—————————l—“‘“‘—OS "'- Scan & Daiver Request (TINH: 668720) 92016 INMAIL i oe RIA Anna L, Opryszko Scan & Deliver Request (TN#: 668720) + message Scan & Deliver stat Scan & Deliver request for: ‘TNH: 668720 Transaction Date: 9/19/2016 8:04:00 AM Patron Name : Veronica Watson Patron Status : Graduate Call Number: AAGSO An9S Location: ave / Article/Chapler Title: “An Altemativis to fut Hotialist Universalism: Ecochard, Candilis and ATBAT-Afrique" / Monique Eleb ‘Author. "An Altemative to Functional! (int.tscilism: Eeochard, Candiis and ATBAT-Afrique" / Monique Eleb ‘Joumal/B00k Title: Anxious moder “cumnentation in postwar architectural culture {edited by Sarah Williams Goldhagen and Rejean Logiult Vo: Issue: Year Pages: 55-74 (?) Please be in touch if you have any quests Pleasant reflections, Scan & Deliver Staff Columbia University Libraries Office: 208A Butler Library E-mail: doc-del@library.columbra.c«tu Phone: 212-854-5327 ios mal google com maior 28iK= 28606257MON IQUE ELEB An Alternative to Functionalist Universalism: Ecochard, Candilis, and ATBAT-Afrique inion Auer Regional Pace The attitude of the Congris intemationaux (cian) to issues related to habitat changed in the early 1 ‘architecture modeme nd it ‘would appear that Morocean architects took an active role in bringing this change about! The iit ives of Michel Kicochard, head of the Service de P'Urbanisime under the French protectorate from 1946 torg nd the architects, geographers, nd sociologists around him achieved worldvide recognition through ctast mectings. Far from being. simple disseminator of the Athens Charter, the Service de Urbanisme’s team prompted a realization that was part of a new, twofold phenomenon: the southward shift of functionalist discourse and the unusually high import ce given to local lifestyles. Studying the eustoms and habitus of rural Moroceans transplanted to the urban fringes marked a new stage in c1aw' collective theorizing, a shift away from the critique of urban slums and “unsalubrious blocks” in Tinrope® toa concern with the problen Asia and Latin America Atthe time, theon jal study of the the larger cities of Africa, housing function” was under ping. crisis within cian. The meeting at Bridgewater in 1947 aimed to “work for the creation of a physical environment that will sais ‘man’s emotional and material needs” and to “st ulate spiritual rovth." Following a proposal made by the French, the notion of habitat, which served asthe bass for cat discussions, was borrowed from geographers and anthropologists, the former stressing the geo ‘raphieal space and land, the lates the connection with civilization Habitat” thus replaced the terms “logis” (dwelling), "machine a habiter” (machine to live and "fonction d’habiter” resi 1 "logemert minimum” (minimal dwell ial function) that had been in use ‘until then,’ This theme involved taking account of lifestyles and cut nd geographical contexts, but the new shift to “Tocal” or “region- ations conflicted withthe idea of international solutions applicable to all, an idea upheld ntl then by the mas radical mod emnists, So new to English-speaking architectural circles was the notion of habit that in 1955 the iithsons, creators along with others ofTeam Ten, found it necessary to define itn an article that attracted much attention: Ha to deseribe not only the home but also its isa word used by the French environment and everything appertaining “The Invention of the Habitat for “The Greotest Numbec” When the French protectorate of Moroceo \vas established in gi2 (it would last until 1936), Hubert Lyautey, the Résident génés d alongside old ones, without transforming them. The various ethnic groups would thus live side by side without integration, and ided that new eities would be constructed territorial allotments to various groups were presented asa means of avoiding fiction The policies adopted by the government after 1945 were not designed to integrate he communities that composed the large Moroccan cities, but rather to provide separate, inexpensive housing for “Muslims,” Jews," and “Europeans,” without taking into account the differences between these ies (which were heterogeneous in iation, or their culture. The criteria were religious in the case of Muslims and Jews and national in the case of Europeans, who were regarded, ce of usb curiously enough, as of uniform culture These categorizations were reinforced by Michel Ecochard. Particulatly notable, how ver, i the fact that affluent Muslims or Morocean Jews were housed alongside Biuro pean, and that the “adapted habitat” was reserved for the “poor” in the Muslim and Jewish communities Basel on observable differences between, the lifestyles ofthe three populations, these policies were a way of conceiving habitat in terms of the customs ofthe county of origin, the region, and 1 religion ~ what Feachard called “secular customs.” His theories on the adapted habitat based on the recogni tion of specific residential cultures, to use a contemporary term, were conceived in compliance with a “Habitat Charter” envi. sioned by c1aMt to complement the Athens Charter. But when Ecochard outlined the principles of his Muslim housing project, hhe announced that he would ereate districts composed primarily of individual court yard houses, which were thonght to respect traditional customs” and allow a “gradual transformation of lifestyle Economical Housing “Adopted” to the Culture ‘ond the Modern Casbohs of ATBAT-Afrique When Feochard and his tam began work- ing, adapted architecture had already existed for time in Morocco. As early as 1936, the ‘magistrate A. H, Sabatier conceived the idea ofthe largescale construction of a habitat adapted to specific populations tha would be the bass ofthe protectorate’ postings policy. Using, it must be noted, the term habitat’ and not ehveling, unit, or cel Sabatier specifically differentiated between the “population of European origin requir ings European-style habitat, if ot quite identical to the Kuropean type characteris tic of the populations ofthe Mediterranean basi mn” aceus tomed “to a habitat of special layout and construction."