENTATION Units arranged side to side and back to back, creating a more dense ensemble. This system creates long finger-like strips that originate narrow streets or paths between them, giving an appearance of order but hindering road access and reducing the amount of light that gets into the buildings and public space.

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LOW DENSITY The zones where the density is still low have large areas of land which remains undefined. Houses limit directly with this land which usually receives waste and construction debris.

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HIGH DENSITY Neighbourhoods closer to the centre of the city, and especially the older ones, have attained a high level of density and have very little open space left between buildings. This density has led the emergence of local commerce and activities that have carved within the tight fabric.

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GAPS The logic of agricultural plot divisions together with terrain irregularities and phased building times, leaves creases in the dense fabric that can be seen as opportunities.

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UNDER EQUIPPED Regarding their urban condition, these areas are given the appellation of “under equipped� neighbourhoods because of their lack of basic infrastructure. The absence or deficiency of network services (water, sanitation, electricity) gives these neighbourhoods the more frequent name of habitat insalubre (unhealthy habitat), which is commonly used by the Moroccan authorities. However, most inhabitants manage to make up for the deficient access to service networks by either connecting illegally to them or relying on open water sources and fountains. The lack of public facilities such as schools and clinics is however more persistent.

TERRAIN The buildings hold and irregular status: the absence of a preceding building permit is accompanied with a subsequent transgression of other construction regulations. Non-ĂŚdificandi areas are overlooked and as a result, most dwellings end up being built on what is considered to be non buildable terrains. The outskirts of Tangier have a rugged topography, and terrains with strong slopes (higher than 15% and 20%) leave gaps within the built fabric that are then filled up by occupants that take advantage of its state of neglect. Flood areas are also used for building, together with waterways, which summed up with strong slopes give way to dangerous landslides.

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RESTRUCTURING PROCEDURES In the last years, a significant part of neighbourhoods have benefited from the introduction of basic infrastructure as part of restructuring programmes. The Moroccan programme “Villes sans bidonvillesâ€? launched in 2004 also contemplated these kinds of developments within their objectives. The direct interventions mainly contemplate equipment infrastructure such as sanitation and roads (water and electricity networks theoretically remain the responsibility of the owners), together with land regularization. In most cases, it is impossible to serve all dwellings with road access or services. In the end, most restructuring procedures cannot attain complete servicing and are accompanied by the painting of facades and planting of vegetation to make the overall image change more dramatically. This page, top images: Restructuring process in Houmat Chouk, with an emphasis on the painting of buildings. Mise Ă niveau urbaine de Haoumat Chouk / Holding Al Omrane

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UNDERSTANDING TERRITORY The non regulatory building mechanism works over the territory applying its own set of rules and regulations. The placement of single blocks onto the topography is an operation that modifies the environment with a particular objective, resulting in a superposition of one order onto another.

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A PROJECT ON THE TERRITORY Responding to a particular logic of production

The non regulatory periphery of Tangier calls for a re-founding project. Continuing to regard these areas as a problematic or defective share of the city will only extend and accentuate an approach which only focuses on remediating contingencies. While the introduction of basic services and community programmes is a necessary objective, the emphasis should rather be placed on what these interventions can generate in a larger sense. The state has the opportunity of granting a more permanent sense of citizenship than through the mechanical resolution of sanitation and transportation problems, or than the construction of sparse educational, health or administrative facilities. Without undermining the importance of these actions, engaging with a territory of this magnitude obliges to undertake further ambitions regarding the role that these represent within the communities they relate with. So the question arises as how to address the matter of sprawl in a positive manner, proposing mechanisms that move away from standard - and standardised - procedures. Rather than considering the urban conditions of these areas as a problem that needs to be resolved, how can this territory be problematised?

It is important to stress the fact that the areas in question have been produced through very different political, economic and social processes, and are built over different topographic and terrain conditions than the rest of the city. These particularities allow to recognise them as a territory in themselves, contiguous but different from the pre-existing Tangier. This territory can easily be distinguished from the rest of the urban footprint, resulting in a polarisation between a more compact centre and a more dispersed (but nonetheless dense) periphery. This relationship can be better articulated as Tangier actually being composed of three different “cities”: the Medina (with its traditional courtyard houses), the French planned city (composed of boulevards and 8 floor buildings), and the non-regulated domain. Each of these cities has a particular prevailing typology and cultural specificity, while coexisting under a same administrative body. In this regard, Tangier’s recently created Urban Agency published in 2011 a document showing the areas which are “open for urbanization or development” for the entire country. For the Tangier region, the development area reaches up to the urban limit, envisioning large areas for housing and infrastructure projects. This document however disregards the vacant land contiguous to the non regulatory neighbourhoods, this “middle territory” made up of self-built housing and strong slopes (except for some indications regarding the future restructuring of some areas). The superposition of the existing footprint and the areas destined for development leaves an area of uncertainty that could eventually serve the expansion or continuation of an undifferentiated housing development. Considering the possible expansion areas, what are today territories in the margins of the city will become the gravitational centre of the formerly peripheral territories. What project can be drawn over such a territory?

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Observing the way in which the territory is organised, it is important to note how in a context where there were no planned orientations, the resulting condition is a non oriented, undifferentiated sprawl whose main system of reference is the actual terrain over which it is built. Terrain conditions, together with simple and low cost building techniques, become the main urban guidelines and constraints. At the same time, the scale and density of the non-regulated areas allow to think of them as a separate reality, and by doing so, imagine a new underlying order for it. Rather than attempting to link them and understand them in relation to the more structured parts of city, what is proposed is a procedure that would allow for a certain autonomy. Whereas the peripheral areas of Tangier appear as a difficult and fragmented area to the inhabitants of the plains, the logic of the topography sheds light on how to approach any kind of intervention within it. We can look at the existing developments together with the available land around them, and consider the entire resulting surface as material for project, as the problematic itself. When doing this, the particular conditions present in the territory in question become evident. It consists of a collection of hills, of soft but repeating slopes, that host a series of more cohesive settlements. At the same time, the entire area has very little flat land, and any intervention necessarily should deal with the slope as a condition. A Delaunay projection of the territory (triangulation of the topography) allows breaking it down to its planar components and selecting areas of intervention which are of different surfaces and slopes. The project should be capable of proliferating over the territory, following the growth and densification of housing clusters. The intention is to propose a new possibility for these areas. The project seeks to create a new scenario where scale and geometry are used in order to generate spaces for the community. Given the real necessity of incorporating elements of civility so to make the area effectively manageable, the action of the state is reoriented towards providing the basic programmes and services in a more strategic way. Thus, the state not only provides the structures, but also an infra-structure, a new way of understanding the territory and of orienting future development, which is based on the idea of citizenship and allows for spaces of representation to arise. These interventions would represent an anomaly, a moment of exception within the homogeneous fabric, inherently attracting activity and creating points of gravitation.

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NON REGULATORY URBAN FABRIC The grain of non regulatory neighbourhoods is identifiable from above. While some of the neighbourhoods are immersed in the urban footprint, large areas appear completely disconnected from it.

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Recognition of non regulatory housing Recognition areas of non regulatory housing areas

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Urban footprint

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Non regulatory neighbourhoods

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Urban limit


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ISOLATION Most neighbourhoods present a poor connectivity to the rest of the city, depending highly on a system of taxi routes to get to main roads and highways.

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Connectivity and Transport Roads

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Main roads and highways

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Bus routes Taxi routes Point of connection to road network

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GEOGRAPHIC DETERMINANTS The direction that the urban growth took in absence of enforced regulations was heavily influenced by the terrain conditions in these areas. While the flat, secure and easier to develop areas closer to the coast were under stronger control, flood zones, steep terrains and agricultural areas were kept with a looser hand, which gave way to unrestricted construction.

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Waterways

Slopes > 15%

Flood areas

Slopes > 20%

Non regulated neighbourhoods

Forest areas

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THREE CITIES When distinguishing this territory from the rest of the urban footprint, it is evident that Tangier is actually composed of three main “cities�: the traditional Medina (with its traditional courtyard houses), the French planned city (composed of boulevards and 8 floor buildings), and the non regulated territory.

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Traditional fabric/ Medina

Traditional Non regulated fabric/ Medina neighbourhoods

Non regulated neighbourhoods

R+7 with commercial ground floor

Urban limit R+7 with commercial ground floor

Urban limit

R+1 to R+7 main roads with commerce

R+1 to R+7 main roads with commerce

Villas / palaces / single family dwellings

Villas / palaces / single family dwellings

Industrial zones

Industrial zones

Green areas

Green areas

Equipments

Equipments


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PLANNED DEVELOPMENT The Urban Agency has recently published a document showing the areas which are “open for urbanization or development”, which reaches up to the urban limit but however disregards the “middle territory”, except for some indications regarding their future restructuring. Atlas des zones ouvertes à l’urbanisation, 2011. www.marocurba.gov.ma

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Port / Airport areas

Port /Non Airport regulated areas neighbourhoods

Non regulated neighbourhoods

Tourism

Urban limit Tourism

Urban limit

R+1 to R+7

Areas R+1 to R+7to be restructured

Areas to be restructured

Villas / palaces / single family dwellings

VillasStrategic / palacesreserve / single family dwellings

Strategic reserve

Industrial zones

Non aedificandi Industrial zones

Non aedificandi

Green areas

Green areas

Equipments

Equipments


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MIDDLE TERRITORY The superposition of the existing footprint and the areas destined for development leaves an area of uncertainty that could eventually serve the expansion or continuation of an undifferentiated housing development.

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Prospective urbanisation

Prospective urbanisation

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Vacant intermediate lands

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Non regulatory housing

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Urban limit

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POTENTIAL EXPANSION Taking into consideration the areas not yet developed, the resulting surface is a potential terrain for the expansion of housing districts, since no other destinations have been given.

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Potential expansion territories

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Existing non regulatory areas

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Potential expansion land

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Urban limit


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PLANAR COMPONENTS OF THE TERRITORY A triangular projection allows to extract planar components, understanding the slope and orientation.

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Delaunay - triangular projection of the Delaunay territory - triangular projection of the territory

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Triangular planes over satellite photo

Triangular planes over satellite photo

Urban limit

Urban limit


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PROLIFERATION The project follows the density of settlements, selecting areas of intervention according to urban and terrain conditions.

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Project over the territory

Triangular planes

Triangular planes

Location of topographical interventions

Location of topographical interventions

Propective interventions Urban limit

Propective interventions Urban limit


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VOLUMETRIC TERRAIN The selected surface is understood as a potential for the development of the project.

