Wave 2017 - Syria The Making of The Future

— VENEZIA / 45°26′23″N 12°19′55″E
SYRIA - THE
MAKING OF THE
FUTURE
FROM URBICIDE TO
THE ARCHITECTURE
OF THE CITY
— VENEZIA / 45°26′23″N 12°19′55″E
SYRIA - THE
MAKING OF THE
FUTURE
FROM URBICIDE TO
THE ARCHITECTURE
OF THE CITY
Sponsored by:
SYRIA – THE MAKING OF THE FUTURE

FROM URBICIDE TO THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CITY
W.A.Ve. 2017
Curator: Alberto Ferlenga
Scientific director: Benno Albrecht
Coordination: Jacopo Galli
Organization: Sara Altamore, Alessandro Dal Corso, Letizia Goretti, Tania Sarria
Tutors: Wesam Asali, Maria Thala Al Aswad, Mariam Eissa, Lujain Hadba, Reem Harfoush,
Hasan Mansour, Rolana Rabih, Mounir Sabeh Affaki, Fares Al Saleh
Administration: Lucia Basile, Piera Terone
Graduate Students: Lorenzo Abate, Stefano Bortolato, Leonardo Brancaloni, Michele Brusutti,
Stefano Busetto, Davide Cargnin, Susanna De Vido, Pietropaolo Cristini, Martina Fadanelli,
Martina Germanà, Eugenio Gervasio, Maria Guerra, Irene Guizzo, Alessia Iannoli, Vartivar Jaklian,
Michele Maniero, Maddalena Meneghello, Avitha Panazzi, Silvia Pellizzon, Camilla Pettinelli,
Mariagiulia Pistonese, Giacomo Raffaelli, Elena Salvador, Antonio Signori, Sonia Zucchelli
edited by Jacopo Galli

Syria – The Making Of The Future. From Urbicide To The Architecture Of The City.
Incipit Editore ISBN: 978-88-85446-10-6

Università Iuav ISBN: 978-88-99243-18-0
Published by
Incipit Editore S.r.l.
via Asolo 12, Conegliano, TV
editore@incipiteditore.it
Co-published with
Università Iuav di Venezia
Santa Croce 191, Venezia ,VE
First edition: November 2017
Cover design: Stefano Mandato

Book design: Margherita Ferrari
Editing: Emilio Antoniol, Luca Casagrande, Margherita Ferrari
Text editing and translation: Teodora Ott
Photos: Rosalba Bertini, Gabriele Bortoluzzi, Matteo Grosso, Umberto Ferro, Letizia Goretti,
Luca Pilot
Copyright
This work is distributed under Creative Commons License

Attribution - Non-commercial - No derivate works 4.0 International
CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
Alberto Ferlenga
6 Peace and Architecture
Benno Albrecht
ESSAYS 10 Study, Design, Care
Alberto Ferlenga
22 Urbicide
Benno Albrecht
40 W.A.Ve. 2017: exercises in humanistic resistance
Jacopo Galli
70 Syrian cities and the challenges of reconstruction
Abdulaziz Hallaj
98 Cities in exile - cities of the future
Kilian Kleinschmidt
120 Semantics of patrimonial destruction
Manar Hammad
174 Ethics of intervention: framing the debate on reconstruction in Syria
Nasser Rabbat
ATLAS 198 Tales from Syria. Case studies

M. Wesam Al Asali, Maria-Thala Al-Aswad, Reem Alharfoush, Fares Al-Saleh
226 Syria
VENICE 341 Venice charter on reconstruction

CHARTER
SYR I A – TH E M A KIN G OF THE FUT URE FROM URBICIDE TO TH E A RCH ITECTURE OF TH E CIT Y
— 4 —
W.A .Ve. 201 7
—
Al ber to Ferlenga
W.A.Ve. is now at its fifteenth edition but, despite this, its characterising
formula still works. Since its beginning, when it did not have its current
name yet, being a design workshop and an international architecture ex-
hibition at the same time has made it a unique product. If we consider
that each year more than 1,500 students and 30 teachers are involved, we
cannot deny that even the numbers are sizable. In these 15 years, about
23,000 students (not counting students from abroad) and 450 architects
(not counting assistants) have developed a project experience at Univer-
sità Iuav di Venezia that takes place in a narrow span of three weeks,
during which Iuav venues become training and meeting sites. Its open-air
workshop feature has brought many prestigious architects and names of
the international scene to the classroom venues of the Cotonificio Ven-
eziano and Magazzini: Pritzker prizes such as Eduardo Souto de Moura or
Alejandro Aravena, masters such as Yona Friedman and Pancho Guedes,
and renowned professionals such as Sean Godsell or Carme Pinos. Under
their guidance, Iuav undergraduates and foreign participants have devel-
oped (together and making no age distinction) a project experience that
pertains to the city of Venice and many other places as well. The same
summer days also see the spaces of the Santa Marta Auditorium and the
Tolentini Cloister become the scene of large conferences, making it pos-
sible for hundreds of students to follow the latest international projects or
reflections on the most pressing issues concerning cities and territories.
Above all, however, W.A.Ve. is special for the atmosphere that it creates
during its three weeks of work; discussions, projects, and meetings are
often expanded and brought outside the classrooms, in bars and Vene-
tian campi, and in the exhibitions that follow, transforming the campus of
Santa Marta into a major international architecture showcase.
For all these reasons, W.A.Ve. is unique and renowned among architects
and students of Architecture around the world, becoming one of the most
representative expressions of a school, Iuav, that has built its peculiar qual-
ity on international exchange, laboratory experience, and on city studies.
— 5 —
Pea c e a n d A rc h itec t u re
—
Benno Albrecht
1 — Elio Vittorini in
We invited many architects to Venice, to contrib-
“Il Politecnico”, n. 1,
September 29, 1945. ute to the discussion on the reconstruction of
countries destroyed by the madness of men. Like
2 — Pierre Rosanval-
lon, “La democrazia a round table, Università Iuav di Venezia became
dell’emergenza”, “La the venue for the dialogue and discussion on the
Repubblica”, April 16,
2012. possibilities of architecture to preserve and recon-
struct Peace. The will and desire for Peace was the
guest of honour of our 2017 W.A.Ve. workshop.
A post-WWII Italian intellectual, Elio Vittorini, said

that it was necessary to form “not a culture that
consoles in times of suffering, but a culture that
protects from it, fighting and eliminating it”1.
We see the University as an institution that serves so-

ciety and the generations of the future, alertly vigilant
and working to stay one step ahead. The relationship
between Universities and Administrations can become
operational and productive, precisely because the uni-
versity is the exact place to test hypothetical future
models — an “Academy of the Future”2, as described by
Pierre Rosanvallon — to overcome the fragmentation of
knowledge and educate in global civic responsibility.
In Iuav’s W.A.Ve. workshop, a future of Peace, the

reconstruction of Peace, has become an academic
topic, a forecast technique, and an experience in
practical planning of the future.
The immanence of the “environmental and human

disaster” that we see today in Syria overcomes the
— 6 —
3 — Valéry Antoine
concept of architecture (understood as a need, Claude Pasquin, “Venise
consequence or manifestation of something else), et ses environs”, Société
leading the discipline to inevitably participate, as belge de librairie, Brux-
elles, 1842, p.2.
an integral part, in the resolution of a local/global
“political and environmental” issue. In fact, one 4 — Letter from John
Adams to Abigail Ad-
of the most pressing topics in the field of civil ams, post 12 May 1780,
commitment (and in the operational field of archi- in L.H. Butterfield, Marc
Friedlaender, eds., “Ad-
tecture) is how to deal with the consequences of ams Family Correspond-
urbicides, with the deliberate violence against cit- ence”, Belknap Press
of Harvard University
ies, with their destruction, and with the intentional Press, Cambridge,1973.
elimination of collective memory made of stone.
Venice is where reflecting on these things is pos-

sible: a city that was described, by Richard Bon-
ington and by Antoine-Claude Valéry, as “a Pal-
myra of the Sea”3.
However, we side these reflections with the words

that John Adams wrote to his wife from Paris:
“The science of government is my duty to study,
more than all other sciences; the arts of law and
administration and negotiation should take the
place of, indeed, exclude, in a way, all other arts.
I must study politics and war, that our children
may have freedom to study mathematics and phi-
losophy. Our sons must study mathematics and
philosophy, geography, natural history and naval
architecture, navigation, commerce and agricul-
ture in order to give their children a right to study
painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tap-
estry and porcelain”4.
— 7 —
SYRIA - THE
MAKING OF THE
FUTURE
FROM URBICIDE TO
THE ARCHITECTURE
OF THE CITY
—
ESSAYS
S YR I A – T HE M A K IN G OF TH E FUTURE FROM URBICIDE TO TH E A RCH ITECTURE OF TH E CIT Y
— 10 —
Alb er to Fer leng a
Stud y, Desi g n , C a re
—
Al ber to Ferlenga
Just knowing the city of Bosra — with its buildings and — Alberto Ferlenga is
its Roman structure still used by today’s inhabitants, the rector of Università
Iuav di Venezia since
proof of its unique vitality — or travelling (even if only October 2015. He
with the imagination) to the colonnades of Palmyra, was full professor of
Architectural Design at
or getting lost in the bazaar of Aleppo — with its sky- Iuav, after 12 years at
lights filtering the light of the sun and moon — make Università Federico II
in Naples. Founder and
you weep the misfortune of Syria and wish to help her. director of the Villard
Association he was
a guest professor in
Throughout the millennia, its urban civilisation has numerous European and
left behind traces that are not only precious heritage American universities:
of their country, but that are also extraordinary con- Delft, Miami, Clemson,
S T U D Y, D E S I G N , C A R E
S. Juan de Puert Rico,
tributions to the whole world. Cities that were born and Lima. He is the au-
well before the Roman colonisation, and that sur- thor of numerous books:
the monographic work
vived well after its end; living cities and dead cities on Aldo Rossi, Dimitris
that both share the presence of ruins created by time, Pikionis, and Hans Van
der Laan (with P. Verde);
and rubble produced by war. The ruins of Damascus on Joze Plecnik’s work
and Aleppo at first, now wounded to death, and Saint in Ljubljana (with Sergio
Polano); the guide on
Simeon to follow, along with the other Byzantine cit- the Roman cities of
ies surrounding it: Apamea, Palmyra itself, and doz- northern Africa, and
ens of other settlements whose origins are rooted in numerous articles on
international journals.
the centuries. Cities that, in the pre-desertic scenery Editor of “Lotus
of Syria, appear like fragments of one single urban International” between
1981 and 1990, and of
form, the construction of which was brought forth by “Casabella” since 1996.
the best of Mediterranean and Asian cultures. Cities He was the curator of
numerous exhibitions:
in Syria did just limit themselves to building strong- Le città immaginate, 9
holds: their relationship with the surrounding territory progetti per 9 città (Tri-
ennale di Milano 1986),
has always been of a deep nature. The size of some Aldo Rossi (Centre Pom-
of the most important cities reaches the scale of the pidou, 1991, Triennale
whole landscape; the Greek and Roman colonnaded di Milano, 1999, Maxxi
2004), Calvino e le città
streets that characterise these cities — the plateie invisibili (Triennale di
and the decumani — go well beyond the conventional Milano 2002), Dimitris
Pikionis (Fondazione
size they have today.
— 11 —
Querini Stampalia, In Syria — place of transit and grand hub of transitional
Venezia, 1999), Hans
Van der Laan (Basilica routes — they transform into endless open monuments,
Palladiana, Vicenza, reducing the importance of forums or agoras in order
2000). He designed and
built numerous fittings, to confront themselves directly with mountains and val-
among which the Ital- leys. The ruins that remain of these plateie and decum-
ian Pavilion at the 5th
Mostra internazionale di
ani in Syria accentuate their original nature even more;
architettura della Bien- and so today, the martyrised roads of Palmyra tell us of
nale di Venezia (1991).

In 2000, he established
infinite distances, caravan trails, relationships between
the design studio cultures and places brought by silk or salt trade, Alex-
NA.oMI that participated ander the Great’s trans-continental incursions, and they
in numerous competi-
tions. tell us of the outstretch of the Greek, Latin, Arab, and
Persian languages. Here, sands and columns mingle
together and become routes, sepulchres, temples. Even
further away, the cities of Syria have generated other
cities: their image, exported as a scenery or relief, was
physically planted in other climates, in other latitudes,
to meet the ambitions of kings and emperors. This hap-
pened, for example, in St. Petersburg, called Northern
Palmyra, proof of how the main building material of cit-
ies are always other cities. Certainly, Syria is one of the
original countries and motherlands of the idea of “city”
itself. It is on its territory that you can find the remains
of the first known human settlements, like Sumerian
Mari, where the wear-and-tear of time has recently been
joined by that of the scars caused by the illegal exca-
vations, subsidised by the war. Even reduced to ruins,
since the time of its founding in the IV millennium BC,
Mari has never stopped dominating the mid-section of
the Euphrates, where the River draws a slight elbow on
the map. Further north, Mari’s contender Ebla, brought
back to light by Italian archaeologists, emphasises
the inseparable relationship between city and territory
still today. This relationship has been hindered in time,
when the city collapsed among the sands, and only re-
surfaced thanks to thoughtfully “set-up” excavations.
Considering this, for a school like Iuav — which bases
its renowned specificity on the study of cities (histori-
— 12 —
cal ones in particular) — dealing with what is happening

today in Syria is natural. If, unfortunately, the situation
in situ does not offer at the moment areas for direct ac-
tion (other than of a combat kind), the theme we must
devise during this “suspended period” is one to be de-
veloped in a near and peaceful future. In fact, the risks
do not only concern the immediate present. The pre-
sent war, for the cities and territories involved, may not
be the worst of evils, paradoxically. More than bombs
and bullets, the historical part of the country could be
further compromised by hasty and non-respectful re-
construction of the valuables at stake. It is not uncom-
mon for this to happen in places marked by conflicts
or other forms of destruction. From this point of view,
Italy has a specific tradition, a “virtuous” one, since it
has had to rebuild a large part of its historical heritage
destroyed during a much more deadly world war than
the current one in Syria. As Italians, we have all the right
cards to make a useful contribution to Syrian recon-
struction. But what reconstruction should this be? And
what is at stake in Syria? Cities resuming their shapes
and the survival of archaeological remains are just the
tip of the iceberg of a much broader theme. In the clash
between the various factions fighting on the ground,
among rubble of buildings and ghosts of neighbour-
hoods, a complex identity is put up to chance; by los-
ing it, all forms of reconstruction would become purely
superficial and scenographic. An identity, or many iden-
tities that find their core meaning in the city and that
belong to us all; and to Italy in particular, whose history
is often intertwined with that of Syria, and whose land-
scape is nourished by the same relationship between
city and architecture. Iuav has found itself to face these
issues several times; and it is for this reason that mus-
tering international architectural culture, as a whole, to
reflect on them has a precise meaning and agenda. The
Venetian architecture school, as well as being one of
— 13 —
the universities that is most interested and attentive to
the formal aspects of the city, has also collaborated in
a long history of “reconstructions”. Draft projects for
the towns that were destroyed by the Vajont dam disas-
ter (1962) took place among Iuav’s walls. The com’era
dov’era method (already put to test in the restoration
of many Italian monuments destroyed during World
War II) was also put to test among these walls: by ap-
plying it to the case of Venzone area in Udine, heavily
damaged by the Friuli earthquake (1976), the Friulian
province was reborn and is today considered one of
the most beautiful villages in the region. Recompiling
communities destroyed by war or natural disasters is
not just a technical matter, but it implies a particular
knowledge and culture that few schools in the world
are able to produce.
Some of the necessary requirements have little to do

with schools and more to do with what surrounds us
every day: being born and living in the beauty deriving
from the century-old relationships between the various
components of a landscape certainly is a privileged
starting point. The beauty to which we are used to, in
Italy, is not only related to the architectural quality of
the buildings, but to a complex mix of factors that also
include inhabitants and territory. The most beautiful
places in the world are always the result of a complex
network of relationships, even when it is a particular
building that stands out in the foreground. For exam-
ple, we would have a distorted idea of the Acropolis
of Athens if we did not understand the complex rela-
tionship that tied it for centuries to the centre of the
city and to the broader landscape of Attica, turning it
into a key point of an important route system; we would
also have a distorted approach if we were to ignore the
various transformations suffered by the buildings of
the sacred complex, in a mutually changing but lively
— 14 —
relationship with the inhabitants of the city. Such a

complex set of relationships can only be perceived
through direct experience; however, this only serves to
refine and not wholly support the actions of those who
wish to intervene in a positive manner in transforma-
tion projects. A sensitivity that has matured through
direct “contact” with beauty must be coupled with the
scientific ability to understand the dynamics that have
governed (and govern) the development of cities and
territories in their most valuable parts. We need theo-
retical tools that can remove the idea of beauty from
the field of subjectivity and read it through explicable
mechanisms and recurring logics. Even in this, the
Venetian school has been and is one of the most im-
portant laboratories in the world. Venice and Iuav are,
after all, a vanguard centre for the preservation and res-
toration of monuments, especially considering the fact
that Venice — city of the Charter for the Conservation
and Preservation of Monuments and Sites — is, in it-
self, a permanent construction site given the fragility of
its building fabric and the value of its monuments. We
may also add that many cases of reconstruction have
attributed Iuav with competence not only in respect of
material aspects but, above all, of intangible ones. But
what does this imply? We have said that Syria’s tragic
events do not only include the destruction of the city
and architectural heritage: they also include the loss
of the many identities that contributed to the particular
appeal of the country. Therefore, our challenge is that
of acknowledging the fact that reconstruction regards
not only stones but also memories, cultures, and ways
of living. And these needs are made evident not just
through the effects of the war, but they arise whenever
a historically dense site is hit by destructive events of
various kind. The theme is difficult to approach and un-
derstand. In fact, while damages to buildings are easy
to see (and can be resolved with known tested tech-
— 15 —
— 16 —
— 17 —
niques), it is much more complex to reconstruct a vast
network of other relationships that crumbles in time,
like walls but less evidently. Intervening in these places
is not only, or predominantly, a technical matter and it
cannot be addressed solely with the tools of engineer-
ing, geology, and economics. Only multiple points of
view and the ability to read deeper under the surface
can successfully tackle complex actions of cultural re-

construction.
If ground maintenance implies a monitoring of the un-

derground phenomena that cross it, the same can be
said for what is constructed above it. Cities in fact are
crossed by dynamics that concern not only their most
recent parts (subject to unprecedented phenomena
of urbanisation), but also those areas that apparently
have not changed over time, like historical centres. The
historical part of a city (or monument) can preserve
its appearance in time, but its nature can change pro-
foundly. Most cities that are greatly affected by mass
tourism, like Venice, prove this. It implies a difficult
renewal process of their knowledge and perception,
given that without obvious tangible changes we tend to
consider these situations as unaltered and unaffected.
The historical parts of cities have long been focused
more on the physical state of conservation than on the
state of that system of relationships that each building
and city finds nourishment in. Phenomena like tourism,
mass marketing, and museification have profoundly
changed the cities they are placed in, even though their
physical appearance may seem unaffected by them.
An archaeological centre — lived in all parts of its living
identity by the inhabitants of its region — is different
from a “park” that has been cleansed of any “undue”
presence, that has been isolated from the context that
generated it, and that is open only to hasty tourists.
Even if, apparently, everything remains the same. His-
— 18 —
torical or archaeological parts of cities in Syria were,

before the war, in a state of transition between one and
the other. Palmyra, though partially restored by various
archaeological missions, was still used by Tadmor peo-
ple as a pleasant extension of the modern town; this
is also true for Apamea and even more so for Bosra,
whose ruins are still inhabited. What would happen if
all this were not to be? What if the city of Zenobia were
to be separated from the track that it came from, or
definitely separated from the water and oasis-system
that has kept it alive for centuries? And what if Bosra
was emptied of all its inhabitants living in the ancient
Roman homes, as happened for the Roman cities in
North Africa, and turned into a Middle-Eastern Pompei,
or worse into a theme park? And what if the centre of
Aleppo, once rebuilt, were to encounter the same sad
fate of Beirut’s fake reconstruction?
If this happened, all of us would lose something grand.

To avoid it, world culture at its best must come into
play. Doing this does not only require means and
knowledge, but also predisposition and preparation to
best interpret a never-before-seen complexity of phe-
nomena. In other words, we need a new culture that
lives off of restoration, urban planning, landscaping,
social sciences, and history, but that also knows how
to mix disciplines and beliefs to unfold a new knowl-
edge and culture, one that is indispensable for the ef-
fectiveness of practical hands-on action.
Today, Iuav — a place of experimentation, at the fore-

front of historical architectural and cultural develop-
ments — can attempt to do this. Because of its special
structure and history, and because of the city in which
it stands, it can offer training courses and research ac-
tivities that are based on an intelligent, wise, and acute
understanding of reality.
— 19 —
— 20 —
— 21 —
— 22 —
Benno Alb recht
Urbicid e
—
B enno Albrecht
Today, we are faced with a slithering Third World — Benno Albrecht

War, or something similar to a global civil war: per- is full professor of
Architectural Design
manent, unconventional, asymmetrical, local and and director of the PhD
mobile, but with major consequences and reverber- School at Università Iuav
di Venezia. He received
ations1. We are witnessing a substantial change in numerous prizes
the form of war, or of perpetual non-peace, which for his projects and
constructed buildings.
sees a progressive increase in the involvement of He also won archi-
civilians, both victims and targets, compared to the tectural competitions
and his designes were
past. The consequence is that, differently from the displayed in exhibitions
past, cities have become the preferred battlefields in Italy and abroad. He
and their destruction, via ground or air, has become has lectured in different
institutions in Europe,
a primary strategic goal. If someone destroys, oth- Indonesia, Argentina,
ers have to rebuild and put back in place; unless Vietnam, China, Japan,
URBICIDE
Colombia, and Peru. He
they give up and simply make room for resignation, is the author of different
as Adorno says: “After the catastrophes that have books on sustain-
ability in architecture,
happened, and in view of the catastrophes to come, such as “Conservare
it would be cynical to say that a plan for a better il futuro”, “Il pensiero
della sostenibilità” in
world is manifested in history and unites it. No uni- architettura and “Africa
versal history leads from savagery to humanitarian- Sustainable Future”.
ism, but there is one leading from the slingshot to With Leonardo Benevolo,
he published “Le origini
the megaton bomb”2. dell’architettura and I
confini del paesaggio
umano”. He was the
One of the pressing topics in the field of civil commit- curator of exhibitions for
ment, and in the operational field of architecture, is La Triennale di Milano,
such as Esportare il
how to deal with the consequences of urbicides, the centro storico, with
deliberate violence against cities, their destruction, Anna Magrin, Africa
Big Change Big Chance,
and the intentional elimination of collective “memory and a section of
made of stone”. Today, war is fought in urban con- L’architettura del mondo,
texts and “urbicide is a form of genocide, the funda- with Alberto Ferlenga
and Marco Biraghi.
mentally illegitimate form of modern war in which a
civilian population as such is targeted for destruc-
tion by armed force”3.
— 23 —
1 — See Marco Ansaldo, We must reflect on the consequences of urbicides,
“Il Papa: La Terza guerra
mondiale è già iniziata”, which even involve countries that are distant from
La Repubblica, 18 Ago the epicentre of the destruction and concern the ac-
2014. Pope Francis de-
clares that “We have en- commodation of survivors and refugees, their return
tered a Third World War; to their country of origin, and the possible recon-
however, it is one that is
fought bit by bit, in small
struction of cities torn by the insanity of man. It is
chapters”. [translated by necessary to think of possible strategies for the reali-
the author]
sation of refugee camps near the areas affected by
2 — Theodor Adorno, urbicides, and of ways to reconstruct the destroyed
“Negative dialectics”, cities and to necessarily preserve the stone heritage
translated by E.B.
Ashton, The Seabury and memory.
Press, New York, 1973,
pp.319-320.
The term urbicide has resonated4 in sociological
3 — Martin Shaw, “New thinking regarding the city thanks to the American
Wars of the city: Rela-
tionships of ‘Urbicide’, in
philosopher Marshall Berman, who described the ur-
cities, war and terrorism, ban degradation phenomena of South Bronx and its
towards an urban
geopolitics”, edited by
social consequences in 1981: “These stricken people
Stephen Graham, Black- belong to one of the largest shadow communities in
well Publishing, Oxford, the world, victims of a great crime without a name.
2004, p.153.
Let us give it a name now: urbicide, the murder of
3 — “Urbicide” is a term a city”5. The protagonist of this particular rurbicide
that has been used even
in the past. For example: is the Modernism of Robert Moses6, designer of
“not even a humanist The Cross Bronx Expressway; a clear criticism of the
could ignore the 1246
devastation and quasi-
Faustian aspects of modernity.
urbicide in Genoa” [trans-
lated by the author], in
La Società veneta per
It is the traumatic experience of modern war in Europe
imprese e costruzioni — after the dissolution of former Yugoslavia — that re-
pubbliche, 1872-1881, launches the term at a global level. The destruction of
Tipo-litografia A. Roberti,
Bassano,1881, pp.35-36. the Old Bridge of Mostar (Stari Most) on 9 November
Also in “History” of 1993, by part of the Bosnian-Croat forces, is a clear
Scott County, Iowa,
Brookhaven Press, La demonstration of the urbicide phenomenon7, becom-
Crosse,1882, p.316: “The ing a debate topic that finds place among architects
only reason that can be
assigned for this wilful
and architecture magazines8. It is also the prime ex-
attempt at urbicide is ample on which to exercise a reflection on the military
found in the fact that Mr.
Grant’s farm was two
and political significance of the deliberate destruction
miles nearer Rockingham of stone heritage and memory, and on the conscious
than Davenport”. annihilation of every form of urbanism.
— 24 —
Benno Alb recht
“This understanding of the violence faced by cit- 5 — Marshall Berman,

“Roots, ruins, renewals:
ies such as Vukovar, Mostar and Sarajevo became City life after urbicide”,
popular amongst observers of the dissolution of the Village Voice, 4 Sept
1981. Republished in
former Yugoslavia, prompting a rhetorical coding of “Among the ruins new
the violence as a revenge of the countryside upon the internationalist”,178,
December 1987.
city”9. “Destruction of the urban fabric is, therefore,
the destruction of the conditions of the possibility of 6 — Marshall Berman,
heterogeneity”10. It is the evidence of the classic op- “All that is solid melts
into air, the experience
position of radical and civilised, Homeland (Heimat) of modernity”, Verso,
and Metropolis (Grosstadt), Community (Gemein- London-New York, 1982,
footnote 32, p.428.
schaft) and Society (Gesellschaft), the opposition of
the cosmopolitan and democratic but rootless no- 7 — “Mostar’92–Urbicid”
(Mostar: Hrvatsko vijece
mads, and the land-based and traditionally authori- obrane opcine Mostar,
tarian peasants. These oppositions hold an ideologi- 1992), Associazione
Architetti di Mostar,
cal nature of a deep anti-urban feel. “Mostar 92 – Urbicide”,
“Spazio e Società”, n.
As Machiavelli suggests, cities are a centre of free- 62, April-June 1993,
pp.5-25.
dom, therefore in order to hold them and keep them
URBICIDE
under control it is paradoxically necessary to destroy 8 — “Il Ponte Vecchio di
Mostar è stato distrutto”,
them: “The Romans, in order to hold Capua, Carthage, “Spazio e Società”, n. 65,
and Numantia, dismantled them, and did not lose January-March 1994.
pp.62-63. Giancarlo
them. They wished to hold Greece as the Spartans De Carlo, “Per Mostar”,
held it, making it free and permitting its laws, and “Spazio e Società”, n. 77,
January-March 1997.
did not succeed. So to hold it they were compelled pp.6-9.
to dismantle many cities in the country, for in truth
there is no safe way to retain them otherwise than 9 — Xavier Bougarel,
“Yugoslav Wars: The Re-
by ruining them. And he who becomes master of a venge of the countryside
city accustomed to freedom and does not destroy it, between sociological
reality and nationalist
may expect to be destroyed by it, for in rebellion it myth”, East European
has always the watchword of liberty and its ancient Quarterly, 33:2 June,
1999, p.157.
privileges as a rallying point, which neither time nor
benefits will ever cause it to forget. And whatever 10 — Martin Coward,
“Urbicide in Bosnia in
you may do or provide against, they never forget that cities, in war and terror-
name or their privileges unless they are disunited ism: Towards an urban
or dispersed, but at every chance they immediately geopolitics”, edited by
Stephen Graham, Black-
rally to them, as Pisa after the hundred years she had well Publishing, Oxford,
been held in bondage by the Florentines”11. 2004, p.166.
— 25 —
11 — Niccolò Machi- Only complete destruction can allow a new exist-
avelli, “The Prince, Chap-
ter V”, translated by W. ence, a new state of things, by preventing evolution
K. Marriott, J. M. Dent, and promoting revolution. The theory of destruction
London, 1948, p.37.
leads to a better world. For the anti-gradualist Sou-
12 — Émile Zola, “Germi- varine, in Émile Zola’s Germinal, any reasoning on fu-
nal”, edited by Raymond
N. MacKenzie, Hackett
turity is criminal because it affects pure and simple
Publishing, Indianapolis, destruction and hinders the path of revolution: “More
2011, pp.123-124.
stupidities! repeated Souvarine. Your Karl Marx now,
he still wants to let natural forces take their course,
right? No political upheaval, no conspiracies? Every-
thing done in the light of day, and the whole point is
to get a raise in wages… To hell with your so-called
natural evolution! Set fires to all four corners of the
cities, mow people down, destroy everything, and
when there’s not a damn thing left of this rotten
world, then maybe a better one can start to grow. Éti-
enne broke into a laugh. He didn’t pay any attention
to his comrade’s words, with his theory of wholesale
destruction that struck him as a pose”12.
Today, the practice of a “salvific destruction” of the

past has an iconoclastic matrix and a religious back-
ground in the ideology of Isis/Daesh, and has the
main goal of destroying every expression of pre-Is-
lamic culture. Cities have always been a primary mili-
tary target and in all its history, the city has shaped it-
self according to military needs: walls, fortifications,
and ravelins have determined its outer form. Moder-
nity reflects on the relationship and consequences
between weapons of destruction and urban form.
“Even today the threat of attack from the air de-

mands urban changes. Great cities sprawling open
to the sky, their congested areas at the mercy of
bombs hurtling down out of space, are invitations to
destruction. They are practically indefensible as now
constituted, and it is becoming clear that the best
— 26 —
Benno Alb recht
means of defending them is by the construction, on 13 — Sigfried Giedion,

“Space, time and archi-
the one hand, of great vertical concentrations which tecture. The growth of a
offer a minimum surface to the bomber and, on the new tradition”, Harvard
University Press, Cam-
other hand, by the laying out of extensive, free, open bridge, 1946, p. 543.
spaces”13. Ludwig Hilberseimer writes The New City
14 — Ludwig Hilber-
Principles of Planning in Chicago during World War II; seimer, “The new city
but his thoughts are also later taken up in the trou- principles o planning”,
bled world threatened by the Cold War14. He means introduction by Mies
Van Der Rohe, Paul
to demonstrate that decentralisation, cornerstone Theobald, Chicago,
of reformist urbanism, is also functional in case of 1944.
global war and atomic attacks. Smaller spaced out 15 — Ludwig Hilber-
communities, designed with attention to wind direc- seimer, “The nature of
cities: origin, growth,
tion, are less vulnerable to nuclear attacks and radio- and decline, pattern and
active fallouts15. form, planning prob-
lems”, Paul Theobaled &
Co, Chicago, 1955. See
Even natural disasters falling upon cities are, in some also Hilberseimer, “Cities
form, due to man’s ill behaviour. The debate that took and defense”, repub-
lished in Richard Pom-
place after the great earthquake in Lisbon, on 1 Novem-
URBICIDE
mer, David Spaeth and
ber (All Saints’ Day) 1755, saw Jean-Jacques Rous- Kevin Harrington, “In the
shadow of Mies: Ludwig
seau respond to Voltaire as follows: “Without leaving Hilberseimer: architect,
your Lisbon subject, concede, for example, that it was educator and urban plan-
ner”; with reminiscences
hardly nature who assembled there twenty-thousand by George E. Danforth
houses of six or seven stories. If the residents of this and selected writings of
Ludwig Hilberseimer, The
large city had been more evenly dispersed and less Art Institute of Chicago,
densely housed, the losses would have been fewer or Chicago; Rizzoli Interna-
perhaps none at all”16. Nature is not the one to blame. tional Publications, New
York, 1988.
It is Man who does not understand it, and does not
understand that living spread-out is more appropriate, 16 — Letter by Rousseau
to Voltaire on the Lisbon
and safer. The adequacy of living in this world is, in the disaster, 18 August 1756.
end, a responsibility of Man. J.A. Leigh, ed., “Cor-
respondence complète de
Jean Jacques Rousseau”,
Twentieth-century art is not only characterised by the translated by R. Spang,
Edition Garnier Freres,
avant-garde cult of the tabula rasa, by the aesthetics Geneva, 1967, pp.37-38.
of destruction — what Majakovsky called “nothing-
ness” (“I write nihil on anything done before”17) — or 17 — Renato Pog-
gioli, “Teoria dell’arte
by the Vorticist vision of Wyndham Lewis and of the d’avanguardia”, Il Mulino,
BLAST group. Bologna, 1962, p.77.
— 27 —
— 28 —
Benno Alb recht
URBICIDE
— 29 —
— 30 —
Benno Alb recht
URBICIDE
— 31 —
18 — Jaume Freixa, “Jo- Twentieth-century art presents a clear great icon that
sep Lluìs Sert”, Gustavo
Gili, Barcelona, 1979. is directly linked to a specific urbicide, to a promise
Josep M. Rovina, “José of redemption and reconstruction: Pablo Picasso’s
Luis Sert (1901-1983)”,
Mondadori Electa, Guernica is an integral part, along with Alexander Cal-
Milano, 2000. der’s Mercury fountain, of the Spain Pavilion designed
19 — Jose Luìs Sert,
by Josep Lluís Sert18 at the 1937 Paris exhibition. In
“Can our cities survive? his 1942 book, Can our Cities Survive19, Sert shows
An ABC of urban
problems, their analysis,
the modern possibilities of post-war reconstruction.
their solutions; based Reconstruction has actors that are all protagonists
on the proposals of Twentieth-century architecture and urban design,
formulated by the
CIAM”, Harvard Univer- from Corbusier to Perret, from Abercrombie to Gor-
sity Press, Cambridge; don Cullen, from Uzo Nishiyama to Kenzo Tange,
Oxford University Press,
London, 1942. from Rudolf Schwarz to Hans Scharoun, or the Italian
Piero Gazzola and Luigi Lorenzo Secchi.
20 — Lewis Mumford,
“The social foundations
of post-war building”. Lewis Mumford then expands the concept of recon-
Rebuilding Britain
series, No. 9, Faber and
struction: “In our anticipations of post-war planning
Faber, London, 1943 perhaps the most important thing to remember is
and in Lewis Mumford, that our task is not the simple one of rebuilding de-
“The condition of Man”,
Harcourt, Brace & Co., molished houses and ruined cities. If only the mate-
New York, 1944. [Italics rial shell of our society needed repair, our designs
in original]
might follow familiar patterns. But the fact is our
21 — Marc Augé, task is a far heavier one; it is of replacing an outworn
“Rovine e macerie. Il
senso del tempo”, Bol-
civilization. The question is not how much of the su-
lati Boringhieri, Torino, perstructure should be replaced, but how much the
2004, p.137. [translated
by the author]
foundations can be used for a new set of purposes
and for a radically different mode of life”20.
It is clear that the reconstruction/preservation of the

past brings with it a spirit of renewed propulsion, and
that “On the ruins resulting from the clashes that in-
evitably [future history] will see rise, countless con-
struction sites will open and, alongside their side,
will also open the possibility of building something
else that will find and make sense of time”21. The
updated reprise of the debate on how and what to
rebuild is, today, much needed. It has to deal with the
— 32 —
Benno Alb recht
preservation of stone heritage and memories and the 22 — Jan Assmann,

“Cultural memory and
value of diversity, in fact “The past itself is preserved early civilization: Writ-
by it, and thus it is continually subject to processes ing, remembrance, and
political imagination”,
of reorganisation according to the changes taking Cambridge University
place in the frame of reference of each successive Press, Cambridge, 2011,
p.27.
present. Even that which is new can only appear in
the form of constructed past, in the sense that tradi- 23 — Jorge Luis Borges,
tions can only be exchanged with traditions, the past “Nueva antología
personal”, Siglo XXI
with the past”22. Editores, Buenos Aires,
1968, p.41.
The need for an operational revision of the notion of 24 — Marc Augé, “Rovine
intergenerational heritage, historical memory, and e macerie. Il senso del
tempo”, op.cit., p.135.
remembrance, is evident and necessary because in
the end, as Borges remembers: “Sólo una cosa no
hay. Es el olvido”23. The relationship that ruins have
with time is different from the relationship they have
with man: “The rubble accumulated by recent histo-
ry and the ruins created from the past do not resem-
URBICIDE
ble each another. There is a big difference between
the historical time of destruction, which reveals the
folly of history (the streets of Kabul or Beirut), and
pure time, time in ruin, the ruins of a time that has
lost history and that history has lost”24.
Today, we know that reconstruction (of what has

been destroyed) and refugee camps (where people
stranded by urbicides are welcomed) are opposite
realities. However, they are strongly linked because
they concern the same people and the same inhabit-
ants, only that they are staggered in different times
and places. Millions of people live in refugee camps,
hoping to leave them as soon as possible. They are
people who are fleeing from historic cities that are
under attack and in war. Everyone expects to return
to their homes after the conflict, only to find ruins and
memories of a rich past and of their previous lives,
demolished, deleted, and nullified.
— 33 —
25 — Edward S. Casey, “Everywhere we turn we find places at issue with the
“Getting back into place:
Toward a renewed alienation and violence from which human beings
understanding of the have suffered so devastatingly in modern times. More
place-world”, Indiana
University Press, Bloom- often than we realise, the alienation is from (a given)
ington, 1993, p.xiv. place and the violence has been done to (some) place,
26 — Walter Firey, “Land
and not only to people in places. If it distinctively post-
use in central Boston”, modern to wish to return to place; this is so even if the
Harvard University
Press, Cambridge, 1947,
most promising patterns for the return are often of a
p.324. distinctively premodern inspiration”25.
27 — Fred Charles
Iklé, “The effect of war Reality shows us that thousands of people are no
destruction upon the longer able to return to their hometowns because
ecology of cities”, Social
Forces, Vol. 29, No. 4, they have been destroyed and demolished. Conse-
May 1951, p.390. quently (and oppositely), many refugee camps be-
28 — Ibidem p.391.
come permanent and tend to resemble new cities.
This huge contradiction between historical heritage,
broken memories of destroyed cities, and refugee
camps (temporary cities under precarious conditions
and without citizenship rights), presents the whole
sequence of tragedies based on urbicides.
Fred Charles Iklé, the greatest expert in consequences

of war destruction, wrote that Walter Firey pointed out
that “the cultural component is central in locational
processes. Only in terms of this component can we
fully understand why land is put to the uses to which
it is”26. This “cultural component” may manifest itself
in the resettlement of a destroyed area and lead to the
re-establishment of basically the same ecological pat-
tern as before the destruction27. He then continues:
“Permanent population dispersal from large cities and
suburbs into small towns or villages would involve a
change of habits-a change of the urban way of life,
which only a few people are willing to undergo”28.
Addressing this state of affairs with the tools of ar-

chitecture is one of the challenges of contemporane-
— 34 —
Benno Alb recht
ity. One needs to see if there is a defence line, a “hu- 29 — Isaiah 61:4-5.
manist” answer to oppose destruction and oblivion: 30 — Victor Branford,

“They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities Patrick Geddes, “The
coming polity: a study
destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though in reconstruction”,
they have been devastated for many generations”29. Williams & Norgate,
London, 1917, p.215.
A humanistic defence line could be set up by militant 31 — Ibidem p.217.

universities. For Geddes, universities should be free
to devote themselves to battles of ideas, and engage
in the production of thoughts of practical, civic, and
public utility. He published eight volumes on post-
war reconstruction, which should have become a ref-
erence for any discussion on war and peace. One of
the topics of these discussions was the re-creation
of the university as a place for the research and de-
velopment of its militant potential, in order to define
a “Federation of Cities” that could become a junc-
tion-system of local autonomous realities. For this
URBICIDE
reason, for Geddes, viewing the future (“foresight”)
was an important goal for a militant university: “The
university, if it is to be truly militant, must be affirma-
tive, selective, predictive. It must submit its doctrines
to the test, and not only of reasoned criticism but of
creative adventure in the practical world”30.
Strategies of reconstruction can become the fo-

cus point of a renewed interest: “Re-construction.
Re-education, Re-newal — are not these to be the
watchwords of coming statesmanship, a policy of
the three R’s, a new style!”31.
The concept of reconstruction is vast and demand-

ing for Geddes: “How should the coming militant uni-
versity orient itself towards the changes in our social
structure, needed in more than the obvious areas of
reconstruction after war? It must appeal to all ages
to re-educate themselves. It will appeal to all to par-
— 35 —
32 — Ibidem p.218. ticipate in the remaking of homes and villages, cities
33 — Ibidem pp.18-19. and countries devastated by the war, or dilapidated
from earlier causes: towards the re-education of in-
34 — Patrick Geddes
and Gilbert Slater, “Ideas dividuals, the reconstruction of places, and the re-
at war”, Williams & newal of social life, the militant university must give
Norgate, London, 1917,
pp.59-60.
its help; and this alike in social studies and social
action. And these, as far as may be, together”32.
35 — Ibidem p.168.
36 — Immanuel Kant, Obviously, the role of historical heritage is a main

“Perpetual peace: A subject in the matter of reconstruction policies:
philosophical sketch”,
bey Friedrich Nicolovius, “We, of the present generation, are at a parting of
Königsberg, 1795. ways. The sharper we can outline the past in the
present, the clearer may we discern the image of
the future. For the future is not disconnected from
the past, but is a continuous with it. By selection
and recombination of past tendencies surviving
into the present, we shape the future. Hence, the
first requisite of foresight are true and clear ideas
about the past. Our opening chapters, accordingly,
are mainly historical”33.
“l of social life”34. All’università la possibilità di realiz-

zare una nuova scienza, “With that experience there
is also the possible beginning of what we may call
the science and art of reconstruction”35.
The great research field of “globalisation as spatial-

ity” was opened by immense disasters, and it con-
cerned the possibility of building civitas gentium (the
state of peoples36) based on cosmopolitan solidarity
and global proximity, on planetary sharing, and on
global mutuality.
We know that art and aesthetic feelings outweigh

good and bad, and that “historical justice” — the con-
sideration of a possible “constructive destruction”, of
a historical thought transformed into art, into a crea-
— 36 —
Benno Alb recht
tion that looks to the future — is what Nietzsche de- 37 — Friedrich

Nietzsche, “The use
scribes as: “Thus, history is to be written by the man and abuse of history”,
of experience and character. He who has not lived Cosimo Inc., New York,
2010, p.41.
through something greater and nobler than others,
will not be able to explain anything great and noble in
the past. The language of the past is always oracular:
you will only understand it as architects of the future
who know the present. We can only explain the ex-
traordinarily wide influence of Delphi by the fact that
the Delphic priests had an exact knowledge of the
past: and, similarly, only he who is building up the
future has a right to judge the past”37.
URBICIDE
— 37 —
— 38 —
Benno Alb recht
URBICIDE
— 39 —
— 40 —
Jacop o Galli
W.A.Ve. 2017:
exercises in humanistic resistance
—
Jacopo Galli
In 1667, Nicolas Sanson published a conceptual map — Jacopo Galli (Crema,

in his Geographie Ancienne et Nouvelle ou Methode 1985), studied archi-
tecture at Università
pour s’Instruire Avec facilite de la Geographie, et Con- degli Studi di Parma, and
noistre des Empires, Monarchies, Royaumes, Estats, Sustainable Architecture
at Università Iuav di
Republiques, et Peuples1: starting from the word Venezia. After spending
“Syria”, this map identified all the territories that in one year working at
Palerm&Tabares de
previous centuries had been defined by this name at
W.A.VE. 2017: EXERCISES IN HUMANISTIC RESISTANCE