* The differentiation of low cost housing areas suggested here? would become the very foundation of thinking about habitat until independence in 1956 The notion ofthe adapted habitat in Moroe ois thus not are Iwas derived from and the “Arab populat | postwar invention ly efforts by employers to provide working-class housing." The major change, more urbanist than architec tural, layin the large seale of construction. and inthe fact thatthe buildings were hence- forth produced in a publie context and by industrial means Local sources of inspiration were another variable to be taken i the two world wars, government officials, ness leaders, and architects like Laprade, Cadet, Brion, and Laforgue strove to ereate “mimetic” habitat, invariably conceived asan urban component structured according, to certain traditional rules of Muslim urban, culture. In an already extant city like Casa blanca, asimilating traditional Moroccan architecture had motivated architects since 110, when the concept of the new city was fist developed. Although architects derived ideas from the houses of Moroccan niolables or from monumental architecture in European cities for their lnyury residences or public buildings, they took no note of ‘more modest vernacular dwellings except on those rate oceasions when they were called upon to design working-class neighborhoods, For modest homes, th in coastal cities, while for large houses they borrowed ideas from “acaclemic” urban architecture, Mass housing was ignored, » account, Between ‘examined housing Neighborhood Unit and Housing “Grid” A “vital” problem for Morocco, a “proble of technique housing for “the greatest number,” in cach’ view, required new solutions. Drawing inspiration froma theories inthe English-speaking world, he advocated the ereation at the neighborhood level of a “theoretical guideline,” “neighborhood unit” comprising 1800 inhabitants. The ‘number was not arbitrary; its pertinence would be confirmed by the theories of Jacques Berque about settlements around souks (open-air markets) and about housing all ities in North Africa." Fcochard established a “housing grid” for Muslims measuing 8 by 8 meters (26 fin by 26 A 3 in. fig, 2a), theoretically allowing all posible “combinations.” The standard id of conscience for Franc unit forall subsequent projets ofthe Seniee de 'Urhanisne, this surface atea ‘would “permit the construction ofa standard tworo0m dwelling.” It would also accom: modate 350 inhabitants per hectare, a fact ‘which would be no small argument when itcame to rehousing the inhabitants ofthe bidonvilles or shantytenes. The $by-8 combinations were based not nly on observations of “new fons appeat= ing in industrial cities” but also on analyses of ancient médinas in which “blocking the view in fiom the streets i traditionally oblig- atory in the Muslira habitat.” Athough the choice of § by 8 was a new development, the layout of interiors remained unchanged. Itcontimued earlier “indigenous” practices, from the Habou distiets tothe industrial working-lass areas. * While newly arrived architects drew lessons fiom this fet, they did not acknowledge their provenance Individual courtyard houses were offered to inhabitants of the shantytowns. This poliey was hased on converging shdies that fr the fist ime examined the actual living cond tions ofthe new Morocean proletariat. ‘These studies were conducted by sociologists like Robert Montagne and André Adam, who also examined the lifetyles of people of rural hackgrounds once they had moved to villages and shantytowns,"° Certain of Ecochard’s collaborators, including landscape architect turban planner Pierre Mas, complement- ed these largescale studies, also relying on critiques of earlier projects In formulating its projects, eochard's multdisciplinary task force (before the term was invented) took as much account of age-group and matrimonial status as of economic status. Since the ealy 1920s, goverment officials had been firmly convinced that only indi- vidual courtyard houses met the needs of the Muslim population. Ecochard and the S vice de I Habitat, however, envisioned mass2.1 Caries Centos, Conlon, Apt 1950 ouping ol four Bb uni ‘Seren de Trbonome, Ret Ce =. a \ A i SN 2 b | Vee 22 Corts Canoes, Casablanca, 1952; masing lon, Service de FUbonime, och. From Enecopci de Unie is STB Fl, 158) housing for an ever-growing population, and ‘were supported in this by Moroccan mem- bers ofthe Commission des Logements, which requested in 1949 that “modern living ‘conditions be established in housing.”” This Position, it must be emphasized, was quite Iwas in the midst ofthis changing situa liom that the ataar (Atelier des batisseurs) team, which had been based in Casablanca since 1952, arrived. This branch of the research consultaney formed by engineer Vladimir Bodiansly forthe constrction, of Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation in Marseilles was directed by architect Georges Candilis, who had just spent two yearsat the site, working with Shadrach Woods ‘Was Candils’s approach innovative and, if 0, in what respect? During