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CITIZENSHIP AND SCALE Spaces for representation

The outskirts of Tangier is a territory composed of the addition of individuals: every single family unit is placed next to the following, in an operation that is repeated in an iterative manner over the topography. The repetition of this simple operation represents both its strength and its weakness, when failing to generate spaces for the resulting collectivity. As discussed earlier, the state has progressively responded to the situation by incorporating roads, public facilities and networks. The population rightly regards these as a validation from society, and consider the permanent home water connection as significant of a right of citizenship. However the state has a chance to rethink the way in which it penetrates within these areas of the city, anticipating future needs for management and representation. The proposal then addresses the development of these peri-urban areas of Tangier, aiming to establish community access to political representation throughout the urban fabric, intensifying or creating local centralities within and between non-regulated neighbourhoods The strategies within the neighbourhoods differ according to the state of completion and density of the intervened settlements, and the objective is to introduce an urban component that will incorporate new functions and scales in contrast with the predominance of a homogeneous housing environment.

FRAGMENTATION The area is composed basically and primarily of single family buildings. Very few structures diversify the surroundings.

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ADMINISTRATIVE PARTITION Before 2003, the Tangier-Asilah prefecture included three urban municipalities (communes urbaines): Tangier Medina, Charf and Asilah, while the urban municipality of Beni Makada (where most non regulatory neighbourhoods are found) was the head of the prefecture of Beni Makada. Since 2003, the urban district of Beni Makada becomes one of the four districts (arrondissements) of the city of Tanger and joined the Prefecture of Tangier-Asilah. According to “Evolution découpage communal Tanger” / Le Tellier, Julien: “Les recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord”.

TANGER MEDINA

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SOUANI CHARF MGHOHA

BNI MAKADA

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LOCAL GOVERNMENTS Local governments appear as a potential for the meeting of future public facilities. They hold an important role in terms of relationship between inhabitants and authorities.

TANGER MEDINA

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Location and scope of administrative entitiesand scope of administrative entities Location Municipality

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District limit

TANGER MEDINA


TANGER VILLE SOUANI

CHARF MGHOHA

BNI MAKADA

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Location and scope of commercial activities Shopping centre Souk / Market Urban limit Urban footprint Non regulatory neighbourhoods

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES While large commercial centres are mainly located in the central areas of the city, the periphery relies mostly on small scale markets.

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Location and scope of recreation activities Stadium Theatre / Cinema / Large park Green areas / Museum / Art Gallery Urban limit Urban footprint Non regulatory neighbourhoods

RECREATION The traditional areas of the city have an exceptional amount of cinemas and art centres, while the periphery shows an increasing number of sports terrains responding to a higher amount of young population.

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Location and scope of educational facilities University High School / Professional institute Primary School Nursery Urban limit Urban footprint Non regulatory neighbourhoods

EDUCATION Educational facilities are fairly evenly distributed across the city. Primary schools are promptly created in areas of medium to high density.

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Location and scope of health facilities Hospital Health centre Local health centre Urban limit Urban footprint Non regulatory neighbourhoods

HEALTH FACILITIES The location of different health facilities is mainly in the centre of the city.

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CLUSTERING PROGRAMMES A new ring of activities is proposed, taking as a reference the distancing of programmes in the rest of the city. Civic and administrative centres act as catalyst for the location of other programmes. The proposed programmes include: Local administrative office / Health centre / Police station / Post office / Water and electricity services office / Museum of the Rif / Market place / Information centre / Bus station / Hospital / Water wells and distribution centre / Library and multimedia centre/ Shared multifunctional space / Garden/Square / School / Kindergarten / Child care - maternity / Local Radio-broadcasting station / Workshop facilities / Skate park / Commercial centre / Cinema / Crafts centre.

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Civic

Civic

Health

Health

Commercial

Commercial

Recreational

Recreational

Education

Education

2000 m


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PROGRAMMING THE TERRITORY The proposed system of programmes is placed over the selected area, crossing information to determine the exact location of interventions..

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SCALES OF PROGRAMMES Over a same area, different topographic readings allow to determine the appropriate location for programmes of different scales.

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A DIALECTIC APPROACH The horizontal as a possibility

The proposed interventions propose to introduce a new component into the equation: flat open surfaces that will facilitate community activities. The objective is that the introduction of this urban component will incorporate new functions and scales to otherwise homogeneous housing environments. The creation of a flat surface requires a cut and fill operation, so the retaining wall stands out as the main element through which this new collectivity will be constructed. Understanding the triangle as the minimum geometric surface that defines a plane, two retaining walls are enough to create a planar surface against the topography. The operation is repeated in an iterative manner, proliferating over the territory. This simple repetition of a topographic mechanism which is the dialectic typology from the single family block could be deployed as a means of evidencing and accentuating the area’s rough topography while conferring an element of cohesion. The resulting forms integrate the desired programmes within their morphology, merging them into a single functional topology. As a consequence, the surrounding areas are reoriented towards the new activities, redefining circulations and hierarchies of the built form. The project effectively incorporates a wide range of public and private functions based on the location of new local administrative centres.

DIALECTIC The interventions are proposed as the meeting of two grid systems that overlap over the same territory.

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SIMPLE OPERATIONS

A FLEXIBLE GRID The non regulatory domain consists on a combination of single family blocks achieved through simple techniques.

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ATTAINING THE HORIZONTAL The conceptual operation of the project consists in a simple modification of the terrain: creating a flat surface while incorporating programme.

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SERIES A: DIFFERENT SLOPES WITH 20 m DEPTH To achieve the horizontal plane, stronger slopes generate sharper edges.

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SERIES A: CUT AND FILL COMBINATIONS Spatial possibilities of the topographic interventions.

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SERIES A: 20% SLOPE WITH DIFFERENT AREAS The more frequent slope in the selected area is used to understand the consequences of the levelling operation.

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SERIES A: CUT AND FILL COMBINATIONS Spatial possibilities of the topographic interventions.

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water surface

green green area area

self self standing standing building building

built built perimetre perimetre

arches arches

large large programme programme

built built centre centre and and peripheral peripheral circulation circulation

sports terrain miraduro

new topography

water surface

sports terrain

new topography

miraduro

agriculture

walkway

THE FLAT SURFACE The possible uses of the proposed flat surface ranges from built volumes to open fields. The more appropriate operations are the ones that require the less effort to generate.

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agriculture

walkway


THE RETAINING ELEMENT The role of the retaining “wall “is diversified, ranging from a simple wall to circulation and programme. The width of it varies in order to accommodate the different uses.

WALL

CIRCULATION - STAIRS

PROGRAMME

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INSERTION INTO THE CONTEXT The operation is carried out in the selected areas, responding to each particular condition regarding density, slope and accessibility.

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INTEGRATION The intended result is a project that merges into the terrain, however generating a strong impact on the modified areas.

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(1) SIMPLE TERRACING The basic operation consists in a terracing that makes a flat surface appear within the slope. This surface can serve diverse functions depending on the context, such as markets and sports.

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(2) THE WALL AS CIRCULATION The wall is widened to allow circulation around the public space. This operation can enable circulation towards the less accessible areas of the context.

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(3) CUTTING Removing soil to create a flat surface allows to use the retaining element as an activity generating programme.

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(4) FILLING When placing a building as a retaining element for the fill, an immediate programmatic connection between the lower and upper levels is achieved.

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(5) OPEN PLATFORM The terracing accentuates the spatial qualities of the area through the creation of a viewpoint towards the surroundings.

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(6) ENCLOSED AREA Contained space is generated within an environment with no directionality, granting a secure place for community gathering.

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(7) PROGRAMMATIC PLATFORM The terrace itself is expanded to receive programme inside. The horizontal surface is punctured to let in both light and views.

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(8) NEW POSSIBILITIES The slope allows for extra functions to be added in the future to generate new situations.

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A SINGLE PLATFORM The simplest operation is to generate a single surface large enough to receive a significant programme.

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TERRACING Multiple flat surfaces integrated around existing buildings can help activate the public space between them by easing occupation.

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CARVING A new programme is introduced within a tight fabric, generating an exception and providing a place for the community.

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SPORTS TERRAIN A flat multipurpose terrain that can serve different sports and activities

INDOOR GYM Indoor activities beneath the platform

PUBLIC SQUARE A hard surface surrounded by trees

YOUTH CENTRE Workshops and playrooms

LOCAL ACTIVITIES Activities for the young population in the area are coupled to produce a dynamic area.

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MARKETPLACE Simple structures that can be used for shading


PUBLIC LIBRARY The platform incorporates programme with controlled light

BUS STATION Places for exchange and shaded areas.

STAIRS AND GARDENS The centre provides green spaces for the community

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES Small spaces that activate the public space

DISTRICT CENTRE A larger intervention combines administrative functions with spaces for the community.

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REFERENCES Amzil, L., Debbi, F., and Le Tellier, J. La Mobilité Urbaine dans L’Agglomération de Tanger: Evolutions et Perspectives. Sophia Antipolis: Plan Bleu, 2009. Bekkari, H. Tanger Post Internationale, article in Urban generations : post-colonial cities / ed. by David Richards, Taoufik Agoumy, Taeib Belghazi. - Rabat : Faculty of Letters of Rabat, 2005. - 471 p. : ill., krt. ; 24 cm. - (Publications de la Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Rabat Série: Colloques et séminaires, ISSN 1113-0377 ; 126) De Haas, H., International migration and regional development in Morocco. Workshop New Moroccan Migrations, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex Centre for Migration Research, University of Sussex, 13 July 2005. de Haas, Hein: The Myth of Invasion: Irregular Migration from West Africa to the Maghreb and the European Union . International Migration Institute, University of Oxford , 2007. De Miras, C., Le Tellier J., Gouvernance urbaine et accès à l’eau potable au Maroc. Partenariat Public-privé à Casablanca et Tanger-Tétouan, L’harmattan, Villes et entreprises, Paris, 2005. Direction d’Urbanisme de Maroc, “Atlas des zones ouvertes à l’urbanisation, 2011”. Available from www. marocurba.gov.ma Haut commissariat au Plan et direction de la Statistique. Recensement général de la population et de l’habitat, [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available from: http://www.hcp.ma Hyunjin, K. The Study and Example of application for the Establishment of Cadastral Methodology in Morocco. TS 5K – Cadastral Projects. FIG Congress 2010 Facing the Challenges -Building the Capacity. Sydney, Australia, 11-16 April 2010. [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available from http://www.fig.net/pub/fig2010/ papers/ts05k%5Cts05k_kim_4150.pdf Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, doctoral thesis of geography, AixMarseille University, 2006. Le Tellier, J., Relations sociales et lieux de sociabilité urbaine autour des bornes-fontaines publiques à Tanger (Maroc), in Les lieux de sociabilité urbaine dans la longue durée en Afrique, Fourchard Laurent, Goerg Odile, Gomez-Perez Muriel (éd.), Paris, L’Harmattan, 2009. Mghari, Mohamed, L’immigration subsaharienne au Maroc. Euro-Mediterranean Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM), 2008. Programme des Nations Unies pour les Etablissements Humains –ONU-HABITAT. Evaluation du programme national “Villes sans Bidonvilles” Rabat, 2011. [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available at http://www.unhabitat. org/downloads/docs/11592_4_594598.pdf

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IMAGES All images are author’s own unless stated otherwise. The Mediterranean as a space of circulation, 2013. Map produced during the horizontal workshop, MArch UD 2013. Authors: Yi Ge- Yuanhong WangShengyang Zhang - Bin Liu - Chrysanthe Constantinou- Meihui Yin - Jingyang Zhai - Annick Meiers - Ting Wen - Jing Liu - Nicole Rochette

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ESSAY Submitted for the History & Theory course. Tutor: Ross Exo Adams

An analysis of the peripheral urbanisation of Tangier through non regulated housing allows to critique governmental responses as well as to make a reading of the concept of territory.

