Books by marta colmenares
La forma en que construimos y transformamos nuestro entorno ha demostrado ser insostenible, habie... more La forma en que construimos y transformamos nuestro entorno ha demostrado ser insostenible, habiendo llegado el momento de replantearnos el modo en que lo hacemos. La construcción, la arquitectura y el urbanismo tradicionales constituyen una fuente inagotable de las más útiles soluciones y referencias válidas para acometer esta labor. Optimizadas durante siglos por los pobladores de las diversas regiones para adaptarlas a sus particulares condiciones físicas, geográficas y culturales, constituyen un legado tan insustituible como tristemente amenazado por el avance del proceso globalizador. Terrachidia es joven asociación que nace con estas premisas, desarrollando su actividad con este punto de partida. Su actividad se centra por ello en acercar esta idea a la sociedad, incidiendo especialmente en el ámbito de la arquitectura, donde, paradójicamente, resulta singularmente ninguneada e incluso rechazada. Con este fin, surgen sus talleres en el Oasis de M’Hamid, el último en el valle del río Draa, en los límites del desierto del Sáhara, un lugar extremo donde estas tradiciones muestran sus múltiples valores con meridiana claridad. Los participantes reciben de ellas una lección difícil de olvidar y los maestros locales, que siguen aún atesorando ese legado, se convierten en sus mejores transmisores.
The way we build and transform our environment has shown to be unsustainable. The time has come to rethink how we do it. Traditional building, architecture and urbanism are an inexhaustible source of the most useful solutions and valid references to undertake this task. These traditions have been optimized during centuries by the diverse regions inhabitants to adapt them to their specific physical, geographic and cultural conditions, becoming an irreplaceable legacy, nowadays sadly threatened by the globalization process. Terrachidia is a young association born from these premises, developing its activity from this starting point. Consequently, its work is focused on instilling these ideas into our society, especially into the architectural field, where, paradoxically, they are singularly ignored or even rejected. This is the aim which originated its workshops in the M’Hamid Oasis, the last one in the Drâa river valley, in the vicinity of the Sahara desert, an extreme place where these traditions most clearly show their multiple values. Participants are taught a difficult to forget lesson from them and from the local masters, who continue treasuring these knowledge, becoming its best transmitters.
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Papers by marta colmenares
Purpose
The M’Hamid Oasis is the last of the palm groves in the Drâa Valley, in Southern Morocco... more Purpose
The M’Hamid Oasis is the last of the palm groves in the Drâa Valley, in Southern Morocco. The 13 villages (ksar/ksour in Arabic) in M’Hamid share many sociological, urban, and architectural similarities with the ksour located in the pre-Saharan valleys. These similarities range from environmental threats, such as extreme climate, to the current social and economic model. As a result, the settlements are being abandoned, and the tangible and intangible heritage of the Drâa Valley is in a progressive disappearance. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
To deal with the complexity of this problem, a progressive approach beginning at the territorial scale must be developed. In this regard, a lasting solution can be found only by promoting development that integrates nature, culture, and architecture, as well as by finding a new balance of these elements within the current social and economic requirements.
Findings
This paper presents part of the research conducted by the team of the Terrachidia Association, which allows an overall understanding of the place. To this aim, the new social and economic context of the Drâa Valley is pointed out, as well as the characteristic features of M’Hamid architecture and urbanism. In this regard, the principles and requirements of its conservation are presented, and the project of the Terrachidia Association is also described. Finally, the project’s impact is assessed and the results of the set of interventions are evaluated.
Practical implications
Since 2012, the activity of the Terrachidia Association has focussed on the study, promotion, preservation, and restoration of the architectural and cultural heritage of M’Hamid. The main activity of the association focusses on the organization of workshops, which are attended mainly by university students and professionals from around the world.
Social implications
In total, 13 workshops were organized since 2012, thanks to the engagement of the local population. In this period, around 300 participants from more than 15 different countries attended these workshops, working with approximately a 100 local craftsmen. All of them share a similar commitment to the work that Terrachidia is developing. These workshops allow the participants to know places and people in a way hardly achievable through conventional tourism. At the same time, this awareness is also achieved in the local population, and cultural exchange strengthens its identity.
Originality/value
The purpose of the workshops organized by Terrachidia is manifold, and the participants actively take part in the restoration works while they interact and exchange experiences with a reality that is generally unknown in western societies. The local population also benefits from this cultural exchange by strengthening their identity, which is linked to architecture, and demonstrating the economic possibilities of conservation through responsible tourism. And these aims are achieved through a self-managed project, which benefits all involved.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
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Books by marta colmenares
The way we build and transform our environment has shown to be unsustainable. The time has come to rethink how we do it. Traditional building, architecture and urbanism are an inexhaustible source of the most useful solutions and valid references to undertake this task. These traditions have been optimized during centuries by the diverse regions inhabitants to adapt them to their specific physical, geographic and cultural conditions, becoming an irreplaceable legacy, nowadays sadly threatened by the globalization process. Terrachidia is a young association born from these premises, developing its activity from this starting point. Consequently, its work is focused on instilling these ideas into our society, especially into the architectural field, where, paradoxically, they are singularly ignored or even rejected. This is the aim which originated its workshops in the M’Hamid Oasis, the last one in the Drâa river valley, in the vicinity of the Sahara desert, an extreme place where these traditions most clearly show their multiple values. Participants are taught a difficult to forget lesson from them and from the local masters, who continue treasuring these knowledge, becoming its best transmitters.