the 1950s, young ‘exponents of the “Mouvement modeme, both within arnar and outside, discovered the cubic volumes of the casbals and the fortress-granaties ofthe farmers of southern. Morocco and used these vernacular refer- ‘enices to justify collective housing for Moroccans, The inspiration provided by ‘ural housing was another new development Until the 19505, only the influenced architects, The Service de I'Urbanisme relied on young architects who were members of ‘cawinta (Groupe d'Architectes Moderns Marocains}, which had been accepted as an independent branch of exav ar a result of the Hoddesdon meeting in 193." The ere ation of the Moracean group was result of convergent and successive initiatives by Ficochard, Candilis, and the historian Sighried Giedion, secretary.general of CIN. Certain cavona architects were also members of atmar-Aftique. The divisions among French members of cia, however, had repercussions in Morocco. For with- in arsxr-Afrique was Vladimir Bodiansky who was afiliated with the Lads gromp, whereas Candis was more aligned with Le Corbusier. The young architects under Ecochard, by contrast, were linked with a third group called Lat Cité, led by Roger Aujame. ‘Thus, European and French debates were transplanted to Moroccan soil Several experimental initiatives eonere- tized the aims of the Service de I Urbanisme and would fuel a debate that went well habitat had AN ALTERNATIVE TO FUNCTIONAUIST UNIVERSALISMites Cees, Corblonco 1983; odes of Nil baile ard Shani bul. ‘tat Aig (6 Canale, S. Woods, W. Badal, H, Porch beyond the borders of Maraceo. The mast ‘memorable initiative was launched in 1953 by armat-Afrique, Right in the middle of a stitch 0 artyard houses in the Carridres Cental smar-Afrique constructed three collective-housing units that exemplified radically new solutions (ig. 2.2). Candis fells us that it was Ficochard who suggested ite experiment with the vertical tacking of S.by-5 units After his experience in Marseilles, Candilis had so much trouble accepting the notion ofa horizontal dispo- sition that he drew his famous sketch con. tasting the horrors of lowrisestructces with the virtues of the Marseilles Unité dHabita- tion. Although there was nothing remarkable about the snall tower Bodianshy designed for the projec, the other two buildings explored two modes of composition designed to create reproducible “building types in whieh a suspended courtyard in reality 2 loggia) replaced the ordinary courtyard Candis announced that his solations ‘were “in hannony with the outs natal ment” armat-Afique relied on research conducted as ealy as 1946 by the Service deT Urbanisme, which indicated that go per cent of immigrants in the large ities eame from the Atlas Mountains. Arhitecs there fore began to study the characterises of the region’ traditional easbah, just as ethnolo- gists were resuming research here originally begun in the 193082! Candis afi that “the easbahs ofthe Sahara, the ksour or fortified village of the Atlas Mountains, the collective fortress-granariesreflet the bility of the people to live side by side while respecting funily privacy and managing, interest” He stressed certain characterises ofthe traditional habitat, such asthe cour: yard: “a veritable family hearth, a living room, it has the function of ‘bringing people together.”® Both structures thus proposed a transpenition, “a multi-story solution in which the courtyard will be bathed in light 1 the rooms will also have sunshine In the Semiramis Building, divided into two ned rs of communal sub-blocks to accommodate the slope of the land, the facades face east and west and the units are reached by passageways on every other level leading to private cout yards opening on the two fieades."The build ings name alludes to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, once supposed to have been built by Queen The differentiation of the two buildings isbased on the degree of ubanization of the prospective residents along with thee life- sil, function oftheir religious beliefs (fig, 23). For Candilis the ing, with its “doublesheight enclosed cour yard” that ensured privacy and “another Facade with protruding passageways,” is explicitly “designed for that segment of the population that has remained closes to the Muslim way of life” In the Nid Abeille (Bechive) Building, which is orthogonal to the fist one, the passageways are shifted to the north side, and the south faca niramis Build has geometric pattem of large openings indirectly lighting the courtyards and the blind walls (fig. 24) It contains about one hundred apartments and eight shops, the geometry of which reveal how meticulously 2.4 Comes Canales, Corbin 159; oth ogade of Abele bing, MAAbign, chine Candilis and Woods observed the architec ture of casbahs. In response to Hieachard’s objections, Candilis justi and steepness ofthe stairways by comparing them to the entrances of multistory build: ings in the southern valle. Along the same line of thought, one of the most spectacular productions ofthis phase was the one constructed by the Swiss architects Jean Hentsch and André Studer at Sidi Othman between 1953 and 1955, (fig. 25). Arriving in Morocco after work with Le Corbusier and travels in Arizona and Mexico, Studer fist envisioned a pyra- mid shaped building that eaptured the spirit ofa “modem casbah” and strove toaccommodate the customs and habits of inhabitants coming in from the countryside and from the mountains." But the police contro, and the nine constricted buildings were organized in large bars (fig, 26), where the th he suspended courtyards dear lis