Lev Masiel Sanchez - PhD in Art History, Associate Professor at the Higher School of Economics.
Published in an abridged form
My today's lecture is a story about four countries, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt, their architecture in the XX and XXI centuries. They are logically united by their Islamic heritage, approximately the same time of arrival of the European - either the colonialists, or simply the co-owners of the territories, since in the case of Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt these were not colonies, but protectorates, that is, local authorities retained a large share of independence. One of the key topics of my lecture is the problem of the influence of the political context on religious architecture, the other is the emergence of modernism in the Maghreb, its development, transformation and "refraction" in situations related to politics and religion.
Morocco has a rich heritage of modernism. Since the topic of our lecture is political and religious, I will hardly talk about residential buildings. There are tens of thousands of houses in Morocco from the 1920s to 30s. Sometimes these are outstanding buildings, but we are still interested in how society as a whole and the authorities expressed themselves in architecture, and not individuals. In the field of urban planning, the main idea of the resident general - the head of the protectorate administration - Marshal Lyautet was the separation of the old city and the new. Thus, two hares were, as it were, killed at once: the political hare, namely the desire to divide the local population and the non-local, to build a beautiful new city for Europeans and the progressive bourgeoisie outside the old fortifications, and the cultural hare - not to touch the old city, to preserve its beauty, even if and leaving people to live in it in rather difficult conditions, but in the way they are used to. Medina, as the old cities are called, are extremely picturesque. The idea to attract tourists was already there, in the 20s of the twentieth century Morocco was very actively promoted in the French and Spanish tourist markets as an important holiday destination. It turned out that the idea of building a new city outside the medina, and not touching the medina at all and not changing anything in it, turned out to be fruitful in this context. This approach was heavily criticized by the "left" architects, supporters of Le Corbusier, who in magazines smashed the "vile colonialists" who are depriving the Moroccan population of decent living conditions.
The outstanding urban planner Anri Prost, who previously worked in Algeria, Istanbul, Caracas, and his employee Albert Laprad were involved in projects for new districts. One of their striking works is the Hubus quarter, or the so-called New Medina of Casablanca. Casablanca was and remains the largest port and commercial capital of Morocco. Let me emphasize that neither Morocco nor Algeria were perceived as distant colonies, where novice architects were sent to practice Palladianism. Well-known, recognized architects worked there, which significantly affected the impeccable quality of local buildings in the 1920s and 1930s.
The two people who mainly created the Hubus quarter and, in general, the architecture of Morocco in the 1920s and 1930s - I repeat, this is a very large number of buildings, you can spend whole weeks inspecting and photographing them - these are Edmond Brion and Auguste Cadet. Here are four characters that created what we'll be looking at.
The Hubus quarter is very indicative from a number of points of view. Khubus is an Islamic charitable organization, a kind of foundation. In Casablanca, as in other cities, the problem of overpopulation arose, and they decided to build Hubus as a quarter for the wealthy bourgeoisie who had emigrated from old-fashioned Fez. The Jewish community of Casablanca offered the Islamic Fund to transfer a large plot of land to it for a certain amount for construction. The Islamic Foundation could not directly accept the land from the Jews, so they called the king to mediate. All this ended with the king taking three quarters of the land for himself - and on it a giant palace was erected, which is now used - and the remaining quarter was transferred to the Hubus Foundation. And he transferred the land to the French protectorate so that the French could sign construction contracts. The latter entrusted the project to Prost and Laprad - Prost was the chief urban planner, and Laprad was the chief architect - and in about 2-3 years they came up with a complete plan of the quarter. Then these architects left for Paris, and Brion and Cadet were engaged in construction for almost 30 years.