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Territory as a physical condition: the case of non-regulatory housing neighbourhoods in Tangier, Morocco.

“Political theory lacks a sense of territory; territory lacks a political theory. Although a central term within

political

geography

and

international

relations, the concept of territory has been underexamined”.1

urban

the traditional administrative and political aspects

phenomena defies fixed conceptions of territory:

(and scales) but also the mechanisms and logics

urbanity appears to constantly surpass boundaries,

of production of territory that are made possible

and this fragility of definitions evidences the need

within specific physical contexts. The case of

to understand events at a larger - territorial -

margin territories in Tangier allows us to read both

scale. Territorial in this sense calls for a concrete

the political and economic driven mechanisms

reading of a particular condition rather than an

through their direct relationship to land conditions.

explanation of its constituents, something closer to

This

an immanent than an external influence. Despite

importance of looking back at territory through its

the evident relevance of political, economic

material manifestations.

The

extent

of

some

contemporary

and cultural analysis, territory has a physical component that is a concrete manifestation of itself and hence more suitable for examination. An interesting terrain of analysis is the situation that marginal territories present, territories which have not yet been effectively incorporated to the urban realm, and can then be better observed through their material reality. Phenomena such as the spread of housing in the city of Tangier (an example of what occurs in many other North African and Moroccan urban centres) [1] allow us to read territory taking into consideration not only

1  Elden, S., Land, terrain, territory. Progress in

Human Geography. 34, 799-817. 2010. [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available from: http://dro.dur. ac.uk/6850/1/6850.pdf. p. 1.

text

will

attempt

to

demonstrate

the [1] Proliferation of self built houses in Tangier.

CASE study: Tangier, MOROCCO. Migratory movements The north of Morocco is both a place of immigration and emigration. Flows of migrants from sub Saharan Africa pass through Morocco2 in the hope of reaching Europe and when they are confronted with restrictive European borders are forced to stay in Morocco for a relatively long period. The relationship between the existing and the migrant population becomes then crucial, mainly when

2  de Haas, H. International migration and regional

development in Morocco. Workshop New Moroccan Migrations, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex Centre for Migration Research, University of Sussex, 2005. Portfolio 2012/2013 | Nicole Rochette Garmendia

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they attempt to settle more permanently in urban areas. Fahs-Anjra

These international migratory movements are a

Tanger-Assilah

significant cultural component of the growth of

Tetouan

urban centres, yet they are less numerous than the internal migrations between rural and urban

Larache

Chefchaouen

zones, attracted by the work available in the area. The Tangier-Tétouan region [2] receives an important amount of rural migrants from its

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Administrative divisions of Tangier Tetouan region, 2004

[2] Administrative divisions of Tangier Tétouan region, Province/Prefecture limit Commune limit

Urban commune

2004

of the urban realm become contested territories.

3

neighbouring regions [3], and is thus seen as a transit platform, where migration routes cross tourist itineraries and the exchange and circulation typical of a port city, making the region a place of confluence of people who are in transit. However in reality this results in an accelerated growth of the urban areas. Even migrants who are in transit in Morocco have a tendency to stay there for long periods of time, and the need for permanent residency is confronted with a saturated and degraded urban fabric and insufficient offer of adequate low-cost housing.4 The areas of the

Irregular expansion of Tangier The city of Tangier is the main destination of migratory movements in the region, receiving around 40% of the migratory flux of the Region.5 However, “the region’s urban poles are not prepared to receive these populations. The cities are sprawling during the last years, mainly because of an excedentary migratory result. Since this movement is not accompanied by a planning of the building or services, it results in dysfunctions in employment, housing and infrastructures”.6 After Tangier lost its international status and was annexed to Morocco,7 the city expanded beyond the limits of the international period, while the relevance of migration in the urban growth of Tangier was 26 % during the 60s, 40 % during the 70s, 33 % during the 80s and 45 % during the 90s.8 The entire region observed an intense population growth9 [4] [5] [6] precisely while the

region which are still not urbanised come therefore 0

5

10

20 KM

into tension because of the forces that hover over

Tangier urban commune Urban limit Built fabric Areas open for urbanisation

[3] Tangier’s urban commune

it, and when the existing urban structures become surpassed by the demands, the territories outside

5  Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans

3  “Once across the Sahara, the Subsaharian trans-

[4] Town plan of Tangier, 1942

138

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migrants stick to the Maghrebi societies by grafting their own circulations on those of the local populations. In Morocco, the populations who deal with the passing and the more or less durable settling of these newcomers are the ones living in socioeconomic relegation areas, such as the poorer suburbs of Rabat, Casablanca or Tangiers; these populations know what migration is about, as they are themselves the product of a continuous arrival of inland migrants”. Mehdi Alioua, Nouveaux et anciens espaces de circulation internationale au Maroc, Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée [Internet], 119120. 2007, online since 02 March 2012. [Accessed 24 May 2013]. Available from: http://remmm.revues. org/4113. Author’s translation from the French for all quotations of this text. 4  Amzil, L., Debbi, F., and Le Tellier, J. La Mobilité Urbaine dans L’Agglomération de Tanger: Evolutions et Perspectives. Sophia Antipolis: Plan Bleu, 2009. p. 60. Author’s translation from the French for all quotations of this text.

le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, AixMarseille University, 2006. p. 83. Author’s translation from the French for all quotations of this text. 6  Ibid. p. 181 7  Tangier was made an international zone in 1923 under the joint administration of France, Spain, and Great Britain, statute that was maintained until 1940. Between 1940 and 1945 however Tangier was incorporated into the Spanish zone of Morocco but was then restored to its international status. Tangier loses its international statute in 1956 and is then joined to the Kingdom of Morocco. 8  Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, AixMarseille University, 2006. p. 128 9  By 1960 the entire region had 811,517 inhabitants (RGPH 1960), which has grown to 2,460,220 in 2004 (RGPH 1960) and particularly the current Prefecture of Tangier (roughly corresponding to the limits of the international zone) grew from being a small medina with an initial development in 1942 into a city of 436,227 inhabitants in 1982 and then to 756,964 inhabitants in 2004 Haut-commissariat au Plan et direction de la Statistique. Recensement général de la population et de l’habitat, [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available from: http://www.hcp.ma


city did not have any plans or orientations for the

TERRITORIES

development. “The first sectorial urban orientations

REGULATORY HOUSING

were launched starting in 1948 in face of the random development of Tangier. These plans were never approved but served as reference and have permitted to fill the void for the urban orientations for both the international and post-international administrations whenever they wanted to”.10 This random expansion of the city refers not only to a lack of planning but mainly with a resulting uneven territory, a city that is heavily polarised between a compact centre and a dispersed periphery. The sense of dispersion is amplified by the topography: scattered pieces of the city attempt to function as a whole in what is an uneven piece of land, with infrastructures laboriously attempting to connect it and with a noticeable lack of basic

IN

THE

MARGINS:

NON

The main component of the sprawl The random development mentioned above refers to the increasing rate of construction of individual family units without referring to urban regulations, which were practically inexistent in Tangier for most of the city’s development period. In 1982 the first “Schemas Directeurs d’Amenagement d’urbanisme” for Morocco were realized by the group Huit, but the plans were not approved until 1993, for when the city of Tangier presented “a

2002 2011

[5] Tangier’s urban growth 1919 - 2011

referred to (among other less adequate terms)

growth in the 80s and 90s. By 1981, this type of

appears especially marginalised and numerous.

dwelling housed 10% of the urban population and

The most peripheral and hilly areas are covered

by 1993, 286 ha were occupied by the NRH, which

with a blanket of single family housing units, with

represented 17% of the urban area and 30% of the

a visible homogeneity that contributes to the

overall housing stock.13

they form an impressive territory.[7]

1948

This phenomenon of clandestine habitation is

Within this scenario, a particular type of habitation

randomly placed over the ground, and together

1 KM

1919

very oriented towards the clandestine habitation”.11

as Non-Regulatory Housing (NRH).12 Its advance

the rest of the city. The constructions appear to be

0,5

Urban growth 1919-2011

chaotic urban reality and the urbanism was already

services.

impression of something existentially different from

0

dates back to the 1970s and presented a strong

These developments are located mainly around the south and south-east areas of ​​ the city: neighbourhoods such as Beni Makada, Bir Chifa, Moghogha, Sania, Tanja balia, etc. represent different relevant products of this process14 [8]. The

11  Ibid. 12  The significance of the various terminologies is

[6] Aerial view of Tangier showing the periphery.

discussed later on in the text.

13  Amzil, L., Debbi, F., and Le Tellier, J. La Mobilité

10  Bekkari, H. Tanger Post Internationale, article in

Urban generations : post-colonial cities / ed. by David Richards, Taoufik Agoumy, Taeib Belghazi. - Rabat : Faculty of Letters of Rabat, 2005. - 471 p. : ill., krt. ; 24 cm. - (Publications de la Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Rabat Série: Colloques et séminaires, ISSN 1113-0377 ; 126). p. 273. Author’s translation from the French for all quotations of this text.

Urbaine dans L’Agglomération de Tanger: Evolutions et Perspectives. Sophia Antipolis: Plan Bleu, 2009. p. 67. 14  The neighbourhoods or quartiers represent a social cohesion unit: “The majority of households buy their land individually, but families from the same village acquire large patches of land in the same area in order to reconstruct forms of family and clan in portions of the neighbourhood (derbs)”. Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, Aix-Marseille University, 2006. p. 392. In most cases too, the oldest inhabitants, belonging to the ancient rural douars, have

[7] The repetition of a formula.