was treated in an expressionistic way?” Lending rhythm to the lower part 2, pile the courtyard was located. Asin the ara buildings, these ternal sp dance with the prineiples invoked by the designer: “Preservation in each housing uit ‘of the ‘patio’ [courtyard] as traditional understood, that is, open to the sky, invisible to ouliders, and at the center of the unit with all rooms opening into it... ‘Patios by 3 metres [23.6 by 98 feet iggered vertically to create a fone part sta s-by-grmetre [9,8-b5-9 8 foot] sanitary core ‘on each floor, and the other creating an ‘overhang every two floors.” While the fortnal inspiration sug geometrical and Iyrieal interpretation of tradition, the apartments are constructed and Iai ont in a very moder style, as they are liton both facades, the rooms are generously slazed, and the bathrooms and kitchens ae grouped together.” Mos of the court yards were later converted into livingroom ‘The Intemational Resonance ofthe Moroccan Experiments The county’ prosperity in the early 1950s, and the hegemony that modern architecture enjoyed at Casablanea allowed young pro- 24 Single bor of housing unt, Sd ihman, 1955, on Heri ond And Std, rhe fesionals like Flie Azagury, Jean-Feangois ‘Zésico, Henti Tastemain, and Jean Chen ineau to present to c1asta relatively large number of built works, whereas architects in France were unable to get their projects constructed.” But this in itselfis not enough toexplain the influence of the Moroccan expetience. The international reception of the concrete achievements of Feochard’s team and of Ficochard’s theories about the habitat “for the greatest number” also increased the impact of Moroccan architec: ture around C ablanca. As earlyas when Bodiansky arranged to have the impor tance ofthe habitat “for the greatest nam ber” acknowledged by the Social and Economie Council ofthe United Nations, the achievements of arBat were taken into consideration by cin. ‘The Moroccan example is central tothe report Bodiansky presented that same year to the UN, and \which should have led to a Ux seminar in ne fiteen architects based Morocco." in Morocco, including Candilis, Feochard, M Cc1aM meeting at Aisen-Provence in 1953, which was to be a tuming point in the poli cies of cia, According to a method adopted ry, Mas, and Jaubert, took part in the at previous meetings, two “grids” or panels were set up, based on the four funetions of the Athens Char ccan achievements.” These grids displayed to display the Moroe the finished projects of the Service de VUrhau iking photographic comparisons between the old cities andl new districts like the Carritres Centrales fig. 27). They linked solutions adopted for the courtyard houses and collective hous: ing to the time-honoured traditions of the ancient medinas and bidonvilles,REALISATIO COLLECTIVE HOUSING IN MOROCCO ow 28 Alice by Asem ord Peter Smithion en Moroccan hong, Fm Asche Design 25 Vansry 195) The cavina grid on the “Moroccan Habi tat” designed by Mas and Ecocha cclipsed by the arnav-Aftique grid on “the habitat for the greatest number” designed stance of Mas Initially, a section of the "Morocean Habi tat” "La Cite yerticale,” was intended to acknowledge problems specifi tothe build- ings ofthe Carrigres Centrales, But when the panels were mounted, the hierarchy by Candis with the appears to have been reversed. Candis ‘made this section the central focus, relegat- ing the Service de I'Urbanisme’s analysis to. supporting role. Eeochard’s anger over this fit accompli was further fueled by the use Candis and Bodiansky made of the Ais exhibits in a brochure published in 1953 (marked “of un was designed to ney to humanity") that ather compatable experi= ‘ences from around the world that would be published in support of their theses, The Moroccan disph shock to the most radica dovetailing as it did with the theories of at Aix was a trie Aldo van Eyck and the Smithson on the identity and specificity of the While this group of young rebels within Clan was expanding its activites, Alison and Peter Smithson published in 1955 an ecstatic review of the atiar buildings in the Car. eres Centrals (fig. 28). They stated that “the slope of the ground is brilliantly ban habitat lized” and that the volumetzy and poly- ch great refinement” But above all the Smith: sons emphasized the breakthrough the build ings embodied: ny contributed to “a spatial exercise of We regard these buildings in Morocco a the greatest achievement since Le Corbusiers Unit «Habitation at Marelles, Whereas the Unité was the nation of technique of thinking abouttance ofthe Morocean buildings is that they are the fit manifestation ofa new way of thinking itis their sealiaton inbuilt form that convinces Jn 1gg1 Alison Smithson emphasized the extent to whieh North Afican research was trnsforming the universalist postions of the notion of cultural adaptation: A Moder, hopeful Fan beng in Noth Altea, where there was none ofthe European Imidale generation’ signs of deviation frovn th tenets ofthe Modern Movement... in North Aca, espace, soleil” i plenty, and in the settle mens, “verte. white cubic fons; private spaces adjoining the dvellings, the clarity of the parts"the Four Functions mattered and you could sy still made Smithson recalled how th slang candy he ofthe {bilan the enbaynl Tean Te Others, examining this research in greate detail, woul make more balanced assess ments. In 1958, for instance, Robert Auzelle criticized the solutions proposed in th ‘Sémiramis Building, noting that “the reduced privacy (especially acoustic, with the reverberations in the covered patio ceil for