The quarter turned out to be like Disneyland, only made with very good taste. The idea was to recreate an ancient city with the look of old, beautiful Morocco, but technically perfect. So that there was running water, everything was well ventilated, and there was a lot of greenery. But at the same time, since the new residents are accustomed to their old conditions, then, for example, the doors of houses are never located opposite each other, so that from one courtyard in no case it would be possible to see another, because there is private life, arcades along the streets are widely used, etc. Everything was arranged there as in a medieval city: public baths, three bakeries, three mosques. Actually, this is the last big project in the mainstream of historicism. It was started in 1918 and was already a little old-fashioned at the time. But there was a special purpose here - it was built for the local population, which was supposed to love this kind of architecture. And for the French population, a different architectural language was used.
Religious Christian architecture appears very quickly, because Morocco has turned out to be a comfortable country for living, it is warm there, it is convenient to do business, near the sea. And so there began a massive flow of immigrants from France and other European countries. Remember the famous film "Casablanca", this is 1943, only 30 years have passed since Morocco became French, and in Casablanca almost half of the population is Europeans. Accordingly, gigantic new neighborhoods are growing and churches need to be built.
Adrien Laforgue is the man who in 1927 headed all Moroccan architecture, because Prost left for France. Laforgue was a greater modernist, inclined towards "left" ideas, and not a supporter of the separation of Moroccans and French, that is, in this sense, more progressive. He approached architecture in the same way.
An example of his work is the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre in Rabat (1919 - 1921). There is a desire to keep a reminder of classical architecture here. But in the bulk you see on the right, it's hard to catch. The two-towered facade is considered Catholic, the shape of the towers refers to the Gothic monuments of the Norman type. In general, this is an atypical allusion, and, of course, even an ordinary educated person cannot read it. A kind of rectangularity is seen, reminiscent of modernity. Introduced modern elements, everything is so cubist, transparent. In France, they have always loved the graphic in architecture, and in the architecture of Morocco, this graphic is well felt. The fact is that both Rabat and Casablanca are white cities, and therefore the graphics work even better. There is no color architecture at all: if everything is pink in Marrakech, and yellowish in Fez, Casablanca and Rabat are completely white.
This cathedral is real Cubism, although it doesn't sound like what is called Cubism in architecture, I mean Czech Cubism from the 1910s. Nevertheless, I would allow myself to draw certain parallels with the corresponding pictorial movement. Jules Borly, director of the fine arts service of Laforgue, wrote: “We would like to superimpose the calmness of lines and volumes that we learned from ancient oriental architecture, and prevent the further construction of pompous buildings saturated with grimacing surface columns, various large excesses, monstrous cartouches that were built before still on the streets of Tunisia,Orana [this is the second largest city in Algeria], Algeria, as well as in the Spanish part of Morocco and on the streets of Casablanca. Real cardboard cake pseudo-Moroccan style”. That is, there was a program quite worthy of Le Corbusier at the local level. An example of getting rid of this pseudo-Moroccan is the interior of the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre with references to the Cistercian tradition. Let me remind you that this was an interesting period between Romanesque and Gothic in the 12th century, when it was completely devoid of decor. These are the strictest medieval interiors.
The second cathedral is the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Casablanca. It was built in 1930-1931, then there was a very long break, and finished in 1951-1952. Its architect is Paul Tournon, author of a very important but little-known monument, downright manifesto of the historicizing architecture of the 1920s - the giant Church of the Holy Spirit in Paris, a huge replica of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople made of concrete. In Casablanca, the architect's reference point is the medieval Gothic cathedrals of Catalonia, in which thin tall columns, free naves, merging into a single space. Here a five-aisled plan is very rare in Europe, where almost all cathedrals are three-aisled. But in Africa in early Christian times, five-aisled churches were often built. Therefore, there is a special reference to local Christianity here. It was very important for the colonialists to emphasize that they did not come, but returned, because even before Islam, there was a flourishing Christian culture here. It was important to emphasize this connection with early Christianity in Africa. The entire space of the church is flooded with light. Turnon was specially given a condition, and he himself wrote that everything needs to be built large, and at the same time so that it is cheap. Therefore, he built everything in turn on the grass, moving from the western facade to the east. The money ran out pretty quickly, when only three grass were built, and the cathedral stood in such a strange form for 20 years. The cathedral was active, services were held in it, and then, when money was saved, it was completed to the east to the end.