Nava in Santa Cruz de
least once. The semiotic map outlined the unstable Tenerife, he obtained a
PhD from Università Iuav
and blurry boundaries of a large part of the world: di Venezia with a disser-
from Greece to Iran, from Sinai to Afghanistan, from tation entitled Tropical
Kuwait to the Caucasus. Syria is and has been an Toolbox – Fry&Drew and
the search for an African
all-encompassing term, capable of simultaneously modernity, with prof.
indicating territories inhabited by radically different Benno Albrecht as thesis
advisor. He has been
peoples and cultures: Syria is a concept before being part of the curatorial
a place. An immediately identifiable term described team of many exhibitions
(L’Architettura del Mondo
an entire world in its infinite complexity, through a – Triennale di Milano,
simplification process that allowed a mental control Africa Big Change – Big
Chance – Triennale di
before a physical one. Milano / CIVA La Cambre
Bruxelles, Esportare
In the centuries following Sanson’s description, il Centro Storico –
Triennale Xtra Brescia,
economic and political resolutions, often outside Il Belpaese – Triennale
the area of interest, progressively outlined physical di Milano), and was the
project manager for the
boundaries to complex cultural and historical phe- Makoko Floating School
nomena. The impulse to build political, ideological, Pavilion of NLE, which
was was awarded the
and administrative fences, however, has not devel- Silver Lion at the 2016 La
oped a progressive cultural simplification or homog- Biennale di Venezia. In
2017, he was the curator
enisation as a counterpart. Spreading the situation of the Sketch for Syria
in various state realities did not allow one specific initiative in collaboration
identity to emerge over the others; nor did it allow with UN ESCWA, with
final presentation events
for one or more shared post-ethnic identities to rise. in Venice and Beirut.
Modern Syria jealously guards the ancestral remem-
brance of a vast territory that voluntarily escapes any
— 41 —
1 — Guillaume Sanson, definition. A place where Sunni and Shiite Muslims,
“Cartes et Tables de la
Geographie Ancienne Alawites, Kurds, Drussians, Ismaelites, Duodeci-
et Nouvelle ou Methode mans, Turkmens, Circassians, Greeks, Yarmouk Ba-
pour s’Instruire Avec fa-
cilite de la Geographie, et sin blacks, Orthodox Christians, Maronites, Catholics
Connoistre des Empires, of Syrian rites, Syriacs, Armenians, Romans, Yazids,
Monarchies, Royaumes,
Estats, Republiques, et
and Jews have lived (and live) in a polychrome mo-
Peuples”, Chez l’Autheur, saic, in a balance without conflict2.
Paris, 1697.
2 — Mirella Galletti, “Sto- If the world once was Syria, today it is Syria that is
ria della Siria contempo- the world: in a war that is consumed within the narrow
ranea. Popoli, istituzioni
e cultura”, Bompiani, boundaries of Skyes-Picot, but that reverberates on a
Milano, 2006. planetary scale. The Syrian conflict, local degenera-
3 — Stephen Graham, tion of the Arab Springs, is the first cosmopolitan war:
“Cities under siege, the the first low-intensity, mobile, permanent, unconven-
new military urbanism”,
Verso, London-New
tional, and timeless conflict. A war that is fought on a
York, 2010. large scale and which sees national and transnational
4 — Thomas Hippler,
armies and coalitions, terrorist groups, armed groups,
“Governing from the guerrilla formations, and ethnic, religious, political,
Sky, A global History of and ideological militias as contingent realities3: actors
Aerial Bombing”, Verso,
London-New York, 2014. that associate and dissociate themselves depending
on their immediate interests, on the global geopolitical
5 — Rupert Smith, The
Utility of Force, the Art situation and various ideological nuances, simultane-
of War in the Modern ously fighting on several fronts according to strategic
World, Allen Lane,
London, 2005.
factors of momentary interest. In this perspective,
weapons and battlefields undergo a process of radical
cosmopolitanisation4. New technological weapons,
new forms of local or global terrorism, online indoctri-
nations, regional and continental migratory processes,
media management and “spectacularisation” of terror,
manipulation of risk perception, and attempts to influ-
ence leaders and electoral bodies have all been added
to the remains of the industrial warfare (open-field bat-
tles and air bombardments).
This new paradigm is defined as “war amongst the

people”5: a struggle that is fought less and less on
traditional battlegrounds, and increasingly more in
— 42 —
Jacop o Galli
places and forms that make it impossible to imme- 6 — Sarah Sewell,

“Introduction in The
diately identify the expected results of each partic- U.S. Army/Marine Corps
ipant. It is not a Volkskrieg (the war of the people Counterinsurgency field
manual”, University of
theorised by Carl Von Clausewitz as a response to Chicago Press, Chicago,
massive foreign invasion); not a heroic confrontation 2007.
in which the people, as a single body, become a bel- 7 — Andrew Bacevich,
ligerent force. It is a war that is essentially fought “Social Work with Guns”,
in the midst of the people and using the people as London Review of Books,
v. 13 n. 24, 2009, pp. 7-8.
a weapon. Sarah Sewell, author of the counterinsur-
gency manual for the US Army, describes the new 8 — Ulrich Beck,
“Cosmopolitan Society
soldier as a social worker, an urbanist, an anthropolo- and Its Enemies”, Theory,
gist, and a psychologist6, “rather than a giant com- Culture and Society 19,

2002, pp. 1-2.
puter game, modern wars turned out to be more like
social work with guns”7. The contemporary soldier 9 — Slavoj Zizek, “Terror-
ists with a human face”,
has become the main protagonist of military urban- in “The final countdown:
ism, abandoning any solution of continuity between Europe, refugees and
war and reconstruction that respond to the same the left”, ed. Jela
Kecic, IRWIN-Wiener
economic, political, and social logic. Festwochen, Ljubljana-
Vienna, 2017.
The conscious transformation of battlefields into

actual war-sets represents the backdrop to military
urbanism. These wars are fought with new weapons
and new ends, leading to the large-scale physical
concretisation of the Risk Society described by Ulrich
Beck8: a world in which uncontrollable risks are not
increased, but have escaped every spatial, temporal,
and social boundary. In this situation of permanent
risk, the traditional forms of territorial governance
— which have historically been committed in guaran-
teeing the security of citizens through their monopo-
ly on violence — are becoming increasingly helpless.
The overwhelming incapacity of modern forms of
national government to adapt to the process of cos-
mopolitanisation risks triggering authoritarian leads,
progressive closures, and opposing extremisms9.
The global abandonment of the Syrian population to
their fate of puppet in the hands of external forces
— 43 —
— 44 —
— 45 —
Jacop o Galli

10 — Manuel Castells, is likely to be dragged on from the war to the future
Gustavo Cardoso, “The
network society from reconstruction process.
knowledge to policy”,
Johns Hopkins Center
for Transatlantic Rela- W.A.Ve. 2017 – Syria: The Making of the Future
tions, Washington DC, comes from an opposite approach: a call to make
2005.
the reconstruction of Syria a physical demonstra-
11 — David Held, tion of how a knowledge society10 can now deliver
Anthony McGrew,
“Governing globalization:
new useful solutions for a small planet inhabited by
power, authority and “overlapping communities of fate”11. A cosmopolitan
global governance”, John experiment in democracy were problems of a spe-
Wiley & Sons, New York,
2002. cific area of the globe are studied and addressed by
groups of designers and students with radically dif-
12 — Ulrich Beck, “La
società cosmopolita. ferent life and work experiences. Only a small part
Prospettive dell’epoca of the groups selected by Università Iuav di Venezia
postnazionale”, Il Mulino,
Bologna, 2003. [trans-
to participate in the workshop is from the vast area
lated by the author] involved in the conflict or have had direct experience
in reconstruction processes: most of them only bring
their own work experiences to the Venetian round
table. The logic behind the choice of the working
groups was to find small signs of hope (however
fragmentary and geographically distant), disjointed
and seemingly insignificant projects, but that could
be able to propose original views on the reconstruc-
tion process within the W.A.Ve. 2017 - Syria the Mak-
ing of the Future experience. A choice that sees in
the sum of localisms an instance where “contextual
and cosmopolitan experiences, traditions, and plac-
es come together, come apart, connect, and detach;
a place where you can focus a cosmopolitan vison
able of understanding that, in a world of crisis and
danger, […] a new cosmopolitan realism becomes es-
sential to survive”12. Researching multiple points of
view was a first preparatory step of the workshop,
firmly believing in hybrid plurality as a comparison
value. The organisation opened a dialogue with 26
teaching groups, 8 Syrian tutors, and 15 experts, all
invited to conferences in order to propose a unique
— 46 —
Jacop o Galli
educational and cultural experience to the 1.341 stu- 13 — Ibidem.
dents participating from 26 countries. W.A.Ve. 2017 14 — Patrick Geddes and

- Syria the Making of the Future was an experiment in Victor Branford, “The
making of the future: a
universal differences, a place where “the babylonic manifesto and a project”,
heart of world society beats in the gallimaufry of lan- Sherratt & Hughes,
London, 1917.
guage and identity”13.
15 — Volker M. Welter,
W.A.Ve. 2017 - Syria the Making of the Future. From “Biopolis: Patrick Geddes
and the city of life”,
Urbicide to the Architecture of the City: the title of MIT Press, Cambridge-
the workshop holds a series of cultural references London, 2002.
that, together with the discussions that led to the 16 — Aldo Rossi,
Venice Charter on Reconstruction, were the starting “L’architettura della città”,

Marsilio, Padova, 1966.
point of the preparatory phase before the inaugura-
tion. The Making of the Future takes from the title of
the pamphlet The Making of the Future: A Manifesto
and a Project published by Patrick Geddes in 1917.
Here, the biologist, sociologist, and urbanist looked
at the end of World War I as a horizon beyond which
to imagine a new society; one that was characterised
by a holistic development in which “art and industry,
education and health, morals and business must ad-
vance in unison”14. Geddes not only imagined a future
beyond the world conflict, but found that international
civics were the best tool to ensure lasting peace and
stability beyond the limits of the nation-state. Civility
is grouped together with humanism and regionalism,
the three elements for a doctrine of reconstruction,
offering not only a mending of areas affected by con-
flict, but also including the conservation and renewal
of historic centres and industrial suburbs in the gen-
eral field of intervention15.
The subtitle — From Urbicide to the Architecture of

the City — sets the two extremes of the complex pro-
cess that Università Iuav di Venezia has dedicated
itself to: Urbicide, the premeditated and deliberate
murder of the city, and The Architecture of the City by
— 47 —
16 — Aldo Rossi, Aldo Rossi, the book the illustrates “the complexity
“L’architettura della città”,
Marsilio, Padova, 1966. of urban culture made up of old traditions and living
feelings as well as unresolved aspirations”16.
17 — Marshall Bermann,
“All that is solid melts
into air, the experience “From ancient times to today, the experience of see-
of modernity”, Simon
& Schuster, New York,
ing your city in ruins is one of the dreadful primal
1982. scenes: this is urbicide”17. Marshall Bermann uses
18 — Dag Tuastad,
the term coined by science-fiction author Michael
“Neo-Orientalism and the Moorcock to criticise the modernisation process in
new barbarism thesis: the metropolitan area of New York that was led by
Aspects of symbolic vio-
lence in the Middle East Robert Moses in the 1960s. Urbicide as a condition
conflict(s)”, Third World of modernity; an experience that is rooted in ances-
Quarterly, 24:4, 2003.
tral urban culture, re-emerging in the contemporary
19 — Eyal Weizman, world thanks to disturbing technological and politi-
“The least of all pos-
sible evils humanitarian
cal developments. But if the destruction of inhabited
violence from Arendt centres was once given by the outbreak of barbaric
to Gaza”, Verso Books,
London, 2011.
assailants who saw the city as a loot of war, urbi-
cide today has become an act that is committed in
20 — Lam 1:1. the name of modernity. It is committed in order to
deny the cultural roots of the “other”, and affirm a
narrative that sees military urbanism as the last
frontier to stem a mass of new barbarians: primitive,
uncivilised, irrational, lazy, pathologic, and deviant.
In one word: anti-modern18. Today, the military inter-
prets urban environments as complex social fields,
saturated with pre-existing conflicts, and it uses the
welfare of the population as a military calculation
factor, making it possible for a utilitarian use of civil-
ian welfare as a weapon19. Barbarians, by now urban-
ised in a relentless global process, can be brought
back to civilisation only through a cathartic destruc-
tion that makes it possible to imagine and build a
new city, free from the weight of history; a city that is
silent and assimilated to pure economic logic, inca-
pable of expressing the vibrant vitality of its histori-
cal inhabitants: “how lonely sits the city that was full
of people”20.
— 48 —
Jacop o Galli
Looking at a map of the destructions in the city of Alep- 21 — Yasser

Elsheshtawy, “Dubai:
po — where areas affected by bombings overlap almost Behind an urban specta-
perfectly with historic or informal settlements —, it is cle”, Routledge, London,
2010.
already possible to foresee the speculative process to
come. Therefore, it becomes essential to re-propose 22 — Ralph Waldo
Emerson, “The journals
The Architecture of the City as an antidote to a modern- and miscellaneous note-
ising homologation, to a “dubaisation” on a planetary books of Ralph Waldo
scale21. The book would become a beacon of a cultural Emerson”, edited by
Ralph Orth, Alfred Fergu-
and design proposal that sees the present form of the son, Harvard University
city as a solid foundation for the construction and re- Press, Cambridge-Lon-
don, 1977.
construction of future ones. Cities that are summaries
of all the features of their urban reality, including their 23 — Mary Ann Caws,

“City images: Perspec-
origins, because “the city lives by remembering”22 but tives from literature,
also “dies by forgetting”23. philosophy, and film,
OPA, Amsterdam, 1991.
It is a complex investigation — that moves between
studies of geographers, anthropologists, economists, 24 — Aldo Rossi,
and historians — but it is strongly oriented toward the “L’architettura della
città”, Marsilio, Padova,
study of urban and architecture forms, understand- 1966.
ing how urban planning is the only instrument that
25 — Lewis Mumford,
makes the city intelligible in its unstable and chang- “The city in history”, Har-
ing balance. The reconstruction process proposed court, Brace and World,
New York, 1961.
for Syria within W.A.Ve. 2017 – Syria the Making of
the Future comes from these same assumptions, and
calls for experts in radically different fields to gather
together with the clear intention of building a foun-
dation of knowledge to service the architecture pro-
ject. Only through a project of the urban space does
it become possible to re-establish “architecture in a
positive and pragmatic sense, as a creation that is
inseparable from civilized life and from the society in
which it is manifested. By nature, it is collective”24 in
Syrian cities; and only through a project of the urban
space does it become possible to return the funda-
mental value of “places designed to offer the widest
facilities for significant conversation”25 to inhabited
centres. We will fight destroyers, whether ignorant
barbarians or frigid technocrats, with the instru-
— 49 —
— 50 —
— 51 —
Jacop o Galli

26 — Ibidem. ment of “design”, rediscovering the role of the city
27 — Abdulaziz Hal- as an antidote to violence: a place where diversity
laj, “Geographies of is developed and opposing tensions are tolerated, it
Absence: Radicalization
and the shaping of the possible to translate conflicts into dialectics. Cities
new Syrian territoriality,” are places “that depress material wars and promote
New England Journal of
Public Policy, 29:1, 2017.
mental ones”26.
The workshop opened with an inaugural lesson held

by Abdulaziz Hallaj, senior coordinator of Syria Pro-
ject at the Common Space Initiative in Beirut. Hallaj il-
lustrated the new Syrian geography — outlined by the
battles between the many contrasting factions — as
a space of radicalisation, contesting the unrealistic
possibility of an ethnic division that would deny the
cultural stratification that has always characterised
the country. Conversely, the reconstruction of Syria
as a place to exercise coexistence becomes possible
only through an approach from the bottom up, capable
of generating open systems that are adaptable to the
different cultural and spatial characteristics of each
urban centre27. This attitude is diametrically opposite
to the operational logic of many conflicting factions,
which have carefully planned and transformed pieces
of the city in tabulae rasae. Here, through a concep-
tual approach that seamlessly bonds destruction and
reconstruction, these factions intend to impose an
unsubstantiated masterplan. The transformation of
the conflict into a permanent war, in the logic of mili-
tary urbanism in which reconstruction also becomes
a weapon of ethnic and sectarian division, is a risk
that is avoidable only through the reconstruction of a
culture of coexistence.
Ricardo Carvalho, working on one of the main tabulae

rasae in the country (the small village of Kobane, on
the border with Turkey), proposed an aqueduct as a
system to trigger and support the process of recon-
— 52 —
Jacop o Galli
struction. The idea of sustainable resource sharing 28 — Alexander Langer,

“Dieci punti per la
as an exercise for peaceful coexistence was then convivenza,” Il segno, 27
carried out by João Ventura Trindade, whom identi- marzo 1995. Alexander
Langer and the art
fied specific areas in the town of Shahba to be used of living together, 27
as initiators of virtuous mechanisms. In this case, March 1995, on <www.
alexanderlanger.org/
the extraordinary architectural artefacts and the par- it/950/3159/print>
ticular orographic conditions became occasions for
timely interventions that can preserve history and act
as catalysts of future developments. Ammar Kham-
mash worked on the city of Hama, a place that, thanks
to its 17 hydraulic norias, holds the memory of the
tiring anthropisation process of the vast area of the

Fertile Crescent. The norias inspired the opportunity
to imagine Hama as the new technological and sci-
entific capital of the Arab world, through experiments
that found expression in unexpected fields like mu-
sic, geology, sociology, or cuisine. Felipe Assadi pro-
posed a concrete utopian project of a modern wall to
hold the village of Al-Bawabiya, made from buildings
dedicated to children, the demographic group that is
most affected by the conflict. Aldo Aymonino instead
searched for archetypal forms of Arab architecture
to help reinvent the Damascene suburb of Darayya,
starting from a complete redeployment of the ground
attack by maximising the porosity of the urban fabric
that was severely damaged by the conflict.
Researching a role for the architect and architecture

emerged as one of the central themes of the entire
W.A.Ve. 2017 – Syria the Making of the Future work-
shop. As a margin to the fratricidal ethnic war in
the Balkans, Alexander Langer dedicates one of his
ten points in The art of living together to the “impor-
tance of mediators, bridge builders, wall jumpers
and frontier explorers”28. In this role, the architect
becomes a builder of coexistence: not necessarily
through the direct form of the design project, but
— 53 —
29 — Ibidem. through the processes he uses to achieve these
30 — Kwame Anthony forms. Coexistence can only be achieved through
Appiah, “Cosmopolit- the construction of cities and spaces that are ca-
ism ethics in a world of
strangers”, W. W. Norton pable of maximising the knowledge of the “other”,
& Company, New York, opening positive dialogues and shared narratives
2006.
because “the more we have to do one with the other,
31 — Salman Rushdie, the better we will understand each other”29. Spaces
“Imaginary homelands:
Essay and criticism,
of coexistence, which have been denied to Syrian
1991-1981”, Granta cities for too long, do not require the imperative
Books, London, 1991. search for shared values: they only require places
32 — Antonio Negri, where it is possible to start conversations that lead
“Michael Hardt, Empire”, to the establishment of a common practice of co-
Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, 2000. existence30. A necessarily hybrid practice that cel-
ebrates “impurity, intermingling, the transformation
33 — Ibidem.
that comes from new and unexpected combinations
of human beings, cultures, ideas, politics, movies,
songs. It rejoices in mongrelisation and fears the
absolutism of the Pure”31.
Kilian Kleinschmidt, for a long-time director of the

Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and now director of
the IPA-Innovation and Planning Agency, presented
an innovative view of the refugee camps as cities of
the future. According to Kleinschmidt, the process of
building a city begins by giving refugees back their dig-
nity as active members of a society; and by thinking
of refugee camps not as places that guarantee every
inhabitant 80 litres of water and 2,100 kcal a day, but
as cities-in-the-making, embryos of a future urban
culture. When questioning migrants’ iron will of re-
turning to their places of origin and the possibility
of stemming global movements32, it is necessary
to reconsider migrants as actors who simultane-
ously produce and resist globalisation33, and aban-
don the perennial state of emergency to embrace
the quest for dignity through new economic and
political possibilities.
— 54 —
Jacop o Galli
The transition from emergency to a (different) normal-

ity was the central theme developed by VMX Architects
in their workshop. A peculiar simulation exercise (in
which each student was asked to choose which items
to rescue during an emergency) became the starting
point for a series of urban projects that put the indi-
vidual, with his weaknesses and fears, at the centre of
the debate. For Plan Collectif, emergency is resolved
through public dialogue and confrontation between dif-
ferent backgrounds, aware of the fact that a too rapid
reconstruction will always be unsatisfactory and that,
while waiting for peace, the task of architects is that of

accumulating and settling ideas and experiences. Ciro
Pirondi worked on the neighbourhood of Jaramana in
Damascus. Its continuous waves of refugees (Palestin-
ians in the 1970s, Iraqis at the beginning of the century,
and Syrians today) physically prove the permanent state
of emergency of numerous areas in the world, scar tis-
sues of the urban fabric. The idea was that of develop-
ing the issue through a redesign process that re-read
the contradictions of the city, seeking to restore urban
homogeneity, environmental sustainability, and social
equity in the neighbourhood. TAMassociati dealt with
the destruction of Qaboun, proposing a non-ideological
process of synthesis between Arab urban tradition and
material innovation, with the idea that emergency is
fought by ethical decisions before aesthetic ones. The
challenge was to build density, not only in space but
also, and above all, in meanings and interactions. The
search for a renewed social cohesion, starting from an
assessment of the state of emergency, was also the
focus of Solano Benitez’s work. Here, the constructive
and technological process inspired the opportunity
to renew the community spirit. Building together, in a
group, exploring complexities and overcoming obsta-
cles, becomes the research of that simple wisdom that
can resolve conflicts.
— 55 —
— 56 —
— 57 —
Jacop o Galli

34 — Michel Agier, “Man- Emergency as a custom state of affairs is not resolved
aging the undesirables
refugee camps and hu- in the “waiting rooms on the margins of the world”34
manitarian government”, (where NGOs operate as low-cost managers of plan-
Polity Press, Cambridge,
2011. etary exclusion) as much as by designing a possibil-
ity of choices for populations and moving individuals.
35 — UNESCO, “Conven-
tion concerning the
The exclusion of refugees from any political practice
protection of the world and from every right and duty linked to citizenship
cultural and natural

heritage”, UNESCO, Paris,
(which transform refugee camps into positivist micro-
1972. dictatorships), can be resolved with new management
models of the same refugee camps, but also and more
36 — Manar Hammad,
“Bel/Palmyra Hom- importantly with models that are alternative to camps.
mage”, Guaraldi, Rimini, The idea that refugees can choose which borders to
2016. [translated by the
author] cross, when and where to return, and how to build or
reconstruct places to live in, can only take place in a
vision that denies spaces of total control.
Manar Hammad, Syrian archaeologist and semiolo-

gist, introduced the central theme of cultural heritage
destroyed during the conflict. He proposed an inter-
pretation that allows to better understand (and con-
textualise in a complex framework) the deliberate de-
struction carried out by the various parties involved.
This is a conceptual passage that, from UNESCO’s
simplification of the “world heritage of mankind”35,
aims to understand the value that each actor places
in a destroyed object as an intermediate instance
between two subjects. Only this interpretation effort
can reveal the value of material and immaterial de-
struction, and help us calibrate possible reconstruc-
tion strategies. Because all people have the right
to choose their ancestors, but especially to choose
their heritage36; a delicate but necessary operation at
a time when war and reconstruction risk permanent
cancellations or dangerous rewritings.
The theme of heritage, of its documental value of the

past, and creative value with respect to the future,
— 58 —
Jacop o Galli
has been one of the central points that were dis-

cussed during the workshops of W.A.Ve. 2017 – Syria
the Making of the Future. UNLAB worked on the con-
flicting heritage of the city of Aleppo, trying to bring
out narratives (sometimes contradictory) that came
from different areas of the city, and transforming
them into social housing projects to re-invent person-
al and community spaces. Roberta Albiero proposed
a reconstruction project for the area of Palmyra
where physical infrastructures were accompanied
by temporal steps that allowed for a slow process
of re-appropriation and reinvention of the historic

city and landscape. The workshop studied complex
recent heritage, like that of the Tadmor Prison: trans-
forming it into a garden-memorial returned to a col-
lective use. Beals Lyon Arquitectos proposed to build
green oases among the urban rubble, with which to
trigger the development of reconstruction processes,
where spaces of transition and encounters could set
the beginning of a renewed cultural heritage. The
meeting of Venice and Syria was not only concep-
tual: the gardens of the historic lagoon city became
examples and measures for the proposed projects.
Salma Samar Damluji developed different-scale de-
sign solutions for the small village of Ma’Lūlā, where
heritage is not limited to built heritage but also em-
braces technical skills, materials, rituals, lifestyles,
languages, and social and ecological relationships
with the territory. Paredes y Pedrosa used the souk
complex of Aleppo as the physical site for a global
reflection on the relationship between ancient urban
systems and intergenerational evolution, proposing
hybrid-heritage as a generator of new evolutions and
transformations in the context of a historical city.
The different workshops found a common prospect

in the need to build a new tradition, a new active de-
— 59 —
37 — Eric Hobsbawm, sign vision that transcends objects and imagines
Terence Ranger, “The
invention of tradition”, the reconstruction of the entire society by redefining
Cambridge University continuity links, even fictitious ones, with the past37.
Press, Cambridge, 1983.
This is a process that seeks cultural continuity with
38 — Benedetto Croce, the positive aspects of physical and immaterial herit-
“La storia come pensiero
e come azione”, Laterza,
age: a delicate and dangerous process that is also, at
Roma-Bari, 1938. the same time, necessary. Only a reading of the past
39 — Arjun Appadurai,
(and of the heritage that has reached us) that refers
“The past as a scarce to our present needs38, can allow us to exploit his-
resource”, Man New tory’s creative and productive force in a positive way.
Series, Vol. 16, No. 2,
1981. The past becomes a scarce but malleable resource:
against erratic manipulations and cancellations but
40 — Paul Morgan,
“Towards a develop- capable of hosting re-interpretations and re-appropri-
mental theory of place ations in order to ensure that “when changes occur,
attachment”, Journal of
environmental psychol-
it is not entirely at the cost of cultural continuity”39.
ogy, 30: 11–22, 2010.
41 — Anna Magrin, “La

George Arbid, founder of the Arab Center for Archi-
conservazione della città tecture in Beirut, contributed in the debate on threat-
è un problema urbanis- ened heritage by further emphasising the value of
tico”, in Benno Albrecht,
Anna Magrin, “Esportare memory in the reconstruction process. Memory in-
il Centro Storico”, tended not only as a personal or collective one, but
Guaraldi, Rimini, 2016.
in its systematic organisation. Documenting “place-
attachment” (the emotional bond that individuals
and communities have with their places of origin)40
was necessary in order to put the past (whether in
the form of narrative, memory, document or monu-
ment) as a term of comparison for the future project.
The preservation of the past as a tool for the design
of a rapidly and dramatically transforming present is,
in fact, one of the declinations of modernity41; a con-
cept that is intimately linked to the idea of progress.
Armando Dal Fabbro also dealt with the theme of

“place-attachment”. He devised a database of Alep-
po monuments, thinking that searching for their new
functions and meanings could be at the basis of
urban revival. Only careful redesign and critical re-
— 60 —
Jacop o Galli
interpretation of the past can actively influence the

reconstruction process and avoid exploitation of the
tabula rasa solution. Sinan Hassan, the only Syrian
representative in the workshops, reflected on the
monumental complex of Palmyra as a microcosm
from which to rethink the entire country, starting
from symbolic and sentimentally significant places.
This idea acts simultaneously on several levels, im-
posing new urban and geographic polarities in the
Badia region, a transformed desert in the heart of the
peaceful country. Camillo Magni imagined a cem-
etery as a place for reconciliation and pacification,

putting it alongside the city ruins, within the various
historical and temporal levels, and creating a strati-
fication of memories capable of avoiding cuts and
negations. Francesco Cacciatore used the destroyed
walls of the Temple of Bel as a measure for a new
strategic settlement that could surround the modern
city of Tadmor with the archaeological area and the
oasis of Palmyra, transforming the memory of the
historic pre-modern town into the generating factor
of a new modernity. Attilio Santi proposed a new ur-
ban location and new architectural forms for the mu-
seum complex of Palmyra, heavily plundered by the
iconoclastic fury of Daesh. Antonella Gallo worked
on the area of Douma, on the outskirts of Damascus,
building a memorial for a civilisation on the brink of
extinction and using the exhibition space as a stage
on which to represent the fears and cross-narratives
of the causes of the conflict and its future memory.
Planning with and for “place-attachment” is not a

call to completely reconstruct com’era dov’era, nor
does it represent a crystallisation of the past: it
is a challenge for architects to build settlements
that can create a shared feeling of belonging for
people with different backgrounds and traumatic
— 61 —
— 62 —
— 63 —
Jacop o Galli

— 64 —
— 65 —
Jacop o Galli

42 — Robert Bevan, “The experiences. The systematic organisation of mem-
destruction of memory,
architecture at War”, ory and historical documentation allow “memory
Reaktion Books, London, of stone” to become an active design tool. Exist-
2006.
ing monuments and inhabited spaces can act as
43 — Edward Said, an anchor of memory within the process of mod-
“Orientalism”, Pantheon
Books, New York, 1978.
ernisation in which the loss of historical heritage,
with or without violence and destruction, is always
44 — Amin Maalouf,
“Orìgenes”, Grasset,
a side effect of progress42.
Paris, 2004.
Nasser Rabbat, Aga Khan Professor at MIT, passion-
45 — Ididem.
ately supported the need to start with an ethical re-
46 — Armando construction of the country and the entire region be-
Salvatore, “Islam and
the political discourse fore a physical one. Rebuilding the history of Syria
of modernity”, Reading and of the Arab world clearly showed how the obvi-
Garnet Publishing Ltd,
1999.
ous lack of morality in today’s conflict comes from
a long process of relativism and cultural exclusivity.
Starting from the irresolvable friction between ad-
herence and distance from Western principles that
affected post-colonial thought43, Arab thinkers have
often, unconsciously, proceeded to undermine the
universal values of freedom and democracy, some-
times reaching their complete negation and rein-
vention. Just as what happens for Amin Maalouf’s
main character in Orìgenes – who lives in a small
village on the Lebanon-Syrian border and scandal-
ises the entire community by walking about with his
head not covered, neither with an Eastern turban or
a European hat –, the search for sincerely universal
ethics (a synthesis between discordant instances44,
capable of “breathing light Levantine wisdom into
the principles proposed by the West”45) can cause
unrepairable fractures. Only a new “Al-Nahda”46 – a
collective awakening that fosters reconstruction on
universal human rights – can allow for reconstruc-
tion to fight abandonment, capitalist commodifica-
tion, bureaucratic calcification, and extremist fanat-
icism, simultaneously and on different fronts.
— 66 —
Jacop o Galli
The theme of a renewed ethical conscience and its 47 — Daniele Archibugi,

“Cittadini del mondo
effects on built spaces was addressed by Giancarlo verso una democrazia
Mazzanti, who proposed cooperation as a tool for cosmopolitica”, Il Saggia-
tore, Milano, 2009.
social construction. A series of urban “acupuncture”
operations were identified as tools to foster social 48 — Hanna Arendt, “The
origins of totalitarian-
cohesion and infrastructures capable of linking to- ism”, Schocken Books,
gether local experiences. Bom Architecture proposed New York, 1951.
a complete change for the area of Al Malek Faisal, 48 — Seyla Benhabib,
near the historic centre of Damascus: it re-read the “Another cosmopolitan-
changing natural conditions (due to climate change) ism”, Oxford University
Press, Oxford, 2006.
and the social evolution of the area as extraordinary
possibilities for the expansion of urban permeability,

expanding the possible dialogues between the differ-
ent parts of the urban fabric. Patrizia Montini Zimolo
sought out new ethics in public space, reflecting on
the spatial significance of the historical sedimenta-
tion of the Aleppo souk, and on the possibilities of
a future re-functionalisation of the voids left by con-
flict. Fernanda De Maio used the physical symbol of a
dining table, designed to communicate the distance,
ethical and emotional, between the Western observer
and the protagonists of the conflict. She created a
palimpsest of local references of universal value.
Gaeta Springall Architects used the symbolic ele-
ment of the line as a pretext to build a sequence of
exemplary spaces, bearing a new ethical approach
that links the ancient urban tradition to the difficult
process of forgiving without forgetting.
Renewed ethics of reconstruction can only arise

from a vision that restores a central role, with non-
negotiable value, to human rights47. If the enuncia-
tion of universal rights arises from the horrors of the
Second World War and is firmly linked to a territorial
and national affiliation48, the times are perhaps ripe
for the horrors of today to become an opportunity to
build an authentic system of cosmopolitan norms49
— 67 —
50 — Mark Mazower, as a guarantee for individuals on the global scenario.
“Governing the World:
the history of an idea”, We are in search of a world government (necessary
Allen Lane, London, today and inevitable tomorrow) that does not go
2012.
through military subjugation or nameless technology
51 — Guillaume Apol- but through a sharing of values: ethics that turn into
linaire, “To Italy”, in
Calligrammes, translated
governance50. This effort cannot be limited to court-
by Anne Hyde Greet, rooms or commissions for truth and reconciliation,
University of California
Press, Berkley, 1980.
but it must be extended to the construction of cos-
mopolitan places capable of representing and pro-
52 — Wisława Szymbor- moting virtuous behaviour at the same time.
ska, “The end and the
beginning in miracle
fair: selected poems of W.A.Ve. 2017 - Syria the Making of the Future is un-
Wisława Szymborska”,
translated by Joanna doubtedly the beginning of a journey that Università
Trzeciak, W. W. Norton Iuav di Venezia intends to address in order to identify
and Company Inc., New
York, 2001.
methods and tools for the hopefully imminent recon-
struction process. A debate, ethical before material,
was opened and saw the creative and pro-active ef-
fort of 1,500 students, assistants, and professors in
serving a country that is on its knees. An initiative that
fights the cancellation of signs that have reached us
through the centuries, and challenges our ability to
take part in the long relay between past and future
generations. W.A.Ve. 2017 - Syria the Making of the
Future is an act of humanistic resistance that has re-
sponded to horror not with guilty silence or compas-
sionate pietism, but with joyful creativity. It was an
effort in optimism because, as Guillaume Apollinaire
reminds us: “I have nothing in common with the Huns
joyless pride and I know how to laugh”51.
“After every war, someone has to clean up. Things

won’t, straighten themselves up, after all”52. The archi-
tect’s role in reconstruction is as easy, and difficult,
as these few words by Wisława Szymborska. Asking
a large group of young students and professors to
put their knowledge and enthusiasm at the service of
a global cause aims to awaken a cosmopolitan ten-
— 68 —
Jacop o Galli
dency of mutual help, a global empathy that, accord- 53 — Peter Kropotkin,

“Mutual aid: a factor of
ing to Peter Kropotkin is “so remote an origin, and evolution”, London, 1902.
is so deeply interwoven with all the past evolution
of the human race, that it has been maintained by
mankind up to the present time, notwithstanding all
vicissitudes of history. It was chiefly evolved during
periods of peace and prosperity; but when even the
greatest calamities befell men — when whole coun-
tries were laid waste by wars, and whole populations
were decimated by misery, or groaned under the yoke
of tyranny — the same tendency continued to live […]
The ethical progress of our race [...] appears as a

gradual extension of the mutual-aid principles from
the tribe to always larger and larger agglomerations,
so as to finally embrace one day the whole of man-
kind, without respect to its divers creeds, languages,
and races”53.
— 69 —
— 70 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj
Syrian cities a n d th e c h a llen g es o f

reconstruct io n
—
Abdulaziz Hallaj
Syria is a place that everybody thinks they know, and — Omar Abdulaziz Hallaj
indeed, as most Syrians have discovered, know very is a consultant on urban
planning, development,
little about. A place that is very different from one and local governance.
end to the other: culturally, economically, socially, po- He is a senior coordina-
tor of the Syria Project
litically; and the conflicts over the last few years have at the Common Space
only made these differences more visible. They have
SYRIAN CITIES AND THE CHALLENGES OF RECONSTRUCTION

Initiative in Beirut, where
he is engaged in facili-
brought them to the surface. As such, it is going to be tating various dialogues
very difficult for us to try to have a single grasp of the and research projects
for peace building and
country and say: “this is Syria”. In Syria, we are going recovery planning in Syr-
to have to always look at different locations, different ia. Formerly, he was the
places, and understand how each one of them is spe- CEO of the Syria Trust
for Development and
cial. For the next three weeks, you are going to embark served on the boards of
in projects on Syria. You need to understand that every several nongovernmen-
tal organisations and
place here has its own narrative, its own history, its public commissions.
own story to tell, and that that story has changed. His professional and
research work relates
institutional, financial,
I am going to begin with an example of a little town and political frameworks
to the production of built
next to Damascus called Qudssaya, and give you an environment. In 2007,
idea, set up a microcosm, of how things have evolved. he was the recipient of
This little town was once a small village about a few the Aga Khan Award for
Architecture as team
kilometres away from the capital of Damascus. The leader of the Shibam
number of registered people (people who are actual- Urban Development
Project (GIZ). He
ly from the town) is less than 5,000. Over the last 30 subsequently served on
years - as Syria was urbanising very quickly and peo- the master jury and the
steering committee of
ple moved from rural areas to the major cities - many the award.
people moved to Damascus, the capital, where all of
the business and politics were. Therefore, many peo-
ple could not find housing there. It was a booming
and expensive city. So what did they do? They moved
to the little villages that were around it. These towns,
once of 4,000-5,000 people, now are cities in their
own right, each one now counting 35,000, 40,000,
— 71 —
and 50,000. Qudssaya was one of those towns on
the periphery of a major capital, coming to com-
prise around 40,000 people. Then, at some point,
the government decided that they were going to de-
velop a new neighbourhood around this old town,
and build “another” Qudssaya, on the hills around it,
to house government employees. That small town
eventually grew to become another town of about

35,000 people. We therefore reach a total of more
or less 60,000 people. Then the war broke out and
the conflict started. Many people decided that they
wanted to stay in the city, while others returned to
their villages and towns at the first signs of conflict.
Some people in the old town of Qudssaya decided
that they would take part in the opposition against
the government, while other people decided they
would not. The town was split.
Eventually, the town was surrounded by the conflict.

Some people decided to stay and defend the city,
some people decided to leave. The town was as-
saulted many times, and experienced different con-
ditions of besiegement. The old town was attacked,
while the new one was not. Throughout the different
iterations and conditions for besiegement, the last
fighting rebels decided to leave the city and worked
out a deal with the government in order to leave. So
the city returned to the central government, but now
it only had a little more than half of its original pop-
ulation. Many people decided to come back to the
city after it returned to the government. When they
arrived, however, they found that a very large number
of houses had been destroyed. They also found oth-
er people living in their homes, because while they
were gone new people came in. Some people from
this town are became refugees in Lebanon, some of
them refugees in Turkey, and some in Europe. Others
— 72 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj
joined opposition actors in Idlib. Therefore, now we

have a city that is trying to recover, and the big ques-
tion is: who is the city? Is the city the original 5,000
people that were born there? Is the city the 35,000
people that were living there just before the war? Is
the city the 30,000 people that stayed? Is the city the
new people that came during the conflict and sought
refuge there? Is the city the people that are trying
to come back? Is the city the people that will never
come back because they are now all over the place?
Who is the city? This is going to be one of the major

challenges that we are going to have to deal with in
Syria. Today, however, our challenge is to understand
Syrian cities a little better.
Let’s go back a few decades. Syria is a country that

was born about 100 years ago. Before that it was,
administratively, part of the Ottoman Empire. About
100 years ago, this country was formed thanks to
different political conditions. From the time of its
inception, two dominant cities controlled all of the
economy, power, and resources: the city of Damas-
cus and the city of Aleppo. They both present huge
peaks in terms of GDP, in relation to the rest of the
country. Then there were other four cities present-
ing medium peaks. Damascus, being the capital, had
roughly 2 million people living in the city, and other
2.5 million people living in little villages and towns
around it, like Qudssaya. Aleppo was more “solid”:
the city grew concentrically, and it had about 2.5
million people living in it. Cities in Syria were the
centre of administration. Therefore, these two cities
combined had roughly about half of the Syrian GDP
in industry, trade, and administration. About 60% of
Damascus’ GDP was due to the fact that govern-
ment was situated there: the government budget
in Damascus created 60% of the local GDP. Aleppo
— 73 —
was a city of trade and industry: all the agricultural
areas around the north of Syria sold their services in
Aleppo. Aleppo only had 25% of the GDP in govern-
ment spending; the rest was private. The other cit-
ies in Syria are different, and each one of them has
a different economy and social structure. One thing
you notice is that parts of the country, to the East,
were very much underdeveloped, since some cities

received more funds than others did. The government
spending per-capita in Damascus (city) is about five
or six times the spending per-capita in a small town
somewhere else. There was a huge difference, and if
you go to the rural areas government spending was
even less. Everything was concentrated in the cities.
When we try to understand how ISIS came to be, we
should know that it grew in areas where government
spending was minimal. Because ISIS controls the oil,
and because they have foreign donors giving them
a lot of money, it could spend more than the govern-
ment in rural areas. This was not very difficult, con-
sidering that the government was spending less than
200 dollars per-capita, per year, in those areas. ISIS
could easily match that once they put their hands on
oil and once they had access to all the international
supporters of radicalisation. Syria was very much a
centralised state, as France and Italy were about 50
years ago when they began their decentralisation pro-
cesses. Syria, though, never began such a process and
remained a central state. Therefore, politically, every-
body elected the central government – if they did at
all – and then the central government decided what
would happen in every location. There was very little
decision making at a local level: local councils were
more like advisory boards for the government, simply
reporting what happened in their areas without any
actual decision making powers. Only a few cities had
elected councils, the other smaller towns and villages
— 74 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj
had appointed councils. This created more agency in

the cities. There were 120 cities – meaning towns or
settlements bigger than 20,000 people – and, by 2011,
54% of the Syrian population lived in these cities. This
was a drastic change from about 40 or 50 years ago.
A massive organisation took place, and all Syrian re-
sources were necessary to accommodate people in
the cities. Very little money went to rural areas. As
cities were growing very quickly, the bureaucracy that
was set from the time of the French mandate could
not cope with the speed at which things were devel-

oping. As architects and planners, we think in terms
of masterplans and firmly believe that the plan takes
care of everything. It usually took governments an av-
erage of seven to ten years to develop a masterplan
for a big city. In Aleppo, they developed a masterplan
for the city, about 15 years ago, but by the time they
finished the first version the city had already exceeded
the plan’s limits; and by the time they did the second
one, the city had already gone beyond the new limits
again. So they decided to prepare another plan. At the
time, Aleppo was growing at a rate of 3.3% per year,
which means the city added more than 50,000 resi-
dences every year over in a period of 10 years. Most of
the growth, however, took place in areas that were not
planned. On average, the big cities in Syria had 30%
of the population living in spontaneous settlement ar-
eas; but in the two big cities, Damascus and Aleppo,
they had almost 45-50% living there. This was be-
cause bureaucracy was very difficult to move, and the
government was not able to formalise this enormous
development quickly enough; which also brought to
corruption and massive migration into the cities. All
of this created a condition for which – by the last 25
years before the conflict started – one housing unit
was built in the formal sector for every three housing
units built in the informal sectors in the cities.
— 75 —
— 76 —
— 77 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj

In 2000-2004, the government began to realise the
severity of the problem, and began to present some
reforms: they liberalised the issues of land devel-
opment, banks, and access to finance. But all this
was too little, too late: there was a gap between the
needs of the population and what the cities could of-
fer. When you will consider rebuilding Syria, in your
projects, remember this: before the war, there was

very little regulatory capacity to manage the cities.
There is one housing unit formal (and with formal I
mean government, private sector, and cooperatives)
to every three housing units in the informal. What do
you expect that to become after the conflict? You are
going to be working with informality, whether you like
it or not, whether you do masterplans or you don’t,
whether you do beautiful drawings or you don’t. The
primary condition of your work in Syria, after the con-
flict, is going to be informality, and you are going to
have to deal with that. If you are going to insist on
the power of the “plan”, good luck: it has not worked
before and it will likely not work again. You have to
work with the power of the communities. The govern-
ment, before the conflict, had this brilliant idea: to
control informality by building formal houses around
the informal areas, move the people from the infor-
mal areas to the new formal ones, and develop the
land that had been emptied in the meantime, bringing
more people to live in it. It sounded logical. The prob-
lem was that to do this in the city of Aleppo, back in
2000, meant that the government would have had to
use every single penny going into the Aleppo budget,
for the next 120 years, to solve the problem existing
in Aleppo in year 2000. We have an accumulation of
lack of resources. Post conflict, resources are going
to be even more limited. Where you decide to invest
them is going to be tremendously important. If you
use your money to build 5,000 housing units, it is go-
— 78 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj
ing to look grand: everybody will look at the TV screen

and say, “wow, we built 5,000 housing units”. The
war has destroyed roughly 30% of the housing stock
value in Syria; that means there are about 1,200,000
damaged housing units, half of which are seriously
damaged or beyond repair. So, you can spend your
money on 5,000 housing units, take cameras there
and show that you have done something grand. But
it will be nothing but a drop in the sea. Where do I
use my money if I am not going to build 5,000 hous-
ing units? That is going to be the question. You are

going to have to decide, very intelligently, where to
put your money, in order to lead development in the
best way. If you use the money to build 5,000 housing
units, you are not using it for anything else. That is
the second big question that we will have to face in
the future in Syria.
Most of the examples I present are from Aleppo

because it is on the news today and is very visible.
Aleppo is very emblematic… and it is my city. Many
people have proposed that poverty is the reason why
we have a conflict in Syria. They are partially right, it is
important that we keep this in mind. However, there is
not only one reason behind this conflict; every town in
Syria has a different story. Aleppo entered late into the
conflict; in fact, the conflict was brought to it from the
outside, from its rural surroundings. When it reached
Aleppo, it immediately settled on the dividing line be-
tween the poor and the rich. The rebels could not push
into the more affluent neighbourhoods, so there was a
solid support in the poorer neighbourhoods, but pov-
erty did not cause the conflict in Aleppo. It did in other
places, though; I am not saying that poverty was not
the cause across the whole of Syria: you are going to
have to investigate the reasons behind the conflict in
every single city, since it differs in every place. This
— 79 —
also means that the healing process is going to begin
from a different place in every case. Part of your job
as architect and planners is to understand where the
healing will begin. Do not assume that because you
now know something about Syria you are able to un-
derstand it. You are going to need to understand what
happened in each specific place you will work on.
Where did the damage take place? 70% of stock de-

struction took place in the areas that held the opposi-
tion, where major fighting was taking place. But 30% of
the damage took place in government-controlled areas,
and this is something you don’t see on the news often.
Yes, government areas were not as badly damaged as
the other parts; but the parts that stood in between
– the areas between the two sides of the city – were
greatly damaged, and those are going to be cleavage
points because people remember the dividing lines. I
did a survey on the city of Beirut with some students
of mine, and we discovered that, still today (twenty-
six years after the war), it presents a lower percentage
of traffic moving from East Beirut to West Beirut than
of traffic moving to Aleppo under siege. This in terms
of traffic proportion, not in terms traffic volume, of
course: Beirut is a living city now and many people go
back and forth. We speak in terms of the proportion of
where people travel. Cities have a strange way of living
after a conflict, and of remembering where the con-
flict took place. The areas of confrontation between
the two conflicting sides are going to be places that
you are going to have to focus on in your work. If you
do not treat them well, they will haunt the next layer of
history and the efforts of the next people who mean to
live there. These are very important areas to consider
from the start, and think about how you are going to
work on them as architects. If you ignore them, they
have a strange way of surviving in people’s minds.
— 80 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj
Now, assessing the damage again, most of the dam-

age took place in areas that were spontaneous set-
tlements. 70% of the damaged stock is in areas that
were spontaneous settlements, while only 30% is
in areas that are formalised and have cadastral re-
cords. That is another problem you are going to have
to deal with. People still manage some sort of legal-
ity in informal areas. Do not think that informal peo-
ple do not have papers; they have different types of
papers. For instance, they could have court orders;
or papers from the government saying that they own

plots of agricultural land that have been urbanised
over the years, but that are still registered as agri-
cultural. Therefore, when people will return, the gov-
ernment will ask for their documents. This is another
major problem that we will have to fight. Housing
land and property issues will greatly decide how the
city will evolve. In areas that have strong cadastral
documentation, people will most likely rebuilt along
the same lines as before. In areas without strong re-
cords, there will most likely be a tabula rasa. Syria al-
ready has areas that have been prepared to become
a tabula rasa; the government has already prepared
some itself, while other actors in other parts of the
country are setting tabulae rasae in preparation for
the future. This is going to be a major challenge be-
cause people who used to have a community some-
where are fighting hard to return to that community.
For example, two neighbourhoods in the northern
part of the city of Hama took part in the early conflict,
and people left because they were afraid of the gov-
ernment. Then the government decided these were
spontaneous settlement areas and would not allow
people to return and bring trouble, so they razed it to
the ground. Where would people who once lived here
go now? A lot of them were originally from villages,
so the government is pushing them to go back there.
— 81 —
— 82 —
— 83 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj

But do they have a right to the city? That is the next
big question: who has the right to be in cities? You,
as architects and planners, sometimes draw beautiful
drawings; but every line in your drawings will decide
who gets to come back and who does not. Beautiful
grand city projects are most likely chosen by big de-
velopers, but they also most likely will not have many
people return. On the other hand, if you think too small

you might not be able to get the necessary funding to
do anything. These are not easy issues to tackle. When
you decide that the best thing to do in a certain area is
to develop massive housing, all you do is play on one
side of the equation and not on the other. These are
things for you to consider in the future.
Then there is the issue of money: where will the

money come from? The damage to the city of Alep-
po is now roughly equivalent to seven trillion Syrian
pounds. That is a huge amount of money, even con-
sidering the devaluation of the Syrian pound. The
government is not going to have that money. Even
before the very last range of hostilities, that further
damaged the city, it was estimated that it will take
the equivalent of 400% of total government spend-
ing to rebuild Aleppo housing stock, without spend-
ing it on anything else (schooling, hospitals, social
services, electricity). If they spend their money ex-
clusively on housing, it is going to take four years of
complete government spending. That means that if
we put all the money in the housing basket, no pub-
lic employees or teachers will get salaries. Always
in the case of Aleppo, if we are going to depend on
government funding for reconstruction in the hous-
ing sector, with a reasonable redistribution, it will
most likely take about 30-35 years. The good news is
that most of that stock was not built by government
funding in the first place; most of that stock was built
— 84 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj
because people helped themselves. Let us remem-

ber that these were spontaneous settlement areas,
so it is likely that people will rebuild them. The point
is we need to give them the right conditions to do
so; we need to give them access to funding, finance,
credits, jobs, and education. When you are working
on your projects, it is very important that you do not
only consider repairing stones: you need to repair
economies. Economies build houses. Governments
do not: governments build economies. Do not think
about “ideal” reconstruction solutions; think about

what would move the economy in order for these cit-
ies to bring people back.
We are used to looking at Aleppo and Syria on maps

that show who holds what part of the country. Un-
fortunately, these maps are not very useful because
Syria is no longer like this. Syria is mainly cities: you
have to think of the geography in terms of cities. The
population of Syria was 54% urban before the con-
flict. We are now debating on how many people still
live here. The UN says it is 18.8, but it is a political
decision rather than a statistical one. Once they de-
cided that the population is of 18.8 million people,
it meant that – out of a population that should be
of 23 million – 5 million people had left the coun-
try. Therefore, they began distributing the rest of the
population in cities and towns. We have been doing
town-by-town evaluations, and we think that the pop-
ulation of Syria cannot be more than 16 to 17 million.
If we know where the populations are today, it means
that 75% of the Syrian population is now living in ur-
ban areas, as compared to the 54% from before the
conflict. You may think of this as a temporary thing,
but it actually is not. There has already been an urban
revolution in Syria: 75% of population living in urban
areas is not a reversible process.
— 85 —
People do not go back to villages after wars; they do
not go from living in the city to living in rural areas.
You are going to have to think of cities in the fu-
ture; and cities are where the resilience is, cities are
where people have states, here services function
better than other areas. So the question we need to
ask ourselves now is: how do we deal with the peo-
ple that are now living in these cities? The people

who came to the cities are people who are trained
to do agricultural work; they do not have the skills to
live in the city. We should majorly invest in trying to
bridge this education gap. The other thing we need
to worry about is: who are these people? How old
are they? The population from 15 to 30 years of age
have all disappeared, particularly the male popula-
tion, because they do not want to fight. Despite eve-
rything you hear in the news, Syrians do not like to
fight. Most families have arranged what little mon-
ey they had in order to send their sons away from
the conflict. There is a whole generation that is no
longer there anymore: people are in Europe, Leba-
non, Turkey, Jordan, even Sudan, Brazil, Saudi Ara-
bia, etc. Some of these people will eventually return,
and then the question becomes: what culture will
they bring back with them? You need to consider
that once people leave from one place for another,
they begin seeing the world in a different way. The
people who will be returning to Qudssaya in the fu-
ture, will be coming from this diaspora, and they are
going to have to live together; they are going to have
to decide what culture brings them together. This
is one of your challenges, too. Forget everything
you know about Middle Eastern and Islamic cities:
people’s cultures have changed. People are going to
carry different cultures and ideas with them. Syria is
going to become a truly multicultural environment.
How do you deal with it as architects?
— 86 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj
Populations also have changed. An average Syrian

city has gained about 45% of new comers, but it has
lost 50% of its original population. This is the new de-
mographic reality of Syria. Today, you will hear many
people talking about demographic change in Syria,
and all they are thinking about is the sectarian and
ethnic demographic change that has taken place.
I am not saying that it has not, but the real demo-
graphic change that has taken place in Syria is the 12
million Syrians that were displaced during the war.
That is a great demographic change. Regardless of

who they are, what sect they are from, what religion
they follow, or their ethnicity: 12 million people were
displaced during the war. The very geometry of the
society has changed. Not all of it is sectarian – a very
small section of it is – but everyone has practiced
some sort of ethnic or sectarian cleansing in Syria.
Today, it is “sexy” to talk about “sectarian cleans-

ing” on the news because Europe has had its prob-
lems with it in the Balkans, and everybody is trying
to project what happened there on what is happen-
ing in Syria. But it is a different war; it is a differ-
ent conflict. We cannot project one thing onto the
other. This is something that we are working on; we
have done surveys on about 40 cities in Syria and
taken about 27 indicators on every aspect of urban
issues. The UN Habitat methodology has defined
this process as the Cities Prosperity Index. We have
developed some indicators to tell us about how gov-
ernment and legislation are implemented in cities:
productivity, infrastructure, quality of life, environ-
mental sustainability, and equity and social inclu-
sion. We have several indicators that report what
is happening for each these aspects. People often
think about Syria in terms of government areas, op-
position areas, Kurdish areas, ISIS areas, etc.
— 87 —
— 88 —
— 89 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj

— 90 —
— 91 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj

In reality, what is most significant is not who controls
the area, even if it is an important factor. The major
significance, in determining how cities function, lies
in whether they were very big cities before they were
“shocked”. They are doing much worse than they
were before because, initially, the major cities were
the heads of everything. Now, major cities have re-
tracted; but medium level cities are doing well across

the board, in all geographies. Smaller towns, by con-
trast, are doing very poorly. These are determining
factors everywhere in Syria.
Another important factor is whether the city is ho-

mogeneous. That is, whether it has the same level of
services across the board, or whether there are big
differences in the population. Where there is a big
difference in income, in distribution of services, cit-
ies tend to do worse. However, cities are where jobs
are: jobs are concentrated in cities that present high
discrepancies in social equity. Quality of life is poor,
but that is where jobs are. This is true across all the
territories. It is very hard to decide which are gov-
ernment cities, and which are opposition cities. The
differences between them are minimal; but the differ-
ences between the sizes of the cities is maximum,
as are the differences between homogeneous or
non-homogeneous cities. Do not be fooled in think-
ing only in terms of government versus opposition.
Syria has different narratives.
Then, there are many stakeholders in Syria. Indeed,

one of biggest problems is finding out who-is-who.
There are different categories of institutional, politi-
cal, armed, and other kind of actors here. It is going
to be very difficult to get these people to talk to each
other again. One of the biggest challenges you are
going to discover is that, during the last period, ad-
— 92 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj
ministration has changed, systems have changed,

and economies have changed. You are going to have
to figure out how to make these people communi-
cate again. Those who are doing local governance
in different parts of Syria are apparently all using the
same law; the same law that the government in Da-
mascus is using (Law 107). It is applied in all areas,
even in opposition areas. However, everybody has a
different understanding of it, and eventually it is go-
ing to be very difficult to get people, after the conflict,
to learn how to bring these different administrations

together. You are going to need to figure out how to
meet the people’s needs. There are different stand-
ards of governance. Today, there are parts of Syria
that are funded by German donors, which apply Ger-
man standards; British, American, Russian, Iranian,
and Turkish donors have funded money in other parts
of the country. Each of them brings different admin-
istrations and technical standards along with them.
The question is going to be: what standards do we
count on to bring everybody to work together again?
The power, in every geographic reality, lies in a differ-
ent place: in the government-controlled areas it is in
the national institutions, in the opposition-controlled
areas it’s mainly in the local councils and in the
civil society. There is no power at a national level.
In the armed actors, power lies in between; provin-
cial armed councils manage things in these cases.
In the Kurdish areas, they created “cantonments” in
which the power resides. In these cases, the local
and city levels have very little power. All these also
present municipalities; in some cases, however, the
municipalities are very powerful, while in others they
are nothing but small bureaucracy. Therefore, in the
future, when you work with municipalities, remember
that they often are not where the power is. It could
be in the municipality, in the head of the cantonment,
— 93 —
with the armed actors, or with the governor: you are
going to have to figure out, for each city, how you are
going to bring back some sort of a national “middle
ground”. That is going to be a major task.
Now the good news. Many people have been divided

in Syria, but many self-help groups continue to talk to
each other despite the conflict. In the case of Aleppo,

for example, over 300 website or Facebook pages link
people across the city. We should not think that the
society is as divided as we are told. People have been
creative in finding their own solutions: for example,
wells have been created collectively in the city, and
people are sharing creative ways to get to water. This
situation has been created by a war economy, as well;
but it presents a lot of resilience at the same time.
The war economy is something that is usually feared;
when we think of war economy we think of war crimes.
In reality, the goods that are flowing across Syria eve-
rywhere, from one area to the next, bring transaction
fees that enable warlords to emerge. However, goods
flowing all other the place also bring people to trade
with each other. Yes, there are people fighting on the
military front lines; but on the side, people are doing
trade. There is a little town in northern Syria, Kafr Jana,
that used to be like a summer resort. It is located right
between opposition areas and Kurdish areas. Here,
warriors fight during the day, and go to nightclubs
and spend time together in the evening. We need to
remember these human things. Yes, the war economy
is real; but so is people’s persistence to live. These are
things we can build on.
Recently, we have been hearing of “de-escalation

zones”, safe zones, areas of control. Many projects
are trying to bring the conflict to a less violent out-
come. However, each of these projects is a political
— 94 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj
project for the future of Syria: the Russians want their

piece, the Americans want their piece, the Turks want
their piece, the Iranians want their piece, etc. We have
to think about the consequences of this because it will
create new geographies and new boundaries. We have
to think about how we are going to weave points of
contact between these geographies. How do we make
these geographies talk to each other? The “big guys”
want a very clear map: this is my land and that is your
land, this is my turf and that is your turf. It is much
easier for Americans, Russians, Iranians, and Turks to

control the world this way: this is my yard and that is
your yard. We have to think about how we bridge be-
tween these areas. As architects and as planners, we
need to start thinking about how to break the dividing
lines; and find, in every geography, the interest (wheth-
er economic, social, or political) that will make people
talk to each other across the dividing lines.
It is not impossible. It is done every day in Syria: peo-

ple in the rural areas of Hama (controlled by the op-
position) cross over to government-controlled areas
to get medical treatment. Every time the government
has a campaign to recruit people to go fight, young
men flee for a couple of days to opposition areas;
they hide out there and go back when the campaign
is finished. The boundaries in Syria are not as hard
as we think. As architects and planners, you have to
find out how to make these public spaces – these
entry points, these contact points – safer, cross-
able, and more accessible. These are the issues for
the future of Syria. Even after the conflict will stop,
we are going to need to convince people to cross
over to the other side. Finding the right formula for a
public space in every town is going to be your main
challenge. Reconciliation is also a question of archi-
tecture and planning.
— 95 —
— 96 —
— 97 —
Ab dulaziz Hallaj

— 98 —
Kilian K leinschmidt
C ities in exile - c ities of th e fu t u re

—
Kilian Kleinschmidt
This is about refugees. What associations come to — Kilian Kleinschmidt

your mind when you think about refugees nowadays? has over 25 years
hands-on experience in
You see sweaty aid workers somewhere on an Afri- international develop-
can or Asian boarder, distributing help to poor people ment, emergency
response, resource
who need charity. Confess: when you think of refu- mobilisation, and politi-
gees, in Italy, you think about many people in boats, cal/regional cooperation
in a wide range of
you think about tents, and things that have been as- organisations (UN,
sociated with humanitarian aid for the last 70 years. NGOs), countries, and
CITIES IN EXILE - CITIES OF THE FUTURE

programmes. Previous
That is what you have in mind; these are the images, assignments include
the visuals that to see. It is, however, a very primitive Deputy Humanitarian
image, because it is not about refugees: it is about Coordinator for Somalia,
Deputy Representa-
aid business. tive for UNHCR in
Kenya, Deputy to the
Special Envoy of the UN
There are refugees all over the world; there are peo- Secretary General for
ple on the move everywhere. Let us just look directly Assistance to Pakistan.
In his recent position as
around us: we are sitting in the middle of a former the UNHCR Mafraq Head
refugee camp in Tolentini. Originally, Venice was a of Sub-Office and Camp
Manager for Za’atari
refugee camp; and this beautiful convent is a refu- Refugee Camp in Jordan
gee camp in the middle of a refugee city. That is the (the world’s second-
origin of Venice: a camp; people fled here when the largest refugee camp
and the largest camp
barbarians first came and raided villages. What did for Syrian refugees),
these people do? They were seeking refuge some- he has exceeded all
expectations and has
where, protection, and they planted a billion trees in achieved the impossible,
the ground to build an artificial island, like Dubai to- transforming Za’atari
from a chaotic and
day. That is in fact a camp. So what does this camp crime-ridden place to a
here – where we are today, where billions of tourists thriving and stable com-
munity ready for its tran-
come – have to do with refugee camps as we im- sition to the next phase
agine them, as we image people on the move? I do of its development.
not think you look like a person on the move, like the
refugees you see in today’s “images”. I want you to
imagine that, a thousand years later, this is still con-
sidered a refugee camp, where you still depend on
— 99 —
somebody like me – from UNHCR, where I have spent
most of my career on the high commission for the
refugees (the NGOs). What does that mean? There
are 100 people, maybe 120, people in this project.
This means that - because you are depending on me,
because you are living in a refugee camp – you are
depending on somebody who gives you the right to
live and the survival aid. I will be deciding what you

will be eating, what you will be drinking, what you
wear, etc. That is my job as an aid worker: I become
something like god, because I decide how you will
be doing every day. The people who give me money
decide how you will be doing every day. 120 people
would trust in me, and I do not even see their faces.
This is what happens when you organise a refugee
camp as you see it on TV, in a classic sense. I do not
see your faces: I simply “count” you, because all you
have become is logistics. What does that mean? 18
litres of clean water multiplied by 120: that is what I
have to provide to you. I just multiply18 by 120, with-
out asking you how you wash yourself, how much you
drink. No, I am calculating simple mathematics that
will give me a number, a quantity of litres of water I
need to provide. I know you need 2,100 kcal for nu-
trition. I do not ask you what you really like to eat;
and you will eat the same stuff for generations be-
cause that is all you are getting, nothing else. And
everybody gets the same shoes, the same clothing.
That is what aid is all about, that is how I look at you.
When we talk about shelters, we divide you by five
because that gives me the number of tents we will
have to provide to you. This is what humanitarian aid
has been doing for the last 70 years. It also does it
only for a tiny portion of people, but we will come to
that. This is how we think we are helping people on
the move; not realising that, in this refugee city here
for example, nobody ever distributed blankets, tents,
— 10 0 —
or did mathematical calculations on kcal. It worked

differently. People on the move are our history, our
present, and will be our future. We are born out of
migration; we are born out of people being pushed
from left to right. Yes, the world is not always nice.
Yes, there have been millions and millions of people
throughout history that have been pushed from A to
B – because the Barbarians came, because the Ro-
mans came, because the Huns came, because some-
body came and pushed others away. That is how the
worlds has built itself. We are all a result of those
migrations. We are an incredible mix of people; any-
body who thinks we are one within our nation-state

is wrong. We were born out of that movement; we
have been thriving out of that movement. But today
we have made something very strange out of all this:
we have divided these people on the move in two dif-
ferent categories. I come from the United Nations
High Commission for refugees, and the refugees
conventions are something very important; but you
must be cautious: only 22,500,000 people in today’s
world fall under the convention on the protection of
refugees. That is only a small drop, a small portion
of all the people that are currently on the move. In
the last 200 years, about 3% of the world’s population
has been migrating. This has not changed in the last
few years, so there is no migration crisis whatsoever;
it is the same numbers. But we see this case, these
22,500,000 people, as something different. Because
of persecution, because of terrible conditions. You
are working on the theme of Syria, one of the most
horrible man-made crises of our times. In the global
perspective, however, it is only a small drop of people.
Think about it. The people who are currently on the
move – because of poverty, in search of better per-
spectives, access to rights, access to opportunities –
are about 900,000,000, in the whole world.
— 10 1 —
Only 22,500,000 fall under the refugee mandate.
What about all the others? They are accounted as
economic migrants, as people who should not be
moving. That is how we often perceive them.
Therefore, with what we call “aid”, we are considering

a small portion that only becomes visible in what we
call refugee camps. That is where everybody focuses

on. Everybody focuses on images of tents and con-
tainers but not, as it should be, on those of our envi-
ronments, our cities, our communities and societies,
built up by migration.
To bring that on a level that is more “concrete”, I

would like to describe what has been happening in
one of the last refugee camps I have been managing:
the camp of Zaatari in Jordan. It was established in
2012, for the refugees from Syria, by the government
of Jordan together with the United Nations’ UNHCR.
We are now setting up a camp because, at the time,
3,000 people came to Jordan every day and the gov-
ernment felt that it could not allow these people to
mingle with the rest of population any longer. It had
to “store” them somewhere, and you can only do
that with a camp. It was very successful in terms of
logistics, in the terms of responding to the require-
ments of the NGOs. The UN managed, within days,
to provide a camp in the middle of nowhere, in the
North of Jordan, 10 km from the Syrian border. They
managed to provide assistance: 80 liters of water,
2100 kcal of food per person, 1 tent for every five
people, everything, very smoothly. And very proud-
ly: “Victory! We got a good operation going”. And
then something happened that nobody has expect-
ing: there was a rebellion. There was a rebellion by
these people, who said: “We’re eating, we’re drinking,
we’re sleeping but you’re not treating us as human
— 10 2 —
beings”. So they rebelled. Demonstrations, violence,

Jordanian police officers were killed, aid workers
were injured, facilities in the camp were looted,
destroyed, vandalised. It became what would be
known as the “hell of all refugee camps” by jour-
nalists and by the people themselves. In that mo-
ment, Zaatari was emblematic of all refugee camps
in the world: it stored people, not treating them as
human beings but treating them as commodities.
We were assuming that they would be happy to just
eat, drink, and sleep. We think that it is what poor
people want. A refugee is poor; we do not look at
what he was before or how he lived. We see him as

a refugee at the lowest form. Therefore, that rebel-
lion had a logic; it was against the arrogance of aid
operations, against the neglect of human beings. I
was sent there seven months after the camp was es-
tablished. We came out to Mogadishu, where I was
the UN humanitarian coordinator, and I was asked
to “fix” the camp; fix it and understand why people
were rebelling. When I got there, I found the camp,
established in July 2012, had reached 100,000 peo-
ple in just seven months. 100,000 people, in a stor-
age facility, were considered as commodities by
the aid agencies and by the Jordanian authorities.
They should be happy, and yet what were they do-
ing? Moving the tents, moving the containers issued
to replace the tents; stealing the public toilets, the
public kitchens, and the public showers. Why? To
individualise it all: they became private toilets, pri-
vate showers, private kitchens. By stealing and van-
dalising, they were telling us that they wanted to be
recognised as individuals, seen as people again: “I
do not want to go to the toilet with a hundred other
people, and I do not want to be told to clean the
toilets of other people either. I want to go home and
shit alone”. This was the level of things.
— 10 3 —
— 10 4 —
— 10 5 —

— 10 6 —
— 10 7 —

Imagine you become a refugee tomorrow. You have
to run away for whatever reasons and you are told
that you are not an individual anymore. You are like
everybody else. You are one group of people with
the same needs because you come from the same
country. Therefore, you are all the same. That is what
they are going to tell you. What we were facing in
this camp was the opposition between what the in-

ternational world thinks of poor refugees, and what
people think of themselves as human beings, as indi-
viduals. They were asking for individualism. Anybody
who imagines that people want to mix with others in
times of crisis, and that people coming from a civil
war understand each other, that there is a sense of
community, is wrong. You cannot trust your brother;
you cannot trust a police officer. Your brother could
be a traitor. The police officer could be your torturer.
This is what civil wars produce in communities. You
have been pushed out of your villages, out of your
towns, and you have to move in together with oth-
er people. The first common desire is to be able to
close and lock the door, to protect yourself against
whatever else is out there. Individualism is the first
thing you look for. Rebelling against the fact that
you are treated the same became, for me, a logical
consequence of “storage” that was not planned cor-
rectly. So I decided at that point that I had to look
at that settlement of 100,000 people in a different
way. I had to understand that people were trying to
rebuild themselves before they could be able to build
the community. Understanding that it was not their
desire to be dependent on somebody like me, was
important. Understanding that it is de-humanising to
go and queue up people for them to get food, was
important. So how do you shift the gears? That was
the issue, and we discovered we were not equipped
as humanitarians to deal with that. We had no clue of
— 10 8 —
how to organise a settlement of 100,000 people. We

had no clue of how to structure services in a way that
people could become accountable for what they did,
instead of receiving everything for free. We were not
equipped to build up anything for them to manage
their own affairs. Before continuing, I want to show
you a report about the incredible development, in one
year’s time, of the existence of this camp. This story
has been told by the BBC business report. When have
you ever seen a BBC business report applied to a ref-
ugee camp? Well, refugee camps have an economy.
People have been setting up shops and businesses.
They did not simply want things: they wanted to buy

them themselves. Today, in the Zaatari camp that is
now 5 years old, there are 3,000 shops with a month-
ly turnover of 50 million euros. It even has a travel
agency, bicycle shops, bird shops, pet shops, plant
shops, and anything that you would have in a refugee
city… like Venice. Restaurants, beauty parlours, eve-
rything. Because they decided to rebuild a city.
It is with some pride that I can say that, after our col-
lective work, it took one year not to have a single oth-
er violent demonstration in the camp anymore. No
demonstrations, no more tear gas. What happened?
It was a complete shift of paradigm, a complete shift
in our way of looking at the people. I started to call
myself the Mayor: I was not the manager or the boss
anymore. I became the Mayor. I look at what citi-
zens in new cities worry about. One of the lessons I
learned at the UN, in one of the many training cours-
es, was to always talk to the women at the well. They
will tell you how things really are. We talked to the
people who had little voice, who did not push them-
selves in front of everybody else. We began under-
standing that we had to be “with” the people, to walk
among them. So I walked around like a Mayor going
— 10 9 —
through his city, and my staff became responsible for
the twelve districts we had divided the camp into.
We had revised the governance structure in order to
make the people of the various districts responsible
for their own affairs.
Electricity was yet another issue. There is no hu-

manitarian standard for electricity. We had to install

public lights to make the place safe; but when we
ran out of money, we had to stop putting them in the
new part of the camp. There weren’t enough public
lights. What happened was that there were, all of a
sudden, 14,000 connections to streets lamps - and
a 500,000 UNHCR euro bill to be paid by the taxpay-
ers’ money for humanitarian budgets. We had to pay
500,000 euros a month for electricity, which was a
total disaster for our budget. However, it also pro-
duced safety, social life, happiness, and economy. It
“built” something. We could not cut it. Recognising
what people really wanted was the number one is-
sue: finding ways of managing what people wanted,
and getting out of the logic that everything had to be
for free. 90% of the world’s refugees, and 100% of
the people on the move, are not living in a refugee
camp. They have to pay for their services. Why was
there a need to not pay for services in this camp? Set-
ting up a service provider was a completely new idea;
a utility public/private partnership to cover some of
the costs. We talked to the people holding new small
businesses in the camp, and they said: “Of course
we are ready to pay. We do business, why shouldn’t
we?”. We soon discovered that we - as UNHCR, as
NGOs - had absolutely no idea of how to set up a
paying electricity system, how to set up utilities. It
was necessary to deal with the situation profession-
ally. The first thing we did was stop free distributions,
largely. We went from having people “queue up”, to
— 110 —
people acting as they do in a modern society. We

gave people smart cards, so they could go to a super-
market and shop, as you do everywhere today. If they
couldn’t afford, we gave them cash: we made happy
shoppers out of charity recipients. People pushing a
shopping cart are given dignity back. I know I sound
like an old capitalist but it made a difference: people
who rioted every time there was a food distribution
with the World Food Programme, were now dressing
up to go to the supermarkets.
We had to organise services and structures for this

emerging settlement. The Minister for Foreign Trade

and Development of the Netherlands, Lilianne Plou-
men, visited us. We toured the camp and I told her,
“showed” her, all this. That was my way of explaining
to John Kerry, Angelina Jolie, to all the many visitors
who came as well. To help them shift their ideas and
understand that it is not about tents, litres, or calo-
ries: this is about dignity. It is about building up ac-
tual spatial management, and have services so that
people can actually be human beings again. Minister
Ploumen asked me what we needed. As a UN official,
I should have said money. I said I needed technical
assistance, city planners, professionals that could
do things I could not. I am not a professional; I am
not a city planner, a spatial planner, or a transport
planner. I needed professionals. Minister Ploumen
went back to the Netherlands and spoke to the VNG,
the Association of Dutch Municipalities, and asked
if they could help. The VNG spoke to the city of Am-
sterdam. Two-three months after her visit, we had
the first team from Amsterdam city come out to the
refugee camp. Therefore, the whole project actually
moved onto having a partnership between Jordan
and ministries of local government, the VNG, and
the city of Amsterdam. They also helped the many
— 111 —
— 112 —
— 113 —

municipalities impacted by the arrival of people out-
side of the camp, pressuring the infrastructure and
social cohesion. We had professionals and technical
assistance corporations help. However, there still
was a complete disconnection between the different
worlds. We have had people look at the camp we de-
signed and say it was not sustainable. But they are
thinking in a humanitarian short-term perspective;

we are thinking of setting up new cities. The Amster-
dam team I had with me was actually building up a
new city somewhere near Amsterdam, so they un-
derstood. They do not plan these things to last for 5
years; they plan for them to last a long time. In Wien,
there is a Seestadt, a development for 20,000 people
and 20,000 new jobs. Are they planning it for short
terms? No. But we do not connect these similar situ-
ations. When we discuss refugees, we discuss about
their eventual return to where they came from. What I
am going to say now is controversial but let me chal-
lenge you: the right to return does not imply an obli-
gation to return. Nobody should become hostage to
a situation. People in exile move in and should have
the chance to develop and build up new lives. Most
of them are doing it anyway, since most do not live
in camps. How do we deal with this? As a very con-
crete example, I posted a picture of the Palestinian
parts of Amman, the capital of Jordan. We have be-
ing doing research, with the city of Amsterdam, on
its grid and infrastructure. We can still see the mis-
takes that were done when tents were pitched there
70 years ago. That is not sustainable: a camp layout
is different from a city layout. I posted that picture
on Facebook and said that we should not repeat the
same mistakes. My Palestinian friends immediately
reacted and said that they could not have a proper
city developed there; because that would mean that
they would be giving up their right to return. But this
— 114 —
has nothing to do with your rights; it has to do with re-

specting the dignity of people developing and evolv-
ing. It is a delicate subject, and a very controversial
one; but forcing people in a limbo because you think
that one day they have to return is certainly not how
history works. Again, here in Venice, nobody talked
about returning to the places they ran from to seek
protection. The other day I was walking around Ber-
lin. Here, there is the Fischerinsel, and island where
they are now digging and doing archaeological re-
search. Who lived on this island? Huguenots. They
were chased out of France and they settled there. No-
body ever talked about having them return and hav-

ing to stay in a limbo while displaced. We must move
on and allow people to move on. I have been settling
and transforming the camps into villages and towns
in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Western Sahara, in all
its mess without solution, people have built up farms
and cities. There needs to be a complete shift in our
thinking and recognising that, in history, there have
always been losers and winners; but we should not al-
low losers to become losers forever, punishing them
for the rest of their lives. That is what we are doing
with our wrong perception of what refugees should
be doing: that the only solution is for them to return.
There is another solution. We must respect people
and allow them to move on, move forward, develop
and change. This is also how we are going to achieve
contexts in which there is more mix of cultures and
people, and make the world more connected.
I actually first started working with refugees back

in 1992. I had no real idea what the UNHCR was. I
was in southern Sudan distributing food aid for the
UN, in a displaced camp near the Kenyan border.
Then, a rumour that the army was moving forward
arrived, and we all fled: 20,000 South-Sudanese left
— 115 —
for Kenya. That night, they became refugees. That
night I became a refugee helper. I built a refugee
“storage” facility somewhere in the Turkana region, in
north-western Kenya, not knowing yet what it meant.
Today, that camp is known as Kakuma Camp. I was
putting the first tents into the ground, chasing some
local people away and bribing them with food so that
they would leave the space for the arriving Sudanese.

That camp, Kakuma, is still there today. It has over
200,000 people living in it, from over 40 nations, from
all over Africa. It is one of the biggest camps in the
world. My son, as a young man and aspiring water
engineer, went to the camp 20 years after this hap-
pened. He worked with the same NGO that I brought
as UNHCR field officer, when first setting up the water
distribution system. 20 years later, there still is the
same NGO, the same rubbish water system distribut-
ing water in the most uneconomical way, to people
who do not value the water because they don’t pay
for it. Also, the system is so obsolete than it even
looses water every now and then. The 500,000 refu-
gees in those two camps, Kakuma and Dadaab, have
been finally made allowed to work – and be self-sus-
taining and self-sufficient – only three days ago by
the Kenyan government.
I went back to Kenya in 2011. What is seen as a bur-

den in a country like Kenya, or in a country like Jor-
dan, is actually a huge opportunity to develop new
economic centres. Taking Kenya as an example: the
poorest parts of the country were where refugee
camps stood. These refugee camps have now be-
come, de facto, cities; but they are not recognised
as such. The people who have been living there for
over 20 years are still considered a burden. The in-
ternational aid business has put money here to store
them for over 20 years. Three-four-five hundred mil-
— 116 —
lion dollars a year that are not being used to trigger

change, in a area that is actually trying to change and
develop. How do we connect a camp – that is now a
city – with its environment and surroundings? This is
the task I think people, like you, should work on. This
is the task of the planners of today and tomorrow:
developing new population centres, recognising that
our history is made of refugee cities. Bringing togeth-
er the capacities of planners – people who have the
capacity to develop special zones and new economic
opportunities – is the future for people on the move.
— 117 —
— 118 —
— 119 —

— 12 0 —
Manar Hammad
Semantics of patrimonial destruction

—
Manar Hammad
1. Liminar remarks — Manar Hammad

received his degree
in Architecture from
Destructions resulting from the current syrian con- the École nationale
flict1 raise an arduous interpretation problem. Facing supérieure des Beaux-
Arts in 1972 and his
the human, material and cultural waste, it is neces- PhD in Semiotics from
sary to disengage from the iterative accumulation of the Université de Paris
IV in 1976. Manar has
partisan reports, and to avoid the litany of degrada- served as a professor
tion tales. It is necessary to understand what is hap- at several institutions,
S E M A N T I C S O F PAT R I M O N I A L D E S T R U C T I O N
including the University
pening which is deeply disturbing. Analysis is only of Montréal, Université
possible if we put aside the pain surging at each de- du Québec à Montréal
struction, and if we avoid the partisan hardening that and École Nationale Su-
périeure d’architecture
invites violent retaliation. de Paris-La Villette,
as well as serving as
researcher at Kenchiku
Deliberate destructions manifest a common char- Kenkyusho (Building
acter: it is not as much the destroyed object that is Research Institute, To-
kyo, Japan) and Groupe
aimed at by the operation, but something else. This de Recherché Sémio
may be the site occupied by the object, or the func- Linguistiques (École
des hautes études
tion it fulfills, or at times the actors who use it or en sciences sociales,
value it. The monument is not destroyed for itself, Paris, France). He is the
but for something that is not itself. Who would hate cofounder of the Inter-
national Association for
stones? nobody hates a stone for what it is. Destruc- the Semiotics of Space,
tors aim at what it represents, and this is a seman- and the founder of Dar
Hammad, a research
tic mechanism. It follows that the tools of semiot- centre in Aleppo, Syria,
ics2 are pertinent to the interpretation of these non dedicated to scientific
research on northern
verbal manifestations. When a verbal message ac- Syria while promoting
companies destruction, a proposed interpretation is cultural exchange with
Syrian researchers and
available. But the successive facts quite often force intellectuals.
doubt upon the veracity of such declarations. Which
brings us back to the absence of interpretation and
imposes the necessity of an interpretive method.
We need analytical. The present (shortened) essay
proposes a semiotic approach, explicited in order to
— 12 1 —
1 — Begun in 2011, it facilitate its reuse elsewhere. The text is organised
is still continuing in
September 2017, date of by logical relations between the analytical concepts
redaction. used, not by a timeline nor by space. Some preci-
2 — For all terms and sions are needed before we describe the forms of
concepts of semiotics heritage destruction.
metalanguage, check in
the dictionnary written
by Greimas & Courtés, Semantic description and moral judgement
1983.
Any serene interpretation exacts the waiving aside of

moral judgements relative to events, in order to main-
tain a descriptive discourse. Semantic analysis aims
at comprehension. It does not take sides, neither at-
tacks nor defends anybody. It does not void terms
from a value that would have been naturally theirs,
it recognizes the value that a subject attributes to
an object implied into an interaction, and recognizes
that the same object may have another value for an-
other subject. Forming a judgement upon those val-
ues is another affair, formulated from another point
of view, not the perspectives of the parties involved,
but from a third stance, placed in a judicatorial posi-
tion in order to assess the merit of value and actions,
in this case destructive acts. Moral judgment still
remains available to the reader, but it is not an objec-
tive for analysis.
Understanding the destructive act
The act of destruction implies a destructor subject

and a destroyed object. But the latter implies a sub-
ject who used it, and a subject who enjoyed its mas-
tery and delegated its use. Any patrimonial monu-
ment presupposes also a historical subject who built
it. The destructive act itself may be looked upon at
various abstraction levels, ranging from logical nega-
tion (deep level) to the estimation of damages exten-
sion (manifestation level). In a dynamic perspective,
— 12 2 —
Manar Hammad
semiotic analysis identifies relations between the- 3 — DGMAS (Direction

Générale des Antiquités
ses terms and the operations transforming them. et des Musées de Syrie)
We do not intend to establish an inventory of Syria’s registers regularly the
state of Syria’s heritage
proven patrimonial destruction cases. We leave this through its network
task to agencies3 who have been doing that with of employees. APSA
has recorded damages
competence. We propose a description framework through a less formal
to which various forms of observable destructions network of local moti-
may be referred. vated informers. UNITAR
UNOSAT is a UN agency
that used satellite
Semantics of the destroyed patrimonial object images in order to make
a remote assessment
of heritage damages.
Our purpose being centered upon the damages made ASOR (American Society
for Oriental Research)
to heritage, it is necessary to delve into what is a pat-
had a special fund for
rimonial object, in particular into what makes it dif- the collection of both
types of information,
ferent from other objects. The UNESCO convention and the hiring of profes-
for world heritage (1972) refers to a cultural heritage sional archaeologists
of universal value (Art.1 § 1), wording that followed for identification, analy-
sis and comment. All
reference to the heritage of mankind “[…] Consider- these agencies publish
ing that parts of the cultural or natural heritage are online.
of outstanding interest and therefore need to be pre-

served as part of the world heritage of mankind as a
whole […]”. In the texts issued by this organization,
the expressions world, universal, mankind as a whole
are almost equivalent. But on the ground, the bellig-
erent parties do not act by texts, they operate by im-
plicit notions, in a situation that is over-complicated
by the fact that languages do not organize their vo-
cabulary in the same manner.
The patrimonial object presupposes a subject for

whom it is heritage. UNESCO posits mankind as sub-
ject in relation with exceptional objects, and recog-
nizes the local reponsibility of member states, who
appear as a category of collective subjects with re-
stricted spatial capacity. Political semantics undes-
core the said colective subjects, while the object is
invested with cultural value. But there is more. The
— 12 3 —
4 — cfr. M. Hammad, “La notion of patrimony, that corresponds to the english
Succession”, 2016.
word heritage, presupposes a subject anterior to the
subject actually in conjunction with the meant herit-
age4. It is this anterior subject who transmitted the
said object to the posterior subject who considers it
as heritage. Heritage is only what has been transmit-
ted by an ancestor, accepted and admitted by a pos-
terior subject. In the case of monuments destroyed

in Syria, the identity of the anterior subject is often
ignored, or refused, by one of the warring parties. A
large part of patrimonial destructions in Syria is due
to the rupture of this relation presupposed between
present subject and anterior subject. The relation-
ship between collective subjects and their ancestors
is not simple. History shows recurrently that people
choose their ancestors among the anterior subjects
available. For example, around 1860, the French
chose the Gauls for ancestors, at the expense of the
Franks, who presented the double inconvenience of
having engendered aristocratic exploiters and hav-
ing left non-negligible progeniture on the other bank
of the Rhine river. In a similare manner, populations
choose their heritage: Arabs tend to prefer their non
material heritage (linguistic, religious, cultural, said
Turath) at the expense of their material built heritage.
All these choices, that determine the subject, his an-
cestors and his patrimonial objects, are semantic
choices. The question of heritage is fundamentally
a semantic one. A fortiori, the question of heritage
destruction.
Referring to the general questions cited above, the

mobile or non-mobile character of heritage seems
secondary. Nevertheless, we restrain our quest to
the case of real property, because mobility entails
complications related to the circulation of objects in
social space.
— 12 4 —
Manar Hammad
Narrative perspective on patrimonial destruction
We analyse acts of patrimonial destruction, not tales

relating such acts. Often, we do not have a verbal ac-
count, but a video sequence or a group of photographs.
When there is a tale, it is in Arabic, in English or in
French. Its linguistic expression is of no interest, we
concentrate upon its content level, where the sequence
of events is described in any of the verbal or non-ver-
bal means mentioned. The content level is indifferent
to the expressions that serve it as vehicle. The act of
patrimonial destruction is the nucleus of a narrative se-
quence that we consider as an uttered discourse. Our
description shall be syntactic, and we shall order the
analysed cases by their degree of semantic complex-
ity, i.e. by the number of actantial positions and by the
relations they entertain. In a destructive sequence that
happened, the recurring problem is the identification of
the destroying subject. When this is established, the
following question is its motivation. There are certainly
unintentional destructions, qualified as collateral, but
the number of deliberate destructions is sufficient to
occupy us. Often, the intent of the destroyer is not estb-
lished but results from an attribution. A complete nar-
rative chain, that allows to read events starting from
their end, is liable to dispell ambiguity.
We do not know of a destructive intent that is inscribed

in the direct relation between a subject and a given ob-
ject. All the cases that we know find their motivation
in a transitive indirect relation, where the destroyed ob-
ject is an intermediate instance between two opposed
subjects. The semantic charge of the object is to be
seen not in the matter constituting it, but in the terms
with which it has been associated in an anterior syn-
tactic chain. Let us give some examples in order to
clarify the point:
— 12 5 —
— 12 6 —
— 12 7 —
Manar Hammad
- A monument is destroyed because the person who
built it is abhorred for some reason (foreign romans
for the city of Palmyra; shiite obedience for judge Ibn
al-Haššāb who coordinated the erection of Aleppo
Great Mosque minaret; ottoman wâli for the Madra-
sat Husrofiyat in Aleppo).
- A monument is destroyed because the person hon-
ored in it is abhorred (pagan divinities for the tem-

ples of Palmyra; supposed roman victory for the
Grand Arch in Palmyra; Uways companion of Ali at
the battle of Saffin for a mausoleum in Raqqa).
- A monument is destroyed because the religious
practice celebrated in that place is condemned for
theological reasons (people come to ask the person
interred for an intercession to God, an act assimi-
lated to the association of a false divinity with God).
The contents vehicled by these examples are heter-

ogenous and do not form a semantic paradigm that
sheds light on built heritage. The analysis in elmen-
tary semes, and the identification of recurring semes
constituting isotopies, shows that religious and polit-
ical isotopies are legitimating, while military and eco-
nomical isotopies do not appear as such. Syntactic
relations are the only ones that produce a satisfac-
tory interpretation.
Widening the notion of heritage
Other destroyed buildings do not manifest the same

semes: schools, hospitals, granaries, industrial bak-
eries, power plants, bridges. Their destruction per-
tains to a different logic, because such buildings
serve the civilian population and do not entail the
preceding mechanisms. A military logic of destruc-
tion, aiming at economic infrastructures useful for
the war effort, can be discerned and must be added
— 12 8 —
Manar Hammad
to the analysis of patrimonial destructions. Such acts 5 — See G. Dumézil,

“Décrire la ville, écrire
aim at the action capacity of the opposed subject, le patrimoine”, 2016; E.
but we must recognize a patrimonial dimension in in- Benveniste, “Le vocabu-
laire des institutions
frastructures: even if they are functional, inscribed in indo-européennes”,
a hic et nunc syntax, they also have a recognizable 1969; M. Mann, “The
sources of social
cognitive dimension. They have been built to serve power”, 1986.
many generations: they are the heritage of future gen-
erations. Heritage cannot be restricted to the past, it
projects itself into the future. We have to widen the
notion of heritage, even if international conventions
seem to care only for the traces of the past. If the
past is important for the construction of identity, the
future is as important for the definition of a collec-
tive subject by projects that stabilize its trajectory in
time. Between past and future, cumulative memory
plays a major role.
Abovementioned examples illustrate destructions mo-

tivated by religious, political, economical and military
values, that is the four isotopies often found in the
description of culture5. But the point of view of archi-
tects upon patrimonial destructions lays accent upon
aesthetic qualities that do not pertain to the four men-
tioned isotopies. In other words, patrimonial destruc-
tion imposes to take into account the isotopy of plastic
form: the beautiful, the exceptional (UNESCO Conven-
tion 1972), the saliant lay foundation for value and dis-
tinguish it from a commonplace mass. This selects an
elite heritage, that makes room for a qualitative value,
superior to the standard four semantic isotopies, what
makes of it a meta-value, or an overvalued value. Bel-
ligerent parties are not sensitive to aesthetic values.
For them, it does not exist in general, it is suspended
(e.g. it is possible to bomb the old city of Sanaa in
Yemen, without consideration for its beauty). In a mili-
tary perspective, aesthetic value is not a negative val-
ue, it is not a value. It has been considered as a “value
— 12 9 —
6 — cfr. M. Hammad for the other” by the Islamic State when it destroyed
“Semantics of destruc-
tion”, in “Urbicide II”, the Grand Arch and the Tetrakionion in Palmyra6. Not
AUB, 2017, to press. a value for the subject of action, but recognized by the
subject as a value for the anti-subject.
Material heritage and human heritage

Up to here, we have only considered material herit-

age. Archaeologists consider ancient monuments,
architects look at beautiful buildings, economists
count infrastructures, economic centers and indus-
trial zones. It could be reproached to these perspec-
tives the neglect of human patrimony. Presupposing
the superior value of humans compared to material
objects, such a reproach would manifest a moral
point of view. In as much as every selection presup-
poses its own logic, would it be necessary to put
those categories in competition in view of producing
a hierarchical order? These are not variables com-
muting in a single paradigm. In other words, there is
no choice to make between them, we should rather
consider the relations that they entertain in order to
precise their semantic and syntactic content.
Patrimonial destruction hurts those whose heritage

has been damaged. When the monuments of an area
are damaged, its inhabitants are forced back to the
state of people who have nothing but themselves. By
the reduction of their economic and cultural means,
they are forced to regress collectively and they are re-
duced. But this region is heir to an urban civilization
five millenia old, and its population does not breed
the project of regressing towards a nomadic state, as
Gengis Khan is said to have planned for them.
For the antique romans, a man reduced to slave-

hood was part of economic patrimony, so much so
— 13 0 —
Manar Hammad
that slaves figure in first place among the categories 7 — cfr. J. Teixidor, “Tarif
de Palmyre”, 1983.
of goods liable to pay a tax on Palmyra’s customs
tariff7. The question of human patrimony is no more
worded in such terms, but it is certain that during
war, from a state’s point of view, human capital has
an economical value: workpower, know-how, organi-
sational skills, culture and language. Nevertheless,
the dominant discourse today that privileges human
patrimony tends to consider only religious appar-
tenances, operating sectarian distinctions that divide
the population in rival subgroups. The talk is no more
about population but about fractions. In opposition,
the privilege givent to an archaeological heritage
perspective tends, with its accumulation of succes-
sive human groups on a single territory, to produce
a syncretic unifying semantic effect. Moreover, the
consideration of syntactic relations between men
and heritage produces a totalizing semantic effect.
A monuent erected in solid materials is intended to

perdure for a long time. In stone, it would last for
ten or twenty generations. It is built in order to fulfill
two functions: an immediate pragmatic function, a
differed cognitive memorial function. Therefore, the
destruction of a building is not only the destruction
of the means to perform a pragmatic function, but
also the destruction of the basis of a memorial func-
tion that aims at temporal continuity, comparable in
a certain way to the destruction of twenty genera-
tions of humans. Destruction of humans’ work may
be, from this point of view, more important than the
destruction of human beings, even if it is possible
to replace destroyed objects while nothing replaces
destroyed lives.
— 13 1 —
— 13 2 —
— 13 3 —
Manar Hammad
— 13 4 —
— 13 5 —
Manar Hammad
8 — cfr. M. Hammad,
op. cit.
2. Forms of patrimonial destruction
In coherence with the semantic and syntactic ap-

proach adopted, whose principal lines have been
traced by A. J. Greimas, we shall use syntactic crite-
ria to present, in a formal logical order (neither chron-
ological nor spatial) a selection of events that hap-
pened in Syria between 2011 and 2017, with some

patrimonial destructions that happened elsewhere.
Because destructions are not restricted to this sole
country. Without pretending to establish an exhaus-
tive inventory of destruction forms affecting herit-
age, we shall list such forms in an order based upon
the basic semiotic narrative scheme. If we consider
the sequence containing the principal event as an ut-
terance, its insertion context is enunciative. We shall
begin with the examination of utterance forms before
looking into enunciative analysis. Form description
starts with a syntactic brief, followed by examples
taken from recent events or from ancient history.
Before the list of twelve syntactic forms put into an

order reflecting their interior organisation, it seems
pertinent to present briefly the complexity of a
concrete situation that we have analysed in detail
elsewhere, namely the case of the ancient city of
Palmyra8. The destructions perpetrated there pre-
sent the limpidity of a geometric drawing, because
they were accomplished out of any combat con-
text. There were no enemy forces in confrontation,
and nobody can invoke an accident or a collateral
damage. In a site entirely controled by the Islamic
State, the destructions were deliberate, the objec-
tives selected, the execution methodical. First de-
structions were aimed at islamic mausolea and at
the local cemetary, with the invocation of reasons
related to rigorist interpretations of Islam: the de-
— 13 6 —
Manar Hammad
clared aim was to prevent the local muslim popu-

lation from accomplishing impious acts in those
spots. After that, destruction was directed towards
two antique sanctuaries (Baalshameen, Bel) and a
group of ancient funerary towers, with the argument
that in those places false divinites were associated
with God, which is contrary to Islam. But, contrary
to the previous cases, there was no local population
practicing the ancient rituals. Nevertheless, the offi-
cial declaration said that some possible foreigners
might come, in the future, to adore the false divini-
ties, and it was presently pious to make that impos-
sible. Later, destruction was ported to the Grand
Arch, to the Tetrakionion and to the antique theater.
In the absence of a pertinent religious reason, no
justificatory declaration was published. Analysis al-
lows to extract the underlying political and military
reasons. We shall not deal here with such complex
cases, and we shall make a selection of simpler
syntactic situations.
Attempt against the basic functional program
When a monument is built, it is destined to a collec-

tive subject that will use it for a given function, what
can be noted in a condensed fashion:
Fuction (Subject, Object) or F(S, O)
We shall first consider the case where violent ac-

tion is directed against the function of the build-
ing. This presupposes necessarily a change of the
actor-subject, while the building-object may remain
unchanged. Such transformations are possible in
peace time, but they take extreme forms in war time,
including sometimes the levelling of a building in or-
der to use its place for other ends.
— 13 7 —
Such a complex sequence happened in Aleppo, on
the southern border of the citadel. The process is
still evolving and may change character with future
decisions. In almost a year, more than ten neighbor-
ing buildings were destroyed, all by the same pro-
cess: an underground tunnel was quarried in order
to reach under the building, a large quantity of ex-
plosives was detonated to destroy the monument.