example), the proportions of th rather inflexible rooms, and the spaces between the buildings that were foreign to the Muslim spirit, would seem to needlessly reduce the impact of the work" Michel Ecochard expressed other reservations when hhe wamed that “the stacked courtyards will inevitably be used as habitable rooms?” a prediction confirmed by just such later trans formations. Furthermore the reinterpreta tiom ofthe eouirtyard, although effective in plastic terms, failed to take into account its function asa connecting area between neighbors, or rather between neighboring women, André Adam remarked that “in their suspended courtyards today’s women ae like caged birds. Itean now be sad that the Semiramis Building, designed from the outset to be more elosed, has uncle gone fewer changes than the Nid d’Abeille fig. 29) This initial project of arear-Afrique vvas followed by a series of unbuilt projects in which the theme ofthe “semi-duplex” so dear to Candis was developed. Through Candis, xrat-Aftique also proposed, in line with government housing policies, three building-types ranging from most closed to nos open. There was an apartment building or Muslims,” characterized by ils closed courtyards, “with a general-purpose room. A similar building was provided for Moroc- can Jews, but the courtyard here was latticed and a special room was provided for isoat ing women during their menstrual period, as isthe custom in certain Orthodox Jewish families. There was third type of build: ing langely open to the outside world and designed for Europeans, still considered to bea homogenous social group. Each solu: tion was based on a distinetfacade-type. In a fourth project, even more theoretical since itwasa metaphor for mixed ethnicities plans and clevations of the other three types ‘were combined ina building designed for families of diverse origins, Candilis affirmed cpect that his efforts “were fought by racists” and that, considered himself to bea “dangerous” subversive, he realized “it wvas time to leave the county Candilis and his team would develop the Nid d’Abeille and Sé types for Muslim mass-housing projects building 29 Caribe Coals few calad Hoy Maomad, Conclona, 192, ATBATARgy,rciacs at Oran in the Place Korte and the Terrade quarter.” They also developed model housing for Moroceans, such as the rele type, which would be builtin Algeria and France. ‘The Candis team’s reflections on the minimal habitat would also constitute the basis oftheir response to the Opération Million competition in France, a program, of the Ministére de la Reconstruction et de Urbanism ized housing. After winning the team set to work in 1955 to construct 2,500 apartments in the Paris region and Marseilles Ecochard foresaw the gradual tansforma- tion of horizontal housing projects into fine tionalist rows. Muslim cites would become vertically denser. Aecording to Canalis, Maslin representatives and certain militants forlow-rent and industrial he competition, regarded the “adapted” habitat as a “new form of colonialism, of patemalism and wanted “low-rent public housing like everyone else."* Although this position seemed to reinforce international solutions, the subsequent evolution ofthis housing, which would be transformed and adapted to local eustoms, would prove the reverse to be tme Fundionality and Adapfotion to Lifestyle In Morocco in the 1950s the rigid specifica tion of housing along ethnic and class lines clashed with the universalist tendencies ‘of modemization, which had to this point underpinned the attitudes of the majority of architeets in the modem movement Relativizing the differences between residen: tial cultures, these attitudes gave primaryimportance to the universality of human needs, thereby justifying ization of architecture. Thus in 1953, whi Candis and Woods approached the ques- tion of European housing ontside the ‘metropolis, they concluded that the only standards that could be generalized were those of the Ath ‘apart from specific conditions, protection from heat and humidity, there is no imperative reason for essential differ ences in design, since these projects are conceived by the same people and attempt toachieve the same goals o allow peaple tollivein the same way” At exactly the same time these two architects stucied the habitats of Musl and successfully established, atthe cia meeting in Aix-en-Provence, the weed toadapt to local custorns and not sinoply to-climate. For them, these two points he internationa i Charter. For ther, 3s, Jews, and Europeans, of view were only temporatily i opposi tion, Forthe goal of adapted architecture was to induce inhabitants to gradually adopt modern lifestyles, asin Eeochard’s theory through the mimesis of European models for the modemization of residential patterns. Another idea, rarely made explicit, reine forced this position: modern architect was seen to educate and induce certain, forms of behavior throngh the modem con- veniences it provides. It therefore had a major role to play in modernizing customs, Despite their efforts, these architects still adhered to the prevailing functionalist model, whieh ignored the anthropological dimension or regarded it as merely tr tional. Striving to make architecture more ‘scientific, like most of their colleagues since the nineteenth century, Ci «and Woods believed deep down that there ;ndamental needs common to humanity, and that to assure a successful project ane need only identify those needs lis Between the ‘archaisn’ ofthe human species ~its common store of vital needs ~ and the current reality of diferent cultures, these architects were