This fits well with the French church tradition of the 1920s and 1930s. High, specially marked facade - to be higher than the mosque to emphasize the importance of Catholicism in these lands. The interior is all transparent. It is now a large antique market and fits well with this building. It is fairly neutral and can be used for a variety of purposes. Pay attention to thin columns, good stained glass windows. Everything is shimmering. I was here on a gloomy winter day. But if you imagine that this is a city where the temperature is above 35 degrees for half a year, the sun is very bright and it is hot all the time, then this is a huge space filled with light and air. And the building is very practical. Here, Tournon proved to be true to his practical approach. Everything is well drawn. All this cannot be called Art Deco, but the lamps are almost copied from something American.
In the 50s, church architecture changed markedly. Just at this time, craftsmen who were born in the 1900s and who grew up "on Corbusier" begin to work in it. That is, the ideological clashes of the 1930s are a thing of the past. As you know, Corbusier himself in the 40s and 50s was engaged in church architecture a lot, creating a chapel in Ronshan.
The work of the architect Ashile Danglter is the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Casablanca. I could not find anything about him. I must say right away that the local architecture of the 20th century is very poorly studied. In 1991, one of the first works was published - the work of Gwendoline Wright "The Politics of Design in French Colonial Urbanism", which deals with Vietnam, Madagascar and Morocco, but it considers buildings before World War II. And this temple is an interesting modernist work of 1954-1956. Since the cathedral is no longer in use, this temple became the main Catholic church in Casablanca. In the interior, this is a traditional three-aisled space, vertical axes are emphasized in every possible way. And all the possibilities of rough, unplastered concrete are used in combination with stained-glass windows. In France, the theme of combining these two surfaces was most relevant after the war, and its masterpiece is the 110-meter huge Saint-Joseph Church in Le Havre by Auguste Perret.
Probably the best thing that modernism has created on African soil is the Sacré-Coeur cathedral in Algeria by architects Paul Erbe and Jean Le Couter. Erbe worked extensively in other colonies, in Mali and Niger, so he had a particular interest in African topics. It is no coincidence that the plan of this church resembles a fish, a Christian symbol, because the architects of that time followed the path of symbolism, and not to historical references. The cathedral was built between 1958 and 1962. And exactly in 1962, Algeria gained independence. Initially, it was supposed to be a church, but since the main cathedral was once converted from a mosque, it was returned to the Muslims, and this building became a cathedral. The general idea is a tent, it is based on the words from the psalms "The Lord has pitched a tent among us." That is, the Lord, as it were, approached us. On the other hand, of course, this is a hint of Algeria, a nomadic lifestyle and local specifics. The cathedral is still in operation. It has a very high basement, the total height of the building is 35 meters. The interior features a dome permeated with light; the theme of concrete is brilliantly developed here. One gets the impression that this is a light straw tent. It is very interesting how this imitation is made in concrete. Everything rests on very complex surfaces, crumpled like fabric, with narrow windows with stained-glass windows cut between them. The altar part, the side walls are made in the form of screens. Again, this is a hint of a tent, something temporary and just now set up. Of course, this is very much in the spirit of post-reform Catholicism. Let me remind you that at this moment the Second Vatican Council was taking place, which made a number of radically important decisions to bring the church closer to the daily needs of believers, to the answer to the questions they asked, and not to those that the church itself once invented. And just here we have an expression of this wonderful spirit of free Catholicism, addressed to Christ and man, and not to the tradition and history of the church. It is very important.
