(Ebook) Tafilelt, the Neo Traditional Model of Ksour in Algeria: Assessment of the Multi-functionality of Urban Spaces by PhD candidate SOUIDI MANEL and Dr. BESTANDJI SIHAM

(Ebook) Tafilelt, the Neo Traditional Model of Ksour in Algeria: Assessment of the Multi-functionality of Urban Spaces by PhD candidate SOUIDI MANEL and Dr. BESTANDJI SIHAM

The new ksar of Tafilelt situated in Ghardaia in southern Algeria has attracted a
lot of interest in scientific work, being a « neo traditional » urban model that
reproduces the principles of composition and spatial organization of the ksour in
the pentapolis of Ghardaia. This ksar embodies the adaptation between tradition
and modernity: it refers to the local setting of the ksourien space production,
contribute to the valorization of these ancient centers that date back to the XIth
century.
In parallel to the work of thesis undertaken on « the neo traditional models of
reference in Algeria for the new cities », we ask the following questions according
to the case of Tafilelt: Is this ksar really a model? Does it take the traditional model
fully? Is this indeed a new city? In addition, speaking about the concept of multifunctionality. How to detect this integral reproduction in the urban spaces between
the old and the new ksar?
This work will be an analytical reading of the spaces of this ksar according to the
four concepts above, namely: the urban model of reference, the criteria of the new
city, the criteria of the former ksour and the multi-use character of their spaces. We
will try to apply the concept of multi-functionality on urban spaces in different
scales to assess the multi-functionality of the ksar’s spaces in a comparative
approach between the old and the new ksour.
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2019), 3(2), 99-107.
Doi:10.25034/ijcua.2018.4706