unable to choose, sometimes referring to one, sometimes to the other all the while denying that our most physiological needs are aso defined and shaped by culture. ‘Traditionally, ctast relied upon knowledge of the ‘hard sciences, notably at the thitd meeting in Brussels in 1930, where knowledge of medicine and the exact seiences was presented as prereg- Uist to any theorizing about architecture and housing, That tradition was now being challenged, and the introduction of another type of knowledge ~that ofthe human sci ‘nies, and anthropology in particular—was shaking the foundations oftheir theories, Moroccan architeets, surrounded by special- is fom the human seiences, appealed fn the one hand to culture when ereating their adapted habitats, and on the other hand to modem civilization in their attempts to make everyone coexist inthe same type ‘of space. What is implicit in this debate is that one’ attachment to a habitat anchored in culture is linked tothe slow develop- ‘ment of certain countries relative to others, hich for these architects was impossible to express. Feochard, aiming to satisfy “for all, the needs of light, space, hygiene, rest, ‘education, and work,” also engaged inthis schizophrenic approach, using modem theory a the bass for projects designed for Europeans, and ethnological or regional criteria for projeets designed for others The buildings of the Carridres Centrales, published in many French and European joumals, marked a eoming-ogether of the universilist approach of modem archi- tecture and ofthe wish to adapt to local cultures and identities that was characteristic ‘of the Team Ten generation.”” These photo- genie buildings thus illustrated the influence ofthe Moroccan experiments both in theo retical and practical terms. Less adapted to the living conditions of Muslim Moroccans than Candilis maintained, these buildings served above al to foster reflection on the ‘minimal habitat~ indeed, on the emergency habitat ~ adaptable to diverse populations ‘concept that still quite relevant today. ‘The achievements of modern Morocean architeets were pat ofa problematic field that Sigfted Giedion defined in 1953 when hhe began looking for signs of a new “regional approach.” Referring to the mass housing ‘of Candilis and Woods, and drawing a paral- Tel between the research of Feochard and that of Sert and Wiener for Guba, Giedion ‘compared the S-by-8 framework to n rows surrounded by walls” of the Egyptian village of Tell el Amarna.* Heed ing the signs ofa growing rebellion within ‘cua, Giedion understood that th ideal ~ based on local specifications and the production of housing for the fringes ofthe ndustrialized world —would have to be derived from Moroccan experiences. ‘ter 1956, reflections by housing designe «ers consisted in improving, without intraduc- ng radical changes, the standard plans for Muslim housing produced by the previous teams, A memorandum from the Ministre des Travaux Publics in 1958 defined the parameters ofthe solutions adopted for con- structing the Derb did housing scheme: its cient We are witnesing an evolution having is starting point in the grounu-loor habitat, which draws itsinpiration 2s much fom the traditional as fiom the rural habia, and whieh i increasingly buildingoriented. Moreover, we will ee that some ofthe solutions provided to thi new pro- gram (singlstrip lots) result in Tots that are all buildable. Elimination ofthe courtyard isthe last step before arriving at the modem andl very ‘urban typeof building” ‘This quietly sated objective marked the end of the domination of the thousand.year old courtyard house. For the two populations native to Moroceo, living in space truce toed according to the codes of another civilization, another culture, another socal class was form of silent education. Inter= nalization of the material ideologies studied by Mauss, Durkheim, Lévi-Strauss, 0 Althusser involved the appropriation of objects, equipment, instruments of daly life, and inhabited spaces, but also the expe ‘ence of school and the street. From this standpoint, Lyautey' strategy, which showed respect for Morocean Muslim culture, played a decisive role fora time, especially for the nascent Moroccan middle clas. ‘The new medina was given ofthe preservation of traditions with regard to gradations from the publi tothe private in the Muslim world, notably presenting a particular type of male-female relationship, But the spatial distbution of Casablanca, which did not replicate these gradations ~ the ‘Muslim’ habitats found inthe Habous or at Ain Chock was an exception ~ as one ofthe first learning experiences for peas: ants ativng in the city, enabling them to become aequainted with and understand, indeed to internalize, certain values of mod crm urban society that both were and were not tinged with colonialist assumptions The hidomvle or shantytown was also a structure of acculturation in a context of forced rural exodus, the inhabitants being placed in a quasi-experimental, transitional situation that ereated needs —a means of relocation that had from time immemori al been employed by the early colonizers, ‘missionaries, and philanthropists reflecting 6on the vernacular habitat. ‘The transition from traditional habitat to ‘modern’ habitat thus helped to cal into question social prac- tices, the structuring of relations between ‘example AN ALTERNATIVE TO FUNCTIONALIST UNIVERSALISM,men and women and between parents and children, and specie codes fr telations between the private and the public, and even relations with the sacred." Asa female Moroccan investigator visting rural families