And here you see the symbols. Here are the outlines of the heart, because the cathedral is dedicated to the heart of Jesus. And from different points of his corner, this heart is beautifully drawn. This is a very powerful architecture. In the center, it is calm, but if you step to the side, you see the powerful movements of these columns, they are all located at different angles. And therefore the columns create a dynamic composition, as if pulling this tent in different directions. This is a very lively space. Another interesting example: an original IV century mosaic found here is installed right into the wall. There are kilometers of these mosaics in Algeria, and one of them is here, with a Christian inscription. This is a reminder of the antiquity of Christianity in the Algerian land.
Now we will move on to a slightly different type of buildings, also of late modernism - free. One of them was made by Soviet architects; it is a monument to Soviet-Egyptian friendship in Aswan. In the 60s, with the support of the USSR, they began to build the giant Aswan Dam, and the 75-meter monument was built in 1970-1975, architects - Yuri Omelchenko and Pyotr Pavlov. The idea is a lotus flower, which form powerful pylons. Of course, the monument fits into the tradition of Soviet monumental construction, but it is not devoid of local themes. Firstly, this is the lotus plot, and secondly, there are curious bas-reliefs there. Ernst Neizvestny was involved in the initial project, and in the center there was to be a large stele with bas-reliefs. However, this was not approved, the architect Nikolai Vechkanov was invited, and he made a good Egyptian-style bas-relief, with a hint of local tradition.
We have smoothly moved from the colonial era to another, more progressive time. Before us again is the harbor of Algeria, it is a beautiful, very charming city, large-scale and picturesque. On the mountain there is a Monument to the Martyrs, where guests of the country are always brought. This is 1981-1982, a building conceived by President Huari Boumedienne. He was a great friend of the Soviet Union and the socialist camp. As often happens in socialist countries, Bashir Yelles received an order, not just an artist, but the president of the local Academy of Arts for 20 years. Another sculptor, and also an official, director of the Krakow Academy of Arts, Marian Konechny, was involved. Both of them are still alive, very old, but actively continue their activities.
The result of this tandem was a monument in which one can suspect a certain development of the idea laid down in Aswan. Only these are no longer lotus petals, but palm leaves. They rise 20 meters above the corresponding monument in Egypt. I note that this is very important, because any politician, before approving an order for the construction of an object, will definitely check that it is the highest in the world. At least higher than that in the neighboring country. This is a prerequisite. Of course, Egypt is the center of Arab culture, especially because of the cinema in the 40s and 50s and the policies of President Nasser, and simply because of the huge population. It is the largest Arab country, Egypt has always been the flagship, and the rest of the Arab countries competed with it. Especially the countries located west of Egypt: they were not very oriented towards Saudi Arabia and Iraq, but they were not oriented towards Egypt all the time. And also to Europe, emphasizing in every possible way that they are generally "not very much to do with" in the whole of Arab history. The most Arab, most Islamic countries on earth - and at the same time European: a rather contradictory position. So, the Monument to the Martyrs was built by a Canadian company. It is not very ideal in proportions, a 20-meter flashlight is squeezed between the leaves at the top. The monument is dedicated to the victims of the revolution, participants in the liberation war against the French. It symbolizes Islamic culture, which is moving towards a bright modernist future. This is the vision of the 80s. While modernism is inherited from the colonial era and is actively used, and then, starting with the postmodern 1990s, everything will be completely different. It is interesting that these figures, made by Marian Konnecz, seem to have descended from the French monuments to the victims of the First World War. They are very similar in style.
