Image and Signification of the Neo-Moorish Architecture in Algeria Case Study: The Big Post Office in Algiers

Amina Chalabi,Youcef Lazri

doi:10.13189/cea.2021.090426

Abstract

Algeria is one of the Maghreb countries that lived through French colonialism, a colonialism that left behind a great architectural and urban legacy that adorns Algerian cities and is an integral part of their urban landscape. This legacy consists of a mosaic of architectural styles ranging from neo-classical to buildings of the modern movement through art Deco and neo-Moorish style. The specificity of the neo-Moorish architecture, which is based on its cultural references inspired by the local architecture, has given it a special place among the inhabitants. The public buildings of the neo-Moorish style have become today's important landmarks in Algerian cities. As any form of architecture has a meaning for the users, we tried in the present work, to verify empirically the question of the social representation of the neo-Moorish style in Algeria and the relationship that a local population can maintain with an architectural heritage issued from the colonial period. This is done through a symbolic example, which is the great post office in Algiers. We opted for a qualitative approach carried out in the field with the help of a methodological tool, a questionnaire-based survey. A survey, which, despite these limits in terms of the inhabitant's predisposition and the disparity of points of view between the generations, revealed a collective acceptance and an attribution of multiple heritage values to this legacy. Finally, this will allow us to inscribe this social representation in the logics of institutional heritage.

Highlights

In Algeria, “The classical architecture of European affiliation was for seventy years the official architecture of the French empire in Algeria”[1]
The turn of the twentieth century marked the beginning of a period rich in artistic creation similar to what was happening in Europe at the same time
A style that fits both in the Orientalist movement (A movement that marked the early twentieth century), and in the trend of architectural eclecticism that has known the occidental architecture from the nineteenth century based on the renewal of different architectural styles in the form of architecture called "neo" as neo baroque, neoclassical, etc

Summary

Introduction

In Algeria, “The classical architecture of European affiliation was for seventy years the official architecture of the French empire in Algeria”[1]. The period from 1900 to 1930 witnessed, "a humanistic approach, an attempt to recover and reinterpret the values of the traditional architecture and urban heritage in modern buildings, in short, a strong desire to arabize the built environment"[2]. This infatuation with the reinterpretation of traditional models gave birth to the neo-Moorish architecture. A style that fits both in the Orientalist movement (A movement that marked the early twentieth century), and in the trend of architectural eclecticism that has known the occidental architecture from the nineteenth century based on the renewal of different architectural styles in the form of architecture called "neo" as neo baroque, neoclassical, etc.

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