Were thus destroyed a public bath (hammam Yal-
bugha al Nasiri, XIVth c), the sarai of ottoman period
(governmental purpose), a law-court complex (XXth
c), two teaching establishments (Madrasat Zahiri-
yat, XIIIth c; Madrasat Khusrofiyat, XVIth c), a suq bor-
dered by coffee shops (khan ash-Shunet), a former
hospital transformed into hotel. The list is not ex-
haustive. In at least four cases, the explosion crater
has a diameter and depth that erased the founda-
tions of the building, what precludes re-erection of
walls on the ancient substructures. The inventory of
functions accomplished in the concerned buildings
is so heterogenous that it is necessary to look for
an explanation elsewhere, in a functional change af-
forded by space itself. Since the individual sites are
adjoining each other, they draw a continuous arc on
the southern side of the citadel, in front of its main
gate. In consequence, it is not each destruction
that bears meaning, but the entire series: a prime
symbolic location has been cleared, and new build-
ing projects become possible. Considering that de-
structions have been committed by armed groups,
it is not possible to accuse the regime of preparing
to remodel the city. But it is possible to attribute
to the obscure sources, who have generously en-
dowed the armed groups, economic projects rela-
tive to this space. The sequence is still incomplete,
and analysis must take into account future events.
Change of function is here key to interpretation. The
— 13 8 —
Manar Hammad
function fulfilled by the building does not respond any 9 — cfr. M. Hammad,
“La privatisation de
more to the needs of a given subject, he has another l’espace”, 1998.
need to satisfy. The change is relative to the function,
not to the object. In certain circumstances, it is pos- “La sémiotisation de
sible to reuse a building without destroying it, if it is l’espace”, 2013.
compatible with the new function. But when the form
is incompatible with the projected function, or if the
subject is indifferent towards the building itself, it is
possible to reuse its place after demolition. What ap-
pears to have a value in this second case is not the
building in its architectural configuration, but its place,
positioned in a wider economic or military space. In
other words, the use reveals two aspects of the monu-
ment, or two ways of considering it: following a per-
spective internal to the building (action in the archi-
tectural morphology, this being endowed with modal
manipulatory investments9); following a perspective
external to the building (action that profits from the
situation or place in relation to other places in town or
in the area). We have already identified both of those
two mechanisms in the semiotics of space10, in cases
unconnected to patrimonial destruction. It is here a lo-
cal manifestation of a general phenomenon.
Form 1: Unauthorized use of ancient monuments
In reference to the condensed formula F(S, O) record-

ing the function of a subject and an object, form 1
keeps the object invariant, while function and subject
are variants. When use is practical, the pragmatic per-
spective is dominant. But, for a monument pertain-
ing to heritage, the cognitive value of the monument
is deemed to be superior to any practical value liable
to be extracted from it. Therefore, we see contrariety
between the patrimonial value and the intrusive func-
tional value. The new use introduces a change from the
initial function, within the limits of compatibility allowed
— 13 9 —
— 14 0 —
— 14 1 —
Manar Hammad
11 — cfr. M. Hammad, by the object’s form, what entails often modifications
“Bel/Palmyra hom-
mage”, 2016. or alterations to the form, by addition, substraction ou
division of space. Palmyra’s site offers two examples
“Palmyre, transforma- of this sort of prejudice to heritage, before the inter-
tions urbaines”, 2010. vention of archaeologists. The temenos of Bel sanc-
tuary had been invested since the twelfth century11,
by houses, while the temple’s cella was transformed
into Great Mosque, after having served as byzantine

church. The cella of Baalshameen sanctuary had been
used as byzantine church12, what had imposed to open
a new access door in the western wall, while the col-
onnaded pronaos was transformed into oriental apse.
Non-authorized use of a building is akin to a squat in
recent vocabulary. This reveals a distinction between a
functional subject, user of the building, different from a
subject master of the place, presupposed and placed at
a metalinguistic level. The authorization that the mas-
ter of the place does not grant to the functional subject
characterizes their relationship: one is superior to the
other, and figures as a source for the power-to-do (cfr.
Form 10). The functional subject, who installed himself
by his own authority, gives a proof of a wanting-to-do
that he does not detain from the master of the place. If
he deems his occupation legitimate, he presupposes a
superior stance of legitimation, opposable to the mas-
ter of the place. Reuse of a patrimonial building can be
more or less long, the initial function is liable to reap-
pear or to be preferred. The cognitive function remains
the dominant characteristic of a patrimonial building.
Form 2: Military use of a patrimonial

building’s site
Formally, from the perspective of what varies and

what does not vary in the formula F(S, O), Form 2
is very near to Form 1, the difference being military
pragmatic use of place. Therefore, all the preceding
— 14 2 —
Manar Hammad
analysis remains valid, adding the military isotopy and

its consequences. In fact, many citadels dating to XIIth
or XIIIth centuries (Aleppo, Palmyra, Bosra, Crac des
Chevaliers) have been reused to military ends during
recent years in Syria. Notwithstanding their interior ar-
chitectural configuration, the ancient military positions
continue to have tactical advantages, as observation
positions, circulation hubs, relief natural defenses… In
Aleppo, mosque courtyards have been used to posi-
tion mortar guns: the weapon stays concealed in the
yard, the servers move easily around it, an observer
placed upon the nearby minaret can evaluate the preci-
sion of shoot in order to adjust it. In Aleppo too, stu-
dent rooms in Madrasat Khusrofiyat (built by master
Sinan) are said to have served as barracks.
The military function may be internal, i.e. for the action

accomplished in the said place (barracks, storehouse),
but it is fundamentally external: a place is used in order
to be able to do something elsewhere, and the spatial
dimension plays a dominant role. This pragmatic mili-
tary use manifests the modal value of a site (topologi-
cal position, altitude) in order to see (cognitive con-
trol) and shoot (pragmatic action) on another place.
Any military use inscribes the building in a polemical
iterative succession and inserts it automatically in a
chain of actions and reactions of war. What exposes
the building to destruction. When a military position
receives projectiles coming from a given source, it re-
ponds or it asks another military position to silence
its opponent. In such mechanisms, the chain of action
is ruled by the obligation to do, and the eventual patri-
monial value of environment does not enter into con-
sideration. Wherefrom derive the collateral damages.
If the preceding Form 1 installed a contrariety rela-
tion between cognitive patrimonial value and prag-
matic use value, the Form 2 considered here installs
— 14 3 —
13 — For the difference a relation of contradiction13 between patrimonial and
between contrariety and
contradiction relations, military values. This is why international conventions
see Greimas & Courtés, forbid the military use of patrimonial buildings, even
1983.
for a brief action.
Form 3: Modifications that adulterate a pat-

rimonial monument
In reference to the formula F(S, O), the modifications

of Form 3 affect all three variables, function, subject
and object. The modification of a patrimonial object
is adulterating when the change is such that the ob-
ject changes its identity, and can no more be said the
same. Such morphological modifications preclude
realisation of the initial function. It follows that the
relation between pragmatic uses, ancient and new,
becomes a relation of contradiction, not of contrari-
ety. Which transformations are admissible for a pat-
rimonial object, and which are not? There is no gen-
eral answer. Response is given case by case. War is
not a necessary condition for the realisation of such
forms of patrimonial destruction. Before the recent
troubles, a number of patrician mansions of Aleppo
and Damascus were transformed into restaurants or
hotels. The communitarian and private use of space
was replaced by a public non communitarian one.
The rythm of use and wear was accelerated, the in-
terior and exterior circulations modified, courtyads
covered. Mansions were adulterated.
Form 4: Build upon a patrimonial site
In reference to formula F(S, O), the patrimonial object

is obliterated. In its place or above it, another object,
non patrimonial, has been built to serve another func-
tion, to the benefit of another subject. The negation is
strong, operating on the function and both variables.
— 14 4 —
Manar Hammad
It serves pragmatic ends, not cognitive ones. In the

considered forms, numbered 1 to 4, we have degrees
of patrimonial change, where function varies between
quasi invariance and total obliteration. The array is
large, meaning effects multiple. During the last years,
we have seen in north-east Syria (Jazirat) bulldozers
levelling partially archaeological tells dating to Bronze
Age, in order to build private houses or schools, to re-
organize a military position, or in order to spread its
earth as manure on nearby arable land. A few years
ago, a governor of Aleppo ordered the construction,
in the middle of the citadel’s archaeological site, of
an open air theater with stone bleachers. He was thus
obliterating the underlying archaeological remains,
digging canalisations that disturbed the ancient stra-
ta, and importing the circulation of a great number of
viewers indifferent to the cognitive value of the place.
The living cities of Aleppo and Damascus hide a large
part of their past under the present constructions,
what pertains to Form 4, while we cannot tell with
precision when the process started and where. With
the recent destructions, a part of the archaeological
underground is exposed, as it happened recently in
Beirut. This last case showed that the exposed spac-
es are coveted by investors coming from abroad,
whose financial interests do not coincide with local
interests. Before reconstruction, an archaeological
excavation is in need, as it is advisable to preserve
what is endowed with a particular patrimonial value.
Pragmatic or cognitive interpretation of things
In the preceding analyses, we made a difference be-

tween a pragmatic value, associated with the use of
an architectural monument, and the cognitive value of
the same monument, the latter articulating its patri-
monial quality through the mechanisms of a cumu-
— 14 5 —
— 14 6 —
— 14 7 —
Manar Hammad
lative memory that integrates it in a chain of inital
production (subject who built the object) and suces-
sorial transmission (ancestors bequeathing heritage).
Another sort of cognitive value, inscribed in a change
of perspective, may be extracted from an archaeologi-
cal site that encloses, within accumulated detrictic
deposits, the remains of one or more monuments. If
the syntactic formula F(S, O) still condenses the situa-

tion, the perspective change entails the duplication of
object O into two distinct objects, O1 (archaeological
object) and O2 (soil enclosing O1), correlated with the
duplication of subject S (into S1 and S2) who oper-
ate in two different manners (F1 and F2). The situa-
tion does not focalize attention on a single monument
O1, but on what remains of an object O1, enclosed into
archaeological strata O2. Two cases are to be distin-
guished in relation to the the duplicated object:
- A pragmatic subject S1 looks for transportable ob-

jects O1, liable to be sold for their exchange value,
and considers that archaeological strata O2 are rub-
bish with no value, or an obstacle hiding the valued
object. What allows him to disturb the strata O2
(destroy their order, change their place) in search of
valuable objects O1. Function F1 (S1, O1) is thence
an economical function of exploration of the under-
ground, in search of exchangeable goods.
- A cognitive subject S2 explores the archaeological
strata O2 in order to extract informations inscribed in
them, specially relative chronology, because the spatial
order of strata depends upon the temporal order of their
deposition. Some material included in the layers deliv-
ers information on absolute chronology, on fauna and
flora, on society. Objects O1 found inserted in layers O2
are dated by this context. Therefore, knowledge of O1 is
dependant upon knowledge of O2, in a necessary rela-
tion. Archaeology being conceived not as a quest for
— 14 8 —
Manar Hammad
material objects, but as a quest for a lost culture, the

layers O2 are liable to contain more information than
objects O1. In all cases, objects O1 are not considered
for their exchange value, but for their cognitive patri-
monial value. They are therefore incessible.
This archaeological work is semiotic, passing from

the material stratigraphic elements to a historical
content, that is projected on the copresent objects.
The function F2 (S2, O2) is therefore a complex one,
pragmatic and cognitive simultaneously, collecting
objects O1 for their patrimonial value and analyzing
strata O2 for their informational value. Which presup-
poses, for subject S2, a scientific competence that
enables him to interpret material traces in order to
extract information on the societies that succeeded
each other on site. If objects O1 deliver information
on the lost material culture, the layers O2 deliver in-
formation on the material and immaterial culture that
enclosed them. The destruction of archaeological
sites affects the remains of material an immaterial
culture. In this perspective, disturbance of archaeo-
logical strata is tantamount to cognitive destruction,
be it voluntary or involuntary. What brings us back to
the forms of patrimonial destruction.
Form 5: Destructive exploitation of archaeo-

logical sites
In april 2015, APSA called attention upon an exploita-

tion permit delivered by the Islamic State. The infor-
mation was reproduced in a bulletin of ASOR and lat-
er argumented in the Middle East Forum. Laïla Salih
(Mossul museum) collected such documents and
showed them at Urbicide II meeting in Beirut (2017).
Such permits hold the header of Diwan ar-Rikaz, that is
the equivalent of a central administration for mineral
— 14 9 —
14 — The romans used resources. A permit allows a named citizen to work
to levy a tax of one-
quarter. on a named site in view of extracting antiquities liable
to be sold. The permit stipulates that the beneficiary
must pay to the Islamic State one-fifth of his findings
in the underground. This one-fifth part or Khums con-
forms with a tradition going back to the foundation of
the first islamic state14 by the Prophet Muhammad in
Yathrib-al-Madinat: the community levied, for public

use, one-fifth of war spoils and natural resources.
Such documents display forms of legality: they are

emitted by the central administration of a State, the
juridical frame is attributed to a legitimating tradi-
tion. From a semiotic point of view, we recognize a
subject S1 receiveing a mandate from an Addresser
who gives him competence with the modality of
power-to-do an action whose economic perspective
is aimed at O1. The accomplishment of the mission
is to be validated by a judicatorial Addresser who
levies for public use one-fifth of the findings. Eco-
nomical and juridical isotopies articulate the entire
sequence. There is nowhere a hint towards the cog-
nitive and patrimonial values of the objects. Once
they are put on a commercial circuit, the objects
suffer a double loss:
- They lose their patrimonial status, becoming ces-

sible, and their trace is potentially lost on the market;
- They are detached from the context that determines
their origin, date, ancient use.
In other terms, there is destruction of information. Not

a material destruction of the ancient object, but de-
struction of the information relating to it. Destruction
operates on the non material part of the valued object.
The name of the administration Diwan ar-Rikaz is
voluntarily archaic, identified by the exploitation of
— 15 0 —
Manar Hammad
mineral resources. If this adminstration has authority

on archaeological sites, it is because these are as-
similated to mineral sites : men dig there hoping to
find objects with economic value. In other words, the
antique objects are assimilated to objects of nature,
like silver or gold ore. The quality of objects of cul-
ture has been substracted, denied. They have been
stripped of their cognitive value, not only the value
that comes from the archaeological context O2, but
from any patrimonial value. It has been destroyed by
an administrative act. It follows that the Islamic State
does not keep objects O1: they have no patrimonial
value for it, and they are released on the commercial
circuit, at market price.
In this perpective, the archaeological layers O2 en-

closing the valued object O1 are not only valueless
objects, they are an anti-object hiding the object, or
an anti-subject devoid of will, who covers O1 and
hinders its view. Therefore, it is advisable to destroy
O2 and to put it aside or discard it. What destroys
al the information it contained. After the recapture of
Nabi Yunus mausoleum site in Mossul, that had been
pulverized by the Islamic State, the iraqi archaeologists
found underneath it a network of tunnels that were first
attributed to the Islamic State. Then they had to admit
that some of these galleries were from the ninteeenth
century, when Botta and Rassam proceeded this way in
order to obtain quickly extractible objects : a tunnel is
less expensive than a systematic horizontal excavation
of site. The hill that held the mausoleum appeared to
be an assyrian palace mass. The galleries dug throug-
out have destroyed archaeological strata, even passed
through non identified antique walls of crude bricks.
Pompei and Herculanum had already been dug by
tunnels in this manner during the eighteenth century,
when they were accidentally discovered. We attribute
— 15 1 —
— 15 2 —
— 15 3 —
Manar Hammad
to ignorance these ancient destructions. What puts in
evidence the necessity of a scientific competence for
the cognitive subject in order to identify the valued pat-
rimonial object.
Form 6: Distructive looting of archaeological sites

From an epistemic point of view, the looting of ar-

chaeological sites does not differ from the preced-
ing case. Except that, from a juridical point fo view,
Form 5 would have been legal, while Form 6 is illegal,
operating without the authorization of a superior Ad-
dresser source. Therefore, ignorance would not be
that of high instances of a State, but the ignorance of
looters who look for quick profit, with minimum pain.
But the real situation is not as simple. Without the
presence of an active market for antiquities, there
would be no looters. It is the demand of collectors
rich in money, that serves as engine, and the collec-
tivity of merchants and collectors that functions as
Addresser mandater for the looters. This is an eco-
nomical instance, not a political one, but it must be
identified as such.
In brief: while the looter looks for an immediate

economical profit, he destroys an irreplaceable
stratigraphic complex that holds patrimonial in-
formations. He destroys memory, or the support
of memory, with no intention of doing so, not even
the conscience that he is doing that. But he does it
nonetheless. This is a collateral cognitive destruc-
tion, due to an economic process, not a military
process. All looting actions have this double effect:
insert into an invisible circuit patrimonial objects
(causing them to disappear), destroy the related
memory. It has been the case in Doura-Europos,
Apamea, Palmyra and in other sites of Syria.
— 15 4 —
Manar Hammad
Form 7: Cognitive archaeological destruction
A third form of cognitive destruction is known to hap-

pen, more complex and less visible. It takes the form
of an authorized archaeological excavation, led by
professionnal excavators. The mandating State (Ad-
dresser) becomes Addressee when it keeps objects
O1. At the start of excavations in Mesopotamia, in
the nineteenth century, excavators used to destroy
the crude brick architecture in search of stone ob-
jects. Until the excavations of André Parrot in 1934,
who devised the methods and techniques of excava-
tion in crude earth, nobody knew how to make the
difference between crude bricks standing in place
(making an antique architecture) from fallen crude
bricks, that were not anymore in place. Know how to
make the difference between O1 objects and O2 ob-
jects constitutes the cognitive competence of the
excavator in crude earth.
But there is more. The antique earthen architecture,

excavated as patrimonial object O1, becomes ex-
posed to weather and degrades inevitably. While it
was in service during antiquity, it was regularly main-
tained with successive protective coatings. When
it has been excavated and patrimonialized, it is no
more question of coating it anew. It stays in the open
air and it degrades. What is tantamount to say that
the excavation of a patrimonial object condemns it
to degradation. Unless it can be protected under a
cover that isolates it from weather agents. Such an
operation depends upon the dimensions of the said
object, the techniques and the budget available.
The situations considered entail involuntary destruc-

tions. There are situations where archaeological de-
structions are voluntary. At the start of the twentieth
— 15 5 —
century, Walter Andrae took off the parthian strata of
Assur city (after drawing them) in order to reach the
assyrian levels of the site, that had more interest for
him. In Baalbek, Collart and Coupel took off the re-
mains of the byzantine basilica (that encumbered the
large staircase of Baal-Jupiter cella) in order to restore
the temenos of the antique temple, with its great altar
and its small altar. In Palmyra, Henri Seyrig took off

the traces of the Grand Mosque that occupied the cel-
la of Bel temple, in order to uncover the pagan temple.
In all these cases, a choice has been made between
an archaeological object and another. Any building
that covers another is posterior to the covered one.
It follows that people regularly take off posterior
monuments, in order to see anterior ones. Rare are the
cases where the superior building is reconstructed at
a distance (obelisc temple in Byblos, displaced by M.
Dunand in order to access the underlying strata).
In a recurring manner, it is the older heritage that is

overvalued. But there are cases where the choice
is determined by ideology: in palestinian territories,
israeli authorities regularly destroy islamic and/or
byzantine remains when they find underneeth lay-
ers attributable to a jewish occupation. Thus, they
destroy the traces of byzantine and islamic life in
order to promote the single jewish presence on the
land, and to make disappear an interruption of two
thousand years. The process is voluntary and results
from an ideological choice. In such cases, a prior
choice, at the level of acceptable ancestors, presides
to the choice of preserved objects. What is kept par-
ticipates to the construction of a historic discourse
with non verbal means, in order to constitute a cogni-
tive subject heir of the said heritage. In other words,
the patrimonial subject is not entirely formed before
the archaeological object has been excavated and pr
— 15 6 —
Manar Hammad
served, he is constructed and qualified by the said

object. At the expense of another possible patrimoni-
al discourse. An alternative solution, in stead of this
selective cognitive destruction, would be to preserve
traces of the different periods encountered, the ar-
chaeological stratification expressing the synthetic
character of a subject heir to spatial heritage. In
such a case, the subject would not be preconceived,
he would not determine heritage, but would be deter-
mined by it. A non truncated heritage would play an
active role in the subject’s identity.
Before action, the modalities that make the
subject’s competence
In the standard model of narrative process, the se-

quence realizing action is preceded by a sequence
constituting the subject’s competence. This trans-
lates initially in the acquisition of a virtualizing modal-
ity, recognized as will-to-do when it is inherent to the
subject, as obligation-to-do when it is exterior. After
that comes the acquisition of actualizing modalities
as power-to-do (authorized excavations) and know-
to-do (archaeological formation) lines. We have seen
hereabove various cases of will, obligation, power
and know how, while analysis was centered upon ac-
tion and its interpretation. We shall center here our
attention upon the modalities that constitute compe-
tence prior to action.
When military language makes a difference between

principal objective and collateral damage, it makes
a difference between objects destroyed by explicit
will and objects destroyed without explicit will. But
military discourse tends to replace will by obligation,
what implies the absence of responsibilty of the im-
mediate subject, the ultimate responsibility being re-
— 15 7 —
— 15 8 —
— 15 9 —
Manar Hammad
— 16 0 —
— 16 1 —
Manar Hammad
verted to a mediate subject, i.e. the authority having
emitted the order. It is the only one to want, the infe-
rior ranks must. What remains disputable in regard to
circumstances and values involved. In a juridical or
moral perspective, the will implies the responsibility
of the subject, while the involuntary character dispels
his responsibility. All discussions about the voluntary
or involuntary character of damages are motivated

by a moral project, not by an interpretive one, that
aims at the establishment of responsibilities.
Form 8: Voluntary destructions /vs/ collat-

eral or involuntary damages
Collateral patrimonial destructions pertain to the mil-

itary isotopy. They are invoked as excuse by each bel-
ligerent party when it is accused by the other party of
destroying material heritage or human beings. Dur-
ing the syrian conflict, the government has followed
the policy of silence about damages, while the other
party multiplied communication actions. As result,
we have received abundant news about destructions
attributed to the regime, and less information about
symmetric destructions. But this disequilibrium re-
sults from discursive policies relative to information.
The consultation of complete sources would deliver
more balanced results, even if we can not establish
a net result to date. For example, in a precise case:
the destruction of the minaret of the Grand Mosque
of Aleppo, that stood on a front line stable for a few
months, has been attributed to each belligerent party
by the opposing party. While there are photographs
attesting the presence of a surveyance position, and/
or of a shooting position on top of the minaret, there
are no documents capable of attributing in a defini-
tive fashion the destructive action to one fo the war-
ring camps. Some analysts finished by coyly attribut-
— 16 2 —
Manar Hammad
ing the said destruction to the abundance of shots 15 — “ASOR weekly

report 24”, pp. 30-34.
exchange in the vicinity of the minaret. What associ-
ates both sides into one act. 16 — Ivi, pp. 10-11-12.
17 — Ivi, pp. 6-7-8.

Form 9: Voluntary destructions and virtual-
izing modalities 18 — Ivi, pp. 65-75.
The destruction of islamic monuments at Tabqa and

Aleppo, as early as december 2014, provide clear cut
cases. In Aleppo15, an islamic mausoleum and adjoin-
ing tombs, in Madrasat Atabikiyat (also said Kiltawi-
yat) were destroyed with sledge-hammers, opened and
emptied from their funerary content. In the outskirts
of Damascus16, a similar mausoleum was destroyed
with sledge-hammers. In Tabqa17 on the Euphrates, a
number of tombs in a recent active cemetary were de-
stroyed with sledge-hammers and levelled to ground.
In Palmyra18, in june 2015, two islamic mausolea
were destroyed. In the palmgrove, the mausoleum of
Chams-ed-Din Chakas, and the mausoleum of Mu-
hammad bin Ali on a hill north-west out of city, were
levelled by explosive charges. Photographs show the
deliberate character of operations. Nevertheless, justi-
fication by theological reasons (tombs must stay near
the ground) install a religious obligation-to-do: a good
muslem must destroy such monuments. Considering
that the source of obligation is divine, the act is said
just and legitimate. The subject realizing it is in no way
a culprit, he is even meritorious in doing it.
For those who suffer such acts like as many aggres-

sions to their heritage or to their parents, the Islamic
State imposes obligations that appear tantamount to ob-
structions to their liberty. Recevied as undue and overly
rigorist, such obligations ground the refusal opposed
by populations to the direction of the Islamic State. To
the obligation proposed responds unwillingness. The
— 16 3 —
19 — cfr. M. Hammad, antagonism between two collective subjects is thus
“Urbicide II”, AUB, 2017,
in press. identified at the level of virtualizing modalities. Two
perspectives are opposed, what is valued by the first
20 — Ibidem.
is undervalued by the other19.
Form 10: Voluntary destructions

A will-to-do without an obligation-to-do is manifested

by the destructions perpetrated at the south perim-
eter of Aleppo citadel (§ 2.1). Origin diversity of the
monuments destroyed (Ayyubid, Mamluk, Ottoman
foundations, recent buildings) would invite to sup-
pose that, beyond those various instances of ancient
government, it is the abstract actor government or
state that is aimed at, in a sort of syncretic anar-
chism. A will-to-do issuing from an undifferenciated
basis and directed against an undifferenciated State.
The destructive method used in these cases merits
interest: all those ancient monuments, well visible
at the south periphery of the large dry moat sur-
rounding the citadel, have been destroyed by invis-
ible underground galleries that started from a farther
periphery. The symmetry within visibility category is
startling and recalls the role played by the visibility of
Palmyra monuments in their destruction20. In Aleppo,
those actions destroyed visible buildings by invisible
means. What suggests a kind of enjoyment in war
action, a will-to-do exacerbated by a technical power-
to-do. It is not uninteresting to recall that the people
of Aleppo have been known during the crusades for
their skill as sappers digging galleries under the de-
fenses of adverse fortifications.
Form 11: Demonstrations of power-to-do
The interpretation of destruction at the periphery of

Aleppo citadel has led to evoke the euphoria that may
— 16 4 —
Manar Hammad
appear at the realisation of a spectacular power-to-

do. In general, when you give somebody the capacity
to do something, i.e. a modal power-to-do, he is keen
to use it in order to enjoy his new power. In a manner
symmetrical to the act of construction, that demon-
strates the power to do of the builder subject, the act
of destruction demonstrates the power to destroy of
the destroyer subject. These two demonstrations are
symmetrical. On the abstract level, they both reflect
one single mechanism, manifested in a positive or a
negative way. The pragmatic demonstration of the
subject’s capacity to act asserts his subject status
towards his allies and faithfulls, as well as towards
his enemies. It fulfills a function fundamental for the
subject in his universe.
In Palmyra, local informants say that three explosive

attempts were needed before bringing down the tem-
ple of Bel. A failure in destruction would have had a
disastrous effect on the Islamic State. What brings
us back to one last point: the heritage destruction act
has an utterance value that goes beyond the dimen-
sion of the uttered destruction. All the destruction
sequence has a communication value, between an
Enunciator-Addresser and an Enunciatee-Addressee,
that we need to describe.
Form 12: The relation with the Enunciatee-

Addressee
Beyond the destructive sequence that constitutes a

non verbal utterance where the subject is in relation
with an object, the destructive act is inscribed in an
enunciation sequence where the subject addresses
the destructive act to another subject, whose her-
itage is destroyed. Addresser and Addressee are
opposed. It is the case between armed groups and
— 16 5 —
— 16 6 —
— 16 7 —
Manar Hammad
21 — Ibidem. the regime in the syrian framework, or between the
22 — Theater and Islamic State and the West in a wider international
Theory derive from framework21.
Greek Thea = see, view,
speculate, contemplate.
It is the existence of such a framework, theatrical in
nature22, that exacts visible objects to destroy and
selects heritage objects as target because they are
valued by the enemy. Different valuations appear to

make a necessary condition for the deployment of
this kind of conflict. Beyond the transitory objects
destroyed, the ultimate conflict is led in the social
space, not in the physical space of objects. Analysis
of the Great Arc of Palmyra destruction, together
with the Tetrakionion and the Theater, shows that
the fight is not inscribed on the religious isotopy
but on the political and military isotopies. Recruit-
ment by the Islamic State of volunteers in the West
is tantamount to partial destructions of the West,
ultimate anti-subject, for a demographic wear after
heritage wear.
The complete enunciative sequence begins with a

provocation, where S1 imposes to S2 a conflictual
relation, through the realisation of an act that S2
can not let go without response. Once the conflict
is installed, it is entertained with a chain of meas-
ured destructions. The conflict continues as long as
S1 and S2 continue in their physical existence, or in
their antagonic will. The durative modal antinomy
translates into bleeding war: the means of S1 and
S2 are eroded. What entails a more and more exten-
sive destruction of heritage, as long as the adver-
sary has not been eliminated, or his program been
eliminated. In other words, this affects the subjects
S, the objects O and the programs F of the enuncia-
tive interaction F(S, O) framing the heritage destruc-
tion utterance, object of our analysis.
— 16 8 —
Manar Hammad
3. Conclusions 23 — M. Hammad, 2017,

op. cit.
Syria is not the only country where material heritage

has been in trouble. But the patrimonial richness of
Syria, and the duration of combats there, have caused
a variety of damages where we have tried to find se-
mantic order. Our objective is not to make sense of
all events in Syria, but to use those events in order to
make a description of patrimonial destruction forms.
The case of Palmyra had put in evidnce the polemical
interaction between the Islamic State and the West23,
two entities exterior to Syria.
Reasoned analysis puts aside partisan and passion-
ate perspectives. Syntactic descriptions aim towards
understanding, and we hope to have approached
such results through the description of the principal
mechanisms. In this way, we hope to have produced
a better understanding of patrimonial objects. The
cognitive dimension, where additive memory takes
charge of the succession of events and actors, plays
a major role in building heritage, while the pragmatic
dimension characterizes non patrimonial buildings.
Two insufficiencies incite prudence. First, this war

did not reach an end, while the end of events deter-
mines their meaning, and history is written by the
winners. Second, we have had only a partial access
to events, or rather to verbal and non verbal narra-
tives that depend upon the points of view of their nar-
rators. The multiplication of points of view insures
a certain degree of objectivation, but the result is
still to be validated. As an alternate procedure, the
explicitation of the actors points of view, and of the
analytical perspectives, allows to confront interpre-
tations and to enlarge the meaning horizon. Syrian
actors seem to play the active roles, but a number of
— 16 9 —
exterior actors seem to loom behind the scene. We
may hope for new lights when the identity of axterior
actors, and of their interests, would be unveiled. If
there has been so many patrimonial monuments de-
stroyed, it is because a part of action was decided
outside, by actors that had no patrimonial relation
with what has been destroyed.
At the figurative level, the visibility of monuments

plays a determining role in destructions, while the
descriptive isotopies of culture (politics, military, re-
ligious, economic) organize the destructive sequenc-
es, and the modal logics (partitive/participative) ac-
count, by the dominance of one or the other, for the
symmetrical character of fights that are expressed
through patrimonial destructions.
We shall not try to summarize here in conclusion the

results obtained in the analysis. It is important never-
theless to recall that their validity depends upon the
method adopted. Semantics and syntax, put at work
through the perspective of what has been called the
Semiotics School of Paris, allowed us to project a ra-
tional light on dysphoric events resulting from war.
If this brings to the reader a better understanding,
through the unraveling of what appeared entangled be-
forehand, our first objective would have been reached.
— 17 0 —
Manar Hammad
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— 17 2 —
— 17 3 —
Manar Hammad
— 17 4 —
Nasser Rab b at
Ethics of intervention: framing the

debate on reconstruction in Syria
—
N asser Rabbat
Syria today is cruelly punished for its heroic yet naïve — Nasser Rabbat is the
uprising of 2011 by an intransigent sectarian regime Aga Khan Professor
and the Director of the
and its scheming allies fighting against a hodge-
E T H I C S O F I N T E R V E N T I O N : F R A M I N G T H E D E B AT E O N R E C O N S T R U C T I O N I N S Y R I A
Aga Khan Program for
podge of brutal fundamentalist movements backed Islamic Architecture at
MIT. An architect and a
by obscurantist states, all operating under the um- historian, his scholarly
brellas of the two superpowers, the US and Russia, interests include the his-
tory and historiography
coldly settling their differences at the expense of Syr- of Islamic architecture,
ia and its people. Indeed, the country has paid dearly art and culture, urban
history, and post-coloni-
in the form of hundreds of thousands dead and mil- al criticism. He teaches
lions injured, maimed, imprisoned, or forced to im- lecture courses on
migrate. No city, village, or historic site has been various facets of Islamic
architecture, and holds
left untouched, and many have sustained so heavy a seminars on the history
damage that they are either lost for good or they will of Islamic urbanism and
contemporary cities,
take the work of a generation or two to restore. This orientalism, historiog-
has been thus far the most violent and bloody catas- raphy, and the issue of
meaning in architecture.
trophe of our young twenty-first century. In his research and
teaching, he presents
architecture in ways that
Yet, despite the mounting despair about the situation illuminate its interaction
today, it is vital to counter and debunk the forces of with culture and society,
destruction and erasure of memory. After all, Syria has stressing the role of hu-
man agency in shaping
managed through its long history to nurture a unique that interplay.
homeland where people of diverse religious, ethnic,
and cultural background lived together and exchanged
views, beliefs, and art and architecture. The mate-
rial heritage of Syria, celebrated, neglected, battered,
bombed, and wantonly or collaterally destroyed, still
reveals the cultural continuity that has marked the
country from Late Antiquity to the very recent past.
Through successive metamorphoses from Aram,

Phoenicia, and Assyria, to Hellenistic Seleukia, to Ro-
man and Byzantine Oriens, to Islamic Bilad al-Sham,
— 17 5 —
and on to a truncated modern Syria, the country has
accumulated many interrelated cultural and religious
traditions. Some flourished for a long time and radi-
ated their influence near and far. Others shone bright-
ly for a brief moment before migrating or disappear-
ing, leaving behind striking architectural traces. Still
others inhabited small niches in the land and evolved
quietly to emerge in modern times as unique cultural

instances of particularly Syrian mini-cultures. All,
however, contributed to the rich intercultural history
of Syria, a history that in turn bespeaks the heteroge-
neous genealogies of the country’s multiple cultures,
and a history that has been seriously challenged in
the last couple of years.
All along, and for the fifteen centuries of Islamic his-

tory, Syria remained at the heart of events. Its major
cities, especially Damascus and Aleppo, had become
premier centers of Islamic learning, where the study
of theology, jurisprudence, literature, history, and mys-
ticism flourished, and where scholars and students
flocked from and radiated back to every part of the
Islamic World. It was the last stage on the hajj routes
before reaching the Hijaz for most of the countries of
the eastern and northern parts of the Islamic world,
and pilgrims and merchants crowded its cities and
trade centers in every pilgrimage season forming an
impressive microcosm of the Islamic nation. The West
dreamed its romantic Orient on its image and repro-
duced it in scholarship, literature, art, fashion, fanta-
sies, but also in trade and adventurous travel destina-
tions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
But above all, Syria’s mountain chains and valleys have

long provided safe havens to persecuted religious and
ethnic groups from all over the Islamic World. Thus,
over the centuries the country has become home to
— 17 6 —
Nasser Rab b at
an array of minority groups that do not exist outside

the natural borders of Syria, except for their exten-
sions into adjacent countries, such as the Maronites,
Druze, Alawites, Yazidis, Assyrian/Chaldean and/or
Syriac Christians, and Ismailis, in addition to sizeable
numbers of Kurds and Turkmen, plus Greek Muslims
and Circassians who arrived with the collapse of the
Ottoman Empire and its loss of their ancestral homes
in the late nineteenth century, when some Syrian mi-
norities were pushed to immigrate to the New World
because of that same Ottoman collapse.
After the Allied victory in World War I, the French and

British divided the Ottoman Arab provinces, including
the land known today as Syria, between them in the
infamous Sykes-Picot Agreement. As a result, Syria
lost what the Syrian National Congress said in 1920
was the country’s “natural extensions” in Lebanon,
Palestine, and Jordan. In 1939, on the eve of World
War II, France ceded more land in northern Syria, in-
cluding the city of Antioch, the old Seleucid capital
of Syria and the Seat of the Syrian Orthodox Church,
to Turkey. When independence finally came in 1946
after much struggle, the Syrians were left with a
smaller nation-state, one that the colonizers had cre-
ated somewhat artificially. Nonetheless, it did inherit
the old name of Syria and the burden of its long and
variegated history. Since then, Syrian national poli-
tics have never been able to reconcile the geopoliti-
cal reality within which they had to operate with the
memories, real and imagined, of the glorious past on
a larger plot of land.
The trouble started immediately after the Arab defeat

and the establishment of Israel in Palestine in 1948.
The defeat caused further cracks in the already em-
battled Syrian polity and sense of self and led to a se-
— 17 7 —
ries of military coups, the last of which was in 1970
when General Hafez al-Assad toppled his comrades
of the Baath Party and seized power. Al-Assad man-
aged to rule Syria singlehandedly for 30 years against
great odds. This was achieved through a mixture of
oppression, patronage of select social groups, and a
widespread cult of personality that elevated him to
a demigod. This complex structure is what al-Assad

bequeathed to his son Bashar in 2000. But where the
father maintained a careful balancing act in his in-
ternal and external policies, the son’s rash decisions
lost him the initial goodwill of both the Syrians and
the international community.
Thus, it was no surprise that, in March 2011, the