rns avived in the bares nated: “They oscillate between the kanoui (coal Bre] and the butagaz gas stove}. They don't com. plain, butare utery confused Iwas a conftsion that stemmed fron the reversal between private and public and between revealed space and con created by these open halliay buildings, alte spaces that were hiddei it traditional dwellings being exposed in these outward oriented buildings must nevertheless be pointed out that in Casablanca, ad in Morocco generally the government ofthe protectorate never imposed change of va the casein other colonial situations. Enuropean-ype mass housing was proposed only on limited sale, cautiously, to Moroceans who could always choose a traditional dwelling. What appealed to som social groups were the symbols of belong. ing to modernity, symbol tht could be appropriated through access toa new type of dling, From this standpoint, Casal cas architecture played an ambiguous role, first reproducing examples of an exoticism that bordered on the gaudy, then exploring the multiple modes of hybridization and iétisage.” But mos of the new city’s build ings dd not play on this register For exam ple, the ostentatious facades of Casablanca’ major buildings could be seen aan instance of dominance in a county whose buikings, generally without extemal symbol, looked invard to their cousty compositions or formal hierarchies, marked by vetial lines and eupolas, were unknown, The banker Louis Renandin remarked in 954, “Offical designs have shown a pro- dspace that was itat by violence, as d, and where axial moniaue even nounced tendeney tof -e the indigenous habitat in is archaic form, whereas it must be made to evolve towards mare modem formulas” Renaudin thought that someday the native Moroccans woudl complain ‘of having been confined toa “subordinate station” in such dwellings, whereas they would have quickly “aspired to share those that we reserve for Europeans” He agreed in this espect with the Morocean represen- tatives on the Commission du Logement, hich was very much in favor of offering ‘modem mass housing to Muslims, and stressed that “the administration should not seek to respect traditions more tha people concemed do." Other Moroccan representatives accused the French of block ing the advancement of the Moroccan working clases by reproducing the structure tional individual house, whereas went building appeared to them as asynbol oFentyy into the modem world Faced with this question, Moroeeans were divided in their responses. Nationalist demands were accompanied by a complex vision ofthe links between colonization and modemization. Moroccans could react in ‘er diferent ways, depending on their his tory, their position in society, and their place of residence, natnuly colonial situation, members ofa dom rated socely experience foreign intevention san attack on theit traditions, and this aggsesion ‘can trigger certain forms of rejection, But in horderine cases, Feely accepted acculturation nds fo the internal dynamics ofthe indigenous sci: Accepting this form of modemization = suicenmbing to the sien song, of modernity and acceding toa type of comfort bearing the stamp of other cultures —s ot without inmer conflict. Mohammed Boughsli rightly noted that “between tradition and moder- nity the choice isnot eas,” for “one has to embrace both while remaining oneself In the early «70s Boughali also said, “The traditional Moroccan masses call the rising generation “our local colonizers ‘or ‘colonizers from within.” The extent to whieh, for such populations, modemiza- tion was likened to colonization could hardly be mote clear. ‘Translated from the French by Neville Sauer. Thistle is contimation ofeach done in «elaboration with Jat Loi Coen, within the framework ofthe lise programs of the Butea de a Recher Achtecuale ofthe Miser de la Care andthe Minin de Equgement ‘ance and publish s Canlane mthe et Fre Foe aventura Hazan 98) JeatLanis Cohen contributed tthe section desling swith henson aspect of ens An abe ‘ervion of thisatick ws published in Les eter dela choc architecture urine Nation (Pars: Etna ptrioine, 999), 8.25, p85, oma by Le Cote arte ct etn, oh93, Thi approach silt the heart of nays in ‘he publication tat reed fom the 86 of 93, ow Liss Sees Can Our Cities Serie? (Cambridge, Me: Harvard Univesy Pres, 192 (0, Newnan, “A Shot Review of cas Acts” inv can'5ym Ot Statin Karl Kener), See fnile Bonnet panraate hess Limp lation dea motion habitat dele eg des 14M tes conguences, defended in 97 within the posse “Projet architect twin ram inl by arhitetral chao Paci Alem ad Peter Sithon, “Collective Housing 1 Moroeco” Architectural Desig 25 ast 155 Michel Eochard LAvtitetire Caan hi 6 (he 95) 5640. AH, Sabatier, “Les ablations bon march Maro," Usboivme 46 Jungs 936) 252-03 Aad completed by the emergence of maine Moco thinking abot honor Jews, eho ‘wee peroeied as specie group nso fra they rere Moroccan Mean wardens hosing was built os 3955 ona, tor the ren Ginna Piaf, J. Carsaed, La Casa Mice cochard, “Urbanism constuction pourle pis grand nombre,” Annaler de frre (Onlober 195). 6 Jacques Berge, “Medina, vlles newest bidon- vile? Cahier de aie (bras 1959 Michel Ecochard, “Note sr Habitat, Dietion de TUshanime, 94” Ministre des Mies engines ua, Nantes Centre ds archives diplomats, Delegue aE Residence générale, carton 1, Habit st nbanie The notion of minal housing had sled beer Bscsd inthe 9308" habitat indigenes Marae,” Chants nein August 1924) 6. sa ict Mi haere Cine the er15 Ande Aa, Le “idole” de Ben Mik Gasblaea, otribution 3 tude dy potaiat mlnan ou Mare Agen La Typo-tho et ules Carbone, ggo and Rebert Montagne, Neinance 4 para marca, ent collective 1998-1950 (Pas Pesonnet & Cie nd) 26 Plone Mas, "Lbaniation atl ay Marve es “idole,” La Vie wlan (9) 85-20. 