Portfolio 2012/2013 | Nicole Rochette Garmendia

139


0

5

10

20 KM

[8] Recognition of the location of Tangier’s non regulatory neighbourhoods

direction that the urban growth took in absence of

since for maximum profitability every bit of land is

enforced regulations was heavily influenced by the

utilized for construction. This density of built form

terrain conditions in these areas. While the flat,

achieved without development plan hinders the

secure and easier to develop areas closer to the

introduction of the infrastructure equipment, which

coast were under stronger control, flood zones,

would require the destruction of houses prior to

steep terrains and agricultural areas [9] were kept

the installation of network services and roads. The

with a looser hand, which gave way to unrestricted

absence or deficiency of network services (water,

construction. The architect Hanae Bekkari points

sanitation, electricity) gives these neighbourhoods

out that “the Administration did not acquire the

the more frequent name of habitat insalubre

zones non ædificandi and the green areas that

(unhealthy habitat), which is commonly used

had been and still are the prey of speculators.

by the Moroccan authorities. However, most

These terrains [were] transformed in the Plans

inhabitants manage to make up for the deficient

d›Amenagement into urbanisable areas or given

access to service networks by either connecting

away to the informal habitat, sold by little lots for

illegally to them or relying on open water sources

people generally issued from rural exodus».15

and fountains. The lack of public facilities such as schools and clinics is however more persistent.

Non regulatory conditions The

resulting

growth

was

a

collection

of

significantly populated neighbourhoods scattered around the city’s hills and former agricultural areas. The logic of addition of single family units into neighbourhoods created a condition where vast zones are dormitory areas, with a high dependency to the central parts of the city and 0

5

10

20 KM

Site Constraints Slopes > 15% %

Non regulated neighbourhoods

Slopes op > 20%

Urban limit

without network services [10]. These types of constructions are easily recognisable since they

Flood o areas Forest areas Fore Waterways ys

[9] Topographic and terrain constrains

this particular form of access to urban land has significant effects in the resulting urban fabric and its configuration. The need to “secure” property promotes a fast building procedure, and this necessity explains the proliferation of uniform building techniques and housing typologies. Morocco has a very low land registration rate and most plots of non regulatory buildings are not

economic logic, and space qualities, together with

registered in the cadastre.16 The farmlands go

a common isolation condition and a particular

through a process of illegal subdivision of property

legal framework.

[11], and the “mother” titles are fragmented into

because of their lack of basic infrastructure. These areas are often dense and excessively tight,

10

existing urban laws. This is not only a legal issue:

homogeneity is based upon structural principles,

appellation of “under equipped” neighbourhoods

5

with a common “irregular” condition regarding

share a very particular typology: their typological

Regarding their urban condition, they are given the

0

The designation of non regulatory has to do

several individual plots that do not have property titles registered with the cadastre and land conservation services. In many cases, the mother terrains from which they were subdivided do not necessarily hold property titles either.17 Most

20 KM

Connectivity and Transport ranspor Roads

Non regulated neighbourhoods

ain i roads and highways Main

Urban limit

Bus us routes Taxi routes Tax Point of connection to roa road network

[10] Connectivity in relation to NRH.

140

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become an authority in the place. 15  Bekkari, H. Tanger Post Internationale, article in Urban generations : post-colonial cities / ed. by David Richards, Taoufik Agoumy, Taeib Belghazi. - Rabat : Faculty of Letters of Rabat, 2005. - 471 p. : ill., krt. ; 24 cm. - (Publications de la Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Rabat Série: Colloques et séminaires, ISSN 1113-0377 ; 126). p. 274.

16  Hyunjin, K. The Study and Example of application for the Establishment of Cadastral Methodology in Morocco. TS 5K – Cadastral Projects. FIG Congress 2010 Facing the Challenges -Building the Capacity. Sydney, Australia, 11-16 April 2010. [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available from http://www.fig.net/pub/ fig2010/papers/ts05k%5Cts05k_kim_4150.pdf 17  Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans


dwellers do not hold a property title (moulkia), but

waterways, which summed up with strong slopes

many hold some kind of right to inhabit through

give way to dangerous landslides. The buildings›

actes adoulaires.18 This complex situation is

transgressions are also regarding land use, since

aggravated by Morocco’s intricate land property

in some cases, areas designated for agriculture or

system: the existence of private land, state

infrastructure are sold for housing.

property (terrains domaniaux), collective land (terrains communaux), and religious property (biens habous) without clear information regarding their individual domains or limits. The illegal dwellings are not built on state owned land but mostly on private land (unlike the bidonvilles or slums, which are frequently built over public terrains thus assuring that the State takes care of their relocation), and do not constitute illegal occupations, since have been granted permission to live there either through a contract or acte adoulaire. They are not imposing themselves nor occupying the land by force. Finally, the buildings themselves hold and irregular status: the absence of a preceding building permit (or the attainment of one despite not complying with the requirements to do so) is accompanied with a subsequent transgression of other construction regulations when existing, such as footprint and height. Non-ædificandi areas are overlooked and as a result, most dwellings end up being built on what is considered to be non-buildable terrains. The outskirts of Tangier have a rugged topography [12], and terrains with strong slopes (higher than 15% and 20%) leave gaps within the built fabric that are then filled up by occupants that take advantage of its state of neglect. Flood areas are also used for building, together with

Restructuring procedures Regarding the state’s approach towards this kind of development, from 1974 to 1975 the

[11] Land division.

first organismes publics de l’habitat (OPH) were created, that later became organisms under the Ministry of Housing (OST). They were in charge of overseeing the restructuring of NRH and coordinating the various actors involved. In the non-regulatory areas, the direct interventions of the OST were of two types: restructuring procedures regarding equipment infrastructure such as sanitation and roads (water and electricity networks theoretically remain the responsibility of the owners), and land regularization.19 In 1984 a specialized agency called National Agency against Unhealthy Habitat (ANHI) was created. The ANHI from January 2004 joined the holding Al Omrane, whose two major objectives of their 2004-2007 quadrennial plan were doubling the production of social housing (especially the less expensive ones) and reducing the deficit in housing and equipment through a program for urban regeneration and improved infrastructure in rural communities.20 Tangier’s authorities in particular have recently carried out a series of changes over the urban legislation, attempting to contain the non-regulatory phenomena. This includes a modification of construction regulations in what they refer to as “rural centres”, allowing for a more dense built fabric in order to encourage rural population to stay in their douars (rural villages)21 instead

le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, AixMarseille University, 2006. p. 128 18  “A sale agreement, a domicile certificate and a certificate of construction are adoulaire acts that can be authenticated by the municipal services. These documents represent occupancy permits, a step in the long process of regularization of illegally purchased or tenure of land. They are not valid as property titles but they protect (in part) of a possible expulsion.” Le Tellier J., Ibid. p. 189

[12] Topography of Tangier in relation to NRH.

19  Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans

le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, AixMarseille University, 2006. 20  Ibid. p. 204 21  Minimal land subdivision in rural centres was reduced from 1 hectare to 300 sqm. (data from Agence Portfolio 2012/2013 | Nicole Rochette Garmendia

141


of moving to the city, together with a study of a

The

possible expansion of the urban limit, in order to

restructurings.

contain the already dense built neighbourhoods.

introduce the lacking services gradually, however

22

The Moroccan programme “Villes sans bidonvilles” launched in 2004 also contemplated these kinds of developments within their objectives.23 However, unlike from the bidonvilles or slums, these dwellings are rarely subject to relocation procedures, since they are not built on state owned land but on legally acquired agricultural land, and have the quality of being solid brick buildings and spread widely enough to justify a different kind of action. In a beginning, as with slums, the inclination of state authorities was towards demolishing buildings that were outside the law (processus de relogement). However, this consequently burdened the state with the responsibility of providing a new dwelling to the families being evicted, and as the phenomena spread, this alternative would have evidently become economically non-viable.24

alternative

was State

to

carry

programs

out

in-situ

attempt

to

people are sometimes reluctant to start paying for them. Since the buildings are not legal, they are not subject to any type of taxation, and when regulatory campaigns are carried out, strict regulations are accompanied by the taxation of household (residential tax), which explains why the “regular” status is not necessarily sought for by the dwellers.25 Since the construction of homes precedes the urbanisation, the infrastructural layer of the neighbourhoods has to be introduced at a later stage. As mentioned before, this sometimes requires the demolition of some dwellings, and in most cases makes it impossible to serve all dwellings with road access or services. In the end, most restructuring procedures cannot attain complete servicing and are accompanied by the painting of facades and planting of vegetation to make the overall image change more dramatically.26 Being as it may, the resulting equipped areas are considered to be successfully “normalised” and added to the city’s urban realm. Concerning their precarious legal condition,

Urbaine). 22  Going back to the issue of ensuring circulation, when asked for the main reason why they were trying so hard to halt the expansion of the city, Mr. Abdellatif Brini explained that it was to prevent increasing traffic congestion towards the central city. “It is to take the pressure off the city, in terms of transportation, and the environment … You have seen the topography in the outskirts of Tangier, it’s very hilly, so in the end it turns out very expensive to introduce infrastructure!” Author’s translation from the French for all quotations of this conversation. 23  Programme des Nations Unies pour les Etablissements Humains – ONU-HABITAT Mission d’appui. Evaluation du programme national «Villes sans Bidonvilles» Rabat, 2011. [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available from http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/ docs/11592_4_594598.pdf 24  As the geographer Jullien Le Tellier points out “more responsibilities are left to the inhabitants: purchase of plots, building process and participation in restructuring costs. In the end, doesn’t non-regulatory housing turn out to be relatively cheaper for the state than the slums, which could explain the tolerance towards this type of habitat? Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, Aix-Marseille University, 2006. 142

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many plans “provide facilities for the residents to get building permits even if their houses are already built”.27 Instead of giving fines to people that build outside regulations, according to Mr. Abdellatif Brini of Tangier’s Urban Agency28 some

p. 195 25  Ibid. 26  “Mise à niveau urbaine de Haoumat Chouk” powepoint presentation of the project put together by the Wilaya de Tanger, the Ministere de l’Habitat, the Holding Al Omrane, the Commune Tanger Ville, Associations des habitants, Fondation Tanger Medina, Association DARNA and the Atelier d’Architecture Hanae Bekkari. 27  Restructuring operation of the Korret Sbaâ neighbourhood in Tétouan conducted by the Agence Urbaine, mentioned in Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, Aix-Marseille University, 2006. p. 405 28  Meeting held on 28th February 2013 with the


local governments and municipalities (Commune-

the strategies through which power extends its

Mairie) have a series of 5-6 variations of house

domains, ignoring differences and assimilating

plans and are selling them out “at a symbolic

them into an apparent regulatory entity. The

price”, in order to encourage the population to

case of NRH in Tangier and its restructuring

regularize their condition.29

programmes are a paradigmatic case which

This encouraged process of regularization and the different mechanisms for restructuring have resulted in a permanent condition, an essential component in the production of space that could be considered the main social housing programme in Tangier. This programme involves private

shows a way in which the territory is managed through territorial scopes. In front of a condition that appears to be outside from political control, various aspects from the restructuring procedures evidence an attempt of extending the governance into otherwise ungoverned areas.