Syrians, emboldened by the Arab revolutions, finally
rose against what they considered the corrupt and
despotic Assad regime. His response proved as
brutal as it was shortsighted. The militarization he
initiated soon entered a vicious cycle, as defections
greatly increased and were countered by ever more
violence by the regime. Islamization, fired by the
regime’s partisan reaction, followed militarization.
Eventually, world powers, fundamentalist regional
states, and terrorist groups with agendas larger
than Syria became involved.
As a result, the country is in ruins, and the globally

managed civil wars continue. But the losses to hu-
manity are deeper than the overwhelming destruc-
tion and killing alone. The Syrian mosaic that encap-
sulated in its reduced geography a multiculturally
intertwined and integrated history is being subjected
to attrition and amputation today. Millions of Syrians
have left, some to neighboring countries, and others
to the West. Many will never return. Meanwhile, the
warring factions are trying to forcefully define new
— 17 8 —
Nasser Rab b at
geographies, ethnically or religiously cleansed and

ideologically domesticated. These envisioned geog-
raphies undermine the Syrian history and entail its
rewriting on myopic or downright false basis.
This is of course an unusual, and unusually long, in-

troduction to the topic of Ethics of Intervention while
the current civil wars are going on, as many agen-
cies are attempting, and after the wars wind down, as
many more agencies are planning. But it is necessary
in order to set the issues of reconstruction, preser-
vation, rehabilitation, and resettling in their proper
historical and political contexts lest the ethics that
needs to guide them is reduced to a set of boxes to
be checked on a form as part of the routine of in-
tervention. In fact, any discussion of these issues is
per force predicated on the historical, political, and
ideological trajectories that led to the destruction in
the first place and on the politics of identity that pre-
pared the soil for and fueled those events, and this is
what happened in Syria.
The facile notions of recovery and rebuilding that

depend on a secure and cohesive national identity,
which has already resolved the question of its par-
ticular history and geography and obtained the na-
tional consensus on both, is hard to sustain today,
as both history and geography are being contested,
reclaimed, and reconfigured as framers of new, com-
peting, and even warring identities by various parties
in the Syrian war. Consequently, the process of re-
construction and the areas to be reconstructed are
being divided and re-appropriated, and the unfortu-
nate parts of the country that fall out of the new iden-
tities’ boundaries or in some identitarian no-man’s
land are being exploited, ignored, or downright fur-
ther destroyed in the hope of creating new realities
— 17 9 —
— 18 0 —
— 18 1 —
Nasser Rab b at
on the ground. Yet, the selectivity of the destruction,
the indifference, and sometime the cheer approval,
of a large percentage of the people whose presumed
country is being destroyed, and the complicity of all
political powers active in Syria in these heinous acts
suggest that not only the ethics of reconstruction
need to be brought up and enforced in any future in-
tervention, but also the unethicality of the destruction

needs to be spelled out, explained, and addressed.
This is not a sudden downturn in morality that has

afflicted the Syrian people collectively, even though
it has come to the surface lately with the crumbling
of law and order, just like it did in so many other
conflicts in modern history. The road to it, however,
was paved with good intentions, with generations of
modernizers, thinkers, politicians, artists, and educa-
tors working towards instilling a sense of citizenship
among their people before and after the establish-
ment of the new Syrian republic. To that end, they
debated the adaptation of new citizenship principles
to their fledgling nation that was rising from the detri-
tus of the Ottoman Empire and later the French Man-
date and rediscovering its Arab heritage. They sifted
through centuries of European political theorizing,
adopting, adapting, and appropriating from it for their
own purposes. They developed legal frameworks, po-
litical mechanisms, school curricula, national songs,
and municipal programs to propagate the full gamut
of the new civic rights and duties as promoted and
framed by the nation-state.
That these efforts have been marred by ideological

obscurantism, inefficiency, neglect, ignorance, greed,
official flippancy, and recently a vengeful destructive
streak in no way means that they were insincere. It
only points to the fundamental failure at understand-
— 18 2 —
Nasser Rab b at
ing the context in which the notions of citizenship,

civic society, and the rights and responsibilities of
belonging had been imported, implanted, and mar-
keted as buttresses of national pride, when the defi-
nition of nationalism itself in post-Ottoman times
was unstable, wavering between the single-country
nationalism and pan-Arabism, frequently challenged,
and ultimately rejected by vigorously ideological con-
tenders with different agendas.
Like elsewhere in the post-colonial world, the interest

in civil rights and duties for all as a standing proof of
nationalism in modern Syria was both inspired by Eu-
ropean models and fueled by resistance to European
interference. But, like elsewhere as well, the project
of nation building in Syria after independence was
on the whole idiosyncratic, focusing on specific con-
cepts that fulfilled circumscribed and at times ideo-
logically driven aesthetic, historical, or national crite-
ria, and, in the years of the Assad regime, a strongly
pronounced cult of personality.
However, another, rarely invoked factor in the failure

in implementing a robust civil rights regimen is a
shifty cultural relativism and even cultural exclusiv-
ism that has marred the discourse on Arabic, and,
in the last thirty years, Islamic identity in the Arab
World, of course including Syria. The process start-
ed in a most benign form when the first Arab thinkers
came face-to-face with European cultures during the
relatively short moment of awakening optimistically
dubbed al-Nahda, the “Renaissance,” in the late 19th-
early 20th century. They searched for ways to adapt
Western concepts of nationalism, civics, freedom,
democracy, and the like, that they observed and ad-
mired to their own Arabic context. Many of these
concepts were obviously alien to the Arabic political
— 18 3 —
culture. When Arab nationalists who studied in Eu-
rope rendered them in Arabic, they used Arabic terms
that had different evolutionary histories and, conse-
quently, different semantic fields. As such, the trans-
lations had to function either as approximations, or
they had to be accompanied by a full assimilation
of the schools of thoughts, the institutions, and the
historical experiences that had produced their (Eu-

ropean) meanings. This is evident in the writing of
such pioneers of liberation and progress as Rifa‘a
Rafi‘ al-Tahtawi (1801-73), Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq
(1804-87), Khaireddine al-Tunsi (1822-1890), and
Qasim Amin (1863-1908). Nonetheless, an air of
hopefulness and reconciliation transpires from these
writings, as these thinkers looked forward to modern-
ization and liberalization as politically and socially
desirable trajectories.
But those hopes were dashed by the realities of politics

and colonial interventions and domination by the time
the next generation of Arab reformers came onto the
scene right before the Second World War. The easy,
and perhaps innocent, adaptation of Western con-
cepts that marked the outlook of early Arab intellectu-
als gave way to questioning, doubts, relativization and
ultimately rejection of Western concepts among a siz-
able number of late-twentieth century thinkers. This
attitude solidified with the rise of radical Islamism in
the last thirty years, which discarded Western values
as harbingers of foreign interference and moral deca-
dence and sought a return to more authentic Islamic
principles to properly govern the nation.
Modern political and moral values in particular,

which have been introduced into the Arabic lexicon,
and more hesitantly into the Arab political sphere, in
the early twentieth century, have been subjected to
— 18 4 —
Nasser Rab b at
a revisionist authentication that bordered sometimes

on reinventing. This stripped them not only of their his-
tories, but also, and more deplorably, of the full range
of their meaning. An early example of this process
is the sloganeering of nationalist Arab parties, espe-
cially the Ba‘ath party, which dominated the political
life in Syria for the last 60 years. The founders of the
Party tried to find Arabic and/or Islamic equivalents
and precedents to the values they were borrowing di-
rectly from European political philosophy. They, for
instance, used as their motto: wahda, huriyya, ishtiraki-
yya (Unity, Liberty, and Socialism) (notice the echo of
the French Revolution’s tripartite motto), but they fo-
cused their interpretation of the three principles on the
collective level. Their huriyya in fact is not the freedom
of the individual but the liberation of the Arab world
from colonial rule. Their unity was a straightforward
union of the Arab countries, and their socialism was
an ill-managed form of state socialism.
The modern-day Islamists, though definitely influ-

enced by Western thoughts, chose to look for con-
ceptual alternatives to modern political principles in
Islamic jurisprudence. Thus we saw the introduction,
or more accurately the re-introduction, of concepts
taken directly from medieval scholarly discussions,
not just from the Qur’an or the hadith. One such exam-
ple is the concept of shura, literally meaning “consul-
tation,” advanced in the mid-century by rationalist Is-
lamists as an alternative, and even a precedent, to the
Western notion of democracy. But of course the two
concepts are different. That most Arabic autocratic
regimes, both republican and royal, have shura coun-
cils is indication enough of the difference (appoint-
ment rather than election, limited legislative power to
shura councils, and deference to the authority of the
unelected ruler).
— 18 5 —
— 18 6 —
— 18 7 —
Nasser Rab b at
— 18 8 —
— 18 9 —
Nasser Rab b at
More recently, concepts such as hakimiyyah (divine
governance), imara (leadership), khilafa (supreme
rule) and the Shi‘ite concept of Wilayat al-Faqih (Su-
preme Jurist Leadership) have entered the political
domain in the Arab World in general and more di-
rectly Syria in the last few years. Though these con-
cepts are still debated among partisans of Islamist
movements, their reintroduction is a clear evidence

of cultural exclusivism. For, as opposed to the earlier
concept of shura, these concepts do not claim any
equivalent in modern political thoughts, nor do they
try to approximate any existing principle. They are
predicated first and foremost on a different vision of
the role of government, the sources of its legitimacy,
and the rights of the individuals, a vision that claims
to draw its own authority from divine rules. In other
words, there appears to be no place for the secular
concept of civil rights in this framework.
The linguistic, and by association historical and con-

ceptual, limitations of course would not have led
to the kind of wanton destruction that we have wit-
nessed in the last couple of years. For that we have
to turn again to the drastically deteriorating social,
economic, and demographic conditions in the late
twentieth century, which were mostly ignored by the
regime. For after the early flirting with socialism, al-
beit in a very paternalistic way, under the rule of the
Baath Party and the early years of Hafez al-Assad,
the 1990s and 2000s saw the dismantling of those
faltering socialist experiments and their gradual re-
placement with a statist form of crony capitalism.
Initiated under Assad père, but ruthlessly expanded
under Assad fils, the economic about-face came on
the heels of political changes when the military re-
gime, functioning under the nominal tutelage of the
Baath Party, hardened into a tyrannical dictatorship,
— 19 0 —
Nasser Rab b at
whose sole purpose was to hold on to power and to

enrich its narrow base of supporters. And despite the
semblance of growth that crony capitalism delivered,
the country experienced acute problems of urban
and rural degradation, infrastructural exhaustion, de-
mographic explosion, and socieconomic inequality.
By then desperate and opportunistic rural migra-
tion had flooded the cities, especially those coming
from the Euphrates basin, suffering from protract-
ed drought and governmental neglect. The cities
swelled uncontrollably and at an unprecedented
rate to house the bursting poor population. This was
most evident in the old urban cores of the historic cit-
ies, especially Damascus and Aleppo, as well as the
minimally planned and badly serviced developments
that grew up on the periphery, which the Egyptians
name with the very expressive name, ‘Ashwa’iyyat, or
haphazard settlements. The dismal living conditions
of the vast majority of these new urban dwellers were
at the root of the spread of angry Islamist ideologies
over the years that culminated in the disastrous re-
volt of 1982, brutally crushed by the Assad regime,
and the more disastrous militarization of the 2011
revolution, which has strongly contributed to Syria’s
ongoing destruction.
But when the Syrians joined the other Arab revolts in

2011, it was partly in response to the dismal condi-
tions that have affected their cities, rural areas, and
the slums that were exploding around the cities, which
could no longer sustain the unjust socioeconomic
equation that dictated their development for so long.
I will not go through the tragedies that have resulted
of the protracted protests and their evolution into
armed protests against an intransigent regime. Nor
will I analyze the further degeneration of the conflict
— 19 1 —
into an international proxy war in which every single
regional and international power has chosen its play-
ers on the ground and engaged in the civil sectarian
war that the revolution has devolved into. Suffice it to
say that the magnitude of destruction that we have
witnessed in the last six years is unprecedented and
it has forced new facts on the ground for anyone who
thinks about the future of Syria.
This is where we need to rethink a new conceptual

framework and a long-term plan of political and
social rehabilitation and material and urban re-
construction together in the aftermath of the war
in Syria. Of course there is some urgency in tack-
ling certain displacement issues that cannot wait
for a comprehensive and long-term plan to be im-
plemented. And of course certain heritage sites
require immediate rescue interventions to secure
certain threatened monuments or entire sectors or
to save whatever is left of them in places like Alep-
po, Palmyra, Ma‘arrat al-Nu‘man, and other historic
sites. The same could be said about the need for
creative, innovative, legally binding and technologi-
cally savvy approaches to dealing with the major
problems of rebuilding and replanning. Hence the
propagation, for instance, of new techniques of
preserving and organizing the meta-data gathered
by various entities on Syrian heritage sites and the
experiments in 3D reconstructions of destroyed
monuments, especially in Palmyra as the one site in
Syria that has galvanized the attention of the whole
world and led to the flurry of international and re-
gional meetings that we are witnessing these days.
And hence the efforts of many organizations to
tackle reconstruction problems on small scale and
in defined settings, such as what many of you have
been doing here.
— 19 2 —
Nasser Rab b at
But I would like to resist the temptation to jump on

the bandwagon of quick fixes, large or small recon-
struction projects, and heavy reliance on technologi-
cal innovations to respond to the very urgent issues to
focus on the necessary ethical, and per force political,
framework for any project of reconstruction, restora-
tion, and rehabilitation in a country that has been bat-
tered, robbed of its sense of politics, and subjugated
to hegemonial ideologies for many years. I would still
like to take my queue in proposing an approach to the
broad problem of reconstruction from the purpose
and impulse of the initial protests of the Arab Spring:
a freer political system in which every voice has the
right to be heard and the right to be adopted and every
religious, ethnic, and linguistic community and social
class has a place in the tapestry of nationalism.
I am also interested in the economic, urban, and politi-

cal roots of the protests, which have pitted the mass-
es of badly educated, rural or semi-urbanized, unem-
ployed, frustrated, oppressed and neglected classes
against a plutocratic and kleptomaniacal dictatorship
masquerading as a progressive, resisting or refusing
(muqawama and mumana‘a as the two terms have
developed in recent Syrian political discourse) regime
committed to the wellbeing of these same masses.
The protesters initially aimed at nothing less than to
redress that perversion that had for more than half a
century impressed upon them an obligation to sacri-
fice their civil rights for their repeatedly hijacked na-
tional integrity and economic prosperity. This unjust
equation should never be allowed again; nor should its
neo-capitalist alternative, which supplements political
power with financial might, be allowed to burgeon now
or later. New, more equitable policies would have to
be implemented to stop or slow down the destruction,
urban degradation, and extreme economic disparity.
— 19 3 —
It must have become obvious by now that for the
post-war reconstruction, I am ultimately advocating
the formulation of a right to decent living that builds
upon the thinking that has evolved in the last dec-
ade on the right to the city: an inclusive and egalitar-
ian discourse that engages beside the professional
and technical aspects of its subject matter a set of
encompassing political, social, and financial issues

along with their stakeholders as fully empowered
decision makers. A national discourse is needed for
questions that range from decisions about govern-
ance, legal framework, and fair representation; to the
use of education to teach the citizens about their
rights and duties and to highlight the ties that bind
them to their towns or cities, and their country at
large; and finally to the primacy of public funding over
private investment in accommodating social needs
and in providing for the welfare of the cities and his-
toric sites and the upkeep of their infrastructure and
services, as well as their historic monuments.
Accordingly, a new conceptualizing of reconstruction

through the prism of civil rights is needed to reassert
the social, economic, and environmental wellbeing
of the various communities as integral to the actual
acts of preservation or rehabilitation or even recon-
struction. This proposed ethical framing should aim
to rescue the actual built environment from neglect,
capitalist commodification, bureaucratic calcifica-
tion, and, most importantly, the kind of destructive
extremist bigotry that benefitted from the civil war to
emerge and spread.
— 19 4 —
— 19 5 —
Nasser Rab b at
SYRIA - THE
MAKING OF THE
FUTURE
FROM URBICIDE TO
THE ARCHITECTURE
OF THE CITY
—
ATLAS
— 19 8 —
R e e m A l h a r f o ush, M . Wesam Al Asali, Mar ia- Thala Al-A swad , Fares A l-S aleh
Tales f rom Sy ria . C a s e Stu dies

—
Reem Alharfoush, M. Wesam Al Asali, Maria-Thala Al-Aswad,
Fares Al-Saleh
Introduction
As tutors in the 2017 W.A.Ve. 2017, the incubator — Reem Alharfoush is

an architect at Foster +
initiative of this book, our main task was to define a Partners in London. She
series of case-studies that represents and covers the received her Bachelor
degree in architecture
whole country as references to open the debate on with first class honours at
the reconstruction of Syria. Damascus University in
2008 and was granted a
scholarship to complete
We have tried to define the general key-cases by their her academic post-
TA L E S F R O M S Y R I A . C A S E S T U D I E S
graduate studies in the
urban morphology specificities and their scales. The UK by the Ministry of High
added factor is the damage assessment of the urban Education in Syria. She
fabric: as a direct result of the war, like the complete completed her master
degree in Advanced Archi-
or partial destruction of towns and villages in north- tectural Design at Oxford
ern and north-eastern Syria (Aleppo, Al-Raqqa, Ariha, Brooks University and was
awarded MArch degree
etc.); or as an indirect result of the war, like the physi- with distinction in 2012.
cal degradation of neighbourhoods due to lack of She worked as a tutor in
the architectural design
maintenance (Al-Malek Faysal and Sarouja districts studio in both Damascus
in Damascus). After all, we think of reconstruction University and The
International University of
as a global vision at territorial levels: it is not to be Science and Technology
reviewed on a case-by-case basis. in Syria. During her aca-
demic and professional
experience, she won
We assume that the various chosen cases cannot several awards including
reflect or include the different issues of all Syrian a certificate of distinctive
achievements by the
neighbourhoods. Summarising this complex mix of Ministry of Economy in
geographical, social, and spatial diversity in the cha- Syria and second place at
Genius-Europe graduate
os of the Syrian conflict is almost an impossible task. competition organised by
There are inevitable facts that we need to underline IFIA in Budapest, in 2009.
regarding social injustice, land mismanagement, and
— M. Wesam Al Asali is
the masking of truth. Therefore, in this article, we an architect and a build-
will introduce main urban issues through the reality ing apprentice. He is a
of four different Syrian cities and neighbourhoods. PhD candidate in the Cen-
tre for Natural Material In-
They share the same arguments but their contexts novation at the University
— 19 9 —
of Cambridge where he and results are quite different from each other.
studies craft and tradition
in building practice of Through these four case studies, we will try to shed
thin-tile vaulting and its some light on the concepts of reconstruction that,
potential in reconstruc-
tion. He graduated in we think, extend beyond the economic and urban
2007 from Damascus rush to rebuild. The urban dimension of the crisis is
University and studied
MPhil in architecture
rooted in Syrian society well before 2011. Planning
and construction mechanisms have always been
and urban studies at the

University of Cambridge. authoritarian and unjust. These mechanisms pro-
Wesam has practice expe-
rience in Syria, Denmark, duced urban and social cases that are very relevant
and in the UK. In 2010, to reconstruction studies and from which we could
He co-founded IWLab in
Damascus. In Denmark, spot four main topics in this article: a) marginali-
he worked in HLA and zation in city planning; b) the erosion of the cen-
Vismo. He was a guest tu-
tor in our WAVe workshop
tralities adjoining big cities; c) the identity of rapidly
in 2015. He took part in changing towns with refugees and newcomers, and
the coordination of the
d) the production of service-less villages which is
Urbicide I conference in
2016, and in the Venice visible in shelter shortage during the war.
Charter on Reconstruc-
tion. He is a guest teacher
in Project Strategies & Many of the selected cases of the workshop and the
Innovation in Humanitar- books bring forth these four “topics”. Damascus and
ian Emergencies in the
Iuav Postgraduate Spe-
Aleppo, for example, suffered from a lack of vision in
cialisation Programme planning to amend or update the French urban poli-
EAHR - "Humanitarian
Emergencies".
cies of the 1940s. Planning, in general, lacked any
sensitivity toward the social changes. It expanded
— Born in Damascus in the boundaries of cities, entirely eroding any rural
1984, Maria-Thala Al-
Aswad is a Franco-Syrian identity of the newly added areas. During the conflict,
architect. Through her villages were placed under the spotlight for receiving
unique personal path
of different successive
large numbers of displaced persons. New forms of
uproots (Syria, Saudi- shelters and ownership patterns are also important
Arabia, Syria, France,
Lebanon), she developed
pertinent topics. The four cases we will present can
a transgressive culture of therefore be projected on all the twenty cases that
permanent de-terri- students and architects developed in the workshop.
torialisation towards
absent countries, in the We hope that, with these, we can cover some of the
unacceptance of the questions about the specificity of study cases in Syr-
ideologies of dominant
thoughts. In 2002, she ia and the role of those features in the reconstruction
joined the architecture process. It seems that rebuilding a demolished area
school of the University
of Aleppo; in 2007, she
is not enough: perhaps we also need to think about
obtained her Architecture what appears to still be “healthy”.
— 200 —
Aleppo / Objective immersion and retreat diploma from the Univer-

sity of Damascus. In Paris
in 2008, she worked in the
The choice of the city of Aleppo (the economic capi- framework of the master's
degree at Ecole Nationale
tal of Syria) was an obvious one, as the city repre- Supérieure d'Architecture
sents the categories of “large city facing destruc- de Paris Malaquais before
obtaining a diploma
tion” and “severely damaged world heritage”. From in 2010. In 2013, she
the first days of reflection, this topic appeared to be co-founded the firm Akl
extremely complex and rich. Les Architectes Workshop
with Hicham Bou.
Through the eyes of the different foreign speakers, — Born in 1984 in Aleppo,
Syria, Fares Al-Saleh was
through the monographic and cartographic docu- educated at the Univer-
ments, and through abstract statistical information, sity of Aleppo where he
obtained his Architecture
I was able to acquire some distance from a city in Bachelor from the Faculty
which I have lived and which I know very well. I devel- of Architecture in 2009.
oped an inverse mechanism that took me from the In 2011, Fares accepted
a teaching position at
subjective details of everyday life to a detached point Ittihad Private University
of view through the filter of documents. I will try to (IPU) in Syria as a tutor,
until co-founding MODE
ask some questions that emerged from the various ARCHITECTS in 2012 in
proposals and debates that were exchanged during Aleppo. By 2013 Fares
moved to Turkey and
the 3 weeks of the workshop. Questions that affect- entered the humanitarian
ed us and that were left unanswered, maybe because field with Jesuit Refugee
they actually are serious and noteworthy. Services (JRS) as Objec-
tive Coordinator of multi
sectorial humanitarian
The reconstruction of Aleppo is perhaps an oppor- assistance programmes
for internally displaced
tunity for further reflection on the construction of a people in northwest Syria.
new Aleppo, a city that could respond to the major Since 2014 Fares has
became more involved
upheavals it has undergone. Before asking the ques- in shelter emergency
tion “what city do we reconstruct?”, we must start response and housing
support in Syria. Currently,
by observing the current city beyond the nostalgic he is the Emergency and
local imaginary or universal economic projections. Rehabilitation Infrastruc-
The idea of an Aleppo that reflects 3 major visions ture Head of Department
at Caritas Luxembourg,
imposed itself: the historical city and different urban co-founding the Syrian
plans, the spontaneous and informal city that devel- Association for Relief
and Development (SARD),
oped in parallel, but also (and mainly) the Aleppo of based in Turkey, to over-
war. Or, more precisely, Aleppo “at war”: half-demol- see the day-to-day man-
agement of infrastructure
ished, with a redistributed population, and with the projects inside Syria.
emergence of new polarities.
— 201 —
1 — André Gutton
(1904–2002) was a
The history of the city and its urban plan
French architect and
urban planner employed Economic development and population growth are the
by the French govern-
ment in Aleppo. main causes of the major transformation of the city of
Aleppo and its “oil-stain” expansion on a relatively flat
2 — Gyoji Banshoya
(1930–1998) was a
and favourable territory. Following a series of master
Japanese urban planner plans under the French mandate, the plan established
whose lifework was de-

voted to urban planning
by Gutton1 in 1954 was adopted for the city’s growth. It
in the Middle East and envisaged a “modern” (westernised) expansion of the
North Africa. city toward the west, and keeping the east and north-
west mainly for industrial zones (like the districts of Ain
al-Tell, Arkoub, Kallassé, and Belleraoum). In 1974, the
Banshoya2 Plan proposed large expansions toward the
southwest. The expansion of the popular districts took
place toward the east, north, and south of the city, more
or less respecting the municipal plan of alignment and
residency that was defined for each area. The consid-
erable expansion of the city of Aleppo between 1974
and 2000 was a response to population growth, and the
explosion of the real estate market became the only
investment vehicle for owners of capital.
Urban planning and the informal city
Urban planning in most major Syrian cities has proved

inefficient in the face of informal growth and of the
concentration of education and job-related migration
flows towards these regional economic poles. The
public policies adopted in the face of this informal
city growth varied from one period to another: severe
repression, laxity or laissez-faire. The laissez-faire ap-
proach helped to indirectly and partially resolve the
housing crisis and to ease the economic burden of
financing a formal solution. Between 1970 and 1974,
an unplanned urban development was severely re-
pressed with prosecution and mass demolitions. The
period was followed by laissez-faire until 2008, when
— 202 —
once again legal prosecution and massive demoli-

tions were applied according to Presidential Decree
No.59, which prohibited all illegal construction on the
municipal territory in view of the implementation of
the 2004 master plan, which was supposed to guide
the development of the city until 2015.
Aleppo grew by 3.3% a year, the equivalent of 50,000

inhabitants, mostly concentrated in the unplanned
sectors. This makes it possible to estimate the gap
between the real needs of the population and the ca-
pacity of the “urban plan” to meet these needs. It also
questions the credibility of using or recycling an exist-
ing urban development plan to project it on the future
of a demolished city. The impotence of urban planning
is part of the various social and urban segregation fac-
tors that are at the heart of the current crisis in Syria.
Informality is the spontaneous city that, apart from
its quality, is a direct response to immediate needs.
Therefore, urban reality perhaps is the most significant
part of the city to understand, and not only the official
intentions and the past image of the city (represented
by a heritage that constantly needs to be reinvented).
Its structure, its position in relation to the city, its road
network, and its inhabitants are factors that need to be
analysed and understood in the long term.
Aleppo: a city at war

Case study by Maria-Thala Al-Aswad
Omitting the war from the history of Aleppo would ne-

glect major information that is necessary for the devel-
opment of a cautious policy of reconstruction. An over-
lay of demographic, military, and geological (energy)
data is always necessary to read the reality of the city. I
wonder whether a morphological study of the (de-)for-
mation of the city, or cities, should be envisaged.
— 203 —
— 204 —
— 205 —
By putting together urban, sociological, and political
data of areas of major destruction, such as East Alep-
po (the poor and popular part of the city), we come
across significant questions regarding the city. We
also come across the links that connect the war fronts
and the various urban fabrics. Beyond a communal
division of the city, the urban plans reveal social and
economic qualities. In times of war, as well as in times

of peace, Aleppo is divided into patterns that intersect
and sometimes resemble each other. Without wanting
to give hasty answers, what interests us is to propose
a hypothesis that reads the city as it presents itself,
before beginning to plan the future. But the transfor-
mation of the urban fabric in times of war is not lim-
ited to destruction. The city undergoes real changes in
its use. New dynamics are established during a war:
borders, safe areas, buffer zones, ravaged neighbour-
hoods, less affected or unaffected ones, etc. A new
morphology develops, and a new use of the city takes
shape. The city is travelled across in a different way, and
new transit polarities take place. These seemingly tem-
porary transformations can leave traces and last long
enough to affect the functioning of the post-war city. In
Beirut, for example, 17 years after the unification of the
country, the east and west parts of the city retained a
certain identity, both socially and in terms of transport.
The war-period border between the two areas remained,
due to the specially tailored road network that are now
accompanied by a deserted city centre. The centre,
frontier border between east and west during the war,
remained a border even afterwards, but this time due to
an economic and political crisis.
Definition of communities in Aleppo
Large-scale financing by the leading countries in

the field of construction risks making Aleppo into a
— 206 —
clone city of Dubai, and turning the historical centre

of Aleppo into a ghost and frozen town (like the cen-
tre of Beirut rebuilt by Solidaire).
In view of this model of universal economic recon-

struction, the idea of local funding by municipalities
and communities, and through popular assemblies,
presents an alternative model. However, as soon as we
investigate this hypothesis, the definition of commu-
nity in Syria is less obvious than it seems. What com-
munities are we talking about, and how do we define
them? Geographical, confessional, political-religious
entities? Local communities are not independent from
the international stakes and the external market, es-
pecially since the current war in Syria shows complex
affiliations between communities and foreign policy.
How do we include the massive population displace-

ments in the new map of the territory? How do we
manage the demographic transformations and the
persisting land tenures? The large displacement of
populations in recent years has caused a significant
demographic shift in the region: internal refugees
moving from villages to towns and cities abandoned
by their inhabitants who emigrated to Europe or Amer-
ica. New generations no longer belonging to the origi-
nal communities, as defined before the war, were born.
However, religion seems to remain a community iden-
tity that persists and strengthens over time.
The two urban models — the franchise economic mod-

el and the local community mode — are likely to be
insufficient to respond to territorial issues throughout
Syria. Adopting a fragmented approach and viewing
the city on several disconnected scales, may lead to
a sectorisation of the city. The new morphology of the
territory cannot be conceived independently from the
— 207 —
boundaries that will emerge at the end of the conflict
and from the relationship with neighbouring countries.
A national vision of the country is essential to perform
the reconstruction on a territorial scale.
The real is the place of formation of theory

It is now time to raise the basic questions to develop

some basic ideas related to Syria and to propose a new
(specific and concrete) approach for its reconstruc-
tion, which goes beyond land, morphology, cartogra-
phy, and abstract economic rationalism. It is time to
return to the political and social reality of the country
before the war, but also to dare seeing war as part of
history, and destruction as a morphological fact that
bears meaning. The city carries within itself its own fu-
ture paradigms; memory and history are essential for
a proper understanding of the city and the definition of
its identity. The relationship with memory reappears
after wars and disasters, through a seemingly contra-
dictory double movement: the loss of the relationship
with tradition, and a desperate resurgence of heritage
as the only holder of identity. The present of the city,
as it is being created today, escapes us and remains
the dialectical place that is most revealing and most
difficult to grasp at the same time.
Jobar / Urban but rural

Case-Study by M. Wesam Al-Asali
What terrible pictures we are getting from Jobar! This

neighbourhood on the east of Damascus has been
a battle frontline since 2012. The pictures of the de-
stroyed buildings, arid lands, and cracked streets leave
nothing but bitterness and questions. What is Jobar in
relation to Damascus? What did Jobar look like? Who
lives and would live in Jobar? During and before the cur-
— 208 —
rent conflict, Jobar represented the rest of the eastern 3 — Daghman, “Mud
building architecture
neighbourhoods that were planted under the pressure of in Damascus region,
spatial affiliation. Its case of “urban expansion in a rural analysis and documen-
tation study” (Amaret
neighbourhood” poses important and useful questions Al Abnyeh al Tinyeh fe
in understanding what happened and what would hap- Iqleem Dimashq-Diraset
Tauthiqiyye Tahliliyye).
pen for post-war reconstruction.
Damascus cannot be described as socially or culturally

homogenous, but it can be said that it follows distinctly
“recognisable conformities”. The visitor’s eye can iden-
tify each city’s neighbourhoods, streets, and buildings. It
is sufficient to mention one of these names — Shaalan,
Al-Qasa’a, Rukn al-Din or Al-Misat — to bring a solid im-
age of building patterns to the memory. These patterns
collide in the “Jobar Mazzeh Autostrad” minibus that
crosses the city from west to east. Once the minibus
enters Jobar, recognisable conformities turn into estab-
lished hesitation: it is neither countryside nor city!
Historically, Jobar has always had an undeniable rural

identity that it maintained even when it was added to
the administrative boundaries of Damascus in 1986. It
had a clearly defined centre, an extended market with
a grand mosque with pitched roofing (similar to the
one of Omayyad), a small (demolished and replaced
with concrete mosque before the conflict) mosque,
an ancient synagogue, Turkish bath, and a cemetery in
the northwest part of the neighbourhood. Interestingly,
only the synagogue is registered in the Syrian depart-
ment of antiquities. Following the architecture in east-
ern Ghouta, Jobar houses were mud houses with some
stone arches for openings. The living areas were usually
accompanied by barns, cooking and baking kilns, and
storage for agricultural goods. This house typology is
similar to the old Damascus dwellings but it has differ-
ent materials, which are less expensive, and a horizon-
tal extension instead of a vertical one3.
— 209 —
4 — For more on Before erecting the famous Baghdad Street at the
Damascene craft, see:
al-Qasimi, al-Qasimi, end of the Ottoman rule, the village of Jobar was
and al-Azm, “Dictionary connected to Damascus with a road that penetrat-
of Damascene Crafts”
(Qamus Al-Sina’at Al- ed farmlands towards Bab Touma and Amara. The
Shamiyya). aerial images clearly show that Jobar is not an ex-
tension of Damascus, and its origin has not been
established as such. Instead, it is an adjacent but
independent village near an articulated city. The

1935 Danger-Ecochard Plan understood that: plans
and analyses included Salhyeh and Madian from ex-
tramuros areas, and excluded Kafarsousa, Mazzeh,
and Jobar. Furthermore, When Jobar had to expand,
it extended toward Ghouta and not toward the city.
The shared trades and the means of rural production
and professions (such as heavy carpentry, and con-
struction crafts of rammed earth and adobe building)
can explain this4. However, the deep social affiliation
of Jobar to the rural belt around Damascus is social
and cultural, which includes common religious and
sectarian values, heritage, and traditions.
In 1968, Jobar was noticed by Michel Ecochard as

the expansion area of Damascus: a large area of 2
km2 that are adjacent to almost the entire eastern
side of Damascus. But those 2 km2 are not only ag-
ricultural land, nor only housing area: they present
diverse land typographies, such as the Bustans ar-
eas in the east, the valley area in the south (where
the Barada River arrives from Damascus), and the
central area where the village used to exist. One
of the results of the annex process was the mono
zoning of Jobar, which promulgated a number of
urban plans. Unfortunately, the configuration of the
historical centre of Jobar did not interest any urban
mappers, so the distribution of the blocks treated
the whole zone without sensitivity to any must-be-
preserved functions or buildings. Even Ghouta, the
— 2 10 —
most important feature in Jobar, was dealt with as 5 — Even in recent

reconstruction plans,
an empty land or, in the best scenario, as a forest. blocks of traditional
It was stripped from its essence as production sub- houses in Jobar are
defined as informal
stance for farmers who needed houses, silo storag- settlements.
es, stores, and workshops. Considering farmers and
their land as merely urban expansion led to change
those who used to take care of the Ghouta to those
who work in, and depend on, the City. When Damas-
cus woke up to this dilemma, it issued Resolution
No.60 of 1979 with the intention of rehabilitating
urbanisation and the construction market, which in
turn halted all planned construction. Resolution No.
60 would have been a good step if it had actually
been based on a desire to reconsider the primary
role of the Damascus countryside and recognise its
identity as an independent entity. But that decision
was selfish, a desperate attempt to win the orchard
circle around the city and push the sprawling hous-
ing beyond it. When urbanising and construction
froze around Damascus, a cement belt was built
around the green belt. Popular architecture had
become the way to build. During this period, Jobar
was characterised by a hybrid urban style. Housing
blocks that survived Resolution No.60 neighboured
mud houses. Streets were interspersed between the
old traditional allies (Harah) and overlapped with
the urbanists geometrical line. This all resulted in
severe urban problems, among which the non-ac-
knowledgement of the ancient fabric of the village
of Jobar as an important identity to its inhabitants.
Old traditional houses, though still inhabited, were
regarded as temporary structures until Jobar would
be able to build like (and imitate) Damascus5. From
1979 to 2000, the Parliament in Syria did not issue
any urban legislation. For twenty years, Jobar was
confused and caught in between what it wanted to
be and what it was.
— 2 11 —
At the beginning of the 21st Century, an attempt to
modernise Damascus resulted in a number of urban
legislation to modify No.60 and allow the sorting
and organisation of areas of the Damascus expan-
sion. Between 2000 and 2010, the remaining fabric
of the old neighbourhoods of Jobar was demolished
and replaced by typical four-storey buildings. In the-
ory, those buildings would have accommodated the

housing requirements by increasing the occupancy
rate. In practice, al-Ghouta was voided from its la-
bour. This structural change in urbanisation changed
many occupations either directly by shutting down
workshops or indirectly by substituting the craft mar-
ket for the real estate trade. It also enforced a modi-
fication of the nature of housing and neighbouring:
many of the old houses were abandoned or demol-
ished because they became exposed to those who
lived in building blocks, which generated a sense of
loss of privacy. Urban spaces suffered from a lack
of services resulting from the policy of waiting until
the completion of the infrastructure. Mixed feelings
accompanied something that was changing rapidly.
This was tooped off with the construction of two
highways, one separating Jobar from Zamalka, and
the other separating it from Damascus, causing the
loss of many agricultural lands and the eradication
of their organic links. Then, the puzzling question
popped up: Is Jobar (Reef) or (Medina)?
The story of Jobar concludes a structural problem that

is summed up in the denial of the historical centres ad-
jacent to the villages of Damascus. Our village arrived
in 2011, with real estate prospects and grey lands;
with a great desire to be the modern extension to Al-
Qasa’a and Al-Qusor, but also with a homesickness for
homes near orchards. However, the most important
feeling was the one of neglect from the city that once
— 2 12 —
promised modernity. It is thus possible to understand

that the first demands by the people of Jobar, after the
demonstrations against the government, were a list of
real estate and service requests, such as the urgency
to issue a plan for a project, missing sidewalks or
more care for small public parks. The latest request
raises eyebrows and summarises the disaster: Jobar,
once Damascus’ endless park filled with orchards, in
2011 begged the province of Damascus to take care
of some small parks for lack of vegetation!
Jaramana / Unsettled city

Case study by Reem Alharfoush
Jaramana is not an area of conflict that catches the
eye of world media. However, there is something
unique and remarkable about it that is worth touch-
ing upon: the relationship to refugees and internally
displaced people. Today, it is an overwhelmingly
urban suburb of Damascus with a vast diversity of
inhabitants. Throughout history, many refugees and
migrants chose to live here, but how did the city deal
(and still deals) with these sudden flows of people?
What have been the consequences on the urban
fabric of the city? With its long history and scores
of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP),
Jaramana is the chosen study case to understand
how IDP and new migrants can be incorporated in
the future development of the city, both in econom-
ic and physical contexts. The “city” is located 8 km
southeast of Damascus, on the road to Damascus
International Airport, separating the capital and the
eastern Ghouta region as an extension of the coun-
tryside. It borders with several towns that are close
to the capital, including Mleiha, Beit Sahm, Dokhani-
ya, Ain Tarma, Wadi Ain Tarma, Jisreen, Jobar and
others. Nowadays, Jaramana is contested between
— 2 13 —
6 — A. Maria, A. government and opposition forces, internally divided
Kastrinou, “Power, sect
and state in Syria: The by class and politics, “natives” and “refugees”. It is
politics of marriage and known for its cultural, social, and urban heterogene-
identity amongst the
Druze”, 2016. ity, yet it has the highest population density in the
suburb of Damascus today, with 1,100,000 inhabit-
ants, including 80,000 IDP and 7,000 Iraqi.
Jaramana, a village of Aramaic roots, used to be a

quiet suburb with green fields and animals grazing
on the outskirts, with farmers living in the traditional
courtyard houses built in their farmlands. The exodus
of rural Druze from Jabal al Arab to Damascus and its
outskirts occurred in response to severe regional eco-
nomic inequalities in the suburb, as well as for their
deep involvement in political activities during the 1927
Syrian Revolution and after independence. In 1940, the
population of Jaramana was 1,8006. In the late 1960s,
however, governmental plans began to restrict the
concentration of the community in Jaramana by con-
structing a large refugee camp for 25,000 Palestin-
ians nearby. The camp was established in 1948 on an
area of 0.03 km2. In 1967, Palestinians who had tak-
en refuge in the Golan Heights, and were displaced
as a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, moved into
the camp. In addition, many Christians who Damas-
cus to settle in the outskirts because of lower rents
and cheaper real estate. By 1982, the Population of
Jaramana exceeded 65,000. Despite the waves of
newcomers, and until the early 2000s, Jaramana was
sparsely populated, retaining its rural small farming
character, but with a mixed population. The material
and functional aspects of the houses shifted from
courtyard housing to apartment buildings of mostly
Christian and Druze residents. The city grew along a
road that was parallel to the central highway to Da-
mascus airport and south Syria. Commercial shops
and places were organised along a broad main road,
— 2 14 —
between two roundabouts acting as landmarks. The 7 — Previous councillor

of the Jaramana council,
changes in economic relations of production — the personal communica-
shift from agriculture to industrial and the rise of tion, 2017.
population — transformed Jaramana from a village 8 — Personal communi-

to one of the capital’s bustling suburbs. A new high- cation, 2012.
way connecting Jaramana with Damascus was con-
structed after the demolition of almost 30% of the
Palestinian refugee shelters7.
By 2004, the city had continuous development in the

real estate sector, emerging entertainment spaces,
cultural hubs, and increasing artist, intellectual, and
student residents. This emerging improvement re-
lated to sociological and cultural diversity invest-
ments in the area, in the context of neo-liberal state
forms. However, new visual and spatial boundaries
of the different communities were emerging through
economic accumulation and social networks, ar-
ticulated in segregated neighbourhood clusters of
new generation Druze immigrants, Christian com-
munities from Damascus, and Iraqi refugees in the
urban fabric.
Jaber from Baghdad8
Jaber is a thirty-two-year-old man from Baghdad who

lives in a shared apartment in Jaramana with three
other friends, who knew each other from Baghdad.
“Jaramana is a good place to live because it is

easy to find cheap food and there are many places
of entertainment; we can do whatever we want in
Jaramana because it attracts less attention from
authorities and the community does not bother too
much about our activities […]. We have made plans
to leave Syria and travel to Europe illegally, but we
still have not succeeded to carry them out”.
— 2 15 —
9 — Sophia Hoffmann, In 1999, Jaramana had 70,000 inhabitants, but this
“Iraqi migrants in Syria:
The crisis before the number increased to over 114,000 in 2004 due to the
Storm”, 2016. arrival of Iraqi refugees. The suburb became the best
10 — BBC, “Syria con- destination, where rents were affordable and local
flict: Internally displaced people were friendly. Christian Iraqis preferred this
struggle to survive” Feb.
2016.
city for its heterogeneous non-conservative society.
Others from different parts of Damascus moved to
the Jaramana “Iraqi neighbourhood”, which indeed it

had become one. Such identity was visible: new Iraqi
restaurants and shops had sprung up, together with
the sale of especially Iraqi goods and a large number
of travel companies arranging trips to Iraq9. The influx
of people had contributed to an ongoing building boom
that destroyed most of Jaramana’s remaining fields. In
2010, around half of the apartment blocks were built
anew, most of which had no cladding, and buildings
were left bare and unprotected. Lands were saturated
and vertical densification (additional illegal floors on
top of existing structures) was the only way to match
the growing population. With such heterogeneous pat-
terns on the surface of the buildings, the result was a
patchwork of different material typologies, colours, and
structures: the history of a building and its growth could
be read on its own façade.
Um Mohammed10
A chilly breeze found its way through the cracks in the

walls, and a dim light came in through the windows. Her
sons were out working to pay for their schoolbooks, and
her daughters sat nearby, browsing through theirs. Um
Mohammed with her family of seven are living in a flat
without any running water, sewage, or even a sink. The
walls are full of holes, and even when they manage to
find logs to burn for heating, the wind still seeps in. Just
before the conflict started in Syria in 2011, about 30%
of the buildings in Jaramana were vacant. Some of
— 2 16 —
these buildings have been abandoned by the Iraqi 11 — ETH Studio Basel,
“Contemporary City In-
refugees who returned to their country or by Syrian stitute, 2009, Jaramana
inhabitant due to the inflation of rental costs. On the Refugee City.
other side, the construction of new housing during

the construction boom was overly speculative, and
therefore many of these new residential buildings
never were sold. Since the beginning of the conflict
in Syria, most of those vacant, newly built, some un-
finished, concrete shells were inhabited due to demo-
graphic pressure. Jaramana has witnessed a massive
wave of displacement from neighbouring towns and
provinces because it is still under the control of the
Syrian regime and still yet has to experience direct
conflict. However, it was not spared the bombings,
rocket-propelled grenades, and security problems;
however, it was considered heaven in comparison to
other inflamed areas11.
Being on the periphery of the capital Damascus, it

is best suited for the displaced people because of
the low cost of living while still remaining close to
the city centre. The arrival of high numbers of inter-
nally displaced people from all over the country has
strongly contributed to the constant disruption and
rapid change of the urban fabric of the city. The rapid
and unplanned urban development of the Jaramana
region has continued to be influenced by the differ-
ent inhabitants and stakeholders. Diversity is some-
what an inevitable feature: each deed in businesses,
construction work or education involves various par-
ticipants from different ethnicities. Jaramana is left
alone. Part of previous rural infrastructure — such as
an old water tower, small gardens, and the occasional
farm shed — were simply left standing while urban
growth overtook them, and are now obsolete and lack-
ing any apparent ownership or stewardship. Services
and planning were minimal and are noticeable through
— 2 17 —
12 — Raymond Hinne- the absence of paved roads between newly built apart-
busch, Tina Zintl, “Syria
from reform to revolt”, ment blocks and the sudden appearance of openly
2015. neglected sandy squares. Jaramana always seems
changing and unfinished12.
Changing future
The future of Jaramana is uncertain. The dynamic of

the city is constantly evolving. The urban morpholo-
gies of the different areas are distinctly different from
one another. There are abandoned new development
areas, with a high potential of becoming the new hous-
ing buildings and thus guaranteeing the future of Ja-
ramana’s families. New open spaces also have this
potential to give way to new housing and infrastruc-
ture. Jaramana has a multi-layered identity that is
deeply rooted in spontaneous historical and political
changes. It is not obvious to understand an identity
that struggles between temporality and permanence.
Jaramana houses a large group of people that live in
temporary circumstances. It seems that a proposal
that aims to give a permanent aspect of and ever-
temporality in Jaramana can celebrate its new mod-
ern identity. Effective and strategically placed recov-
ery that reflects local needs and considers the future
unpredicted evolution of Jaramana can make it the
post-war modern centre of the capital.
Afs / Rural shelter

Case study by Fares Al-Saleh
In 2017, the Syrian conflict enters in its seventh year.