Papers by marta colmenares
The M’Hamid Oasis is the last of the palm groves in the Drâa Valley, in Southern Morocco. The 13 villages (ksar/ksour in Arabic) in M’Hamid share many sociological, urban, and architectural similarities with the ksour located in the pre-Saharan valleys. These similarities range from environmental threats, such as extreme climate, to the current social and economic model. As a result, the settlements are being abandoned, and the tangible and intangible heritage of the Drâa Valley is in a progressive disappearance. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
To deal with the complexity of this problem, a progressive approach beginning at the territorial scale must be developed. In this regard, a lasting solution can be found only by promoting development that integrates nature, culture, and architecture, as well as by finding a new balance of these elements within the current social and economic requirements.
Findings
This paper presents part of the research conducted by the team of the Terrachidia Association, which allows an overall understanding of the place. To this aim, the new social and economic context of the Drâa Valley is pointed out, as well as the characteristic features of M’Hamid architecture and urbanism. In this regard, the principles and requirements of its conservation are presented, and the project of the Terrachidia Association is also described. Finally, the project’s impact is assessed and the results of the set of interventions are evaluated.
Practical implications
Since 2012, the activity of the Terrachidia Association has focussed on the study, promotion, preservation, and restoration of the architectural and cultural heritage of M’Hamid. The main activity of the association focusses on the organization of workshops, which are attended mainly by university students and professionals from around the world.
Social implications
In total, 13 workshops were organized since 2012, thanks to the engagement of the local population. In this period, around 300 participants from more than 15 different countries attended these workshops, working with approximately a 100 local craftsmen. All of them share a similar commitment to the work that Terrachidia is developing. These workshops allow the participants to know places and people in a way hardly achievable through conventional tourism. At the same time, this awareness is also achieved in the local population, and cultural exchange strengthens its identity.
Originality/value
The purpose of the workshops organized by Terrachidia is manifold, and the participants actively take part in the restoration works while they interact and exchange experiences with a reality that is generally unknown in western societies. The local population also benefits from this cultural exchange by strengthening their identity, which is linked to architecture, and demonstrating the economic possibilities of conservation through responsible tourism. And these aims are achieved through a self-managed project, which benefits all involved.
The way we build and transform our environment has shown to be unsustainable. The time has come to rethink how we do it. Traditional building, architecture and urbanism are an inexhaustible source of the most useful solutions and valid references to undertake this task. These traditions have been optimized during centuries by the diverse regions inhabitants to adapt them to their specific physical, geographic and cultural conditions, becoming an irreplaceable legacy, nowadays sadly threatened by the globalization process. Terrachidia is a young association born from these premises, developing its activity from this starting point. Consequently, its work is focused on instilling these ideas into our society, especially into the architectural field, where, paradoxically, they are singularly ignored or even rejected. This is the aim which originated its workshops in the M’Hamid Oasis, the last one in the Drâa river valley, in the vicinity of the Sahara desert, an extreme place where these traditions most clearly show their multiple values. Participants are taught a difficult to forget lesson from them and from the local masters, who continue treasuring these knowledge, becoming its best transmitters.
The M’Hamid Oasis is the last of the palm groves in the Drâa Valley, in Southern Morocco. The 13 villages (ksar/ksour in Arabic) in M’Hamid share many sociological, urban, and architectural similarities with the ksour located in the pre-Saharan valleys. These similarities range from environmental threats, such as extreme climate, to the current social and economic model. As a result, the settlements are being abandoned, and the tangible and intangible heritage of the Drâa Valley is in a progressive disappearance. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
To deal with the complexity of this problem, a progressive approach beginning at the territorial scale must be developed. In this regard, a lasting solution can be found only by promoting development that integrates nature, culture, and architecture, as well as by finding a new balance of these elements within the current social and economic requirements.
Findings
This paper presents part of the research conducted by the team of the Terrachidia Association, which allows an overall understanding of the place. To this aim, the new social and economic context of the Drâa Valley is pointed out, as well as the characteristic features of M’Hamid architecture and urbanism. In this regard, the principles and requirements of its conservation are presented, and the project of the Terrachidia Association is also described. Finally, the project’s impact is assessed and the results of the set of interventions are evaluated.
Practical implications
Since 2012, the activity of the Terrachidia Association has focussed on the study, promotion, preservation, and restoration of the architectural and cultural heritage of M’Hamid. The main activity of the association focusses on the organization of workshops, which are attended mainly by university students and professionals from around the world.
Social implications
In total, 13 workshops were organized since 2012, thanks to the engagement of the local population. In this period, around 300 participants from more than 15 different countries attended these workshops, working with approximately a 100 local craftsmen. All of them share a similar commitment to the work that Terrachidia is developing. These workshops allow the participants to know places and people in a way hardly achievable through conventional tourism. At the same time, this awareness is also achieved in the local population, and cultural exchange strengthens its identity.
Originality/value
The purpose of the workshops organized by Terrachidia is manifold, and the participants actively take part in the restoration works while they interact and exchange experiences with a reality that is generally unknown in western societies. The local population also benefits from this cultural exchange by strengthening their identity, which is linked to architecture, and demonstrating the economic possibilities of conservation through responsible tourism. And these aims are achieved through a self-managed project, which benefits all involved.