Malhoun Art Space rue Mohammed el-Beqal, Marrakesh (Morocco) 2021-2023
Partner: Driss Benabdallah, architect
If we wanted to find the essential elements of Arab-Amazigh architecture in the western region of Northern Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, we would have to go back to the origins of the main dynasties that at some point in history occupied these same territories, most of which came from the Sahara Desert. It might be enough to look at nomadic architecture, with its traditional tents and the organisation of camps (although these no longer exist as such, having been reduced to one or two family units), but if we truly want to reach the ultimate essence, we must look at desert travellers, those who only sleep one night in a single place during their journeys between oases or grazing areas, whether for transhumance or for other reasons, sometimes travelling several dozens kilometres or even a thousand, crossing the desert from one bank to the other.
In such circumstances, shadows, fire and rugs are the defining elements of space, where architecture, understood as constructed material space, is nonexistent. These may seem like few elements, but two of them can even create four dimensional spaces, defined by the shadows of trees (acacia, tamarisk, palm tree, etc.) that every traveler longs to find in the desert to rest during the day. The size and the shape of the tree crown and the position of the sun will determine the movements its inhabitants must follow, shifting the rug in time with the shadow. During the pauses at the end of the day and in the early morning hours, the rug will be enough to establish the boundaries of the habitat. At night, the light from the campfire creates a visual space around it, a new habitable boundary beyond which total darkness and the absence of visual references can give rise to sensations of weightlessness. These sensations can be intensified if the sky is starry and there are no mountains, dunes or trees nearby, at some moment bodies can ben catapulted into the space, aided by the perception of the celestial dome.
In the desert, the perception of space is multidimensional and is not limited to our planet.
Note
The images shown are part of an ongoing practical investigation into caravan routes in the western regions of the Sahara Desert (Morocco and Mauritania), Project Qafila, focusing in this publication on nomadic ways of life and, therefore, on the immaterial architectures of the desert.
The photographs have been taken with a Sprocket Rocket, a 16mm Bolex and a Leica M6.
Credits texts, photos and drawings: Carlos Pérez Marín