According to the United Nations High Commission-
er for Refugees, the number of internally displaced
persons, as of January 2017, was at 5.7 million with
56% of them remaining within their governorates.
Although those who moved within their governorate
— 2 18 —
may be more likely to return to their original com- 13 — The mission of

Camp Coordination and
munities, the return migration so far has been small Camp Management
compared with the total numbers of displaced: af- (CCCM).
fected people have exhausted their resources and

remain with little or no opportunity to re-build their
livelihoods. Unemployment has skyrocketed while
towns have been abandoned due to the limited avail-
ability and high cost of commodities, soaring fuel
prices, and damage to infrastructure, insecurity, and
the closure of markets. It is estimated that one in
three inhabitants of urban areas is an IDP.
By January 2017, according to the UN-CCCM13 sec-

tor lead, over 800,000 persons have been displaced
by the conflict in the northwest provinces, and many
are living in more than 200 informal settlements and
in urban settings such as schools, public buildings,
garages, shops, and basements. The huge influxes
of internally displaced people (IDPs) were mainly
towards urban and semi-urban countryside commu-
nities. The northwest of Syria and border areas with
Turkey have been facing a constant influx of displaced
populations from different conflict areas within Syria
(mainly from Aleppo, Idleb, Hama, and Homs). Most
displaced people are originally from neighbouring
communities or provinces and left their homes due to
combat warfare. Host communities (hosting IDPs) are
also overstretched, especially small-scale communi-
ties (villages and towns), putting significant stress on
basic services as a result of increasing demands. The
longer the conflict continues, the more difficult the
post-conflict recovery will be.
The story of Afs
Afs, Idlib is a Syrian village located in Saraqib Na-

hiyah in the Idlib District, Idlib. According to the
— 2 19 —
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Afs, Idlib
had a population of 6,338 in the 2004 census. The
village has fertile soil and is located in a plains
area, 5 km away from the city of Saraqib. Its old
housing units are mud dwellings and the new ones
are made of cement. The village has an earthy hill
on the southwest part and is known as Afs hill, the
remains of which date back to 4,000 BC. Taftanaz

military airport is 7 km north of Afs village.
Pre-War Afs population depended on incomes from

rainfed and irrigated agriculture (barley, wheat, and
seasonal vegetables). The village is connected with
the nearby cities (Saraqib, Sarmin, Taftanaz) via a
good road network, as is connected with Damascus-
Aleppo M5 highway. The majority of its people are
from the poor class: they either work in agriculture
in their own lands or in governmental jobs. Afs suf-
fered from airstrikes and artillery shelling due to its
close distance from the Taftanaz military airport.
The airport experienced much warfare activity that
generally targeted the village’s houses and especially
the eastern neighbourhood, resulting in a displace-
ment of the people to nearby villages that lasted for
months. Walls, roof destruction, and entire building
destruction are the types of destruction that Afs
faced after the warfare, along with damage to pub-
lic facilities and infrastructure. During the war, most
people abandoned their jobs afraid of being arrested.
In addition, the irrigated agriculture dropped owing
to the high cost of irrigation methods. Most people
depended on their savings to meet their daily needs.
In early 2016, most people of Afs returned to their
houses and, because the village is considered to be
relatively safe, many people from the nearby villages
also moved into Afs for residence. Therefore, Afs be-
came a host community.
— 220 —
People are returning as soon as the conflict calms 14 — The World Bank,
“The toll of war”.
down to their affected village. Throughout Syria, <www.openknowl-
about 566.000 people have returned to their homes. edge.worldbank.
org/bitstream/han-
Most of these returnees have returned to Aleppo dle/10986/27541/
(332,000) and Hama (61,000)14. The%20Toll%20of%20
War.pdf>
In terms of availability of shelter materials and skills 15 — The Global

necessary to construct / repair shelters and homes, Shelter Cluster (GSC) an
Inter-Agency Standing
an assessment done by SNFI Cluster15 reveals that Committee (IASC).
almost everything is available in the majority of the
assessed area. However, around 75% of the popula-
tion cannot access these available shelter materials
and skills mainly due to financial constraints.
The majority of the Afs returnees have returned to their
homes, and the rest have settled in abandoned build-
ings and shelters near their homes. Abandoned houses
have been thoroughly looted. People of Afs face finan-
cial difficulties in repairing and rebuilding their dwell-
ings to a minimum standard by themselves and need
financial support. Rubble and heavily destroyed build-
ings need to be secured or removed: the threat of ex-
plosive residue of war (mines, grenades, UXO) remains
a safety concern for the population.Village infrastruc-
tures have been deeply affected and water and sewage
network systems have been disrupted. People cannot
afford the high transportation costs and high prices
of basic shelter materials. Poor security and long
distance to local markets further compound the prob-
lem. The population in need will be able to acquire the
needed shelter materials only once sustainable means
of economic activity is provided. Otherwise, they will
continue to rely on humanitarian assistance in order to
rebuild their homes and be able to get back on their
feet again. On account of the poverty of some families,
many were forced to live in their damaged houses. Oth-
ers were not capable to recover their houses at all and
— 221 —
were therefore hosted by their relatives (IDPs). Moreo-
ver, Afs community found itself to become a host com-
munity when a huge IDP settlement was established
within their village. Mud dwelling units were built
thanks to different humanitarian actors (Clay villages)
in the eastern neighbourhood to host displaced fami-
lies from different places. Many other different types of
accommodations used by the IDP families were identi-

fied across the semi-urban communities in northwest
Syria (not only Afs), but those shelters are also often
sub-standard shelters, destroyed or unfinished build-
ings or not fit for living, like:
Informal Settlements: are the aggregation of IDPs

into ad hoc settlements also called “spontaneous
settlements”, “self-established camps” or “camp-like
settlements”. They are a group of tented (or other
types of shelter) housing units established by the IDPs
themselves or by non-experienced actors, constructed
on land that the occupants have no legal claim on.
Collective Shelters or Collective Centres: a gathering

of more than 5 families (25 persons) constitutes a
collective centre. Collective centres include existing
buildings used as temporary living accommodation
for displaced populations. The types of buildings
used as collective shelters vary widely. They include
schools, hotels, community centres, hospitals, facto-
ries, religious buildings, police posts, and even mili-
tary barracks. They are mostly community buildings
but they can also be privately owned. These buildings
have mostly been constructed prior to displacement
and are not designed for accommodation. Additional
infrastructure and rehabilitation may be needed to
make them suitable as a collective shelter. Other
types of collective shelters are self-settled collective
centres established by the IDPs themselves. Like:
— 222 —
- Farmhouses: empty farms are concrete buildings of

multiple storeys that have been erected for poultry
production but have never been used. Empty concrete
platforms offering large spaces.
- Factory warehouses, community centres, funer-
al halls.
- Small Shelter Units: privately owned, empty houses
under interrupted construction. These houses can ac-
commodate a smaller amount of families, depending
on the size, and can therefore be seen as small collec-
tive shelters. Unfinished houses with four families or
less are usually not managed.
Unfinished houses or small shelter units: these are
private structures designed for accommodation un-
der interrupted construction. This includes different
stages of construction, from basic concrete platforms
without walls, up to almost finished buildings without
plastering or sanitation systems.
Surveys and assessments also showed that the ma-

jority of the displaced populations do not have con-
cerns in accessing shelter because of lack of legal
authorisation. While this finding may not imply a con-
cern, this cannot be conclusive for the whole popu-
lation regarding the general situation of housing,
land, and property (HLP) as the populations mostly
stay in settlements where legal authorisation does
not apply. The uncertain security context in Non-
Government control areas makes it extremely diffi-
cult to verify HLP ownership claims legally; a situa-
tion that is further complicated by the fact that many
Syrians did not possess formal HLP documentation
even before the beginning of the conflict. Much of
the existing documentation has since been lost, al-
tered or damaged. Likewise, many properties and
land owners may not be present in the community
— 223 —
due to displacement, imprisonment or loss of life.
Therefore, proof of registered HLP ownership may
not be available. Shelter provision, upgrades and or
rehabilitation can easily be co-opted to strengthen
ownership claims on the part of a community. It is
therefore essential to obtain information about the
conflict-induced changes to population composition.
Otherwise, the risk of unintentionally contributing to

conflict-induced demographic shift is very high.
Conclusion
The previous case studies from different regions of

Syria summarise some of the essential challenges
that must be considered in the reconstruction process.
The political aspect and result of the war have the most
important impact on the urbanity of the Syrian cities
and neighbourhoods. Expanding the scope of the ur-
ban planning parameters by including dimensions that
cannot be measured by ownership and investment is
a first step toward social justice and population rights
to decide their relation to their cities. The historical
centres of the neighbourhoods adjacent to the cities,
which have been ignored by the urban development
plans, have no less urban value than the historical
centres of the major cities. The nature of economic
production, housing, and the urban spaces of these
neighbourhoods cannot be overridden by the same
planning codes of those in the city centre.
Likewise, the emerging neighbourhoods in the cities

can be vital centres, characterised by being reception
areas for those with different life stories coming to
the city. These neighbourhoods are always changing
and manifest rich identities, forced by life circum-
stances to coexist, thus producing social and urban
relations worthy of attention. The Syrian countryside
— 224 —
played a major role in welcoming the displaced by the

war. However, this role changed many concepts of
ownership, temporary housing, and resettlement. The
experience of the Syrian countryside, especially the
northern one, is rich and may contain specific solu-
tions to the challenges of expanding the first phase.
Working on the reconstruction of the country, by

masking the causes of the war and the war dam-
ages, is a reproduction of pre-war fundamental urban
problems. Today, many of the existing urban develop-
ment plans are still on the Syrian discussion table.
The least that can be said about these schemes is
that they lack any evolutionary learning logic from
the past and especially from the last seven years of
urban violence. The four cases we have presented
do not have linear solutions, but rather solutions
through exponentially alternating levels of observing,
learning, and imagining.
Design can be a part of this, as it is a creative mecha-

nism that freely jumps between different inputs to
generate solutions that classical analysis cannot
conceive. Hence, the products of this workshop are
important. On the one hand, the workshop deals with
the four issues separately. On the other, it deals with
them together as a whole. Design in creative educa-
tion and training platforms can be the cradle of re-
construction strategies. This should include different
perspectives and reflect the complex and contested
nature of cities. What we hope is that this experience
will become a model for similar experiences inside
and outside Syria as part of future projects. We also
hope that the theoretical framework outlined in the
four stories we have presented will work as a plat-
form for further research that attempts to envisage
the production of reconstruction solutions.
— 225 —
SYRI A
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
* City names are translittered according to Google maps
— 226 —
ALEPPO MA’LŪLĀ
Armando Dal Fabbro Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Patrizia Montini Zimolo
Paredes y Pedrosa NAHLAYA
UNLAB Solano Benitez
Gaeta Springall Architects
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
ARIHA Francesco Cacciatore
Plan Colletif
Camillo Magni
Attilio Santi
MOSUL AL BAWABIYA Sinan Hassan
Felipe Assadi
RAQQA
DAMASCUS Giancarlo Mazzanti
Douma
Antonella Gallo
SHAHBA
Jaramana João Ventura Trindade
Ciro Pirondi
Al Mezzeh TARTUS
VMXarchitetti
Qaboun TA’UM
TAMassociati
Sarouja
BOM Architecture
DARAYYA
Aldo Aymonino
BAGHDAD Beals Lyon Arquitectos
HAMA
Ammar Khammash
KAFR BUHUM
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
LATAKIA
— 227 —
— ALEPPO / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
ALEPPO
to Damascus
0 5 km
industrial city
citadel
airport
Quwayq River
0 1 km
ALEPPO OLD CITY
citadel
Suk
GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.100
— 232 —
ALEPPO
— The continuous armed

Syrian conflict that
reached Aleppo in 2012
caused severe damage
and destruction to
invaluable monuments
and inhabited neigh-
bourhoods. Therefore,
the historic city has
been added to the list
of endangered cultural
heritage. Since 2011,
the conflicts in Syria
have caused more than
400.000 dead and
millions of refugees.
The historic monu-
ments and the cultural
heritage continue to be
damaged, as a strategic
instrument to destroy
the cultural identity of
the Syrian population:
25% of historic buildings
are damaged, 40% are
partially destroyed, and
the Souq (historic Arab
market) has been burnt
down completely.
— 233 —
— ARIHA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
to Latakia
0 5 km
to Aleppo
ARIHA
Kafar Najd
0 1 km
ARIHA
— 238 —
ARIHA
— Ariha has faced

different types of
destruction, ranging
from light damage (wall
and roof) to completely
destroyed buildings.
Damage in public facili-
ties and infrastructure
has also occurred, and
many traditional shops
were almost completely
demolished in 2016.
During the war, most of
the people abandoned
their jobs, for security
reasons and because
of the destruction of
their factories and
shops. The town has
nearly 8.000 housing
units. Currently, 3.000
houses are affected with
repairable damage, but
800 houses have been
completely destroyed.
— 239 —
— AL BAWABIYA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
To’um
0 5 km
South Aleppo
Kafr Aleppo
AL BAWABIYA
AL BAWABIYA
ICARDA center
to Damascus
0 1 km
to Aleppo
— 244 —
AL BAWABIYA
— Al Bawabiya was
subject to much shelling
and airstrikes that
caused multiple IDPs,
and the village was
abandoned for 10 - 12
months. By February
2016, families began to
return to their homes,
as confirmed by the
village council after
the end of conflicts.
The 1.500 metre-long
main road is heavily
damaged and in need of
paving. The village high
school was completely
destroyed, therefore
the community rented
a warehouse in order to
provide students with
basic education.
— 245 —
— DAMASCUS
DAMASCUS
AL MEZZEH
DARAYYA
0 5 km
DOUMA
QABOUN
old city of Damascus
JARAMANA
— DOUMA / 33°34’20”N 36°24’ 06”E
QABOUN
to Damascus
0 1 km
DOUMA
— 250 —
DOUMA
— Douma was largely

destroyed by the battle
in 2012 and later by the
siege of 2015 when the
Syrian Army cut all the
food supplies for the
civil population and hit
the town with heavy
airstrikes. The United
Nations have denounced
the deliberate destruc-
tion of health care
infrastructure in Douma,
driving up deaths and
permanent disabilities.
— 251 —
— JARAMANA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Old City of Damascus
0 1 km
JARAMANA
to airport
— 254 —
JARAMANA
— In 2011, there were

more than 18,658
registered refugees. Ja-
ramana had six schools,
one food distribution
centre, one health
centre, and one com-
munity centre. In 2012,
Jaramana witnessed a
large wave of displace-
ment from neighbouring
towns and provinces
because of security
issues and because of
the increasing ferocity
of the battles. According
to the most current
data, in 2014, Jaramana
increased its inhabitants
up to 189,888, and
further increased it to
300,000 in 2017. The
total population of Rural
Damascus Governo-
rate is of 2.84 million,
representing 13% of the
total population of Syria,
with approximately 1.65
million people affected
by the crisis.
— 255 —
Mount Qudssaya
— AL MEZZEH / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
AL MEZZEH
to Beirut
0 1 km
Umayyin Square
— 258 —
AL MEZZEH
— According to HRW’s
satellite images, a
total of 41.6 hectares
of buildings was de-
molished around the Al
Mezzeh military airport,
mainly between Decem-
ber 2012 and July 2013.
In September 2012,
the Syrian president
issued a presidential
decree authorising the
construction of two
urban planning areas
within the governorate
of Damascus, as part
of a “general plan for
the city of Damascus
to develop the areas of
unauthorised residential
housing”. The first
area is situated in the
southeast of Al Mazzeh,
encompassing the
real estate depart-
ments of Al Mazzeh
and Kafarsouseh. The
second extends south,
encompassing the de-
partments of Al Mazzeh,
Kafarsouseh, Qanawat,
Basateen, Darayya and
Qadam.
— 259 —
— QUABOUN / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Barzeh
0 1 km
QABOUN
— 262 —
QABOUN
— The conditions of
Qaboun are generally
good and the number of
buildings destroyed is
very small. The city can
be described as a mixed
area: half is completely
planned and the other
half hosts unplanned
houses. More than
1.500 rebels and family
members left the devas-
tated district of Qaboun
on the edge of Damas-
cus, as the Syrian army
and its allies continue
to advance in the areas
and around the capital.
Inhabitants are slowly
returning to their homes,
but because of political
and military agreements,
this process is quite
difficult.
— 263 —
— SAROUJA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Umayyin Square
to Beirut
0 1 km
Abbassiyyin Square
SAROUJA
EL MALEK
— 266 —
SAROUJA
— Sarouja has suffered

great changes during
the conflict. Densifica-
tion caused by those
who fled to Sarouja,
security issues, com-
mercial use of houses,
and accessibility issues
have played an impor-
tant role on changing
the identity of Sarouja.
As extension of the
old city, but not inside
the walls, Sarouja was
subject to much harsh
urban and architectural
intervention before and
during the conflict. The
massive rural immigra-
tion towards the old
cities and their fringe
area is often seen as a
threat to the survival of
architectural heritage.
During the years of the

conflict, the city has at-
tracted a growing popu-
lation of farmers who
have abandoned their
lands to seek better life.
Today, only untreated
sewage water flows
down the Barada River
canals. Al Malek Faisal
is no longer a stable
place since the conflict
has caused many
changes in this area.
Densification is one of
the most considerable
problems, leading to
unconventional use and
interventions in areas
within the old city.
— 267 —
— DARAYYA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA
0 5 km
Al Moadamyeh
0 1 km
DARAYYA
— 272 —
DARAYYA
— By mid-2016, the
Syrian Army controlled
approximately 65% of
Darayya. The city was
Residents were relo-
cated from the suburb
where some of the
worst atrocities of the
Syrian war took place
after a brutal four-year
siege. Not only the
buildings but also the
infrastructure was heav-
ily damaged. In recent
years, residents have
slowly began returning
to their homes, but they
continue to have great
political issues.
— 273 —
— HAMA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
HAMA
to Homs
0 5 km
Mar Shahour
Al Orontes River
old castle site
0 1 km
HAMA
— 278 —
6
HAMA
— In Hama, general
destruction is minimal.
It mostly affected the
suburbs, with several
offenses occurring in
the north of the city.
Satellite imagery has
identified 5.968 affected
structures, of which
4.969 destroyed, 345
severely damaged,
and 654 moderately
damaged. This analysis
does not include pre-war
military bases and
facilities.
— 279 —
— KAFB BUHUM / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
KAFR
0 5 km
Aleppo
train station
KAFR
IDP camp
0 1 km
Quanater
— 284 —
KAFR BUHUM
— The village was hit by

much shelling and air-
strikes, some of which
took place around the
village causing different
levels of destruction. In
fact, the majority of the
main streets connecting
the village to Aleppo,
and the agricultural
roads within the village,
have been affected.
Water pumping remains
an issue that the com-
munity still faces, due to
the lack of fuel and the
high cost of recovery
and maintenance.
For this reason, some
residential neighbour-
hoods have no sewage
network.
— 285 —
— KOBANE / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
KOBANE
to Aleppo
0 5 km
Turkish Border
Turkish Border
to Aleppo
0 1 km
KOBANE
— 290 —
KOBANE
— By May 2015, the

“Kobane authorities”,
with the help of the mu-
nicipality of Diyarbakır,
and after 8 months of no
running water, managed
to restore the water
pump and supply for the
urban area, repair the
pipelines, and clean the
main water tank. During
the war, more than 70%
of the city was reduced
to rubble and at least
3,247 structures were
damaged. The recon-
struction and the return
of the inhabitants is well
on the way; in fact, by
May 2015, a little more
than half of the pre-war
residents returned to the
destroyed town, which is
now coming back to life.
— 291 —
— LATAKIA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Ugarit
LATAKIA
0 5 km
to Aleppo
Sheikh Daher
Ugarit Square
0 1 km
LATAKIA
Tishreen University
— 296 —
LATAKIA
— Latakia has no po-

tential conflictual prob-
lems. During the Syrian
Civil War, Latakia has
been a site of protest
activity for the informal
settlement since March
2011. Protests continue
despite the increase in
security measures and
arrests. Many people
are reaching Latakia and
therefore the population
is growing quickly. The
arriving people stay in
the schools and in the
public gardens, now
working as reception
centres.
— 297 —
— MA’LŪLĀ / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
MA’LŪLĀ
Alqalamoun Mount
to Damascus
0 5 km
Al Qutayfah
Jabadeen
0 1 km
Mar Takla
MA’LŪLĀ
Ayn At Tinah
X
— 302 —
MA’LŪLĀ
— The houses and alleys

of the old town were
The main shrine contain-
ing the tomb of St.
Thecla was completely
burnt down, with little or
no information on the
fate of its sacred con-
tents and relics. Parts of
the western and eastern
walls of the Monastery
of Saints Sergius and
Bacchus were subject
to severe damage since
several mortar shells
hit them. In addition,
the big dome of the
building was affected by
shelling.
— 303 —
— NAHLAYA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Idlib
NAHLAYA
Ariha
to Latakia
0 5 km
to Aleppo
Kurin
0 1 km
NAHLAYA
— 308 —
NAHLAYA
— The majority of its

population has been
displaced for 10 to 15
months and it is gradu-
ally returning. After May
2015, and the fall of
Ariha, only a few family
members returned to
Nahlaya. Out of 1.000
houses, over 50 % have
been partially damaged,
many severely damaged,
a few buildings have
been completely de-
stroyed, and 50 houses
completely burnt to the
ground. The majority of
the buildings, even the
severely damaged ones,
are used as shelters for
families. Schools were
damaged during the
conflict but are still used
for children to spend
time and have some
basic education.
— 309 —
— PALMYRA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
to Homs
0 5 km
PALMYRA TADMOR
to Homs
PALMYRA TADMOR
archeological site
0 1 km
Palmyra airport
— 3 14 —
PALMYRA
— After ISIS first seized

Palmyra in May 2015,
a selection of 42 areas
across the site were
examined in the satellite
imagery. Of these, 3
were totally destroyed,
7 severely damaged, 5
moderately damaged,
and at least 10 pos-
sibly damaged. Many
historical buildings have
been destroyed, like the
Palmyra museum, the
great temple of Ba’al,
and the Valley of the
Tombs (the large-scale
funerary monuments
outside the city walls).
Syrian government
forces regained Palmyra
on 27 March 2016 after
intense fights against
ISIL fighters.
— 3 15 —
— RAQQA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
RAQQA
0 5 km
Al Nasirah
Euphrate River
New Bridge
0 1 km
RAQQA OLD CITY
Euphrate River
— 320 —
RAQQA
— Since March 2013,

Raqqa has been at the
centre of the conflict in
Syria. It was first seized
by opposition groups,
and after fierce fights
in October 2013, ISIS
took control of the city.
In November 2014, the
Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights reported
that the Syrian Arab
Republic Government
bombed Raqqa, and that
damage was extensive
inside the old city area,
especially next to the
Raqqa Museum. There
have been reports of
damage to cultural herit-
age near the Abbasid
walls of Raqqa, such as
damage to lion statues
in the Al Rasheed Park,
and to the shrine tombs
of Uwais al-Qarani, Obay
ibn Qays, and Ammar
ibn Yasir. Migration from
Aleppo, Homs, Idlib, and
other inhabited places
to Raqqa occurred con-
sequently to the uprising
against Assad.
— 321 —
— SHAHBA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
0 5 km
to Damascus
Shaqqa
SHAHBA
to As Suwayda
to As Suwayda
0 1 km
to Damascus
SHAHBA
— 326 —
SHAHBA
— Shahba was not physi-

cally affected by the
conflict, but it has been
subject to rapid changes
been abandoned, and
the infrastructure of the
city has been neglected.
Many displaced people
from the surrounding
area have reached
Shahba. Densification
affected the historical
aspect and the structure
of the city.
— 327 —
to Latakia
— TARTUS / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Mediterranean Sea
TARTUS
Arwad Island
0 5 km
museum
0 1 km
TARTUS
— 332 —
TARTUS
— Tartus has no
potential conflictual
problems. Many
people are now reaching
Tartus, therefore the
population number is
growing quickly. The
people arriving are lo-
cated in public buildings
(schools and gardens)
that now work as recep-
tion centres. The Syrian
Observatory for Human
Rights reports that in
2016 Tartus was the set
of a series of attacks
that killed 121 people
and injured many others.
— 333 —
to Turkish Border
— TA’UM / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Idlib
0 5 km
TA’UM airbase
to Aleppo
Saraqib
Al-Fu’ah
Binnish
0 1 km
TA’UM
— 338 —
TA’UM
— Nowadays, 15
houses are completely
destroyed. Some houses
have been repaired
by their owners, but
inhabitants were mostly
displaced within the
village, and either live
with their relatives or
have left the village en-
tirely. Nearly 90 houses
present damages to
the foundations due to
close shelling. Damage
in public facilities and
in infrastructure has
also occurred, and many
traditional shops were
almost totally demol-
ished. Public facilities,
infrastructure, and
agricultural lands were
affected by shelling.
— 339 —
SYRIA - THE
MAKING OF THE
FUTURE
FROM URBICIDE TO
THE ARCHITECTURE
OF THE CITY
—
VENICE
CHARTER ON
RECONSTRUCTION
Venice char ter o n rec o n stru c tio n
—
“The war which is coming is not the first one. There

were other wars before it. When the last one came to
an end there were conquerors and conquered. Among
the conquered the common people starved. Among
the conquerors the common people starved too”.
Bertolt Brecht’s words are today more actual then

ever: the Syrian, Yemeni and Iraqi conflicts, unfolding
V E N I C E C H A RT E R O N R E C O N S T R U C T I O N
daily atrocities in front of our eyes, are not the first
ones nor the last. Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and oth-
er Syrian cities have been added to a long list: Guer-
nica, Coventry, Dresden, Hiroshima, Beirut, Baghdad,
Mosul, Basrah.
Urbicide, the deliberate destruction of the cities and

of its living population, has been established as a
modern war strategy, a form of genocide, the fun-
damentally illegitimate targeting of civilian popu-
lation by armed forces. The increasing prevalence
of Urbicide in the contemporary world places new
demands on, and necessitates new approaches to,
post-war development.
The Venice Charter On Reconstruction aims at the

establishment of clear guidelines for post-war devel-
opment. Though generated in response to the Syrian
conflict, the charter aims to be useful in any other
similar possible scenarios. The nature of modern
conflicts challenges our understanding of conven-
tional war: they manifest as permanent, asymmetric
local and mobile wars between numerous transna-
tional actors, and they extend beyond geographical
— 341 —
boundaries. The Syrian case presents an example of
how local conflicts involve the whole international
community: epochal migrations, global terrorism
and widespread violence affect globally every per-
son regardless of any economic, social and religious
boundaries.
We understand cities as places designed to offer the

wider facilities for significant conversations. The word
polis implies originally a double meaning: an urban
settlement with its historic stratifications and evolu-
tionary process but also the community of its inhab-
itants with their common heritage and future aspira-
tions. The process of reconstruction of both implies,
in a solid cosmopolitan view, a continuous shift be-
tween continuities and changes through a process of
external contamination and internal discussion. The
reconstruction of Syria implies not only interventions
on cities, rural environments, archaeological sites and
production networks, but above all a transformation
of society. We must tackle the profound wounds that
are created by the conflict and imagine not only the
shape and form of the future but also the complex so-
cial mechanisms involved in the process.
What is the role of the architect in this process? What

action space must we build in order to make our voices
heard? Today architects stand at the receiving end of
the decision-making process. Legislators, financiers,
military men and scientists are already being asked to
give their opinion on the reshaping of the new post-
war Syria, but architects and urban and city planners
have hardly been consulted and remain on the margins
of the plans. The Venice Charter On Reconstruction
calls architects around the globe to act together as a
transnational pressure group, to join forces in a crea-
tive process based on solid data analysis, wise use of
— 342 —
available resources and socially responsible design
solutions. Architects should become managers of nat-
ural and social resources assuming the burdensome
task to both understand and improve the relationship
between people and their environment.
In a postwar condition where physical destruction,

economic devastation and broken social links endan-
ger the very survival of cities and their community,
contributing actively to shaping this environment is
the task of architects and urban planners. Notwith-
standing the importance of economic evaluations
and the complex matrix of political interventions we
must underline that architects possess unique skills
relevant to the problem: the capacity to reshape the
physical reality on the basis of the social necessi-
ties of the community while appropriately managing
natural resources.
Architecture and urban planning
Article 01, ROLE OF ARCHITECTS: The role of archi-

tects and planners should extend beyond providing
design solutions working in cooperation with all in-
terested professional figures. We call for architects
and planners to be included in the decision-circles
not only as consultants but as part of the urban and
regional planning process. Architecture should take
part in “rational” management of problems, and chal-
lenging the dominance of economists and politicians
in the global discourse.
Article 02, GRASSROOTS FACILITATOR: If archi-

tects are to take on greater responsibilities in global
decision-making circles, then they must also take on
a vital role in the initiation of grassroots planning
and local initiatives. Socially conscious architecture
— 343 —
gives spatial articulation to the pre-existing needs of
a society, helping them to articulate half-expressed
aspirations into an actual design program. These ex-
periences allow to create the critical mass necessary
to become a pressure group on larger decision-mak-
ing entities. Within this level, architecture and urban
planning act as device of mediation and enablement
by providing socially conscious solutions.
Article 03, MASTERPLAN: Planners and architects

should work with other specialists and experts with-
in an overall strategy to identify, protect, preserve
or rehabilitate what’s left, enrich the future, revital-
ize heritage and aim at a long-term sustainable de-
velopment strategy. We believe that it is possible to
mitigate the effects of war and encourage rethink-
ing general strategies not to be strict and predeter-
mined procedures but rather within a framework of
open guidelines and methods. Uncertainty must be
considered part of the nature and course of develop-
ment, and tools such as micro-planning within a com-
prehensive framework enable sustainable solutions
and self-cultivated development
Participation
Article 04, LOCAL FIRST…: The society that has lived

and experienced the war and its implications is both
the centre and aim of any developmental post-war
actions. Hence, the integration and participation of
society in decision-making at the early stages, is
the foundation of any post-war reconstruction, key
to the process and should not be considered a be-
stowed privilege.
Article 05, …THEN GLOBAL: Reconstruction is a

global process that involves the main actors of to-
— 344 —
day’s knowledge society: academic institutions, re-
gional and international organizations, NGOs, public
and private enterprises. All must coordinate actions
and efforts in a timely way and must exchange in-
formation and ideas while gathering local needs and
aspirations. We call for partnership with local institu-
tions stressing the role of higher education and civil
society as a tool of solidarity.
Article 06, SUM OF MICRONINTERVENTIONS: Par-

ticipatory processes are based on the principle of
empowerment, and must include a broad and bal-
anced spectrum of participants of local and small-
scale initiatives at the level of neighbourhood or
building. Architects must facilitate micro interven-
tions that show a cautious attitude and avoid the im-
position of radical modernization agendas regarding
governance, constructive systems and economics.
Article 07, COLLECTIVE MAPPING: Global collec-

tive efforts should contribute to a comprehensive
mapping of territories stricken by conflicts and the
strategies deployed in response to them. Open ac-
cess to mapping data and to the maximum level of
information will allow the full exploitation of design
ideas, technical solutions, financial aid schemes and
functioning of social processes. All the records of
the documentation and intervention phases must be
open to the public and made available through care-
fully edited online and book publications.
Emergency relief and financial aid
Article 08, EMERGENCY PLAN: The current concept

of international aid operations cannot be guaranteed
as a solution in the reconstruction operations. There
are moments of relief and abundant outpouring of
— 345 —
aid that are spent through several, and sometimes
random, channels. Emergency planning actions usu-
ally leave the affected area without any future sus-
tainable plans. In-depth study of the different stages
of emergency must be prepared and each operation
must be re-connected with the subsequent recon-
struction periods.
Article 09, SHORT RELIEF: The relief period must

be limited to the shortest possible timeframe. Relief
plans should be reduced in favour of sustainable de-
velopment during post-war reconstruction that can
be extended to longer, multiple and interlacing devel-
opment strategies. The financial and material effort
necessary for catastrophe relief must be directed
in a comprehensive logic that already envisions the
necessary steps towards post-war development and
the related risk assumptions. Recovery activities
must be integrated with relief operations: humani-
tarian aid and development support are thus linked,
bringing the earliest possible resumption of sustain-
able development to a troubled area.
Article 10, NOT ONLY MONEY: Post-war reconstruc-

tion plans must not abandon stricken areas to open
market operations and indiscriminate speculative in-
vestments that have proved destructive in many pre-
vious post-war plans. Real estate speculation cannot
guarantee any sustainable post-war reconstruction
plan when it benefits and privileges specific seg-
ments of the society over the common good.
Migrations & displacement
Article 11, REFUGEE CAMPS: Conflicts lead to the

augmentation of migrations that are already a key
factor in the global discourse. Today migrations sus-
— 346 —
pend the life of peoples: forcing them in life-threat-
ening journeys or caging them in refugee camps.
Refugee camps should be planned as new towns or
settlements that can be used during the peace time
by the community for other functions. The migration
process must be considered as a resource, managing
the displacement in order to minimize dangers and
constructing institutions able to form specific abili-
ties such as technical knowledge and social reconcil-
iation. If refugee camps are considered affiliated to,
and part of the cities of tomorrow, refugees should
also be considered as new citizens contributing to
the growth of these cities future. Civic and moral
awareness in the studies and strategies of immigra-
tion, and integration of the refugees and displaced
in near and distant countries are key factors for the
success of a sustainable post-war reconstruction.
Article 12, EDUCATION: War results in the damage

of the public infrastructure, the paralysis of the com-
munity, the disruption and suspension of education
along with other institutions that secure the welfare
of inhabitants and citizens in dispersed and afflicted
communities. Schooling, irrespective of the teaching
class form: in the absence of security or dedicated
buildings, must be considered as a priority for chil-
dren. Children forced out of their homes, living in
shelters, temporary or estranged conditions, must be
provided with education particularly through these
difficult times in their life.
Article 13, LAW OF RETURN: The value of place crys-

tallizes in the presence of its inhabitants as holders
of its culture. Hence the preservation of heritage and
culture is based on the return of residents to their
neighbourhoods. Reconstruction plans should work
beyond the geography of conflict and include strat-
— 347 —
egies that involve neighbouring and refugee-hosting
countries. Return strategies should begin where refu-
gees are and not where they should return to.
Article 14, DIASPORA: Post-war reconstruction

plans should include the possible and actual im-
plications of the diaspora. Despite several innate
challenges of identity and diversity, long-term and

short-term diasporic relations have to be seen as an
opportunity that can lead to the creation of transna-
tional networks and to de-territorialisation of identi-
ties. Diasporic relations guarantee the conservation
and broadening of the community, the implementa-
tion of financial possibilities and the construction of
new knowledge and social networks. The construc-
tive conflict between the inescapable locality of iden-
tity and the cosmopolitan attitude of diaspora must
be carefully managed and exploited.
Properties
Article 15, PROPERTY: Post-war planning should pri-

oritize and guarantee the rights of individuals and com-
munities to live and work. The property rights of the re-
turning refugees must be guaranteed through specific
international legislations and in the case of large dam-
aged areas the reconstruction process should be seen
as a community driven, rather than an owner driven,
process. Post-war reconstruction should be seen as
a chance to face the huge problems of land owner-
ship, that today represent one of the main obstacles to
sustainable urban development, carefully guiding the
process from a land-hold system to a land-lease one.
Article 16, GEOGRAPHIC REDISTRIBUTION: Post-

war reconstruction should study the population
distribution in proportion to the natural, social and
— 348 —
energetic resources and to their original place of liv-
ing before the war and ensure that reconstruction
phases can provide conscious and detailed solutions
in light of pre-war property and post-war sustainable
development. The alteration of urban and large-scale
density has to be considered as a possible develop-
ment tool and always be carefully discussed through
a process of community participation.
Heritage
Article 17, RIGHT TO HERITAGE: Urban heritage is

not limited to buildings, it is made of a continuous ur-
ban texture, comprising contiguous buildings, access
ways and free spaces between buildings. City centres,
monuments and physical heritage must be preserved
during the reconstruction process, together with the
intangible heritage related to the value of human en-
vironment. When the surface buildings have been
destroyed by war operations, underground traces of
former buildings become accessible and form another
level of urban heritage, to be explored through proper
archaeological excavations. Therefore, post-war re-
construction is two-fold, related to building groups
existing above ground, and to underground buildings
uncovered by war destruction. Reconstruction must
avoid the obliteration of past material heritage and
social functions and become associated with the
empowerment of the social, environmental and cul-
tural aspects of heritage sites. The concept of cultural
identity in today’s society is continuously shifting and
adapting, and the reconstruction process should fol-
low this contamination hybrid path between the neces-
sity for memory and the adaptation to current uses.
Article 18, ARCHAEOLOGY: Whenever urban areas

have been devastated, an archaeological survey is
— 349 —
mandatory before reconstruction. If the survey identi-
fies valuable past remnants, full archaeological exca-
vations are needed, for a limited length of time (6 to
12 months, or more, depending upon the importance
of the site). At the end of this period, the findings
must be documented and topographically situated.
An evaluation determines whether the remnants can
be covered by reconstruction, transported elsewhere

for conservation while the site is freed for reconstruc-
tion, maintained and conserved adequately in situ in
the reconstructed area, or maintained and conserved
as a monument, precluding any reconstruction on
the spot. In this last case, the site is expropriated
and public authorities pay the original owner a fair
compensation. Alternative construction sites may
be considered for his project. The local population
is entitled to receive information about the collective
value of the findings, the importance and benefits of
tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
Managing resources
Article 19, ENERGY: Themes such as alternative en-

ergy production, water management and adaptation to
climate change (that are today and will be tomorrow
among the main causes of conflicts) must become
the triggers of future development. The strategy must
follow an evolutionary trajectory with clear aims in a
timeline able to adapt to future changing conditions.
While the initial goals will be devoted to emergency re-
lief, the long-term objective will have to ensure a high
quality of life based on the principle of sustainability
and wise use, distribution and allocation of resources.
Article 20, DENSITY: The reconstruction process

must be approached as an occasion to open opportu-
nities for unexpected improvements. The evaluation
— 350 —
of existent urban texture and its damage level is the
trigger while the final aim should be an improvement
in density that allows the whole city to reach the rich
urban quality of the historical core while maximizing
energy efficiency and minimizing waste.
Article 21, INFRASTRUCTURES: It is important to

strive to rehabilitate basic physical infrastructure
for facilities and activities, including health and
education services, water and sanitation systems,
roads, telecommunications facilities and irrigation
systems. Modern industrial processes allow using
waste as raw materials, transforming a huge problem
into a key financial resource through the installation
of transformation facilities able to empower inhabit-
ants. We encourage the diversification and decentral-
ization of infrastructural strategies trying to mitigate
the effects of war in post-war planning.
The Venice Charter on Reconstruction is the result of discus-

sions initiated during the Urbicide Syria conference that took
place in palazzo Badoer in Venice 7th-8th of April 2016.
— 351 —
web: wave2017.iuav.it
mail: workshop2017@iuav.it
Printed by PRESS UP, Rome, November 2017

SYRIA - THE MAKING OF THE FUTURE
Roberta Albiero Benno Albrecht

Felipe Assadi Reem Alharfoush
Aldo Aymonino M. Wesam Al Asali
Beals Lyon Arquitectos Maria-Thala Al-Aswad
Solano Benitez Alberto Ferlenga
BOM Architecture Jacopo Galli
Francesco Cacciatore Abdulaziz Hallaj
Ricardo Carvalho Manar Hammad
Armando Dal Fabbro Kilian Kleinshmidt
Salma Samar Damluji Fares Al-Saleh
Fernanda De Maio Nasser Rabbat
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Camillo Magni - Operastudio
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
João Ventura Trindade
VMX Architects
Incipit Editore 26,0 $ 22,0 €

Roberta Albiero
— PALMYRA / 34°33’02”N 38°16’18”E
WHAT IF
OPEN WALLS?
A STRATEGY
FOR TADMOR
Roberta Albiero
— PALMYRA / 34°33’02”N 38°16’18”E
WHAT IF
OPEN WALLS?
A STRATEGY
FOR TADMOR
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Roberta Albiero
What If Open Walls? A Strategy For Tadmor

Published by
Co-published with
Santa Croce 191, Venezia, VE

Text editing: Teodora Ott
Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
6 Peace and Archi tecture
10 Palmyra
19 Sig ns in time
21 Wal l s of peace
28 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
W H AT I F O P E N W A L L S ? A S T R AT E G Y F O R TA D M O R
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
elles, 1842, p.2.


— 7 —
SYRI A – THE M A K IN G OF T H E F U TU R E
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Armando Dal Fabbro Solano Benitez
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Francesco Cacciatore
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
DARAYYA BOM Architecture
Aldo Aymonino
Beals Lyon Arquitectos
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LULA
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
PALMYRA
- 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2004 55,062
2017 51,015
Description
Palmyra is a city in the centre of Syria, administratively part of the
Homs Governorate. It is located in an oasis in the middle of the Syrian
Desert, northeast of Damascus and southwest of the Euphrates River.
Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one
of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world. The ruins
of ancient Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are situated about
500 m southwest of the modern city centre. The modern city is built
along a grid pattern.
— 11 —
to Homs
0 5 km
PALMYRA TADMOR
to Homs
PALMYRA TADMOR
archeological site
0 1 km
Palmyra airport
— 16 —
Rob er ta Alb iero

moderately damaged,
sibly damaged. Many
Palmyra museum, the
funerary monuments
Syrian government
ISIL fighters.
— 17 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
Signs in tim e
—
Gi useppe Biasi
As designers, questioning the future of a dramatic

present, whose form is confusing and not yet de-
fined, means dealing with an idea of non-linear ur-
ban time, building a relationship between the city
and its sudden changes and overturning conditions.
In this idea, there are two lines of development.
The first is to build an image of the city by defin-
ing a form. A form that is completed and traceable
over time, whether understood as a unitary form or
as a set of multiple fragments in relation to each
other. The second, on the contrary, consists in the
construction of an abstract model, able to take
charge of possible variables and different interpre-
tations. This is to oppose the forma urbis that can
be achieved through one or more interventions: a
device for its growth regardless of the changing
needs, modes, and times of use.
The work of the W.A.Ve. studio was developed on

this second line of research. Open Walls investigates
the “wall” as a place of possibilities, of becoming,
of opening. Students are confronted with the wall as
a founding element of architecture. As a permanent
element, the wall becomes the support for multiple
activities. Placed according to a matrix of parallel
walls, alternating themselves in a part of the city of
Palmyra, near the now destroyed prison. Made of
raw ground blocks, the walls collect technological
infrastructure for their related activities. The stu-
dents were organised in groups and, with different
themes, worked on the wall portions they were as-
signed by developing residences, a first aid centre, a
— 19 —
school, an archaeological mission, a market, worship
spaces, and other activities that were located in the
destructed city within. The project was organised in
stages: the construction of the wall matrix, the first
necessary settlement, and finally a hypothesis of
future use after the reconstruction of the city. The
different approaches to the project allowed students
to question the permanence of signs and traces, the

projection of an idea, and the verification of its limits.
An uninterrupted temporal dimension suspended

between the construction site and the ruin emerges
from the overlapping of the phases and projects. The
permanence of the founding sign, and its possible
iteration in the area, has identified the place of cri-
sis as a place of possibility. A new temporal ring in
which ruins become a starting point, marking their
presence in the evolution of the city.
— 20 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
Walls of pea c e
—
R ober t a Albiero
The work of the W.A.Ve. studio explored the future of

Syria, starting from a reflection on its extraordinary
past. In its history, Syria has been a crossing place for
exchanges, coexistence, flows of goods and, above all,
of ideas. Palmyra represented, in particular, an impor-
tant centre along the Silk Road for exchanges between
the East and the West. The destruction of the archaeo-
logical heritage of Palmyra does not only represent an
attack on memory, identity, and on a culture, but also
a crisis of its resources: tourism and agriculture. The
future has to start from here.
Water
Water is the resource that gave birth to the ancient
town of Palmyra, which is close to a unique and spec-
tacular oasis, rich in water and cultivated gardens.
Currently, military and arbitrary management of water
by the same population is impoverishing the territory
and the food resources. The first intervention we sug-
gest is therefore the rationalisation of the water sys-
tem, once organised through a sophisticated channel
and shaft system. The introduction of a new aque-
duct will serve the city and the agricultural areas. A
series of reconstruction works and a new settlement
system will be developed along the aqueduct, which
runs through the barracks (barracks and prison areas
currently being destroyed). They will initially serve
as a support for the population still stationed there
or returning. Since it will take a long time to resume
tourism, agriculture must go back to be its first lead-
ing force to restart the economy.
— 21 —
Wall
The wall is today considered as an emblem of sepa-

ration, closure, exclusion, rejection, and denial of the
“other”. But the wall is also the archetype of the pri-
mary space of living: the fence. The W.A.Ve. studio
re-interpreted the idea of the wall as an artefact, built
as the first step towards a future of peace and coex-

istence. The aim is to give life to an open, aggregat-
ed, self-produced, flexible, self-sufficient, welcoming,
and expandable structure.
Open Walls is a strategy.
The long list of separation walls existing today:

Bulgaria-Turkey, 2014, km 30
Saudi Arabia–Yemen, 2013, km 1,800
Israel–Egypt, 2010, km 230
Iran–Pakistan, 2007, km 700
Zimbabwe–Botswana, 2003, km 482
Israel–Palestine, 2002, km 730
United States–Mexico, Tijuana wall, 1994, km 1,000
Kuwait–Iraq, 1991, km 190
Ceuta and Melilla–Morocco, 1990, Km 8.2 e km 12
Morocco–Western Sahara, Berm, 1989, km 2,720
India–Bangladesh, 1989, km 4,053
Cyprus, Greek area–Turkish area, green line, 1974, km 300
Ireland, Catholic Belfast–Protestant Belfast, peace lines,
1969, km 13
North Korea–South Korea, 1953, km 4
India–Pakistan, line of control, km 550
Pakistan–Afghanistan, Durand Line, km 2,460
— 22 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
Open Walls is a new settlement system is generated

from the wall concept: linear and horizontal, complex
and sensitive to the pre-existent conditions. It will es-
tablish new relations with the landscapes of Palmyra:
the ruins of the archaeological city, the oasis, the infor-
mal city, the military zone, and the horizon.
Open Walls is an infrastructural system, conceived as

a new part of the landscape that will host functions
variable in time and space. It is a sort of skeleton
made of parallel walls (the permanent structure) that
can be filled in different ways (temporary architec-
tures). This brings to many adaptation possibilities
of its functions over time and over the needs of the
population. These primary functions are: houses,
first aid centres, markets, archaeological centres,
schools, religious buildings, gardens, and agricul-
tural areas. The matrix of the parallel walls can be
expanded, replicated, enlarged, or reduced. The pat-
tern of parallel walls comes from a Timgad project by
Valter Tronchin, freely interpreted.
Memorial garden
The areas in which the new interventions are lo-

cated, structured by the territorial sign of the aq-
ueduct, are contained in the military zone, between
the prison and the barracks, both destroyed by ISIS
in May 2015. The prison of Tadmor, built by the
French in the 1930s, is a place where thousands
of political dissidents were humiliated, tortured,
and executed. As Amnesty International said, it
represented a source of despair and degrading
treatments. It is synonymous with death, horror,
and madness. Among the most cruel prisons in the
world, Tadmor Prison represents a place of collec-
tive memory. The destruction of Tadmor prison is
— 23 —
a demagogic attempt to erase a memory that can-
not be cancelled. It would be a crime that covers
crimes. We suggest preserving the memory of this
history of death by transforming the ruins of the
prison into a memorial garden, called the Garden
of the Soul: a quiet place for the spirit, a place to
not forget. The garden is structured as a sort of
negative of the prison’s morphology: a series of

dug out squares representing the courts around
which the prison was built. The debris of the ac-
cumulated ruins will form a ziqqurat, a sort of hill
to climb in order to see the entire garden. The me-
morial garden will be planted with olive trees and
will a museum of the prison in its dark and silent
underground.
Working with time
The project is developed through a sequence of steps.
Step1 - Based on the construction of the aqueduct

and of the memorial garden on the prison’s ruins.
Step 2 - This phase involves the construction of the

paired-parallel wall structure.
Step 3 - Walls begin to be inhabited. The spaces be-

tween the iterated walls will accommodate functions
of immediate necessity: temporary houses, children
educational areas, markets, medical offices, archae-
ological missions, public spaces such as a theatres,
gardens, and agricultural areas.
Step 4 - When tourism will be present again, at a later

stage, the system might be transformed into a mu-
seum complex comprising places for research, res-
toration, training, and hospitality.
— 24 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
Construction and technology
The parallel pairs of seven-metre high walls will be

made of raw compressed earth blocks of the Ado-
be type. A Compressed Earth Block (C.E.B.), also
known as a pressed earth block or a compressed
soil block, is a building material made primarily
from damp soil compressed at high pressure to
form blocks. Compressed Earth Blocks use a me-
chanical press to form blocks out of an appropriate
mix of fairly dry inorganic subsoil non-expansive
clay and straw.It is an old and sustainable material,
easy to make and infinitely recyclable. Placed on
a base of local limestone, the walls are made with
plastered 60 cm-thick masonry. Inside, the walls
host the primary infrastructures: water and energy.
We believe that this system can be self-sufficient
from the energy point of view. The blocks will be
made locally, by the inhabitants themselves. It is
therefore an assisted self-construction process.
This will incentive low costs, flexible times, and
immediate adaptation to the needs of the inhabit-
ants. Using small blocks of compressed raw earth,
students physically experimented ways to actually
build this wall. Adobe blocks used for these exper-
iments and for the structure model at 1:50 scale,
were kindly provided by Matteo Brioni.
The work was carried out by eleven groups of

students who developed single parts of the pro-
gramme. Starting from imaging and understanding
the wall as an artefact made with Adobe blocks,
they explored ways to break, open, enter, light, and
climb the wall in order to inhabit it. All the propos-
als converged under a profound project unity. Two
collective models resulted from the experiments.
The first, a raw earth model (scale 1:50), shows
— 25 —
the construction of the permanent structure in
the first step of the process; the second model, in
which walls are transformed and filled in, demon-
strates the potentiality of the matrix in accepting
different ideas of architecture.
We dedicate this work to our dear friends Valter

Tronchin and Antonio Jiménez Torrecillas, talent-

ed architects who died prematurely.
— 26 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
B ibliograph y
—
Albiero R., Coccia L., “Abitare il recinto”, Gangemi, Roma, 2008.
Albiero R., Gaggio M., Ravagni L. (eds.), “La valigia di Valter. L’architettura
per Valter Tronchin”, Gangemi, Roma, 2012, pp. 88-95.
Barragan L., “Obra construida”, Consejeria de Fomento y Vivienda,
Andalucia, 1995.
Braudel F., “La Méditerranée”, Flammarion, 1985 (Italian ed., “Il Mediter-
raneo”, Fabbri, Milano, 1987).
Dardi C., “Semplice lineare complesso”, Edizioni Kappa, Roma, 1987.
Fathy H., “Architecture for the poor. An experiment in Rural Egypt”, The
University of Chicago Press, United States, 2000.
Simounet R., “D’une architecture juste”, Le Moniteur, Paris, 1997.
Torrecillas A. J., in “Collective experiment II”, in “El Croquis” 149, Madrid,
2010, pp. 168-204.
Veyne P., “Palmyre”, Editions Albin Michel, Paris, 2015 (Italian ed. “Palmi-
ra. Storia di un tesoro in pericolo”, Garzanti, Padova, 2016).
— 27 —
Back to the
future. The
memorial
garden will
save the
history of
Tadmor’s
prison.
— 29 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
— 30 —
— 31 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
— 32 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
— Model of the memo-

rial garden scale 1:200.