We now turn to the central figure of today's lecture. This is an outstanding French architect Fernand Pouillon (1912-1986), who worked extensively in Algeria. He grew up in Marseille, southern France. He began to build very early, and he was an extremely resourceful person in terms of technology and marketing. He came up with different ways of building cheap housing, developed a large system of fast and cheap construction. In his chosen field, he was very successful, and only at the age of 30 he attended to receiving an architect's diploma. And he has always remained the envy of his colleagues who have passed the classical school of architecture. In the 50s, he pulled ahead and received orders for the construction of new areas around Paris, founded a company that also dealt with contracts. Thanks to this, he made the construction process even cheaper. But business was not conducted ideally, and it ended with the fact that in 1961 he was arrested for various embezzlements. Soon Pouillon was hospitalized. It was assumed that it was tuberculosis, but it turned out that he contracted something in Iran, where he also worked. In 1962 he escaped from the clinic and went into hiding for six months in Switzerland and Italy. As a result, he was nevertheless re-arrested and sentenced to four years in prison, but in 1964 he was released for health reasons. And since he was struck off all lists of architects in France - his diploma was canceled and he was persona non grata - he had to leave for Algeria. In general, he was able to leave for Algeria, because during the war between France and Algeria for independence in 1954-1962, he spoke in the French press for granting independence to Algeria. In early 1966, he received the post of architect of all resorts in Algeria and erected a large number of objects. Further, his fate turned out well, because in 1971 French President Georges Pompidou pardoned him. In 1978 it was returned to the register of architects, giving the opportunity to build in France. But he returned to his native country only in 1984, and a year later he received the Order of the Legion of Honor and soon died in the castle of Bel Castel: He bought this medieval castle in his native village and put it in order at his own expense. Pouillon was a colorful man with an interesting biography.
We will look at one important object near the city of Algeria, it seems to me the most significant for our topic: this is the Sidi Frej resort. It was built on a promontory. Let me remind you that Pouillon was responsible for all resorts in Algeria. There were a number of Puyon buildings in Sidi Frej, but we will consider the main complex - West Beach, where the architect erected a complex of buildings around the bay. Here we partly return to the theme of historicism, it is becoming more and more popular. We will see later how important it will be for the politicians of the 90s and further on the field of winning Islamic sympathies in their countries. But it is also attractive to Western tourists who come in droves and want to see more than just concrete boxes that were built everywhere in the 60s. In the 70s, a tourist already wants to see a certain eastern paradise, something unique; when he travels to the East, he wants to see the East. This is despite the fact that North Africa is called Maghreb, "where the sunset" - that is, it is the west for the Arab world. For Europe, this is the East.
Therefore, Pouillon creates a very successful image, because when you look, it seems that this is a historic city, consisting of buildings of different styles. There is a very old tower, behind it is a modernist building, on the left there are various buildings. But in fact, everything was done according to one project in about ten years. Both modernism and historical hints are used here, but almost without details. There are very few direct quotes here. The only theme that is noticeable is, oddly enough, the theme of Venice - a kind of generalized East. For example, a combination of a wooden palace taken from the desert and, as it were, a rural mosque is actually a shop. And a steep bridge reminiscent of the Rialto Bridge. There is also a channel motive. However, the type of palace - it is, of course, Islamic - but if you remember the architecture of the Venetian Gothic of the 15th century, the Ca-d'Oro Palace, for example, in this Gothic there are many forms that also seem to be oriental. It is no coincidence that this orientalism works in Sidi Frej and the Venetian associative series.
With this Pouillon resort, we have gradually entered the postmodern era. And at the end of the twentieth century, his influence is increasing. We looked at applied things, and now we turn to state-building programs after the independence of the North African countries. There it was important to assert continuity, and this applies to both the monarchy and the republics.
The Moroccan King Hassan II built the tallest mosque in the world in Casablanca: the height of the minaret is 210 meters. Casablanca was the most European city in Morocco, so it was important to emphasize the presence of Islam there. It's about the 80s, this is the moment when Islam begins to rise. Disappointment in the social policy of the ruling circles of the Arab republics and, in part, the monarchy leads to the growth of pro-Islamic religious sentiments. Accordingly, local politicians must seize the initiative from the radicals, and therefore the construction of state mosques begins.