17 Minne fhe meeting of the Commision dex ogerents ons Jy 999, Domier Mos cone sys sa, Nats, 16 The project forthe new Yacoub et Mamwr Abt -stubed by Feacls depatent oe Rabat ad pblshed under the gate ofthe gop of Morocco" — wat nef Ca “bith amaouncement” Soe "Rabet Sala new satelite ova in The Heart ofthe City Tid the Hunuriation of Urban Life, Jacqueline Tye, Las Set, and met N. Rogers (New Yok Fellini and Coal 9 Geoges Calis in interview with Jear-Laas shen and Monge Ele, Pa aan 99, 26 Geanges Canalis, “Habitat cole ator “Choe AbuAfigue simmers ype” Aoi ectiedeuant ht (Contnbuton frase ‘Féoltion de architect. Habiin) 4 (bry March 1953) 95-95 The man prewar ste of he bldg ae Robert Montagne, Vil asus Berd table del vie seal cds bres identi ans lend du Maro Pari F Alea, x30} ent Tease, Kasha behie de lat deo, es grande architects do wed marcein Pati: Hon de Face, 1938), More cet ste inhi Iacqes Mews, Crenereciadeles x Mere (Pais 2 et Mees Gaphiqucs, 95) ean One Kaxbuh x plein il (Pati: Famimaton 1), Panel captin i the ean La Cie wae at The es meeting in Aven Provence, 9, gale Archives 25 Cans, f-99 24 “Recherche por des lagen’ écoaniges, par arate” Livehiectued eur 60 {ene 95) 4 2 Ferthisopraton the cousrction details of hich arcolined by Hen Ps} an forthe achievements of rast se Habit collet stocsin ACaablanea” LAvtctr dud go (ebriur-March 93) 54-55: 57 December 1954). pgp. See slo Cau, fn, Wood, une dere Fachucctue et wrsaione Pas yell, wf). 26 AndtéStoder, in an uted bole on bis work published 197 27 “Tmenbles3 Casblaea, Jean Hench, etude ee moniaue cies Andee Siler* LAtcietie asin ba 60 Jane 1955, 58-30, Comstrylion wos supervised by ses Zinder, ieubles 3 Casblaves, ean Hen, Adee Sten” 38-95 ‘Seearteles published in Barope:"Woh projekt fr Arabersedlingen in Casablanca, Marko” Wert Janay 196) aa “Housing t Cabana” Architect Desig (Api 99). Inthe abuence of se achive. ne ny fi ‘ef decurpents among the paper of Hen Tenemin and athe Mini de habitat, Rabat. Vlad Botan, Habitation pone pls grand ‘amb (Uited Nations, Social and Econo Coane na 953) Zach: Archies gar 4 InSb. This document was dtd in 952 the cis meeting Saga, Swede in pepe tion forthe gah meeting In oranizng the meting, Candi worked with, Woot th hd joined the wrst-fiqi tan, aswel a with the young Brith architect Brat Richa, See Canalis secon “cnt 9 Aven Provence, jullet 9557 LAvehietie aoe 9 (Octet 193), fr Photograph ofthe cases gi ne peeved in the popes of facqueline Tyrwhit Acbines laf hs of the Atwsr gid are atthe Mint de abit, Rabat A eport onthe case meeting fv une 19 sarong the Eliane and Hens “Tastenain Papers, Rabat coche ater to And Blo, Kone, March tos Fonds Renchad, ad “Habitat pone nombre: um exempleype, Flabilt a erin LArhitete Cord 5-51 (December 1953). Alon and Peter Snithon, The projets were tepublahed some ten year later in Alton Sion, cc. Team 1 Pamer London: Stila Vita) 74-7, Alison Sith, Team x0 Meetings (New York Biro 99), Srathon, Te 30 Metings, 9-20, See ao Alison sand Peter Snthson, 27, Robert Ae and a anki, Maro-Casablanea- Carrs centres” Ency lopaie de Furbanisme (Pari csIwVincent Trea 93) p20 the brochate meted betneen pas 13 Ecochard, “Habitat naan au Maroc? 36-40, Aint Adu Casablaea, xa sara tonsormation dl wet maroeaine au ont de FOccident (Paris Eons dren, 1968), vol ‘Statement by Geonges Candi in he postgaduate ‘progam "Le projet arcitectr bin 531 Famay 998 Inert Geenges Calis, niet etc sues (7 Decetber 1994 92-92 45 Candis, ese, Woes, 39-30, 2s Al Hite Minaucaus, Ora, 3 oxsing nits ofthe Tf and Nor-dbuilingypes were bi, hile 6 were bt Sidi Bel Abbi, AY A soxeBois ing, 0 ofthe Tele pe wee bi & 4p leew wi sie 492 4 Georges Cans and Sadach Woods, “Preblnes ‘Thabiat eurpéex horde a mitopo” [Ahi tecture ened ha 4 {Ferary-Match 1953), 8 47 They were stated on the cover of LAriectune Aayjourd hatin December 054. 48 Sige Giedon, “The Regional Approach Ari tetra Reso Jars 95) 852-37: epee i Avitestre, You and Me: The Diary oft Dolop ment (Care, Mas. Harvard Universi Pres, 1968; publ in French as Architect te collet (Pats: Deno, 198), 4 Note ser Fotion des rorommes de comstution de otzenent de Pia Nine des aan pubis, 1938), 3 Ministre de F Habitat, Raat, oxo: 52 compro withthe Freeh tation of polis on rasformatn, normalization. and aeuution ‘the working claves by means of babitt merit fuer tay here, ie bow certain plies in Morocco prompt pilathropss Hens, ‘strato, and rforers athe Mie sei ‘late on half the Pench working elas for ‘Similar ideal Bgecs cafots, See especial the Tien Silage antag (ans: '9fo)and Parte Bout, “Tos des etnolo- ‘eka: La iano oe mond even” nie sguined ne thrid patqueCEeneve: Dra, 1973) Other stad hve highlighted the sharp ‘beak epesented by the psage fo a tail habitat one imposed by anaer cle for ‘etn, Cade Léi Stas, Triste Tig: [Paris lon. 955, at Pete Boartiw adAbdel- ‘mak Sana, Le déracnement (Pa: Mint 196). 52 Statement epted by Colette Petonnet,"Hspace, Akstance, dmerion dana ne oc asian” homme 2 (Apai-fane 972) lis Ingéniur e aritces term ed by Set Moline i is“ tndinen”Expce aban, pre ve Sgr a pre 5 988), ise habia en Afigued Nd (Pas: Conia eer a Ph, 95) 95 Sia EL Nad member ofthe Corunision do ogee the Direction de ate, meeting af Jl 99, Dar Mac, 1585, Nantes Nathan Wah hire, Jcqpes Le Gland Pee Noa {Parc Gallia 97) va... Mohunted Bough Le wpcettion de Pepe chee Main atari Alps) 34 ccaraton in ate de AM ALTERNATIVE TO FUNCTIONALIST UNIVERSALISM