investment in the provision of homes; a procedure

The

elsewhere considered a positive formula and that

phenomena is addressed within the Moroccan

represents the less expensive option for the state.

society are very eloquent in containing in

different

terminologies

by

which

the

themselves the particular attitudes that are then engaged towards them: quartier marginalisé31, POLITICAL TERRITORIES AND TERRITORIAL POLICIES

habitat sous-équipé, bidonville, zone de baraques, habitat non réglementaire, habitat dégradé, habitat spontané, habitat précaire, habitat anarchique,

Political territories “Discipline

habitat insalubre32 are the most common, but also

is

centripetal,

while

security

is

centrifugal; discipline seeks to regulate everything while security seeks to regulate as little as possible, and, rather, to enable, as it is, indeed, laissez faire; discipline is isolating, working on measures of segmentation, while security seeks to incorporate, and to distribute more widely”.30 As Stuart Elden exposes, Foucault identified

habitat clandestin, habitat marginal, quartier sous-intégré, quartier sous-équipé, quartier nonréglementaire(…).33 The emphasis is either put on its structural qualities or on its relation to the normal city, against which these neighbourhoods appear as anarchic. The restructuring processes themselves also take names worth mentioning: mise

à

niveau,

réaménagement, restructuring,

restructuration, normalization

absorption,

résorption, (upgrading,

redevelopment,

normalisation). Even though the non regulatory neighbourhoods differ in their state of isolation, origin of the migrant Chargé de Mission of Tangier’s Agence Urbaine, Mr. Abdellatif Brini 29  “In 2001, only one out of ten built terrains of the [Korret Sbaâ] neighbourhood was registered and on the cadastre. More than 80% of the population, however, declared being owners during the studies before the restructuring works. The restructuring plan launched in 2003 seeks to facilitate the procedures for registering property in land conservation and reporting to the Ministry of Finance” Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, Aix-Marseille University, 2006. p. 393 30  Elden, S., Governmentality, calculation, territory. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 2007, volume 25, pages 562-580. p. 565

31  Première phase du projet Korret Sbaâ, avril 2001, p. 2

32  As the names of the main organisations deal-

ing with the issue: ANHI : Agence nationale de (lutte contre) l’habitat insalubre (établissement public du ministère de l’Habitat) and PARHI : Programme national d’action pour la résorption de l’habitat insalubre 33  Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, AixMarseille University, 2006. p. 187 Portfolio 2012/2013 | Nicole Rochette Garmendia

143


population, and level of equipment, among others,

way, identity is not opposed to but an element

the way of approaching their incorporation to the

contributing to the construction of the new territory.

urban reality is to encircle them under a single

As Elden clarifies, when referring to Foucault’s

definition that allows them to be identifiable and

differentiation between safety and security, “(…)

thus dealt with (as Foucault would name it, it is the

mechanisms shift from exclusion to inclusion,

appearance of a case):

to sending the victims outside the bounds of the

“(…) one of the fundamental elements in this deployment of mechanisms of security, that is to say, not yet the appearance of a notion of milieu, but the appearance of a project, a political technique that will be addressed to the milieu”.34 It should be noted that the present methods of dealing with the illegal housing issue is through a mechanism of “inclusion”, since the state seeks to incorporate them as part of the urban realm. A different kind on procedure of dealing with these places could erase all these subtleties. However, the “inclusion” paradigm considers taking into account these particularities and brings them into the system: adoules, mocqadems35 and walis36 are respected in their distinct importance and are taken as a working part of the apparatus, as part of the assemblage, “finding support in the reality of the phenomenon, and instead of trying to prevent it, making other elements of reality function in relation to it, in such a way that the

polity, to a mechanism for spatial partition that allows them to be contained within”38 and by doing this (as was openly commented by Tangier’s Urban Agency Head of Mission, Mr. Abdellatif Brini) putting themselves in a situation where they are now obliged to consider them as part of the city.39 This obligation entails the “levelling” of these neighbourhoods in terms of infrastructure and services.40 This new urban territory now has to comply with the same regulations and be served equally to the rest of the city, otherwise it is not acceptable. The normal condition is seen as an objective to be attained, thus normalisation procedures need to be carried out.41 These normalisation procedures, interestingly enough, have a strong emphasis on the incorporation of infrastructure. Roads, sewage, electricity, water and waste collection are the means to achieve the desired absorption of otherwise marginalised neighbourhoods into

phenomenon is canceled out, as it were”.37 In this

38  Elden, S., Governmentality, calculation, territory. 34  Foucault, M., Senellart, M., Ewald, F., & Fontana,

A. Security, territory, population: lectures at the Collège de France, 1977-78. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. 2007. p. 23. 35  “Moqqadem is a “local authority agent, based on proximity, under the responsibility of a caïd (Ministry of Interior). In urban areas, it is official and its responsibilities cover a neighborhood. Its role is to monitor, control and report to the caïd”. Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, Aix-Marseille University, 2006. p. 15 36  Wali is a “governor of province / prefecture capital of region (Ministry of Interior)” Ibid. p. 16. 37  Foucault, M., Senellart, M., Ewald, F., Fontana, A. Security, territory, population: lectures at the Collège de France, 1977-78. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. 2007. p. 59. 144

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Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 2007, volume 25, pages 562-580. p. 564 39  Meeting held on 28th February 2013 with the Chargé de Mission of Tangier’s Agence Urbaine, Mr. Abdellatif Brini 40  “The inclusion of non-regulatory neighbourhoods is illustrated by the creation of public schools; Quranic schools in these newly integrated neighbourhoods close and are gradually replaced by private structures that host the younger children (kindergartens)”. Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, AixMarseille University, 2006. p. 395 41  We could consider in this case the coexistence of procedures of “normation” and “normalisation”. Foucault, M., Senellart, M., Ewald, F., Fontana, A. Security, territory, population: lectures at the Collège de France, 1977-78. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. 2007. p. 55-63.


the formal city. The geographer Jullien Le Tellier

legalised as proof of having bought a terrain.45

even carries out a qualitative categorisation of

The same is true regarding construction permits.

the neighbourhoods according to their various

What is important to note is that this is not only

conditions of inclusion and exclusion in relation to

an encouraged process of normation, but also a

the city, and of their susceptibility to being included

post-facto one.

according to their various topographic, social, and location particularities, among others.42 In

terms

of

provision

of

services,

It is interesting to interrogate the role of the “Agence Urbaine” in Morocco: Le Tellier considers

Veolia

the creation of the agency as an act of regaining

Environnement43 together with the Al Omrane

central power46, “centralising” the decision-making

Group are the new messiahs of the inclusion: their

and re-territorialising the region: “The recent

mission is seen as the only means of “redemption”

creation of urban agencies in Morocco can be

of societies that look up to them as the providers

interpreted as a form of recentralization of power.

of a droit de cité (right to the city). The population

It is for the State, a way to control municipalities

rightly regards these operations as a permanent

and interfere in local affairs, especially in terms

validation from society, and it is not so much

of urban planning and development”.47 In this

the opening of standpipes but the home water

sense, the introduction of infrastructure is a crucial

connection which is significant of a real right of

factor to be analysed: one can’t only see it as a

citizenship”.44

generous action by the state. These populations

This is a very key subject, since the authorities are careful to not give the “droit de cité” to anyone: they cannot send a wrong message, as if anyone who takes matters into their own hands and builds illegally, anywhere, will eventually be granted property and “habitation” rights. A legal framework has thus been constructed in order to regulate the requirements for the inclusion of a determined housing type to the legal boundaries of the city. This framework is interesting as it accepts as valid proofs or evidences credentials

were already functioning without it. Circulation infrastructure is, in fact, a way of regaining (or rereigning) a territory that was otherwise considered to be completely out of control. This is again a matter of security: referring to Foucault’s Security, Territory, Population, Elden notices how “while discipline operates through the enclosure and circumscription of space, security requires the opening up and release of spaces, to enable circulation and passage”.48 The

modifications

mentioned

beforehand

such as “actes adoulaires”, purchasing certificates given by adoules (traditional notaries that operate through elderly male witnesses) that can now be

45  “If the parcelling of parent titles such as carried

42  Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans

le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, AixMarseille University, 2006 43  Veolia Environnement via its holding company Veolia Services à l’Environnement Maroc (in charge of Moroccan water, wastewater and electricity services, and operated by concession companies Redal and Amendis) 44  De Miras, C., Le Tellier J., Gouvernance urbaine et accès à l’eau potable au Maroc. Partenariat Publicprivé à Casablanca et Tanger-Tétouan, L’harmattan, Villes et entreprises, Paris, 2005.

out by the owners are usually illegal, most are still backed by the municipality that legalises the selling acts” Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, Aix-Marseille University, 2006. p. 393. 46  Mr. Abdellatif Brini said that it puts the Directrice de L’Agence Urbaine at the same level of power as the Governeur. 47  Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, AixMarseille University, 2006. p. 403. 48  Elden, S., Governmentality, calculation, territory. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 2007, volume 25, pages 562-580. p. 565 Portfolio 2012/2013 | Nicole Rochette Garmendia

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regarding changes in rural regulations and

way of incorporating that part to Tangier, the “white

possible extensions of the urban limit, are an

city”.53

example of “(…) how the territorial sovereign became an architect of the disciplined space, but also, and almost at the same time, the regulator of a milieu, which involved not so much establishing

Territorial policies: territorialisation

limits and frontiers, or fixing locations, as, above

The concept that is constantly present and

all and essentially, making possible, guaranteeing,

underlying all these conflicts is territoriality. Urban

and ensuring circulations”.49 Mr. Abdellatif Brini

policies have proven to understand the region from

also commented on a process of demarcation and

a more abstract perspective, leaving aside the

recognition of each one of the neighbourhoods

particular physical realities and the mechanisms

having needed to be carried out, which again

through which they were produced. The problem of

responds to “the delimitation of phenomena within

the poor understanding of the territory (which is an

acceptable limits, rather than the imposition of a law

inherently unequal space) and its confusion with

that says no to them. So mechanisms of security

territoriality (that attempts and homogenisation

are not put to work on the sovereign-subjects axis

of it) is at the base of the perpetuation of urban

or in the form of the prohibition”.50 Infrastructure can then be understood as a deployment of

conflicts and tensions.

security, a way of procuring sovereignty over a

To take this even further, actions of de-

risky population.

territorialisation

The resulting built space of the non-regulated phenomena and its gradual incorporation into the urban fabric is evidence the mechanisms of territoriality being deployed. To give an example, the Agence Urbaine directed what was called an