It is noteworthy that the order for the construction was received by the French architect Michel Pensot. The place was chosen by Hasan II himself, he put a mosque on the seashore, which had never been done before: the king emphasized the importance of uniting the great elements of the earth and the sea through faith. In general, the mosque is designed in the forms typical for Morocco. She has a giant underground floor. The minaret was placed in a completely non-standard way in the middle of the complex, and even at an angle. This immediately makes the building, which has many allusions to tradition, very modern. This is the only mosque in Morocco that the king allowed non-believers to enter, paying $ 12: this helps to recoup the costs of its construction. When you come here, they tell you only about kilograms of gold, about a thousand folk craftsmen who painted everything day and night. It tells about precious wood and marble, how many cubic meters of water passes through the fountains that beat in the lower tier of the building, etc. Often such luxury seems like a senseless waste of human strength and money, but such is the specificity of the political order and people's expectations from it. Everything should be exactly luxurious. The interiors are based on Egyptian rather than Moroccan mosques.
The second project of the same mosque, this time in Algeria, was implemented for a very long time - 25 years, from 1970 to 1994. This is Constantine, the third largest city in Algeria. The giant mosque is dedicated to the fighter against the French in the 19th century, Emir Abdelkader. Local architect Mustafa Mansour built an Egyptian-style mosque. And here we are again talking about the unexpected return of classical historicism. Such a thing is worthy of the 1890s, emphatically old-fashioned, referring to historicism and orientalism of a partly colonial type. Nevertheless, it turned out that people just do not want modernist monumentalism, but something fundamentally different. Of course, everything turns out a little unnatural, unnatural, different forms are confused here. Round windows are taken from typical Gothic architecture, an element that is impossible in the Islamic tradition. Column capitals are accurately copied from columns from antique Moroccan buildings. Dome in the neo-Byzantine style of the late 19th century. Here are collected elements of different mosques, for example, the Great Mosque of Cordoba. Light naves surround the central core on four sides, followed by a large dark area, and in the center a large light dome giving light.
In the 21st century we will finish our lecture. Strange as it may seem, historicism is not going away, although in the 21st century attempts to modernize it have begun. It is surprising that while the whole world is building buildings completely devoid of historical allusions, they remain important in northern Africa - because during the independence period, the authorities have achieved little in the field of real improvement of people's lives and cannot offer them a new modernization project. And then she begins to cling to the past and constantly talk about the greatness that comes from this past. We are well aware of this situation, we are now also experiencing it.
The Library of Alexandria (1995-2002) is a well-known project, I will not dwell on it in detail. The famous Norwegian architectural bureau "Snøhetta" was engaged in the building. This is the only building in North Africa, which is known to anyone interested in the architecture of the XXI century. I would like to draw your attention to the ideas behind the building. It's wonderful, first-class architecture, so all the hints here are very neat. The surface of the building is round, it is the sun, the radiance of knowledge that spreads from the library. Let me remind you that there was a plan to restore the ancient library of Alexandria - at public expense, with huge funds, perhaps without special need. It was an important project for President Mubarak, who wanted to show his involvement in everything modern. The round building is slightly recessed, part of it is very impressively flooded with water, in which palm trees are reflected. Part of the facades is faced with stone, which resembles the walls of ancient Egyptian temples, only the building is round. It is embossed with characters in 120 languages to highlight the worldwide significance of the Library of Alexandria. The famous interior, all in wood, with a wall of black labrador. It contains all the necessary historical hints, but it is made at an outstanding global level and therefore is modern.
Various modern buildings are currently under construction in Morocco, and they are trying to attract good architects. There is also its own architectural school: you saw what the level of construction was in Morocco in the 30s and 50s. The first terminal of the Marrakesh airport (2005-2008) seems to me to be a successful solution to the question of how to combine the historical with the modern. The building is visually light, there is an Islamic influence, but it is “technological”.
The new railway station in Marrakech (2008) by architect Yusuf Mellehi is also a good example of working with tradition. The station is more traditional than the airport, but it is neither shallow nor boring. No specific traditional form is repeated here, there are only hints. And, what is nice, there is a good skill to work with both details and material combinations. Unplastered bricks are used, metal - a clock is made of it and a lattice - glass and plaster. The building is transparent and glows in the evening under the rays of the setting sun, and at night - with internal lighting.
