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Michel Écochard’s rural resettlement schemes in Morocco

par Tenzon, Michele
Référence Séminaire inaugural de l'école doctorale en Architecture, Urbanisme, Ingénierie Architecturale et Urbaine - ULB/ULg/UCL/UMons (2016-12-12)
Publication Non publié, 2016-12-12

Communication à un colloque

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Résumé :

This project focuses on a series of rural development schemes promoted in Morocco, after WW2, by the Service de l'urbanisme, under the direction of the French modernist architect and urban planner Michel Écochard. Its aim is to document the interventions that were promoted in the region of the Gharb Valley since 1947, during the French Protectorate and after the Moroccan Independence, until the end of the 1970s as well as their long-lasting effects. These schemes entailed the foundation of a complex network of rural and agro-industrial settlements closely bound to railways and irrigation infrastructures. These interventions not only aimed at fostering the economical development of the region but also responded to the need to fight the consistent rural exodus and stabilise the internal political frontier.This work is part of the Modscapes collaborative research project that deals with rural landscapes produced by large-scale agricultural development and colonization schemes. The research project is currently in his first semester.The poster shows the actual state of advancement of the analysis of the very few available sources on the topic such as the Ècochard’s archives - held at the ULB and containing unprocessed maps, sketches and schemes - and of other primary and secondary sources. It briefly situates the interventions within its historical and geographical context, as well as into Ècochard’s personal trajectory through timelines, images and schemes.It also wants to foster a discussion about the possible methodologies to apply: archival research to document the premises of the project and understand its structure; comparative approach through graphic material such as maps and schemes to unveil its less explicit patterns and spatial relationships; on-site surveys to document what remains of these interventions; qualitative research and engagement with local communities and stakeholders to understand how they are perceived and what is its intangible legacy.