“opération-modèle

de

restructuration”

in

the Monghoha neighbourhood, and the state procedures

over

the

neighbourhood

to

be

“restructured” are very evidently marked through

and

re-territorialisation

are

constantly mentioned in regards to territory. This displacement procedure would allegedly explain the processes taking place in the globalised world, where territory is subject to a constant redefinition beyond its bounds and suggesting that it is affected by thoughts and meanings originated from different locations. The peripheral areas of Tangier are subject to de-territorialisation and re-territorialisation procedures54, through which the central government attempts to redefine their

a territorialisation mark, a signature: the white painting of the buildings.51 The same can be seen on the urban upgrading of the Haoumat Chouk neighbourhood.52 The painting of the facades is a

49  Foucault, M., Senellart, M., Ewald, F., Fontana, A.

Security, territory, population: lectures at the Collège de France, 1977-78. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. 2007. p. 29. 50  Ibid. p. 66. 51  Presentation on 28th February 2013 given by the Chargé de Mission of Tangier’s Agence Urbaine, Mr. Abdellatif Brini 52  “Mise à niveau urbaine de Haoumat Chouk” powepoint presentation of the project put together by the Wilaya de Tanger, the Ministere de l’Habitat, 146

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the Holding Al Omrane, the Commune Tanger Ville, Associations des habitants, Fondation Tanger Medina, Association DARNA and the Atelier d’Architecture Hanae Bekkari. 53  It is an interesting coincidence, the opposition between the white city and the red city (the city in “sin”). One could almost extract a moralising attitude from the entire restructuring procedure. 54  We could describe a restructuring procedure as a re-territorialisation in itself: it attempts to evenly transform the existing spatial and social configurations of neighbourhoods that were born through various and particular rural migration processes, and have a local internal functioning (proper to the Rifains, Casaouis, Rabelais, Arabic or Muslim cultures, to name just a few).


existence and status. However, a more sensible

The first confusion has to do with the proximity with

approach would be to recognise them as a

the concept of space. The simplest, more basic

territory in themselves, contiguous but different

and unfettered way of looking at the place where

from the pre-existing Tangier, since they have

things move and exist seems to be the obvious

been produced through very different political,

base upon which to construct the idea of territory.

economic and social processes, and are built over

This is a reasonable approach, considering that

different topographic and terrain conditions. These

it attempts to grasp the physical reality of it,

particularities press the importance of re-thinking

endowing it with a sensitive quality that can be

what territory means and what significances that

perceived and understood. However, space lacks

should convey to the urban discussion.

the depth of territory, and in order to approach

How do we define a territory? The idea of territory is a multi-layered concept, and while it commonly defines a potential area or domain, its definition varies according to the field of study. Territory comes from the Latin word territorium, formed by the root terra (earth, land) and of the suffix orium (denoting place). According to Stuart Elden,”territorium is an extremely rare term in classical Latin that becomes common in the Middle Ages. The standard definition is the land belonging to a town or another entity such as a religious order”.55 The notion emerged mainly as a political-administrative concept, and has since been stretched into other (political-economic and political-strategic) domains. Elden argues that territory is rarely theorised or defined in itself, and is normally substituted with other notions which could be close or adjacent but which are not identical to territory. “Where it is defined, territory is either assumed to be a relation that can be understood as an outcome of territoriality, or simply as a bounded space”.56

territory to space, the term needs to be invested with additional dimensions. Claude Raffestin for example reflects on territory as being a space transformed by human work,57 and Edward Soja comments on territory as space that can be divided and traded as a commodity.58 Raffestin even says that “territory is generated from space, through the actions of an actor, who “territorializes” space”.59 When assimilated as space, territory loses the potential active qualities and resonances it may have and is flattened to signify only the surface that holds space. The confusion with territoriality is even more frequent. It is true that territory is something that is being produced and not a fixed entity. In this sense, it is something which is always in a state of production; it is in movement and to record its movement means to record the territory. It can then be considered an action which could comprise movements of territorialisation. However, this does not mean that territory is territorialisation, even though most definitions of territory resort to it. Robert Sack’s view on territories requiring

Most definitions of territory do slide into either space or territoriality very easily, making it hard to distinguish a straightforward understanding of the term.

57  Raffestin C., Ecogénèse territoriale et territorialité,

55  Elden, S., Land, terrain, territory. Progress in

Human Geography. 34, 799-817. 2010. [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available from: http://dro.dur. ac.uk/6850/1/6850.pdf. p. 10. 56  Ibid. p. 1.

in Auriac F. et Brunet R. (eds.), Espaces, jeux et enjeux, Paris: Fayard, p. 173-185. 1986. 58  Soja, E. W. The Political Organization of Space, Commission on College Geography Resource Paper No 8, Washington: Association of American Geographers, 1971. 59  Raffestin cited in Elden, S., Land, terrain, territory. Progress in Human Geography. 34, 799-817. 2010. [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available from: http://dro. dur.ac.uk/6850/1/6850.pdf. p. 5. Portfolio 2012/2013 | Nicole Rochette Garmendia

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“constant effort to establish and maintain”60 is

technical notions of territory back down into a closer

an example of this transposition of territory into

relation to the actual land conditions or terrain they

territorialisation. Deleuze and Guattari are closer

are being drawn over will necessarily enrich these

to an dynamic understanding of the concept when

understandings by adding a sort of ground layer

they say that “the territory is in fact an act that affects

to them. Each way of understanding a territory

milieus and rhythms, that “territorializes” them.

can be then read as a moving phenomenon

The territory is the product of a territorialization

occurring over a transforming physical canvas,

Despite this proximity,

and the superposition of all these layers results in

Elden explains how even though territory is in

a moving palimpsestic notion of territory. Despite

fact one of the products of territorialisation, it still

the consensus on territory being an almost supra

needs a definition of its own since it is “logically

territorial concept in the globalized era63, I argue

prior to territoriality, even if existentially second”.

following Elden that physical geography is an

of milieus and rhythms”.

61

[6] Territory should have an emphasis on physical conditions.

62

Geological map of Morocco. / Sources: Atlas of Morocco, available at http://www.hoeckmann.de/ karten/afrika/marokko/index-en.htm

unavoidable condition for the definition of territory.

[13] Geological map of Morocco

The determinateness of territory: the role of physical geography in the definitions of territory There is something about the word territory that suggests the existence of a down-to-earth entity. Notions of spatiality, materiality, and physicality would need to prevail in such an idea. However, when looking at the primary definitions of territory and its contemporary derivation to notions of de-territorialisation, there is something which is constantly being left aside: territory itself. One could argue that from an original deepening of the concept through understandings of its potential scope (particularly in political theory, social

Elden himself first suggests a return to geographic dependence by arguing that it is fundamental when attempting to explain the human occupation of the territory: “To concentrate on the political-economic risks reducing territory to land; to emphasise the political-strategic blurs it with a sense of terrain. Recognising both, and seeing the development made possible by emergent political techniques allows us to understand territory as a distinctive mode of social/spatial organisation, one which is historically and geographically limited and dependent, rather than a biological drive or social need”.64

sciences and philosophy) the term has increasingly

While the de-territorialisation (the removal of the

lost attachment to the ground it is subject to.

ground component) from the classical definition

It is clear that qualifying a certain territory only by its natural specificity is rendering the term short. However, bringing the political, economic and

of territory operates from a certain poetic about information technology, circulation and non-places, hypertext,

ubiquity,

real-time

communication,

decentralized network, etc. the fact is that all these notions are ultimately based on land or ground

60  Sack, R. D. Human Territoriality: Its Theory and

History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1986

61  Deleuze, G., Guattari, F., A Thousand Plateaus:

Capitalism and Schizophrenia, trans. Brain Massumi. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1988. p. 314. 62  Elden, S., Land, terrain, territory. Progress in Human Geography. 34, 799-817. 2010. [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available from: http://dro.dur. ac.uk/6850/1/6850.pdf. p. 6. 148

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63  Scholte, J. A., Globalisation: A Critical Introduction, Houndmills: Macmillan. 2000., cited in Elden, S., 2005. Missing the point: globalization, deterritorialization and the space of the world. Blackwell. 64  Elden, S., Land, terrain, territory. Progress in Human Geography. 34, 799-817. 2010. [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available from: http://dro.dur. ac.uk/6850/1/6850.pdf. p. 16.


and have a connection to the physical territory.

approach possible. However, an emphasis into

They flaunt a presumed immateriality, beautiful

making the most of their particularities would

but utopian, for cables and antennas exist in

be more appropriate67, and following this idea,

reality and have a precise location and sense

the creation of a local governance entity would

due to geography. Discussing Scholte’s argument

make sense. Looking at Tangier (and other

of the existence of a trans-world simultaneity or

sprawling cities) from this perspective would allow

instantaneity, Elden believes that “this does not

understanding that in some way, it was not the

escape the ‘logic’ of territory; rather it demonstrates

city that sprawled, but rather it was the rural areas

the importance of the temporal to understandings

that approached the city and flourished besides

of spatiality”.

it. This shift of perspective regarding the growth

65

Disturbingly, “the predominance of “understandings of globalisation as de-territorialisation, which claim that territory no longer occupies the foundational geographical place” have “even led to the suggestion that geography is less significant, or even that spatial considerations are not important at all”.66 My argument seeks to stress the importance of territory being a distinctive mode of spatial organisation, supporting the idea that territories have a physical manifestation of an immanent configuration that should be primary within any critical reading. This physical manifestation is

of territories in the margins68 would be beneficial when addressing their urban circumstances. The expansion of non regulatory housing is in fact re-producing the territory, pushing the urban boundaries from the outside, inverting centre and border conditions. In the same way as in the foreword to the 1997 edition of Land and Sea, Simona Draghici explains Carl Schmitt’s concept of spatial revolution as being a representational shift of boundaries69, these new territories deserve a revolution themselves: the account for their unique logic of production of the territory.

even clearer and easier to abstract when looking at fast occurring urban phenomena such as the peripheral expansions of cities, where repetition and magnitude give enough samples to identify a pattern. As we saw in the previous chapter, the recent urban sprawl of the city of Tangier is not the sole product of a particular political-economic situation, but an explicit form of territorial construction.

Rather than territorialisation practices, what should prevail is an insistence on the territory, a territorisation. Urban programmes and structuring processes attempt to keep enlarging the urban, as if prolonging roads and pipes was the only

65  Elden, S., 2005. Missing the point: globalization,

deterritorialization and the space of the world. Blackwell. p. 18. 66  Ibid. p. 1-2.