— Memorial garden.
Tadmor’s prison before
disctruction and the
plan of the memorial
garden built on its ruins.
— 33 —
— 34 —
— 35 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
In between.
Open Walls as
a permanent
infrastructure
settlement
for primary
needs.
— 37 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
— 38 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
— Sketch for Open Walls

settlement project.

— Making walls.
— 39 —
— 40 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
— Area of interventions
in the military zone.

— 41 —
Spirituality
Students Team
Beatrice Tanduo
Devid Vidoni
Emiliano Zamaro
B
Federica Parlato
Nicola Varesco
A A
Ground Floor Plan
Longitudinal Section A-A
Cross Section B-B
— 42 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
Shelter
Students Team
Juan Carlos Bjacà Herrera Giovanni Dalla Riva
Federica Bronzato Marco Leso
Denis Dalla Riva Giancarlo Melillo
B
10
Ground Floor Plan

B
D
C C
First Floor Plan

D
Longitudinal Section AA
Longitudinal Section CC
Cross Section BB / DD
— 43 —
— 44 —
— 45 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
Ed ucation
Students Team
Silvia Basso
Federica Biesso
Alberto Ferlin
Michela Maran
A
Eleonora Trento
Martina Zanchini
A’
C’
D’
Ground Floor Plan
B’
Longitudinal Sections C-C
Longitudinal Sections D-D
Cross Section A-A
— 46 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
Health
Students Team
Gianmarco Colombo
Alberto Conte
Antonio Ferrara
Giorgia Gaggiato
Angela Sambo
Luana Tonon
A’
B’
Ground Floor Plan
C’
Longitudinal Section B-B
Cross Section C-C
— 47 —
A rena
Students Team
Federica Canella
Alberto Danese
Filippo Marcaggi
Riccardo Marcon
William Visentin
Francesco Zuccon
C B
Ground Floor Plan
C’ B’
Cross Section B-B
— 48 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
Thermae
Students Team
Giulia Bersani
Davide Zaupa
B’
A’
C’
Ground Floor Plan
Longitudinal Sections A-A
Longitudinal Sections B-B
Cross Section C-C
— 49 —
No more
separation
walls.
Walls must
be opened
to support
life, protect,
receive, and
coexist.
— 51 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
— Model detail.
A rcheology
Students Team
Laura Antonello
Stefania Lomi
Elena Menegazzo
Greta Palladini
Veronica Santi
Giulia Zambello
Ground Floor Plan
Longitudinal Sections B-B
Longitudinal Sections C-C
Cross Section A-A
— 52 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
A gricolture
Students Team
Alessandro Doimo
Andrea Mestriner
Marta Modolo
Camilla Zanin
Luca Zanin
B’
A A’
Ground Floor Plan
B
Cross Section B-B
— 53 —
Gard en
Students Team
Silvia Bordignon
Alberto Fabiano
Filippo Niero
Annachiara Stefani
Eleonora Vinco
2
A
B’
1
3
B
A’
Ground Floor Plan
Cross Section B-B
— 54 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
Museum
Students Team
Leonardo De Rossi Giacomo Sattin
Sebastiano Frison Matteo Tessari
Alberto Marafatto Lisa Zampieri
Giorgia Mellone
A A’
Ground Floor Plan
B’
Cross Section B-B
— 55 —
Market
Students Team
Giacomo Sancilotto
Alberto Nardo
Anna Cecchin
Dunia Maccagni
Leonardo Lunardelli
Valeria Rigato
— 56 —
— 57 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
— 58 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
— The musician Fuad

Ahmadvand performing
his composition based
on the Open Walls
structure.
— 59 —
— 60 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
Rober ta A lb iero
— Venice, Italy
Roberta Albiero is Associate Professor of Architec-

tural and Urban Design at Università Iuav di Venezia.
She graduated in 1992 and collaborated with Portu-
guese offices in Porto and Lisbon (J. M. Gigante, A.
Rocha, G. Byrne). She obtained her PhD in Urban and
Architecture Design at the Politecnico di Milano. She
currently teaches in the Advanced Specialisation Pro-
gramme (Master) of Architecture Design in the Atelier
of Environmental Sustainability, and in W.A.Ve. cours-
es. She has given lectures and workshops in Italian
and foreign universities (Milan, Naples, Camerino,
Parma, Reggio Calabria, Lisbon, Evora, Granada).
She is the author of studies on Italian architecture of

the 20th century and on the Portuguese J.L. Carrilho
da Graça. She is currently conducting research on
sustainable architecture for the Mediterranean area.
These researches, recognised with awards and re-
ports, underline the relationship between theory and
practice in architecture.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Giuseppe Biasi
Partner Architect of BBV, PhD in Urban Planning at Univer-
sità Iuav di Venezia. Professor at Iuav and at the Politec-
nico di Milano, he is now involved in university courses

alongside his professional activity. He has attended na-
tional and international seminars and competitions.
Martina Ivancic
Graduated at Università Iuav di Venezia after several expe-
riences abroad (Germany and Spain).
Francesca Pasqual
Graduated at Università Iuav di Venezia after several expe-
riences abroad.
Giovanni Mucelli
Guest, lecture: Adobe walls.
Matteo Brioni
Guest, sponsor. Lecture: Raw earth.
Fuad Ahmadvand
Born and raised in Tehran, he is a composer and musician,
playing the Santur in the Safar Mazì group. He created
and performed a composition interpreting the rhythm and
measures on which the Open Walls project is based.
Member of the jury

Giulia Bonomini, Umberto Bonomini, Marco Molon.
— 62 —
Rob er ta Alb iero
Stud ents
—
Laura Antonello Marta Modolo

Silvia Basso Alberto Nardò
Giulia Bersani Filippo Niero
Federica Biesso Greta Palladini
Juan Carlos Bojaca’ Herrera Federica Parlato
Silvia Bordignon Valeria Rigato
Federica Bronzato Giacomo Sacilotto
Federica Canella Angela Sambo
Anna Cecchin Veronica Santi
Gianmarco Colombo Giacomo Sattin
Alberto Conte Anna Chiara Stefani
Denis Dalla Riva Beatrice Tanduo
Giovanni Dalla Riva Matteo Tessari
Alberto Danese Luana Tonon
Leonardo De Rossi Eleonora Trento
Alessandro Doimo Nicola Varesco
Alberto Fabiano Devid Vidoni
Alberto Ferlin Eleonora Vinco
Antonio Ferrara William Visentin
Sebastiano Frison Emiliano Zamaro
Giorgia Gaggiato Giulia Zambello
Marco Leso Lisa Zampieri
Stefania Lomi Martina Zanchini
Leonardo Lunardelli Luca Zanin
Dunia Maccagni Camilla Zanin
Alberto Marafatto Davide Zaupa
Michela Maran Francesco Zuccon
Filippo Marcaggi
Riccardo Marcon
Giancarlo Melillo
Giorgia Mellone
Elena Menegazzo
Andrea Mestriner
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero / What If Open Walls? A Strategy For Tadmor

Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Felipe Assadi
— AL BAWABIYA / 36°01’31’’N 36°89’12’’E
MIRRORING
THE FUTURE:
THE CITY OF
CHILDRENS
Felipe Assadi
— AL BAWABIYA / 36°01’31’’N 36°89’12’’E
MIRRORING
THE FUTURE:
THE CITY OF
CHILDRENS
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Felipe Assadi
Mirroring The Future: The City Of Childrens

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Al B awabiya
19 Introd uction
21 Mi r rori ng the future
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Felip e Assadi
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
MIRRORING THE FUTURE: THE CITY OF CHILDRENS

— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Felip e Assadi
elles, 1842, p.2.
of the most pressing topics in the field of civil

ams, post 12 May 1780,


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Felip e Assadi
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN

TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Felip e Assadi
AL BAWABIYA
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E

Population
2004 2,790
2017 8,500
Description
Al Bawabiya is a village about 35 km south of Aleppo, and about 1.5
km off Damascus. The village has a population of more than 8,500
people in 1,000 housing units, including 400 families originally from
Al Bawabiya and 1,100 displaced from Aleppo, Homs, and Hama. Cur-
rently, it is accessible via the Aleppo - Damascus international high-
way M5. The village’s main roads are paved and in relatively good con-
dition. In addition, there is a field road used by civilians to transport
crops. However, rubble removal work is needed in order to restore ap-
propriate access. The village has 4 schools managed by more than 40
teachers and staff members.
— 11 —
To’um
0 5 km
South Aleppo
Kafr Aleppo
AL BAWABIYA
AL BAWABIYA
ICARDA center
to Damascus
0 1 km
to Aleppo
— 16 —
Felip e Assadi
— Al Bawabiya was
subject to much shelling
and airstrikes that
caused multiple IDPs,
and the village was
abandoned for 10 - 12
months. By February
2016, families began to
return to their homes,
as confirmed by the
village council after
the end of conflicts.
The 1,500 metre-long
main road is heavily
damaged and in need of
paving. The village high
school was completely
destroyed, therefore

the community rented
a warehouse in order to
provide students with
basic education.
— 17 —
Felip e Assadi
In trod uction
—
Diego Garcia de la Huerta, Rodrigo Santa María, Victor Villalobos
This workshop was developed in three stages.

The first was a period of analysis and reflection,
in which the students answered questions on the
future of cities and the processes of reconstruc-
tion in war sites. In groups of 5 students, they
each designed their vision of a new city for the
children of Syria.

We obtained ten surprising results, and took the
best of them, as a collaborative city project, to
set up a new urbanisation that we call the City of
Children: 10 sites for which each group proposed
programmes and buildings.
In the second stage, each group worked on a site

and its respective buildings. However, there were
10 proposals and therefore important design agree-
ments to be made between all groups, resulting in a
harmoniously global work.
The students’ response to our requests was al-

ways proactive, prompt, informed, and, most im-
portantly, participatory.
The third stage was the assembly and production

of all final materials which, thanks to the effec-
tive participation of the whole workshop, obtained
a result that, seen from afar, looked like one single
grand project.
While we were developing our City of Children, a

group of children in Syria drew and painted their
— 19 —
ideal city. Monitored by their teachers and nursery
schools, their drawings answered three questions
we sent them from Venice: How do you imagine
your city in the future? How do you imagine your
playground? And how would you like your house to
be tomorrow?
The drawings were put on display in our room dur-

ing the day of the exhibition of the workshop.
— 20 —
Felip e Assadi
Mirroring th e fu tu re
—
Felipe Assadi
Are we able to rebuild cities in constant destruc-

tion? Do we have the tools to impose constructive
non-local systems to local problems? Do we know
how to distinguish between urgency and emergency
solutions? Who is really responsible for the rebuild-
ing of a nation?

We think that the great answer to this last question
comes down to the children. Our project proposes
to take care of the children of today, who will be the
real ones in charge of rebuilding their cities tomor-
row, and preserve their traditions, their history, their
customs, and, in short, their heritage.
Al Bawabiya is the city in which those working in

Aleppo and Damascus sleep and live in. As a result,
it had one of the largest populations of children in
Syria. Today, two out of three children in Al Bawabiya
are orphaned, either because their parents have died
or because they are in exile or prison. If we are able
to have these children grow up well, we will be lay-
ing the foundations for their reconstruction. We can-
not rebuild infrastructure if we do not strengthen the
foundation of society.
Mirroring the future is nothing more than seeing the

reflection of the future in here and now. The future
will not be in our hands, but in those of the men of
the future. Development depends on them, and it
is to them that we have dedicated this workshop.
We designed the new Al Bawabiya like a great chil-
dren conservatory. Since we know that this war may
— 21 —
never end, and since people in Syria are subjected to
continuous and programmed attacks, we have worked
on an unfinished intervention model, which does not
seek to rebuild a destroyed infrastructure but pretends
to be a start-up infrastructure for future reconstruc-
tion. We also know that Al Bawabiya is not character-
ised by architecture of historical or patrimonial inter-
est. Therefore, our effort was not focused on studying

what was on the ground, but on the contrary, on those
who have to redo it.
Mirroring the future is a work that seeks to analyse a

wide range of variables involved in a disaster scenar-
io, and to design proposals that are coherent, innova-
tive, and, above all, relevant to the political, social,
and physical context.
The site
Al Bawabiya is a village about 35 kilometers from

Aleppo, Syria, and about 1.5 kilometers off the road to
Damascus. It is one of Aleppo’s countryside villages,
administratively part of Samaan Mount province, Al-
Zirba district, located in the west of the Aleppo to Da-
mascus international highway, and it is a link and tran-
sit point between the southern countryside of Aleppo
and the northern-eastern countryside of Idleb villages.
The city has a population of more than 8,500 living

in 1,000 housing units. The total population includes
1,100 families from Al Bawabiya’s original population.
62 displaced families (about 400 individuals), displaced
from several areas, mainly the southern countryside of
Aleppo, Aleppo city, Homs and Hama. IDPs are living
in rented houses and unfinished buildings with owners’
permissions. There are more than 60 houses affected
with light and/or heavy repairable damage and over 20
— 22 —
Felip e Assadi
houses destroyed. Some owners of these houses were

displaced within the village – living with their relatives
– while some have left the village.
By February 2016, families started to go back to their

homes. Moreover, Bawabiya became a host commu-
nity hosting more than 400 IDPs.
Airstrikes and conflicts left Bawabiya with different

types of destruction and with no presence of any hu-
manitarian actor to support the community. The shelter
and infrastructure conditions worsened and many fam-

ilies have had to leave the village seeking shelter and
better livelihood conditions (especially those who have
lost their homes or have lost the head of the family).
As confirmed by the village council after the end of

conflicts, the civil defense teams cleaned the village
of unexploded war remnants and then allowed peo-
ple return to their homes.
The Ring
We believed that the new city had to be a recognis-

able from the air, as a geographically landmarked
circle of protection against future threats. The circle
emerged as a shape that is close to children’s sensi-
bility: they are used to playing inside them, a shape
that contains everything; a closed and infinite form
that has no beginning or end. It was the shape that
was chosen to give the new city its macro-structure.
Concentrated in the original centre of Al Bawabiya,

the city was developed as a huge 700 m-diameter
circle − made up of a pedestrian and bicycle street
varying between 5 and 10 m – that generated a sepa-
rate informative tour of the original city. The Ring, as
— 23 —
called it, also had an inclination of 2 degrees, so that
one part rises to 15 m of height, area in which most
buildings dedicated exclusively to education, wor-
ship, and dormitories and orphanages are located.
Another smaller part of the Ring was buried, generat-
ing a direct contact with the land and with the new
buildings that are related to sports, health, agricul-
ture, and general services. Playgrounds were mostly

located in the areas where the Ring was connected
with the natural soil. However, as it was conceived as
a children’s city, playgrounds were adjacent to all the
buildings forming the city.
The Ring was a generic project, leaving 10 areas in

which the main buildings were organised as a first
stage of development. As an ideal city model, and
therefore replicable, we thought that this city of chil-
dren should at least contain the facilities necessary
to guarantee the use and permanence of a population
of children up to 14 years of age, able to receive their
families and health and education professionals.
The City of Children
The centre of everything was located near a water

source that, we were informed, was the starting
point of the original urbanisation of the city. Never-
theless, we tried to accommodate the circle so that
the points of union with the earth were in places
without constructions. The 700 m diameter was
chosen considering the urban area of the city. The
buildings were arranged radially and successively
around the Ring.
The road generated by the Ring, between 3 and 5 m,

was called Percorso Informativo. It was considered
a route over which people could communicate be-
— 24 —
Felip e Assadi
tween buildings, viewing at the ancient city from the

air and informing themselves of the reconstruction
processes taking place over time.
Site 1, farthest point from the most protected road,

was dedicated to the place of worship and library.
A few metres clockwise from it, Site 2 housed the
paediatric and nursing centre. The same site also
hosted the dormitories of the General orphanage and
an agricultural area at the ground level.
Sites 3, 4, and 5 respectively held the primary school,

the children’s canteens, and the secondary school.
Several of these buildings took the shape of a hill, to
become sources of protection against possible ter-
restrial attacks coming from the north.
Site 6 was the one connected to the city via highway.

It was designed to hold the storage centre, paediatric
centre, and the main access to the new city.
Site 7 was intended to welcome visitors. Students

designed a place for the accommodation of the fami-
lies of children living in the city, and the profession-
als who must attend them.
Site 8 was dedicated to sports: an extensive and

clear area of the city, in which the Ring was practi-
cally sunk into the earth. This tight connection with
the land proposed to this also the agricultural school
of the city.
Sites 9 and 10 were designed to respectively host the

hospital and market. After these last two, the circuit
of sites starts over again with the initial one and the
Ring begins to rise.
— 25 —
The Ring.
— 27 —
Felip e Assadi

— 28 —
— 29 —
Felip e Assadi

— 30 —
Site 1
Library
Place of worship
Information route
— 31 —
Felip e Assadi

— 32 —
Site 2
Infirmary
Pediatric center
Information route
Dormitory orphanage
— 33 —
Felip e Assadi

— 34 —
Site 3
Primary school
Information route
— 35 —
Felip e Assadi

— 36 —
Site 4
Canteen
Information path
— 37 —
Felip e Assadi

The City
of Children.
— 39 —
Felip e Assadi

— 40 —
Site 5
Information path
Secondary school
— 41 —
Felip e Assadi

— 42 —
— 43 —
Felip e Assadi

— 44 —
Site 6
Pediatric center
Welcome center
Information path
Humanitarian warehouse
— 45 —
Felip e Assadi

— 46 —
Hotel
Site 7
Foresteria
Information path
— 47 —
Felip e Assadi

— 48 —
Sport
Site 8
Didactic garden
Information path
Agricultural School
— 49 —
Felip e Assadi

— 50 —
— 51 —
Felip e Assadi

— 52 —
Site 9
Hospital
Information path
— 53 —
Felip e Assadi

— 54 —
Bazaar
Market
Site 10
Information path
— 55 —
Felip e Assadi

— 56 —
— 57 —
Felip e Assadi

Mirroring
the
future.
— 59 —
Felip e Assadi

— 60 —
Felip e Assadi
Felipe Assa di
— Santiago de Chile, Chile
Felipe Assadi graduated as an architect from the Uni-

versidad Finis Terrae and earned a Master’s Degree
from the Ponti cia Universidad Católica de Chile. In
1999, he won the Promoción Joven prize of the Co-
legio de Arquitectos de Chile, awarded to the best
architect under the age of thirty. He has taught at uni-
versities in Chile, Mexico, Brazil, Italy, Colombia, and
the United States. Since 2011, he has been the dean
of the Architecture School of the Universidad Finis

Terrae. He has lectured in Venezuela, Peru, Mexico,
Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Argentina, the United States,
Italy, and Spain.
His work has been published in Wallpaper and the

Architectural Review (London), Arquitectura Viva and
av Monografías (Madrid), Architectural Record (New
York), ga (Tokyo), and Domus and Casabella (Milan),
as well as in specialised publications all over the
world. He has participated in exhibitions in Barce-
lona, Pamplona, London, Quito, Tokyo, and Santiago,
and his works have been constructed in Chile, Mex-
ico, Guatemala, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, the
United States, Ecuador, and Colombia.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Victor Villalobos
Victor Villalobos is an architect from the Universidad Finis
Terrae and master’s degree from Universidad Politécnica
de Madrid. Since 2010 he has been the Professor of Final

Studio of Architecture Degree at Architecture School of
the Universidad Finis Terrae. Since 1999 develops archi-
tectural projects independently.
Diego Garcia de la Huerta

Diego Garcia de la Huerta graduated is an architect
from Universidad Finis Terrae and master’s degree in
Advanced Architectural Design at UBA, Buenos Aires. In
2002 he founded ADG Architects. His work has been pub-
lished in architectural magazines and chilean biennials
2006 and 2012.
Rodrigo Santa María

Rodrigo Santa María is an architect from the Universidad
Finis Terrae, Santiago de Chile. Professor of the UFT School
of Architecture, his professional development focuses both
on the theoretical area and practice. He has exhibited at the
Biennials of Venice, Chile and at the BIAU 2012.
Simone Bet & Michela Napolitano

Graduated in Architecture at Università Iuav di Venezia in
2017. They developed their thesis at the Universidad Finis
Terrae in 2016 in Santiago de Chile. They took part in sev-
eral international activities, such as Exchange Programs,
Workshops and Internships. In W.A.Ve. 2017’s they had
their first experience as assistants in a university course.
— 62 —
Felip e Assadi
Stud ents
—
Alberto Alabò Sara Pozzana

Luca Andreatta Federico Quaggio
Francesco Baggio Minerva Sanguanini
Federica Baldin Giorgia Scandale
Anna Barbato Chiara Serafin
Giorgia Bellavia Ragiv Shenav
Leonardo Bresolin Eleonora Todeschi
Mattia Carrain Mattia Tomio

Marco Comunian Martina Veggo
Caterina De Biasi Emma Veronese
Mario El Khouri Sofia Vitale
Francesca Gallo Joseph Zandarin
Federico Gemignani
Veronica Gobbo
Sofia Granato
Maria Grisoli
Stephanie Marija Kroŝnjak
Maria Lecan
Federica Lonardi
Karen Madi
Sofia Malatesta
Giacomo Marconi
Federica Martello
Erika Martignon
Nina Matragi
Giovanni Menegato
Silvia Merlo
Giada Muscio
Aurora Olivotto
Sebastiano Pavan
Marianna Pellin
Mattia Pianezzola
Francesca Pilotto
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi / Mirroring The Future: The City Of Childrens
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Aldo Aymonino
— DARAYYA / 33°27’31”N 36°14’13”E
DARAYYA:
PUBLIC SPACE
AND IDENTITY
Aldo Aymonino
— DARAYYA / 33°27’31”N 36°14’13”E
DARAYYA:
PUBLIC SPACE
AND IDENTITY
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Aldo Aymonino
Darayya: Public Space And Identity

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Darayya
19 Introd uction
21 Darayya: publ i c space a n d i den ti ty
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Aldo Aymonino
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
D A R AY YA : P U B L I C S PA C E A N D I D E N T I T Y
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Aldo Aymonino
elles, 1842, p.2.


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Aldo Aymonino
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Aldo Aymonino
DARAYYA
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2004 78,763
2017 71,596
Description
Darayya, one of the oldest cities in Syria, is a suburb of Damascus, and
its centre lays 8 km southwest of Damascus’ centre. Administratively, it
belongs to Rif Dimashq. The city is the 19th largest city per geographical
entity and one of the oldest cities in Syria. In August 2012 and January
2013, opposition groups denounced that government forces performed
a mass killing, later known as the Darayya massacre. The fighting con-
tinued in the city with most of the municipality controlled by the armed
opposition forces.
— 11 —
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA
0 5 km
Al Moadamyeh
0 1 km
DARAYYA
— 16 —
Aldo Aymonino
where some of the
siege. Not only the
political issues.
— 17 —
Aldo Aymonino
In trod uction
—
R ober t a Bar tolone, G iuse ppe Ca ld a ro la , Mir na Zo rd a n
The compressed schedule of W.A.Ve. called upon

the choice of a design project strategically focusing
on possible scenarios, ideas, and actions for post-
war reconstruction in Syria: the relationship between
public space and collective identity. To preserve the
trait of Syrian cities’ quality of urban space − as a
place of transplants and contaminations of hetero-
geneous figures, stories, cultures, times, and reli-
gions − was the principle behind the recognition of
reconstruction models capable of communicating
the characteristic of the cultural universe.
The case study on which the workshop focused on

was the city of Darayya, a Damascus suburb, ranking
nineteenth in terms of territorial expansion and popu-
lation in the Syrian territory. Like many Syrian cities,
Darayya shows an extremely damaged urban texture
as a direct effect of the war. In fact, nowadays, 65%
of the city is controlled by the Syrian army.
During the first week of the workshop, the 72 stu-

dents developed a project design for a specific mixed
fabric (residential and commercial), a scrap of the
existing city.
This exercise pushed the students to think as archi-

tects and to imagine how to transform the internal en-
vironments of a private space in “living landscapes”.
In fact, we believe that the necessity of reconstruc-
tion and satisfaction of “modern living” can be an
extraordinary chance to insert new identity places,
capable of translating technical construction meth-
— 19 —
ods and archetypal figures of local tradition, in the
existing heritage. The results consisted in the con-
struction of an articulated spatial structure made up
of various linked city spaces, joining the internal and
external part of buildings without specific continuity.
The projects moved around and interchanged spaces

designated to commerce, leisure, meeting, and pray-

ing, connecting them with the articulation of the in-
ternal distribution “spines” of every single part of the
city, and designing a unique connective texture made
by the summary of the different fabric solutions.
In the other two weeks, students produced the physi-

cal restitution of this rich landscape through the con-
struction of a plastic model, reproducing a part of the
city of Darayya (scale 1:13) in its pre-war, present,
and future condition as imagined by the students.
— 20 —
Aldo Aymonino
Darayya: pu b lic s p a c e a n d iden t i t y

—
Al do Ay monino
DARAYYA PREVIOUS CONDITION
City identity: density, urban plots volumes,

social relations.
— 21 —
— 22 —
WAR AND DESTRUCTIONS ERASE IDENTITY
— 23 —
Aldo Aymonino
PROJECT PHASES
Phase 1. Maintaining the density, freeing the first two

levels, putting the same volume on top.
Phase 2. Introducing a continuous public and semi-
public space on ground.
— 24 —
Aldo Aymonino
DARAYYA FINAL STAGE
Same density, new uses.
— 25 —
The cities
need
public space.
— 27 —
Aldo Aymonino
— 28 —
Aldo Aymonino
— Today’s situation in
Darayya. The city re-
sults severely damaged
by war.
— 29 —
— 30 —
— 31 —
Aldo Aymonino
— 32 —
Aldo Aymonino
— Schematic plan of the

plastic model. The struc-
ture laid out a predomi-
nant rule: public space
had to be designed by
the students.
— 33 —
— 34 —
Aldo Aymonino
— The classroom plan

was divided in two
parts: the red one was
the location of the
students’ projects;
the yellow one was
the location where the
plastic model of Darayya
represented how the city
looks nowadays.
The students were
divided into 10 groups
and every group was
assigned a part of the
city. Red dots indicate
the exhibition route and
circulation. The model
was designed to be
constructed at the maxi-
mum scale possible,
giving visitors the best
perception of the city.
An important goal of the
workshop was to return
the city’s identity: this is
why the upper levels of
the city were designed
to be reconstructed
exactly as before the
war. The only difference
was that, since the first
and ground level are
dedicated to public and
collective space, one or
two levels were added
on top of the buildings.
— 35 —
— 36 —
— 37 —
Aldo Aymonino
With or
without
identity?
Aldo Aymonino
— Another goal of the

students’ assignment
was the use of light and
decoration to underline
the hierarchic order of
the space typologies.
— 39 —
— 40 —
— 41 —
Aldo Aymonino
— 42 —
Aldo Aymonino
— Plans of one of the

projects.
— Section D-D and Sec-

tion C-C.
— 43 —
— 44 —
Aldo Aymonino
— Another view of the

core of the project.
— 45 —
— 46 —
— 47 —
Aldo Aymonino
— 48 —
Aldo Aymonino
— View of one of the

projects from the road.
The colour choice
represents some of the
predominant colours in
Islamic architecture.
— 49 —
— 50 —
Aldo Aymonino
— The use of traditional

figures to create the new
public space of Darayya.
— 51 —
— 52 —
— 53 —
Aldo Aymonino
— New space typologies.
— 54 —
— 55 —
Aldo Aymonino
space.
— The complexity of
— 56 —
— 57 —
Aldo Aymonino

— Playgrounds.
— Light and space.
Starting
from the
ground.
— 59 —
Aldo Aymonino
— 60 —
Aldo Aymonino
A ld o Aymon in o
— Rome, Italy
Aldo Aymonino is a full professor in Architectural and

Urban Design at the Department of Architecture and
Arts of Università Iuav di Venezia. He graduated with
full marks in Rome (1980). From 1986 to 2000, he
taught at the Faculty of Architecture of Pescara. He
has built office buildings, public spaces, and housing
project designs.
His scientific, academic, and design researches have

been published in many Italian and foreign publica-
tions. He has also been a guest lecturer in many in-
ternational and Italian universities and institutions.
Today, Aldo Aymonino is a design consultant for the
consortium Venezia Nuova, for the realisation of a
moving barrier system for the protection of Venetian
lagoon (Project MOSE).
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Roberta Bartolone
Roberta Bartolone has a Postgraduate Degree and PhD in
Architecture from Università Iuav di Venezia. She was in-
volved in several restoration projects of historic buildings in

Venice and new commercial buildings and private houses in
Angola. She is teaching assistant in Architectural and Urban
Design and Restoration at Iuav.
Giuseppe Caldarola
Giuseppe Caldarola is an architect, PhD (European Doc-
torate Quality of Design - XXII cycle) who graduated cum
laude in 2006 at Università Iuav di Venezia. He is teaching
assistant and temporary research fellow in the fields of
Architectural and Urban Design at the same university.
Mirna Zordan
Mirna Zordan graduated cum laude at Università Iuav di
Venezia. She attended a Master (MUDD) in Sydney, Aus-
tralia, where she was also involved in private housing
projects and exhibition space design in Australia. She is
teaching assistant and temporary research fellow in the
fields of Architectural and Urban Design at Iuav, working
on urban regeneration themes.
— 62 —
Aldo Aymonino
Stud ents
—
Adriano Amenta Andrea Marana

Sara Anastasia Marco Menegus
Marco Angelini Matteo Moro
Davide Arganetto Chiara Musacchio
Elena Arnesano Giorgia Ninino
Luca Barbaresco Matteo Norbiato
Glenda Baruzzi Chiara Panozzo
Matteo Battiston Giada Pavan
Debora Bedeschi Francesco Perruccio
Elena Beltramello Marta Pizzeghello
Annapaola Bordignon Giulia Alessandra Pozzan
Filippo Bosco Federica Putzu
Angela Brombo Roberta Raffa
Davide Bruneri Elena Rastelli
Francesca Carnelos Domenico Regine
Adelaide Catalano Ilaria Rosolen
Matteo Cecchinato Francesca Rossi
Carlo Corona Lucia Sabbadin
Paolo De Chechi Federica Salaorni
Alberto Della Libera Sara Santoni
Chiara Dissegna Anna Sarchelletti
Camilla Donadon Nicolò Sartori
Alberto Doria Giada Scarpa
Desiree Doria Enxhi Shkreli
Giulia Fabrin Greta Sorgato
Lorenzo Fabris Luca Stefani
Stefano Freschi Sophia Tarqui
Elena Froni Sonia Tecchio
Leonan Gatto Fonseca Giada Terren
Leonardo Giacalone Vittoria Vascellari Dal Fiol
Luca Giorgetti Milo Vianello
Deborah Girardi Veronica Vidal
Ruoyu Guo Alessandro Visentin
Nicolò La Carpia Alessia Zambon
Ting Liu Carolina Zandarin
Laura Longhin Oana Zavoianu
Fang Lu
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino / Darayya: Public Space And Identity
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

SYRIA – THE MAKING OF THE FUTURE FROM URBICIDE TO THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CITY
CITY
— DARAYYA / 33°27’31”N 36°14’13”E
OF EDENS
— DARAYYA / 33°27’31”N 36°14’13”E
CITY
OF EDENS
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017

City Of Edens

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Darayya
19 Introd uction
23 Ci ty of Ed ens
28 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
B eals Lyon Arquitectos
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
elles, 1842, p.2.
CIT Y OF EDENS

— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
CIT Y OF EDENS
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
DARAYYA
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
CIT Y OF EDENS
Population
2004 78,763
2017 71,596
Description
Darayya, one of the oldest cities in Syria, is a suburb of Damascus, and
its centre lays 8 km southwest of Damascus’ centre. Administratively,
it belongs to Rif Dimashq. The city is the 19th largest city per geo-
graphical entity and one of the oldest cities in Syria. In August 2012
and January 2013, opposition groups denounced that government
forces performed a mass killing, later known as the Darayya massa-
cre. The fighting continued in the city with most of the municipality
controlled by the armed opposition forces.
— 11 —
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA
0 5 km
Al Moadamyeh
0 1 km
DARAYYA
— 16 —
where some of the
siege. Not only the
political issues.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 17 —
In trod uction
—
Massimo Triches, Va le nt ina Tr id ello
The urbicide of Darayya brought us to face the prob-

lem of designing a city that has been completely
destroyed. How to make projects for a city that has
mostly lost its shape? What first steps should an
architect take if he cannot start off by looking at
the existent built environment? During the three-
week workshop, we aimed at finding a regeneration
process for Darayya. The urban voids became oc-
casions for micro interventions that could recreate
community life for people that still live in Darayya’s
districts, and rebuild the collective and individual
identity of the society. Not wanting to impose of the
CIT Y OF EDENS
new, we searched for existing architectural refer-
ences in cities comparable to Darayya, in terms of
scale, and strictly related to the Middle East world
in terms of heritage; a city like Venice.
The garden
Using Venice as a case study, we started the first

week by analysing its “secret voids”: the gardens.
The students experienced the atmosphere of these
hidden places spread throughout the city. Some-
times, only a wall or a canal separates a garden
from the touristic routes, enough to keep it hidden
from the mass and making it an intimate space
for the neighbourhood. This feeling of peace and
privacy inspired the students to design their own
gardens in Darayya: places where people could re-
group and reconstruct relationships and collective
identities. During the survey, students re-drew the
components of eight Venetian gardens in detail:
— 19 —
Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo’s, Palazzo Grimani ai
Servi’s, Scuola Vecchia della Misericordia’s, Palaz-
zo Morosini’s, Ca’ Zenobio’s, Orto del campanile,
Liceo Artistico’s, and Palazzo Nani Bernardo’s.
This didactic exercise aimed to let the students
understand the importance of drawing everything
up to the finest details of their projects, creating a
library of plants and architectural elements for the

new gardens of Darayya by observing and learning
from remarkable existing references. In line with
this exercise, the students found a shape for the
new garden that emerged not from an authoritar-
ian decision but from a process. Firstly, they pro-
posed a historical atlas of architectural pieces
that shared a common quality; then the students
abstracted the images by drawing their outlines.
One of the resulting silhouettes was then chosen
and used to produce three different material mod-
els, modified by applying three “verbs” by sculp-
tor Richard Serra. One of the resulting figures was
then re-drawn and inverted, as negative, showing
the final shape of the new void of the garden.
The threshold
The second week was dedicated to the study of

the “threshold”, the filter space between the city
and the garden. Using the same methodology of
the first week, the students re-drew existing exam-
ples of Venetian thresholds, such as: Mercato del
Pesce in Rialto, San Francesco della Vigna’s col-
onnade, the entrance to Venice’s train station, the
pronaos of the Church of San Nicola da Tolentino,
Carlo Scarpa’s portal of the Tolentini university
building, Sverre Fehn’s Nordic Pavilion in the Gi-
ardini della Biennale, Ca’ Pesaro’s gallery, and the
entrance to Fondazione Querini Stampalia. These
— 20 —
places have the peculiar characteristic of letting

people feel like they are in two spaces at the same
time, since there is a visual connection between
the contiguous spaces. The students captured this
space quality by trying to reproduce it in their project
gardens, using models and photo-collages; they also
considered how to modify their case study threshold,
in order to consolidate the edges of the garden’s void
with an architectural structure.
The city
The third and last week was dedicated to the inser-

tion of Darayya’s gardens in the city. Since the three
most important elements for a garden in Syria are
green, shadow, and water, we decided to install the
projects in the proximity of existent urban wells. The
CIT Y OF EDENS
gardens should be spread out in the city, as in Venice,
with a ten-minute walking distance between one and
the other. Looking at the pictures, students tried to un-
derstand the physical and emotional characteristics of
the place, studying how to insert the garden projects
(and its surrounding structure) in the existent urban
fabric, putting them in relation to the existing facilities,
such as schools, mosques, churches, and bazaars.
Conclusion
The entire workshop revolved around the unconven-

tional methodology that sees the confrontation with
the city as the last step. An opposite approach start-
ing from pop-up pilot projects that, if put on a net-
work, could regenerate an entire urban system. Nev-
ertheless, the city of Venice was used as a reference
for the whole workshop process. From Venice, the
students learned not only the architectural lesson but
also the important role that places such as gardens
— 21 —
have in building collective identities and in defin-
ing the founding places of the city and its inhabit-
ants. The gardens in Venice are like small “mira-
cles” that the city tries to keep secret, like hidden
treasures. By putting them in a system, they can
transform the image of Venice from a city of the
palaces, to a city of gardens. We could imagine
something similar for Darayya: the City of Eden.
— 22 —
C ity Of Ed en s
—
Al ej andro Beals and L o reto Lyo n
Paradoxically, the areas where once the Garden of

Eden flourished now harbour the very incarnation
of hell. What caused the war in Syria? Oppression,
drought, and religious differences all played key
roles; but perhaps architecture also contributed to
divide its once tolerant and multicultural society into
single-identity enclaves defined by class and religion.
The country’s future now depends on how it chooses
to rebuild itself (Al-Sabouni, 2006). Our workshop did
not intend to be conclusive, or to give a definitive an-
swer, about what to do in post-war Syria. We do not
believe in fixed and imposed master plans, which are
CIT Y OF EDENS
rigid by nature and therefore become quickly obso-
lete. Differently, we wanted to think about post-war
reconstruction from a series of memorable fragments
of open communal spaces, meant to be the physical
embodiment of peace, hope, and enjoyment, where
people could assemble in order to think about how
the city should be rebuilt. As Peter Sloterdijk puts it,
“the public sphere is not just the effect of people as-
sembling but in fact goes back to the construction of
a space to contain them, and in which the assembled
persons are first able to assemble” (Sloterdijk, 2005).
Similarly to the greenhouses built during the XIX cen-

tury, which provided the atmospheric conditions that
allowed for exotic plants to thrive in a hostile envi-
ronment, we looked for spaces that could promote
quiet, hope, and collaboration, within an environment
that is certainly hostile towards this kind of situa-
tions. We see in gardens the potential to operate as
seeds of renewal, capable to restore city life among
— 23 —
the rubble. Throughout the workshop, we worked in
order to define and explore a method to create such
spaces, from where to restore trust and public life,
restoring the image of a destroyed and neglected
city. All this not in order to imagine a specific and
imposed answer about post-war reconstruction, but
to provide the necessary spaces for public debate.
Not wanting to impose the new, we relied on diverse

methodologies that valuated the existent body of
architectural knowledge, still available in the city.
Through a phenomenological observation that en-
compasses a sequence of scales – beginning with
small scale of gardens, then moving to a broader
study of thresholds, and finally of the city –, and us-
ing Venice as our case study, we first surveyed the
environmental conditions of existing gardens and in-
between spaces to later propose ones of our own.
Thus, we surveyed particular properties and condi-
tions that qualify each one of the spaces we visited,
which promote specific functions and meanings.
Through meticulous observation, photography, and
drawing, we undertook a careful study that allowed
us to discover value on what is left, sometimes hid-
den in the rubble; an approach that exposed richer
and deeper layers of a particular atmosphere, and
the material and immaterial qualities that shape it.
Later on, we transferred these qualities into our new
designs, confident that this translation could provide
the necessary environmental conditions to contain
the situations we envisioned.
Gardens
Since ancient times, the garden has been regarded

as a restorative and healing space: an environment
that supports life, happiness, joy, and new begin-
nings. The Garden of Eden, the Hortus Conclusus, or
— 24 —
the Second World War allotments, were been places

of enjoyment, where there is potential freedom and
openness that invites “transition, passages, and en-
counters” (Lefebvre, 1987; Olonetzky, 2007).
In Venice, most gardens grow in a space where a for-

mer building or palace once stood. The rubble of a
fallen construction provides the necessary soil and
drainage for the plants to flourish in an otherwise
liquid ground. Bricks, columns, capitals, statues, and
doorsteps – even a cemetery buried in layers of vege-
tation – remind us of the past glory and of those who
lived here before, whose ruins provided fertile ground
for new beginnings. The garden stands as a resilient
organism, with enough strength to endure and thrive
against all odds. Together with all its remains, and
oppositely to a tabula rasa, the garden that grew from
CIT Y OF EDENS
ruins and decay has the capacity to evoke and bring
memories back to life, but also to remind us of the
destruction that allowed its own existence. It is a
space of remembrance, but also one that promotes
hope and allows us to think about a different future.
Since old times, societies benefited from the healing
properties of gardens, using them as spaces of quar-
antine, places where to grow medicinal herbs, or put-
ting them next to hospitals. They became therapeutic
landscapes where still nowadays patients take mo-
mentary comfort and relief. Gardens are peaceful
and restorative places that provide refuge and help
recovery. Spending time in the open, either working
in the garden or simply breathing fresh air, contrib-
utes to the improvement on the overall sense of well-
being, diminishing stress and anxiety (Kreitzer, Mary
Jo. Healing Gardens). Communal productive gardens
in Venice are also used as social spaces, allowing
people of different backgrounds to build a sense of
community. Gardens (and gardening) seemingly in-
— 25 —
volve central components of social inclusion. Collec-
tive garden work, enacted through social welfare pro-
jects, enables gardeners to participate in processes
of production, social interaction, and even political
engagement. Gardening can also transcend social
problems or differences to create a sense of com-
munity and belonging. Their existence is based on
trust and on the search of common well-being. Thus,

gardens become support structures, physically and
functionally, that are of help in unforeseen situations
and events to happen. In a garden, a paradigmatic
heterotopic space, different species live and coexist.
Therefore, we recognise in gardens the ability to pro-
vide a supporting environment, a public space with
the specific conditions that could allow Syrian citi-
zens to first assemble, away from the horrors of war,
to finally begin envisioning their own common future.
A City of Edens
We propose an image of the city as defined by frag-

ments, finding inspiration in the examples of Piranesi
(in his Forma Urbis Romae), Pierre Patte (in the series
of squares in his plan for Paris), Ungers and Kool-
haas (in their fragmented design of Berlin’s Green
Archipelago), and of the reading of the city result-
ing from the Situationist’s derives. Similarly to these
cases — where the city does not take the form of an
overall plan but is expressed as an “archipelago” of
site-specific interventions (Aureli, 2011) —, we aimed
for a large-scale transformation through a sum of lo-
cal interventions, operating towards long-term city
reconstruction. A garden in the middle of a city, espe-
cially in a destroyed one, adopts new meanings. Usu-
ally a private or enclosed space, it remains isolated
from the noise surrounding it. This quality allows a
different experience within, but also signifies that its
— 26 —
potential for public life diminishes. Oppositely, when

“wrapping” a public void (like a garden) in a sort of
thick boundary of thresholds and in-between spaces,
we looked for the city to continue permeating the
quiet of the garden. Therefore, it does not remain
isolated, but delicately and continuously connected
to the urban fabric.
The experience of living in a city with such havens

would have a direct impact on its citizens, improving
their quality of life. Not only by offering the experi-
ence of a momentary sense of relief and normality,
but also by proposing permanent spaces for play and
interaction, tolerance and debate. In short, a City of
Edens, spaces where you may restore trust and pub-
lic life. That is the challenge to which we hope our
research contributes.
B ibliograph y CIT Y OF EDENS
—
Al-Sabouni M., TED Talk: “How Syria’s architecture laid the foundation for
brutal work”, 2016.
Aureli P., “The possibility of an absolute architecture”, MIT Press, 2011.
Cooper-Marcus C., Barnes M., “Healing gardens: therapeutic benefits and
design recommendations”, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
Lefebvre H., “The everyday and everydayness”, Yale French Studies N.73, 1987.
Olonetzky N., “Sensations: a time travel through garden history”,
Birkhauser, 2007.
Sloterdijk P., “Atmospheric politics”, in “Making things public: atmospheres
of democracy”, ed. by Bruno Latour and Peter Weibel, Mit Press, 2005.
— 27 —
Let us propose
a series of
spaces for
people to
assemble and
think about
how the city
should be
rebuilt.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 29 —
— 30 —
— From Venice to
Darayya. Collage.
We researched spaces
that promote quiet and
chances of encounter
in Venice (gardens and
thresholds), in order
to later build some of
our own in the city of
Darayya.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 31 —
— 32 —
— Garden survey:
Palazzo Contarini dal
Zaffo. Plan
— Garden survey:
Palazzo Contarini dal
Zaffo. Section and
elevation.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 33 —
— 34 —
— Garden survey:
Palazzo Grimani ai
Servi. Section.
— Garden survey: Liceo

Artistico di Venezia.
Section.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 35 —
— 36 —
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 37 —
Gardens
can operate
as seeds
of renewal,
capable of
restoring city
life amongst
the rubble.
— Threshold survey: San

Nicola da Tolentino.
Isometric.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 39 —
— 40 —
— Threshold survey:
Fondazione Querini
Stampalia. Isometric.
— Threshold survey: Iuav

Tolentini. Isometric.
— Threshold survey: San

San Francesco della
Vigna. Isometric.
— Threshold survey:
Mercato di Rialto.
Isometric.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 41 —
— 42 —
— Translation process:
Materials/Actions. A
case study plan, from a
historical architectural
atlas proposed by each
group, is transformed
several times by a series
of material - action
translations.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— Figure/Ground: One of
the resulting shapes is
turned into a void, which
will contain the atmos-
pheric elements of a
garden surveyed by the
students. The original
shape becomes ground;
the void becomes what
we remember. This void
is successively enclosed
by a specific threshold,
which finally infiltrates
the city’s remains.
— 43 —
— 44 —
— A Community Garden.
Collage, Threshold view.
— A Community Garden.
From Ca’ Morosini’s
garden and Ca’ Pesaro.
Floor plan.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 45 —
— 46 —
— Reconstruction of the
Void. Collage, access
view.
— Reconstruction of
the Void. From Scuola
Vecchia Della Miseri-
cordia’s garden and San
Francesco Della Vigna.
Floor plan.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 47 —
— 48 —
— A Transition Between
Nature and Architecture.
From Palazzo Nani
Bernardo’s garden and
Stazione Santa Lucia.
Floor plan.
— A Transition Between
Nature and Architecture.
Collage, access view
and garden view.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 49 —
— 50 —
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 51 —
— 52 —
— Unexpected Oasis.
From Palazzo Grimani
ai Servi’s garden and
Fondazione Querini
Stampalia. City infiltra-
tion, floor plan and
exploded isometric.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 53 —
— 54 —
— Interlacing Connec-
tions. From Orto dei
Campanilo and Mercato
di Rialto. City infiltration,
floor plan and exploded
isometric.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 55 —
— 56 —
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 57 —
A large-scale
transformation
through local
interventions
towards
long-term city
reconstruction.
— City of Edens: eight

projects. Coloured
plaster models. 30x30
cm each.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 59 —
— 60 —
A lej and ro Bea ls a n d L oreto Lyon

— Santiago, Chile
Beals Lyon Arquitectos is an award-winning studio

based in Santiago, Chile, dealing mostly with public
buildings and spaces. It was founded by Alejandro
Beals and Loreto Lyon. Both got their title from Uni-
versidad Católica de Chile, where they also teach a
Studio Unit in the Master Program. They got an MPhil
in Architecture at the Royal Collage of Art, London,
and an MSc in Environmental Design at the UCL, Lon-
don, respectively. Their work has been widely pub-
lished and exhibited.
CIT Y OF EDENS
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Massimo Triches
Architect, founder and partner at Babau Bureau of Ven-
ezia. He studied at Università Iuav di Venezia, where he
earned his Master degree in Landscape Architecture and

his PhD in Architectural Composition with the Doctor Euro-
paeus label. He worked in several offices and universities,
like ETSAB of Barcelona, MSA of Manchester and UNR of
Rosario. Currently, he is researcher and tutor at Università
Iuav di Venezia.
Valentina Tridello
She studied architecture at Università Iuav di Venezia and in
the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Currently, she
is working as a tutor in the Iuav master course Atelier città
e paesaggio, and is enrolled in the European Postgraduate
Master in Urbanism (EMU), a joint program between TU
Delft, KU Leuven, Iuav Venezia, and UPC Barcelona.
Mariagrazia Dammico
President and co-founder Wigwam Club Giardini Storici
Venezia.
Antonietta Grandesso
Supervisor of Spazio Thetis.
Diogo Pereira Pires Ferreira

PHD student at Università Iuav di Venezia.
Alexa Amati and Francesca Tridello

Students at Università Iuav di Venezia.
— 62 —
Stud ents
—
Thomas Abram Toulay Haroun

Caroline Akka Josifi Kristi
Michel Al Najm Nicola Martellato
Simone Baccaglini Alessandro Martin
Aram Badr Alberto Martini
Olga Barbulat Miriam Mastronardi
Francisco Barocco Filippo Michielon
Manuel José Barros Villasante Giuseppe Miotto
Alessandra Beninato Alessandro Nicolardi
Matteo Bertazzon Sara Caterina Perniciaro
Davide Bertin Michele Prendini
Mirko Boresi Giacomo Rettore
Anca Floriana Bujoreano Stefania Rignanese
CIT Y OF EDENS
Diego Busnardo Adrian Rivera Tchernicov
Cecilia Carena Fabio Francesco Romano
Ilaria Cazzola Gianmarco Salvaggio
Anna Conte Ilaria Sartori
Davide D’Addazio Gaia Scavone
Ludovico Dal Piccol Emanuela Schirone
Aron De Cesero Marco Schito
Marie Donoso Chiara Simionato
Zerina Dzubur Maria Targa
Sofia Erlicher Elena Tropea
Marla Farah Valentina Zorzi
Francesco Ferretti
Giulia Fiorini
Nicholas Fontanini
Pietro Franchin
Maria Isabella Gallo
Nicolò Giantin
Serena Giusto
Barahona Jaime Gomez
Linda Guariento
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Beals Lyon Arquitectos / City Of Edens
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Solano Benitez
— NAHLAYA / 35°50’44”N 36°36’01”E
BETWEEN WAR
AND PEACE.
CAN THE STONE
SPEAK?
Solano Benitez
— NAHLAYA / 35°50’44”N 36°36’01”E
BETWEEN WAR
AND PEACE.
CAN THE STONE
SPEAK?
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Solano Benitez
Between War And Peace. Can The Stone Speak?