67  The architect Hanae Bekkari for example supports the idea that the disregard of the physical conditions in the planning and development of Tangier is determinant to explain it current urban situation: “In my view, the three base maps supporting any urban action or architectural action in Tangier are the Topographic Plan (plan topographique), the Geoechnical map (carte geotechnique) and the “Carte des Vestiges”. H. Tanger Post Internationale, article in Urban generations : post-colonial cities / ed. by David Richards, Taoufik Agoumy, Taeib Belghazi. - Rabat : Faculty of Letters of Rabat, 2005. - 471 p. : ill., krt. ; 24 cm. - (Publications de la Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Rabat Série: Colloques et séminaires, ISSN 1113-0377 ; 126). p. 274. 68  In this sense margins refers to the limits of a certain focus. Maps for example constantly avoid representing the areas outside the established limits. 69  Schmitt, C., Land and Sea [1942, 1954], trans. Simona Draghici (Washington, DC: Plutarch Press, 1997), p. XIV (foreword).

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Haut commissariat au Plan et direction de la

Amzil, L., Debbi, F., and Le Tellier, J. La Mobilité Urbaine

dans

L’Agglomération

de

Tanger:

Evolutions et Perspectives. Sophia Antipolis: Plan Bleu, 2009.

Urban generations : post-colonial cities / ed. by David Richards, Taoufik Agoumy, Taeib Belghazi. Rabat : Faculty of Letters of Rabat, 2005. - 471 p. : ill., krt. ; 24 cm. - (Publications de la Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines, Rabat Série: Colloques et séminaires, ISSN 1113-0377 ; 126) De Haas, H., International migration and regional in

Morocco. Workshop

New

Moroccan Migrations, Institute of Development

for the Establishment of Cadastral Methodology in Morocco. TS 5K – Cadastral Projects. FIG Congress 2010 Facing the Challenges -Building the Capacity. Sydney, Australia, 11-16 April 2010. [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available from http:// www.fig.net/pub/fig2010/papers/ts05k%5Cts05k_ kim_4150.pdf Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, doctoral thesis of geography, Aix-Marseille University, 2006. Le Tellier, J., Relations sociales et lieux de

University of Sussex, 13 July 2005.

sociabilité urbaine autour des bornes-fontaines

Deleuze,

G.,

Guattari,

Thousand

Plateaus: trans.

F.,

Capitalism Brain

A and

Massumi.

Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1988.

publiques à Tanger (Maroc), in Les lieux de sociabilité urbaine dans la longue durée en Afrique, Fourchard Laurent, Goerg Odile, GomezPerez Muriel (éd.), Paris, L’Harmattan, 2009.

Elden, S., 2005. Missing the point: globalization,

Mghari, Mohamed, L’immigration subsaharienne

deterritorialization

the

au Maroc. Euro-Mediterranean Consortium for

world. Blackwell. Available at: http://dro.dur.

Applied Research on International Migration

ac.uk/1175/1/1175.pdf

(CARIM), 2008.

De Miras, C., Le Tellier J., Gouvernance urbaine

Programme

et accès à l’eau potable au Maroc. Partenariat

Etablissements

Public-privé à Casablanca et Tanger-Tétouan,

Evaluation du programme national “Villes sans

L’harmattan, Villes et entreprises, Paris, 2005.

Bidonvilles” Rabat, 2011. [Accessed 24 May 2013];

and

the

space

of

Elden, S., 2007. Governmentality, calculation, territory. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 2007, volume 25, pages 562-580 Elden, S., Land, terrain, territory. Progress in Human Geography. 34, 799-817. 2010. [Accessed

des

Nations

Unies

Humains

pour

les

–ONU-HABITAT.

Available at http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/ docs/11592_4_594598.pdf Raffestin , C., 1977. Paysage

et

territorialité.

Cahiers de geographie de Quebec 21: 53-54. Available at: http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/021360ar

24 May 2013]; Available from: http://dro.dur.

Raffestin, C. Territoriality. A reflection of the

ac.uk/6850/1/6850.pdf

discrepancies between the organization of space

Foucault, M., Senellart, M., Ewald, F., Fontana, A. Security, territory, population: lectures at the Collège de France, 1977-78. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. 2007.

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from: http://www.hcp.ma

Studies, Sussex Centre for Migration Research,

Schizophrenia,

150

et de l’habitat, [Accessed 24 May 2013]; Available

Hyunjin, K. The Study and Example of application

Bekkari, H. Tanger Post Internationale, article in

development

Statistique. Recensement général de la population

and

individual

liberty.

International

Political

Science Review, 1984, vol. 5, no. 2, p.139-146 Available unige:4346

at:

http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/


Raffestin C., Ecogénèse territoriale et territorialité,

Image references

in Auriac F. et Brunet R. (eds.), Espaces, jeux et enjeux, Paris: Fayard, p. 173-185. 1986. Raffestin C., Butler S. A., 2012. Space, territory, and territoriality. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 30(1) 121 – 141 Sack, R. D. Human Territoriality: Its Theory and History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1986

[1] Nicole Rochette, 2013. [2] [3] Built upon information found in Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, Aix-Marseille University, 2006 [4] University of Texas Libraries available at http:// www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/morocco_city_ plans/ [5] Tangier unit group work, 2013.

Scholte, J. A., Globalisation: A Critical Introduction,

[6] View of Aouama neighbourhood available at

Houndmills: Macmillan. 2000.

http://www.tripmondo.com/morocco/region-de-

Schmitt, C., Land and Sea [1942, 1954], trans. Simona Draghici (Washington, DC: Plutarch Press, 1997), p. XIV (foreword). Soja, E. W. The Political Organization of Space, Commission on College Geography Resource Paper No 8, Washington: Association of American Geographers, 1971.

tanger-tetouan/aouama/ [7] Nicole Rochette, 2013. [8] [9]Built upon information found in Le Tellier J., Les Recompositions territoriales dans le Maroc du Nord, Doctoral Thesis of Geography, Aix-Marseille University, 2006 [10] [11] [12] Nicole Rochette, 2013. [13] Atlas of Morocco, available at http://www. hoeckmann.de/karten/afrika/marokko/index-en. htm

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APPENDIX Work realised during the 2012/13 year, MArch UD.

Samples of the design work and research conducted during the year, including complementary workshops and exercises separate from the main subject.

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TANGER, MOROCCO Design iterations

HIGH DENSITY STRATEGY In the more dense neighbourhoods, the strategy is to carve into the fabric by a “swap� procedure, that incentivises buying off ground floors allowing property owners to build an extra floor upstairs (which requires 7.000 bricks which cost 7.000 dirham, so around a total of around 10.000 dirhams for the floor). This will allow the introduction of community scale programmes at ground floor, (community centre/police station/ multifunctional spaces) becoming an extension of the urban space. The structural cement frame grid is maintained and its flexibility permits removing the brick infills when needed to create larger spaces.

LOW DENSITY STRATEGY Lower density neighbourhoods require a similar but inverse mechanism. Existing main footpaths are reinforced through the construction of a thin activity strip that at the same time builds the open space of the main road and frames the future housing developments. It is flexible enough to complement the existing buildings and attempts to introduce a new scale and system of combination of individual family units. The idea is that this strip can work as workshops spaces and storage facilities through the construction period, and can evolve into commerce and public activities as the area densifies.

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LIBERATING PUBLIC SPACE In the dense neighbourhoods, the strategy is to carve into the fabric. This will allow the introduction of slightly larger scale programmes such as a community centre, becoming an extension of the liberated urban space.

0

500

1000

2000 m

INTEGRATING LARGE FUNCTIONS The proposed centralities will incorporate larger functions: a mosque, a market, a library. The strategy is to articulate the flat surface through the proposed programmes, creating a defined interior and allowing the perimeter to merge with the irregular context.

0

500

1000

2000 m

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THE BUILDING BLOCK The retaining elements are designed though precast concrete blocks that serve as a basic module.

THE RETAINING WALL The combinations of the blocks allows to create a surface that is at the same time structural and explicit of its building system.

CARVING Cutting into the terrain, the retaining wall appears as an active facade to the new space created.

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RETAINING The flat surface has the potential of becoming an important viewpoint for the city. The massiveness should be countered by an important activity.

CONNECTIONS The intervention on the topography allows to connect neighbourhoods across new paths, depending on the direction of slopes. Smaller interventions could be as minimal as a simple sidewalk.

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DENSITY OF INTERVENTIONS The intention is that the interventions work together over the territory to modify the way it is experienced. Interventions should be perceivable from each other.

FOLLOWING CONTOURS Interventions can be connected through being implemented over a similar contour level, thus creating a interconnected system throughout the entire area.

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MODEL VIEWS The different models attempt to show the radicallity of an intervention of this kind within homogeneous housing environments. The materiality of the models is used to emphasise the difference in scale and magnitude of the operation.

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TWO NEIGHBOURHOODS The analysis of two non regulatory neighbourhoods allows to identify the frequency and number of public services and programmes,. The research evidences a lack of defined open spaces, as well as large areas without any destination.

0

50

100

200 m

Bir Chifa neighbourhood Activity

Cemetery Mosque

Roads

Public fountain/well

Housing

Paths

0

50

100

200 m

Sidi Driss neighbourhood Activity

Cemetery Mosque

Roads

Public fountain/well

Housing

Paths

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POTENTIAL OF AN AREA A small area is analysed in detail to determine the potential areas for the incorporation of new programmes and activities.

0

100

250

500 m

0

Existing uses

100

250

500 m

Projected territory

Non regulatory housing

Activity

Housing buildings

Main road

Social housing

Secondary road

Cemetery

0

100

250

500 m

Proposed programmes Local administrative office Health centre Police station Post office Water and electricity services office Museum of the Rif Market place Information centre

Bus station Hospital Water wells and distribution centre Library and multimedia centre Shared multifunctional space Garden/Square School Kindergarten

Child care - maternity Local Radio-broadcasting station Workshop facilities Skate park Commercial centre Cinema Crafts centre

GROWTH Two neighbourhoods are analysed through time to understand the logic of their densification process.

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MAPPING THE URBAN AREA Different layers of information are mapped to uncover possible spaces for intervention. The insistence on the larger urban area as an area of analysis resulted in discoveries regarding the development orientations of the city.

WORKING WITH SCALE Different scales of interventions with different levels of integration into the landscape. Although the geometry is different from the preexisting one, the projects merge into the terrain.

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REPRESENTING LOCAL CONDITIONS The photographic information allows to extract understanding of the spatial quality of the neighbourhoods, as well as the potentials of the available land.

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MODELS AS RESEARCH The grid and a centrality. M.Arch UD Workshop by Elia Zenghelis

RECOGNITION OF A BASIC MODULE The first exploratory models permitted to unveil the underlying order of the built form. The flexibility that the structural framework gives has allowed vast areas of the city to be constructed by this same system.

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TOPOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS The slope is explored , as it forms the base upon which most of the context is found.

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POWER CENTRALITIES The project seeks to take into to consideration the way in which the State progressively equips these neighbourhoods, and benefit by coupling up a public facility (such as a medical centre or school) with the creation of a horizontal public space in the higher (and disadvantaged) areas. This network of “energy centralities� will in time permeate into the surrounding neighbourhood.

INTEGRATING THE SLOPE Various models explore the ways of introducing programme into the slope, evidencing the importance of the horizontal as a potential place for communities.

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PERMEATING THE GRID The proposed intervention uses the grid as the main principle for understanding the built environment. Even the ground is projected as the addition of cubic mass over which the buildings are placed.

A PUBLIC SPACE The model explores they ways in which the intervention can be integrated into the grid’s framework, proposing a scalar difference by a different usage of the same module.

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Drawing as Conjecture: The Mediterranean as a space of circulation M.Arch UD horizontal workshop, January 2013. Authors: Yi Ge / Yuanhong Wang / Shengyang Zhang / Bin Liu / Chrysanthe Constantinou / Meihui Yin / Jingyang Zhai / Annick Meiers / Ting Wen / Jing Liu / Nicole Rochette

MAPPING CIRCULATION “This drawing session will enable us to assemble a complete map of the Mediterranean in terms of traffic. By mapping all sorts of modes of circulation— from roadways to shipping lanes to flight paths to the movement of migrants across borders—we will aim to reinterpret an aspect of the contemporary understanding of sovereignty. Where are boundaries (both political and physical) traversed? Where do new boundaries emerge which actually serve to block communication? What holes exist in our world of ‘seamless flow’? What is the relation between land and sea in a world where the ‘free sea’ has been subjected to endless securitisation? Like the Tabula Peutingeriana, is today’s world one of boundless circulation across a territory with no borders?” Extract from Ross Exo Adams and Yannis Aesopos brief for the workshop.

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POSSIBILITIES FOR CIRCULATION The overlapping of all the researched layers of information (air routes, cruise lines, electricity lines, main road, railways, migration routes, oil and gas lines) gives a resulting net of lines that represent the possible exchanges across the Mediterranean.

EMPHASISING TENDENCIES Different intensity iterations reveal the areas which are most and leas connected. However, directionalities are not represented in this mapping procedure, an important factor in understanding the actual relationships in the region.

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CAIRO, EGYPT The river city M.Arch UD initial research phase, Oct-Nov. 2012.

CULTURE RESEARCH The research focused on Cairo’s contested resources, such as water, space, human resources, mobility, food, land, culture and communications.

PLACES OF CULTURE A first investigation sought for the exact location of mosques and churches throughout the city, understanding their density and frequency.

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PLACES OF RECREATION Shopping malls, markets, cinemas and other entertainment activities were mapped revealing a clear tendency towards the zones closer to the river.

POLITICAL CRISIS Map of the places where protesters rioted and clashed with the police in Cairo in 2011. Zamalek neighbourhood Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque

Arkadia shopping center Square in Mohandeseen

Heliopolis

Corniche al-Nil TV Headquarters Ramses Street

Presidential Palace

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Egyptian Parliament Ministry of Health Interior Ministry

Dokki neighbourhood I-Istiqama Mosque

Abdin Palace

Al Azhr Mosque

N.D.P. Headquarters Egyptian National Museum Kasr al-Nil Street

Tahrir Square Mugamma Building United States Embassy

6 October Bridge

Kasr al-Nil Bridge

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EDUCATION Location of the main educational institutions in Cairo, and chart showing main Egyptian universities References: QS, ARWU (World Top 500 Universities) wand Times Higher Education (2012-2013 Top 400 Universities) rankings. 5

4 3 1

UCL | The Bartlett School of Architecture | MArch UD

5 Alexandria University

1 Cairo University

2 American University of

3 Al Azhar University

4 Ain Shams University

public

Cairo

public

public

public

non sectarian native

private

islamic

non sectarian native

non sectarian native QS 601+

QS 501-550

foreign

QS 551-600

QS 601+

ARWU 401-500

QS 392

-

-

-

-

-

-’

-

THE 301-350

-

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2


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Supreme Council of the Al-Azhar Institution

EDUCATION SYSTEM IN EGYPT Diagram explaining the two parallel systems of education coexisting in Egypt.

Basic Education

Primary Phase

Preschool

Preparatory Phase

Information according to information from Ministry of

Primary Stage

2007 http://www.mohe-casm.edu.eg and Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Preparatory Stage

Secondary Education

higher Education, Guide to Higher Education in Egypt,

Education_in_Egypt.

Secondary Phase

Government Schools Arabic Schools Experimental language Schools

Private Schools

Al-Azhar University

Ordinary schools Language schools Religious Schools International Schools

MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION Post Secondary Education

* EGYPTIAN MILITARY ACADEMY Bachelor Degree in Military Sciences Military Studies (for university graduates)

17 public universities 51 public non-university institutions 16 private universities 89 private higher institutions

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point of attraction

THE CITY: A NEW CENTRALITY Metropolitan Acupuncture M.Arch UD Workshop by Elia Zenghelis, Dec. 2012.

URBAN OASIS IN CAIRO Group work: Stefanie Sebald/ Nicole Rochette/ Odysseas Diakakis-Damianidis

Water has been a point of attraction in the city of Cairo for centuries, people settling close to river Nile. Living close to the stream has become increasingly important as clean drinking water becomes less accessible almost by the day. The creation of a central point of attraction rather than a boundary to prevent further sprawl along its edges is the aim of this proposal to reduce urban sprawl effectively. An unused patch of land in central Cairo surrounded by rail and road infrastructure is located between the planned and self-built part of the city. A deep cut into the earth facilitates access to clean water and simultaneously creates a vertical terraced city block with commercial spaces, offices, a terraced park and a pool of fresh, cold water at the bottom. The displaced earth forms a new man-made hill to the south-western end of the site that shades the valley during the hottest times of the day. Covered with terraced housing it creates a new striking sight in Cairo’s flat terrain.

MORPHOLOGY STUDIES Various attempts to generate a landform that responds to the intention of being a landmark in the Cairo flatness, introducing density through scale.

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flatness as existing geographical condition


THE OASIS As a symbolic as well as functional gesture, the project searches to extract clean water from the depths.

NEW TOPOGRAPHY The proposed centrality cuts into the land attempting to reach the water, while it rises high to create a landmark. Both operations are combined into an overall surface containing programme.

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High Streets in London: Analysis of Kentish Town Road M.Arch UD London workshop, Oct. 2012 Group work.

THE HIGH STREET Kentish Town Road has a vernacular, a unique character that is nurtured by a mix of independently owned shops, community institutions and the ability to bring together the disparate residents of the adjacent streets. The street lacks instant appeal. Passing through by car or bus doesn’t do justice to the patchwork of small shops, established pubs and original characters that give life to this street. It requires time and attention. If one takes the time, however, leisurely walking South from Kentish Town Station one gets rewarded by the discovery of a genuine local High Street that offers a lively atmosphere, a diversity of merchandise, services and food. South of Kelly the High Street shows a different face. As soon as the road splits Kentish Town Road suddenly becomes a thoroughfare to Camden Town. Lined by front yards and vegetation the railway overpass clearly marks the entry to the very different area of Camden Town.

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THE GROUND The base of buildings evidence the presence of slope.

EXPERIENCING THE STREET Several element that represent the identity of the street are considered to compose an overall atmospheric representation.

A PERCEPTIBLE SLOPE The road has a constant slope, and the infrastructures are an important topographic event.

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KENTISH TOWN ROAD

THE FLEET’S RIVER-SIDE-WALK Kentish Town Road and the river fleet: the fleet’s river sidewalk M.Arch UD London workshop. Oct. 2012

The river Fleet evolved from a small river into a brook, a ditch and finally a drain. RESEARCH ON THE FLEET The river Fleet evolved from a small river into a brook, a ditch and finally a drain. In terms of infrastructure,

highgate ponds

the area is defined and enclosed by the railways. These furrows and overpasses create a bounded area.

traces

This enclosed area has the high road which allows for an outway. To get out of the bounded area, one has to go under the railway. The area is fragmented into

closed drain

small pieces.

Infrastructure: the area is defined and enclosed by the railways

Infrastructure: the area is defined and enclosed by the railways

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These furrows and overpasses create a bounded area

Infrastructure: the area is defined and enclosed by the railways

This enclosed area has the high road wich allows for an outway

To get out of the bounded area, one has to go under the railway

The area is fragmented into small pieces.


PROPOSAL

Regis Rd.

The project proposes to create the Fleet’s riverside walk, recovering the uniqueness of the area by introducing new elements of public space and landscape that recall the atmosphere that this place

York Mews

used to have.

Holmes Rd. Old Dairy Mews Crown Pl. Anglers Ln. + Alma St./ Raglan St.

Regis Rd.

Prince of Wales Rd. + Grafton Yard York Mews Holmes Rd. Old Dairy Mews Crown Pl.

Church Ave. Kelly St. Castle Rd. Castle Place

Anglers Ln. + Alma St./ Raglan St.

Farrier St. Prince of Wales Rd. + Grafton Yard Church Ave. Kelly St.

Hawley Rd.

Castle Rd. Castle Place

Water Ln.

Farrier St.

Hawley Rd.

osed by the Water Ln.

ea is fragmented mall pieces.

d

RECALLING THE FLEET Landscape interventions attempt to recover the riverside qualities, transforming the urban space.

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EUSTON STATION AND SQUARE A new boulevard M.Arch UD London workshop Oct. 2012

CIRCULATION, RAILINGS AND VIEWS Even though the station has more pedestrian surface than the surrounding area, its fragmentation does not allow a good urban space. The square is surrounded by fences, and even more railings are located in the bus stop area. Natural shortcuts are blocked by the railings and narrow walkways are created. Pedestrians passing through the square cannot see the station. The bus stop infrastructure fractures the visual connections, as well as the buildings and different levels.

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PROPOSAL The project proposes a new boulevard in Euston from Regent’s Park to King’s Cross station. It consists in enhancing all the connections from Euston Square, creating a network of pedestrian walkways that lead to the nearest stations. All together, they create a wide “boulevard” that runs through the built fabric and gives more possibilities for shortcuts.

ROSS STATION

KING’S CROSS ST. PANCRAS

RUSSELL SQUARE

han by tube.

g area, its fragmentation does not

PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT The pedestrian desire lines are combined with the visual connection in order to create a strategy that allows a clear link between square and station. EUSTON BOULEVARD All the connections fron Euston Square are enhanced, creating a network of pedestrian walkways that lead to the nearest stations. All together, they create a wide “boulevard” that runs through the built fabric and gives

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