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Nahl aya
19 Introd uction
21 Architects for Syria:

societies under construction
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Solano Benitez
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
BETWEEN WAR AND PEACE. CAN THE STONE SPEAK?

— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Solano Benitez
elles, 1842, p.2.
of the most pressing topics in the field of civil

ams, post 12 May 1780,


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Solano Benitez
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus

MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Solano Benitez
NAHLAYA
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E

Population
2004 3,105
2011 5,000
Description
Nahlaya is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the
Idleb Governorate, and located south of Idleb. Nearby localities in-
clude the district centre of Ariha to the south, Kurin to the north-
west, and Faylun and al-Mastumah to the north. There are eight main
streets in the village, in addition to small streets linking it to other
nearby villages. Nahlaya has suffered from numerous military ac-
tions due to its strategic location near al-Mastumah camp and on
the front line between Idleb and Ariha.
— 11 —
Idlib
NAHLAYA
Ariha
to Latakia
0 5 km
to Aleppo
Kurin
0 1 km
NAHLAYA
— 16 —
Solano Benitez
— The majority of its

population has been
displaced for 10 to 15
months and it is gradu-
ally returning. After May
2015, and the fall of
Ariha, only a few family
members returned to
Nahlaya. Out of 1,000
houses, over 50% have
been partially damaged,
many severely damaged,
a few buildings have
been completely de-
stroyed, and 50 houses
completely burnt to the
ground. The majority of

the buildings, even the
severely damaged ones,
are used as shelters for
families. Schools were
damaged during the
conflict but are still used
for children to spend
time and have some
basic education.
— 17 —
Solano Benitez
In trod uction
—
Rocio Crosetto Brizzio, Matilde Pietrabissa, Agostina Vacca
Today, public and private spaces seem to exist in a

binary opposition; since the war began in Nahlaya,
neither of these spaces exist anymore. The city has
been severely damaged, and the population is gradu-
ally returning to the villages. To establish a society,
a city needs to create safe spaces where inhabitants
can interact and share thoughts and experiences. It

seemed logic to us, therefore, to approach the work-
shop’s topic by imagining to reconstruct the city
starting from public, common spaces.
Our team proposed to work on new spaces that are go-

ing to represent a new kind of meeting point, where in-
teractions begin with the construction of the site itself.
The challenge was in finding a way to build these public
spaces easily; for instance, designing blocks with ruins
and discarded material that can be managed safely
even by women and children. As soon as this collective
auto-construction begins, the city will begin to heal; the
achievement of a common goal brings the population
together and life has a second chance to develop.
In this unusual process, where we suggested working

mainly with what is at hand (from the materials to the
workforce), students have been asked to order these
ideas by approaching the project in a practical and
special way.
The atmosphere in our laboratory was challenging and

each group reacted as expected, pushing their ideas to
the limit; we also had the great opportunity to discuss
and compare our strategies with Syrian architects.
— 19 —
During the three weeks of the workshop, we meas-
ured and tested the resistance and other properties
of a material we found interesting and challeng-
ing, since we imagined it could be used in different
fields: plastic wrap. We started studying this pecu-
liar material because it is extremely elastic; and be-
ing made of maize starch, it is biodegradable, eco-
nomic, and yet almost unexplored.
Many groups decided to integrate the transparent

film into their projects, opening their minds to new
unexpected possibilities; then, to set up the exhibi-
tion, we disassembled the working tables and cov-
ered them with the film. Inside the transparent cage
that became of the table, each group assembled
a presentation of its work, models, and sketches,
which can be viewed through small openings. In
this way, the experience of the exhibition becomes
a breakthrough experiment, in which the students
— along with professors and visitors — meet a dif-
ferent reality.
On the other hand, to demonstrate the resistance of

the plastic film, we created a path with it, delimiting
the exhibit area and hypothetic emergency bunks,
set where the observer could rest and enjoy the vis-
it. The exhibition ended in a meeting point where a
film of the students at work was projected.
— 20 —
Solano Benitez
A rchitects fo r Sy ria :
societies un der c o n s tru c tio n
—
Solano Benitez
We are not very different from yesterday, about

130,000 years ago.
Because of our inability to adapt, we live as a com-

munity, expanding and transforming the environ-
ment we inhabit. In order to exist, we depend on the
modifications we make: if these are favourable, we

develop, grow, and multiply; if they are not, we suf-
fer, get sick, and die.
In order to live, we act. We accomplish the coordina-

tion of these vital acts by speaking. Architects should
take great care with their words, because what they
say is written with stones. What they say not only has
communicational value as a way of transmitting the
description of what they know as reality; but what
they say names the world, builds it. Their words con-
stitute the world, summoning it in a founding myth
that gives it meaning.
This notion justifies itself in infinite actions, com-

prehensible only with referential guidance: founding
myths and shared notions of belonging and identity.
As those who inhabit the planet, descendants of one

single Eve, we arbitrate our environment by trans-
forming it, according to our ability of finding a mean-
ing in the actions we undertake in our approach to
our identity and founding myth.
As constituents, members, and actors, we must build

the reasons that allow us as a collective to be. On this
— 21 —
tacit agreement, we have constructed the ancestral
story that lead us from hunger to fasting, from group
to family, from territory to nation, from knowledge to
religion, from leadership to politics, in the ambition
of never abandoning a better way of life.
The memory of these events we know as history cov-

ers all the attempts of multiple languages that extend

in time, not exempt from a role in contemporaneity.
As a collective group, and as a group of a contem-

porary collective, we support the foundational myths
of a global society on an urban planet, in which we
intend to cohabit.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights — adopt-

ed and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the
United Nations in its resolution 217 A (III) of 10
December 1948 — presents a preamble that says:
“whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of
the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the
human family is the foundation of freedom, justice
and peace in the world”. From it, we understand that
freedom, justice, and peace are the main goals and
desires of contemporary existence.
A horizon of societies without oppression, inequities,

and wars questions us and calls us to a new time
where the foundational reasons of living together
need to be rethought and activated in the most pro-
found sense.
If we call on the forces of the world of architecture

and its disciplinary vigour, custodian of the world we
have built, it will be impossible to sustain ourselves
on unresolved conflicts, without recapitulating or re-
orienting ourselves.
— 22 —
Solano Benitez
Architects are not operators of a discipline; they

are builders of societies. All human beings, ar-
chitects in particular, must contribute to the con-
struction of better human groups, where what we
communicate in stone is parallel to coordinated
actions tending to free, fair, and peaceful develop-
ment; as a higher desire for a good life, in freedom,
in justice, and in peace.
Thus, we call for an academic exercise in Iuav with

our best available resource: young minds and their
ability to act under a deep sense of belonging and

identity. There is no corner in the world that is foreign
to us, no foreign nation to which we do not belong.
And if we are impartial to pain and suffering, from
South America to Venice, we see that we are Syria.
Abandoned sceneries from destroyed neighbour-

hoods impose future archaeology. If we see our-
selves as matter — we who, in the dust of our dust,
built a new geography halfway between construction
and destruction in homage to those who were —, we
reveal how our existence and our capacity for ac-
tion are the main resources that human life stows
in its shelter.
The collective, in the protection and custody of a

better life, looks urgently to reclaim a place from the
fragments of cities and buildings that lost their in-
habitants, in the senselessness of the violence that
victimised them and us.
Every fragment of natural and man-made material

is where we can obtain resources to build and pro-
tect. The physical actions of the human body — as
the most sophisticated machinery developed, able of
the greatest and smallest degrees of movements and
— 23 —
functions: supination, pronation, rotation, and trans-
lation — are the most widespread resource that we
possess to transform and breathe life into matter.
Imagining projects that coordinate this potential, de-

signed so that they could be constructed by people
without any particular specialisation, concerned our
efforts during the days of W.A.Ve. 2017 in Venice.
— 24 —
Solano Benitez
Od e to the Gen tle Bric klayer

—
Pablo Neruda
The bricklayer Back and forth went

laid out the bricklayer
his bricks. his gentle
He mixed the lime, working hands
it with sand. working
his materials.
Unhurried, silent, And by the end
he performed his task, of

setting up the ladder, the week,
levelling the columns and the
the cement. arch,
children of
Rounded shoulders, eyebrows lime, sand,
above serious eyes. wisdom and hands,
celebrated
Deliberate, he came simplicity, sold
and went in his work, and cool.
and beneath his hand
his creation Ah, what a lesson
grew. I learned
Plaster covered walls, from the gentle bricklayer!
a column
thrust skyward,
a roof
forestalled the fury
of an angry sun.
— 25 —
Architects
should
take great
care with
their words
because what
they say is
written with
stones.
— 27 —
Solano Benitez

— 28 —
— 29 —
Solano Benitez

— 30 —
— 31 —
Solano Benitez

— 32 —
— 33 —
Solano Benitez

— 34 —
— 35 —
Solano Benitez

6 cm
55 cm
7,5 cm
— 36 —
— 37 —
Solano Benitez

— 38 —
— 39 —
Solano Benitez

Architects
are not
operators of
a discipline;
they are
builders of
societies.
— 41 —
Solano Benitez

— 42 —
— 43 —
Solano Benitez

— 44 —
— 45 —
Solano Benitez

— 46 —
— 47 —
Solano Benitez

— 48 —
— 49 —
Solano Benitez

— 50 —
— 51 —
Solano Benitez

— 52 —
— 53 —
Solano Benitez

— 54 —
— 55 —
Solano Benitez

— 56 —
— 57 —
Solano Benitez

Architects
for Syria:
a society
under
construction.
— 59 —
Solano Benitez

— 60 —
Solano Benitez
Gloria Cabra l y Sola n o Ben itez

and Javier Corvalan
— Asuncion, Paraguay
Gloria Cabral and Solano Benitez present their ex-

ercise as a partnership in Gabinete de Arquitectura,
founded in 1987; a professional structure that pro-
motes architecture by applying research in the area
of design, construction, and education. During their
research exercise, viewing “intelligence” as a link be-
tween all human beings, they have developed oppor-
tunities for re-think techniques and procedures that

have been used for thousands of years. The teach-
ing activity is an extension of these thoughts. Solano
Benitez was awarded the Swiss Architectural Award
in 2008 by BSI. Gloria Cabral was selected as Peter
Zumthor’s protegee in 2014, in the Rolex Mentor and
Protégée Program. Their professional activity has in-
ternational prominence, having achieved numerous
awards (among which: 2010 1st prize Bienal Panamer-
icana – Centro de Rehabilitacion Teleton; 2016 Pre-
mio Panorama – Quincho de Tia Coral; 2016 Leone
D’Oro at the Biennale di Venezia) and publications.
Javier Corvalan was born in Asuncion, Paraguay,

in 1962. He graduated in architecture, science, and
technologies at the Universidad Catolica de Asun-
cion (UCA). He is a researcher and professor at UCA
in the architecture, science, and technologies depart-
ment. He also teaches at FADA UNA. He works at
Università Iuav di Venezia as a visiting professor and
he is a PhD candidate at the same university.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Rocio Crosetto Brizzio
She graduated in Architecture, Design, and Urbanism at UNC,
Argentina. She worked as a teaching assistant at FAUD. Now,
she is working in Paraguay in Javier Corvalan’s Laboratorio
de Arquitectura.
Matilde Pietrabissa
Student at the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio, Swit-
zerland. She has worked as a student intern in Gloria Cabral
and Solano Benitez’s Gabinete de Arquitectura in Asuncion,
Paraguay. During her spare time, she worked in an art gallery.
Agostina Vacca Arreseygor

Architect graduated at Universidad National del Nordeste,
Chaco, Argentina. At the moment, she’s working in Javier
Corvalan’s Laboratorio de Arquitectura and in the UNA as a
teaching assistant.
Marco Ballarin
He graduated and obtained a PhD in Architectural Composition
at Università Iuav di Venezia. He has collaborated with prof.
Ferlenga since 2012, and is curator of four editions of W.A.Ve.
He has been visiting professor at the Universidad Católica,
Asunción. He design and builds in Venice and Asunción.
Francisco Solano Benitez Burro

Graduate in Architecture, Design, and Art at UNA, Asuncion,
Paraguay. Teaching assistant in the design course since 2015,
in the same university. He worked 3 years in the Gabinete de
Arquitectura as an associate. Now, he is working in Minimo Co-
mun Arquitectura, which he co-founded in 2016.
Simone Cadamuro
Graduate in Architecture at Università Iuav di Venezia, he had
several experiences in South America working as an archi-
tect, in Ecuador and in Paraguay, in Javier Corvalan’s studio.
— 62 —
Solano Benitez
Stud ents
—
Maria Victoria Alacorn Bianca Mascellani
Silvia Andolfato Chiara Meneghello
Francesco Baldin Sara Michieletto
Jacopo Barbon Katherine Moraga
Uzay Bayraktar Virginia Morassutti
Erasmo Bitetti Annamaria Morelato
Matteo Boninsegna Alvise Mori
Alberto Bovo Iuliana Mutu
Denis Antonio Burci Alessia Oro
Tomas Calvo Anna Paoli

Carlo Camerin Maria Jesus Perez
Paola Careno Elena Pettina
Federica Carollo Sofia Portinati
Federica Castaldi Alessia Rambuschi
Lorenzo Castelli Noemi Rigobello
Mariachiara Cerceo Mattia Rigon
Paolo Chiocchetti Annachiara Sartor
Carla Colzani Elena Sassi
Riccardo Conte Vanessa Scapinello
Ishtar Costa Anna Sperandio
Paolo Dalla Pozza Kristina Sveric
Francesca De Bon Verdiana Tassi
Marco De Rossi Antonella Tiscornia
Emanuele Della Libera Renzo Todescan
Angela Doni Marco Tognetti
Alex Edmayr Licia Tomaselli
Lorenzo Gardellini Edoardo Turozzi
Anna Ghillani Eleonora Antonia Veneziano
Simone Giacchetto Davide Ventrella
Federico Giordano Stefano Visintainer
Silvia Hervas Shahd Zaarour
Denisa Ivan Simone Zuech
Denis Lorenzon
Martina Lotto
Alessandro Maiulini
Giulia Elizabeth Malley
Francesco Maranelli
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez / Between War And Peace. Can The Stone Speak?
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

BOM Architecture
— SAROUJA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
VOIDSCAPE
AS HERITAGE?
BOM Architecture
— SAROUJA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
VOIDSCAPE
AS HERITAGE?
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
BOM architecture
Voidscape As Heritage?

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Sarouj a
19 Introd uction
20 Urban S C O P E & Void S C A P E
24 The workshop
60 Col ophon
— 4 —
B O M Architecture
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
V O I D S C A P E A S H E R I TA G E ?
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
B O M Architecture
elles, 1842, p.2.


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
B O M Architecture
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
B O M Architecture
SAROUJA
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2004 83,814
2017 NA
Description
Sarouja is the first part of Damascus that was built outside the city
walls in the 13th century. Unfortunately, some parts of this old Market
were destroyed, and others were neglected by their owners. The begin-
nings of Souq Sarouja date back to the 12th century, when the eastern
side of Sarouja was initially called Al Ouienah or Ouienat al Hema and
started extending from the districts out of the Damascus wall, on the
side of Oqaibah. Many buildings were built in the Ayyubid era, including
tombs and graves like the Najmiah and Moiniah tombs and the great
school of Set Al Sham. Al Malek Faisal is a street that runs parallel
to a canal in the Sarouja area just north of the old city of Damascus.
Damascus is a legendary city and the source of its prosperity is the
Barada River, which springs 40 km from Damascus in the Anti-Lebanon
Mountains. The water flow has declined by 42% since 1947. Situated in
an area of low rainfall rate, Damascus would never have been such a
prosperous city without the water flow of the Barada River.
— 11 —
DAMASCUS
0 5 km
Umayyin Square
to Beirut
0 1 km
Abbassiyyin Square
SAROUJA
EL MALEK
— 16 —
B O M Architecture
— Sarouja has suffered

great changes during
the conflict. Densifica-
tion caused by those
who fled to Sarouja,
security issues, com-
mercial use of houses,
and accessibility issues
have played an impor-
tant role on changing
the identity of Sarouja.
As extension of the
old city, but not inside
the walls, Sarouja was
subject to much harsh
urban and architectural
intervention before and
massive rural immigra-
tion towards the old
cities and their fringe
area is often seen as a
threat to the survival of
architectural heritage.
During the years of the

conflict, the city has at-
tracted a growing popu-
lation of farmers who
have abandoned their
lands to seek better life.
Today, only untreated
sewage water flows
down the Barada River
canals. Al Malek Faisal
is no longer a stable
place since the conflict
has caused many
changes in this area.
Densification is one of
the most considerable
problems, leading to
unconventional use and
interventions in areas
within the old city.
— 17 —
B O M Architecture
In trod uction
—
Claudia Aracci
As both a reflection of a given culture and as bearer

of collective identity, architecture is characterised
by its constant unbroken presence in the daily lives
of each citizen; it is firmly anchored in time and is
therefore an indelible feature of our common cultural
heritage. Architecture belongs to the universe of col-
lective values, the quality of the built environment,
and plays a determinant role in a society’s wellbeing.
These values reach their fullest expression in Damas-
cus, whose present is largely represented by war. Our
vision has therefore set itself the task of represent-
ing an optimistic attitude. As such, our outlook had
to be dynamic, full of vitality, and forward-looking in
order to convey hope through our reflexion.
It is for the above-mentioned reasons that we believe

that beauty will save the world, considering the void
as heritage. Our work focused on the riverscape, acti-
vating the public space and putting as much care and
attention in the “full” as in the “vacuum”.
— 19 —
U rb a n S C O P E & Voi d S C A P E
—
BO M a rchit ect ure
To encounter the neighbourhood of El Malek Faisal,

for the first time, was to seize upon its rich and varied
urban landscape, and put its riverscape in the fore-

ground. It was necessary to perceive the city as a se-
ries of stories and images linked to its rich and varied
cultural and architectural heritage; considering the
void as landscape, and the voidscape as heritage.
The diverse and overlapping façades conferred

a unique quality to the surroundings of the river,
composing an exceptional geographic, architec-
tural, and urban landscape. It is precisely by virtue
of this topographic complexity that the site carried
and consolidated the project’s theoretical founda-
tion, bringing together a complex landscape with
an abandoned heritage, the depth and lasting im-
pact of which can be easily discerned in the site’s
architecture and historical landmarks. The heritage
nevertheless deserved to be approached differently,
from the vantage point of recent events that have
left behind an abandoned neighbourhood. The pres-
ence of the river has led to what would appear today
to be a cluster of highly segmented and fragmented
city blocks, interspersed with ruptures in the con-
tinuity of the landscape. These problems compli-
cated a clear reading of the riverbanks and a more
complete appropriation of the banks by the inhabit-
ants. These new insights carried with them, in turn,
a new set of questions.
Most notably:
– In this context of war, will beauty save the world?
— 20 —
B O M Architecture
– How can a dry river breathe new life into an aban-

doned neighbourhood?
– How can the void be considered a fundamental ele-
ment, captured landscape, or captured memory?
– How can we structure an urbanSCOPE to explore the
VoidSCAPE?
– How can we improve the urbanSCOPE with mini-
mal means?
The success in achieving the proposed enhancements

to the site was tantamount to fully adopting an urban
logic of permeability, assuring that both residents and
visitors could have ready and immediate access to a
network of fluid, direct, and interconnected pathways,
intertwined with the neighbourhood’s large-scale eco-
logical corridors. Therefore, a major issue emerged
from the densification of networked pathways: primary
landmarks were connected via a network of pathways
that intersected with major courtyards at various
points. We believe the riverscape is an integral part of
the identity of Damascus. However, the banks of the
river are not always permeable, particularly in the urban
areas along its way. Our process consisted in softening,
widening, and amplifying the riverbanks, and linking the
river to nearby conservation areas through a network
of planted corridors. This widening was accomplished
with various strategies adapted to the multiple urban,
programmatic, and ecological needs of the site. The
riparian corridor played a central role in reframing the
river and displaying it in a new and different light. Fur-
ther emphasis was then placed on the historic façades
and on their interaction with the new riverscape.
The widening of the banks, with minimal means, by

underlying softscape and hardscape structures was
one of the more salient strategies that uniquely de-
fined our vision. The riverbanks are of variable breadth
— 21 —
and height, extending themselves across the length of
a rich landscape. The public spaces surrounding the
riverbanks are not mono-functional since they adapt
fluidly to the varied and multiple uses of the public at
large. Accordingly, representational iconic spaces in
our project were clearly articulated – areas of cultural
heritage enhancing urban façades as a multi-function-
al mineral and vegetal surface.
The urbanFAÇADE: façades alternated between peri-

ods of prosperity and crisis, periods of innovation and
consolidation. While many façades are endowed with
obvious architectural qualities and enduring patrimo-
nial significance, some buildings should be rethought
in order to accommodate better-adapted programs. In
order to activate the public space, we proposed to re-
shape some elevations, working on the public space
in three dimensions, and proposed new urban façade.
Act local, think global: our research concerned the

morphological study of fundamental spatial-structural
elements in Damascus, vernacular architecture, and
privileged a social and climatic point of view. These
spaces embodied efforts in reconciling the singular
and the collective; the insular and the shared or ex-
changed. There is much vernacular habitat in these
inherent spaces that transition from individual to col-
lective use. Much like the urban space, the domestic
space encourages overlays between private and pub-
lic spaces, thereby creating an infinite number of inter-
mediate spaces. The social order or “the community
spirit” principally regiments these spaces. As a result,
it was critical that the convergence between the sym-
bolic value of a given space and its position in respect
to the public was maintained. Public space often ex-
hibits a simple configuration. However, despite its un-
varying dimensions, the practices that it gives rise to
— 22 —
B O M Architecture
are truly diverse. Damascus City Street can therefore as-

sume a number of different meanings and is variously
labelled: semi-public space, a point of entry and place
of transition. In contrast to semi-private and more in-
timate spaces. Indeed, it is primarily at this particular
nexus that social relations are formed and inter-group
solidarities are expressed. The inhabitants imbue some
public space with their individual physical activities,
which take place in the form of “urban installations”:
– Extensions of approval or protection (gardens): priv-

ative extensions more or less enclosed or protected.
– Domestic extensions, such as those devoted to
laundry and communal kitchens.
As one moves past the threshold of each detour, one
symbolises his adherence to groups of different sizes
— an unconscious mode of self-construction whereby
the body traverses successive boundaries.
Both standardised and idiosyncratic, the public space

today is a reflection of our inherent contradictions.
These contradictions are visible in the crumbling in-
dividual lives that are subjected to the relentless pres-
sure of the metropolis. They foreground the power
balance between the city and the pedestrians, torn
between their individual freedom and their place in the
collective. The city becomes the locus of all reconcili-
ation efforts between the individual and the collective,
and does not represent a finite, fixed, or determined
framework. Our work questioned an architectural and
urban process of the persistence of shared communal
spaces, torn between sharing a collective vision and
preserving individuality through the urban landscape.
The voidSCAPE became a kind of instrument: it ab-
sorbed all the positive influences, and neutralised any
negative influences that might affect the individual.
— 23 —
How
a dry river
could
breathe
new life
into
an abandoned
heritage?
— 25 —
B O M Architecture
— 26 —
B O M Architecture
— Our research con-

cerned the morphological
study of fundamental
spatio-structural ele-
ments in Damascus, ver-
nacular architecture and
privileges a social and
climatic point of view.
— 27 —
— 28 —
B O M Architecture
— We believe the river-

scape to be an integral
part of the identity of
Damascus. However, the
banks of the river are
not always permeable,
particularly in the urban
areas along its path.
Our process consists
in softening, widening,
and amplifying the
riverbanks, and linking
the river to nearby con-
servation areas through
a network of planted
corridors. This is widen-
ing is accomplished
using various strategies
adapted to the multiple
urban, programmatic,
and ecological needs of
the site.
The riparian corridor
plays a central role to
reframe the river and
display it in a new and
different light. Further
emphasis will be placed
on the historic facades
and their interaction
with the new riverscape.
— 29 —
— 30 —
— 31 —
B O M Architecture
— 32 —
— 33 —
B O M Architecture
— 34 —
B O M Architecture
— To encounter the
neighborhood of El
Malek Faisal for the
first time is to seize
upon its rich and varied
urban landscape and
put in foreground it’s
riverscape. It is neces-
sary to consider the
river not only in terms
of environment, but also
to perceive the city as
a series of stories and
images linked to its rich
and varied cultural and
architectural heritage,
considering the void
as landscape and void-
SCAPE as heritage.
— Models:
Beatrice Fassina
Gabriele Feraco
Mohamed Yasser Hariss
Jonah Klinghoffer
Beatrice Lucchetta
Sara Manente
Emir Memishoski
Micaela Tedone
— 35 —
The void is a
fundamental
element,
a captured
landscape or
a captured
memory.
Think local,
act global.
— 37 —
B O M Architecture
— 38 —
B O M Architecture
— Opening the ground

level, connecting differ-
ent infrastructural and
commercial buildings
and crossing the river
with pathways.
The main circulation
is defined by two
courtyards acting as
primary points linking
the southern side of the
street with the rest of
the city.
Primarily a texture work
was done to emphasise
the difference between
the softscape and the
hardscape.The hardscape
is surrounded by com-
mercial buildings creating
a more chaotic environ-
ment, while the softscape
compose a green
multifunctional park.
— Micaela Tedone, Who

is the city?
— 39 —
— 40 —
B O M Architecture
— Who represents the

city? If we imagine
an empty city without
people, without spirit,
without life, without
voice. We came to
conclusion with a single
response: we are the
city, we are the essence
that bring life to it.
The question is who
remain in the city, who
have left?
Can we create an image
of a city full of potential
and vitality, through the
appropriation of the
public space?
— Micaela Tedone, Who

is the city?
— 41 —
UrbanSCOPE
-
VoidSCAPE
Minimal
means,
maximum
effect.
B O M Architecture
— How could a dry river

breathe new life into an
abandoned heritage?
How can we improve,
the urban landscape,
with minimal means?
The design, inspired
by syrian patterns,
compose resting
areas, gathering places,
amphitheatrical seats
and a small stage.
The hardscape makes
the development ap-
propriate for all seasons
moreover the level of
water create a versatile
urban landscape.
— Iliana Maistrou, The

Mosaic.
— 43 —
maa
prehend the
nd architec- Semi-private module: Type A
m the Arabic
ded the daily Semi-private module: Type B
originating
oms. By iso- Private module typology
es of the fo-
us, one can

nt, that of the
e, these me-
inseparable
and domes-
s communal
y, neighbors
tionally, the
ional role to
the hosting
al ventilation
uilding in an
yards as a
and there-
ized as a
m to extend
and enhance
physical and
aled that our
redesigning
rea to a cul-
hence the
maa = com-
s were to be
building that
ntial rooms Proposal
ealed court-
Existing facade
stence to the
ese new ex-
rivate family
while other
n the neigh- — 44 —
ommunity.
B O M Architecture
—The daily private and

public reality originating
from the native social
customs has been
studied.
By isolating the building
typologies of Damascus,
the focus was sit on
the Arabian yards.
These meticulous yards
comprise an inseparable
part of the everyday
public and domestic life,
when they act as com-
Public module typology
munal meeting points of
the family, neighbors or
potential guests.
Recognizing the Arabian
yards as a space of
social interaction and
there-fore informally
characterized as a
“semi-public” space, led
to extend this typology
to the public and en-
hance its local identity.
By redesigning the
façade of the chosen
area to a cultural verti-
cal landscape, hence
the name of the
project Moujtamaa =
community. Carefully
designed modules were
to be placed on the
urban façade that would
extend the concealed
court-yards, announcing
their existence to the
exterior space.
— Nikolaos-Romanos
Tsokas and Nikolaos
Kofopoulos, Moujtamaa.
— 45 —
— 46 —
— 47 —
B O M Architecture
— 48 —
B O M Architecture
— At once standardized
and idiosyncratic, the
public space today is a
reflection of our inherent
contradictions. These
contradictions are
visible in the crumbling
individual lives that are
subjected to the pres-
sure and relentless to
and fro of the metropo-
lis. They foreground the
power balance between
the city and pedestrians
who are torn between
their individual freedom
and their place in the
collective.
—The city becomes the
locus of all efforts at
reconciliation between
the singular and the col-
lective and does not rep-
resent a finite, fixed or
determined framework.
Our work questions
an architectural and
urban process of the
persistence of shared,
communal spaces;
torn between sharing
a collective vision and
preserving individuality.
— 49 —
— 50 —
B O M Architecture
— DamaSTICKS is a lin-
ear park that runs along
the Barada river. It’s
revitalises and englobes
the river through the
insertion of a pathway
on each side connected
by several bridges.
— An installation of
vertical wooden pillars
are distributed
throughout the river
banks. Each pillar sym-
bolises the nostalgic
Damask rose, a local
flower withering in the
city due to the war.
Within this grid, a variety
of removable multifunc-
tional structures are
inserted to bring life to
the pubic open space.
— Beatrice Fassina, Ga-

briele Feraco, Mohamed
Yasser Hariss, Jonah
Klinghoffer, Beatrice
Lucchetta, Sara Ma-
nente, Emir Memishoski,
DamaSTICKS.
— 51 —
Through the
river and
towards
the heritage.
Beauty
will save
the world.
B O M Architecture
— Instead of imposing
a particular definition of
public space on Damas-
cus, this project aims to
activate already existing
elements in a way sensi-
tive to the needs of its
inhabitants.
Within the additions
and alterations that the
buildings undergo, we
can notice the prevalent
informality. Examples
of such alterations are
informal loggias and
shading structures on
the roofs, all of which
tell a lot about what the
people need, since what
the inhabitants choose
to add is what they lack.
The interventiontack-
les both external vs.
internal public space
and horizontal vs. verti-
cal connections, each
portrayed through a sec-
tional model that cuts
through the different
layers of the site, both
public and private.
— Dima Arbid, Sally Itani,

Tildem Kirtak, Exten-
sions of the informal.
— 53 —
— 54 —
— 55 —
B O M Architecture
— 56 —
B O M Architecture
— By creating a space
for resting and staying
as well as a place for ac-
tivities and movements,
the urban landscape
will be redesigned into
accessible platforms.
The abandonned Al
Halwania Mill is reused
as an extension of this
landscape, functioning
as an internal public
space.
The roof of the court-
yard houses is put to
use by inserting a plug-
in staircase that not only
provides access from
the courtyard to the
roof, but also shades
the roof, thus activating
a previously overlooked
space.
— Dima Arbid, Sally Itani,

Tildem Kirtak, Exten-
sions of the informal.
— 57 —
— 58 —
— 59 —
B O M Architecture
— 60 —
B O M Architecture
B OM A rchit ec tu re
— Paris, France
BOM Architecture was founded in Paris in 2015 by Ghazal

Banan, Chamss Oulkadi, Khalid Madani. Over the course
of the numerous projects, our experience has increas-
ingly diversified to encompass architecture, urbanism, and
landscaping. Our diverse skillsets were brought together
in order to advance a standard of architecture that priori-
tises context - whether that context be patrimonial, archi-
tectural, or urban.
Consequently, our work bears the stamp of multiple distinc-

tive disciplines and different localities. Clearly, architecture
cuts through a broad spectrum of differing and sometimes
contradictory historical contexts; as one examines the
countries of France, Morocco, and Iran separately.
Ghazal Banan was born in Iran and graduated with a Master’s

degree in Architecture from the Ecole d’Architecture et de
Paysage de Bordeaux, and the School of Fine Arts in Tehran.
She also has a Master’s degree in Housing Studies from the
National University in Tehran.
Chamss Oulkadi was born in Morocco and graduated

with a Master’s degree in Architecture from the Ecole
d’Architecture et de Paysage de Bordeaux. She also
holds a DSA in Urbanism and Territories from the Ecole
d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville.
Khalid Madani was born in France and graduated

with a Master’s degree in Architecture from the Ecole
d’Architecture et de Paysage de Bordeaux. Eager to fur-
ther diversify his skills, he also completed a postgraduate
course in multimedia at the ESTEI in Bordeaux.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Sara Zarrou
Sara was born in Morocco and graduated with a Master’s
degree in Architecture from the Ecole d’Architecture de
Paris-Belleville. She also has a DSA in Urbanism and Ter-

ritories from the Ecole d’Architecture de Paris La Villette.
Daniel Garcia
Daniel Garcia was born in Spain and graduated with a Mas-
ter’s degree in Architecture from the Universidad Politécni-
ca de Madrid, where he learned the importance of details
in the early stages of design.
Claudia Aracci
Claudia Aracci was born in Italy and graduated with a
Master’s degree in Architecture from the Swiss Acca-
demia di Architettura di Mendrisio. She also has a Post-
graduate Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture
from the ETHZ of Zurich.
— 62 —
B O M Architecture
Stud ents
—
Luzan Almunayer Sara Manente

Elena Antoneli Giorgia Maria Frassetto
Dima Arbid Giorgia Massaro
Valentina Arnoldi Federica Mauri
Beatrice Bandiera Francesca Mazza
Chiara Bonotto Emir Memishoski
Nicolina Bors Arianna Minniti
Zineb Bouhadi Sofia Morao
Julien Braye Sayato Murata
Alessandra Brian Karim Nasser
Jiajia Chen Artemis Papanikolaou
Anna Ciprian Stefano Parisotto
Matteo D’Agostini Giulia Penello
Arianna Dalla Cia Giacomo Pincerato
Marianna Dalla Porta Jlenia Polesello
Marta De Rossi Elena Popescu
Alessia De Zotti Serge Saab
Adam Eduard Matteo Sambugaro
Bamhaoud El Mehdi Rime Samiri
Maria Eleftherochorinou Lorenzo Scanferla
Marie Eve Beaudette Maha Sobhy
Sotiria Fasoi Maddalena Stoppato
Beatrice Fassina Micaela Tedone
Gabriele Feraco Filippo Tonel
Sebastiano Fugolo Nikolaos-Romanos Tsokas
Francesca Giardina Silvia Valentini
Vittoria Granata Riccardo Valentini
Sally Itani Sarin Vosgerichian
Tildem Kirtak Mohamed Yasser Hariss
Jonah Klinghoffer Alessandro Zanin
Nikolaos Kofopoulos Valentina Zarantoniello
Bin Leonardo
Ignes Lesauskas
Beatrice Lucchetta
Iliana Maistrou
Evgeniya Mamulova
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture / Voidscape As Heritage?
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

RUBBLE
— PALMYRA / 34°33’02”N 38°16’18”E
OR RUINS?
— PALMYRA / 34°33’02”N 38°16’18”E
RUBBLE
OR RUINS?
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Rubble Or Ruins?

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Palmyra
19 Introd uction
23 Catch the space
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Francesco C acciatore
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht

protects from it, fighting and eliminating it”1:



— 6 —
elles, 1842, p.2.
RUBBLE OR RUINS?


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
PALMYRA
- 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
Population
2004 55,062
2017 51,015
Description
— 11 —
to Homs
0 5 km
PALMYRA TADMOR
to Homs
PALMYRA TADMOR
archeological site
0 1 km
Palmyra airport
— 16 —

moderately damaged,
sibly damaged. Many
Palmyra museum, the
funerary monuments
Syrian government
ISIL fighters.
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 17 —
In trod uction
—
Gi orgia C esaro, Ma rcello G a lio t to , A le ssa nd ra Ra mpaz zo
City and memory

Gi orgia C esaro
What if Marco Polo decided to narrate his memories

to Kublai Khan after visiting Palmyra today? To Kublai
Khan, the melancholic emperor who saw the world
as a formless ruin. How could the most visionary of
Venetian voyagers describe this “invisible city”? How
would he imagine this “Bride of the desert”? Perhaps
he could depict its beauty as an oasis, proliferating
fruits in its own shadows. Or by depicting where and
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
how the city was created, narrating about the men
and the gods who fell in love with it, planting the
foundations of their homes there. We can imagine
how the Gran Khan listened to Marco Polo’s tales
without raising an eyebrow. How could Polo level
with the sovereign’s dark cynical mood?
To help recount the city of Palmyra, we imagined a

place with spaces assuming the size of a “third city”.
A project whose spaces were condensed in order to
resemble the Roman origin of Palmyra, on the one
side, and the Arab one, on the other. Palmyra finds the
social and human scale of the Roman public space in
the thick walls enclosing longitudinal spaces, and in
the large circular rooms and terraces overlooking the
green and the city. While the sacred atmosphere of
the Arab space is condensed in large courtyard spac-
es, connected by narrow interstices that modulate
the tension between the hot sunlight and the cool
shadow, where marble fountains sing the precious-
ness of water. We imagined a place that composes
— 19 —
1 — Calvino I., “Le Città these pieces of lost cities in a new city, where dust
Invisibili”, Mondadori,
Milano, 1993. and debris are hosted as a necessary matter to re-
semble an invisible past offered as a future vision.
2 — Kahn L.I., “Archi-
tecture comes from Polo recounts, “as this wave from memories flows in,
the making of a Room”. the city soaks it up like a sponge and expands. A de-
Drawing for City/2 Exhi-
bition, Charcoal on trac-
scription of [Palmyra] as it is today should contain all
ing paper, Philadelphia [Palmyra’s] past. The city, however, does not tell its
Museum of Art, 1971:

past, but contains it”1:
Architecture comes from the

making of a Room
Ma rcello G a lio t to
“The Room is the place of the mind. In a small room,

one does not say what one would in a large room. A
room with only one other person could be generative.
The vectors of each meet. A room is not a room with-
out natural light”2.
With one of his well-known sketches, Louis I. Kahn

describes all the elements that make a design space
for human beings. An out-of-box analysis of this fa-
mous diagram seizes the idea of a boundless space.
From the observer’s perspective, the space looks
confined but it is also open (the fourth wall is miss-
ing and no doors or specific limits are shown in the
drawing): it is indeed a hybrid situation made up of
various fragments coming from Kahn’s experience.
They are put together in the space, which is there
to be colonised by the human being. It is cave, a
primitive space that the human being can set up for
himself. It is completely different from the Le Cor-
busier’s maison domino, an already prepared space
for people. This “room” does not state the way we
should live in it, but it expresses the basic principles
of architecture, i.e. what human kind requires inside
that space. As that space, the life of a human be-
— 20 —
ing indeed has no boundaries or limits. He adapts 3 — Translated by the

author from Espuelas
the space, making it possible to live in; and then he F., “Madre Materia”,
moves somewhere else, leaving the previous space Marinotti, Milan, 2012,
p.13.
behind as an empty cave, ready to host another hu-
man being. It is a continuing process. People can 4 – Augé M., “Le Temps
en Ruines”, Galilée,
modify the way they use a space without ever modi- Paris, 2003.
fying its essence.
Mater Materia
Al essandra Rampaz zo
“Matter” is as old as the universe itself. It is the basic

source of everything.
If we analyse the word more in depth, we can see it

holds a reference to the Latin words mater, as well as
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
meter. Those two Latin references bring a more phil-
osophical and theological level to it, and, in particu-
lar, to Demetra, the Greek goddess for fertility. The
idea of “matter”, for the ancient Greek, was “putting
together the idea of maternal love and the concept of
changing nature, i.e. a living matter”3.
“Matter” is like the mother: it generates everything,

including architecture.
Time affects “matter”, which evolves and embeds the

values deriving from its own existence. According to
these changes, “matter” constantly turns into some-
thing else: it becomes a building - stable, measura-
ble, durable - until its use comes to an end, becoming
rubble or ruins.
Marc Augé in his Le Temps en Ruines4 gives a qualita-

tive argument to the dichotomy between rubble and
ruins, which derive from their presence through time:
both of them come from transformed “matter”.
— 21 —
5 – Jackson J.B., “The
Necessity for Ruins”, If J.B. Jackson in his The Necessity for Ruins5 states
MIT Press, Usa, 1980. that only ruins have the power to stimulate the re-
generation after a traumatic event, through a back-to-
origins process, we can acknowledge that rubble can
be transformed into ruins thanks to our perception of
them: as Augé says, the cultural and historical mean-
ing states the difference between the two.
Time after time, “matter”, in the shape of rubble or

ruins related to a memory of the past, becomes the
basic source for building something new, overlaid on
top. It indeed generates new spaces suitable for the
human being.
— 22 —
C atch the s p a c e
—
Francesco C acciato re
As an intensive three-week training programme

seminar, W.A.Ve. gives the opportunity to experi-
ment interesting and different teaching methods,
regardless of the specific issue required for the pro-
ject. The same team – Francesco Cacciatore, Gior-
gia Cesaro, Marcello Galiotto, and Alessandra Ram-
pazzo (with the help of various collaborators) – was
indeed involved both in the 2017 edition (dedicated
to Syria and its post-conflict reconstruction) and in
the previous one, on the conversion of the indus-
trial site of Porto Marghera. The approach was the
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
same in both cases: students were called to make
scale models out of plaster (gypsum powder). The
use of this specific material implied that the work
had to be handmade. Handling physical matter be-
comes the main act of the design phase. Making
a plaster model, following its three-step process
(making the mould, pouring the plaster mix, remov-
ing the mould), is deeply connected with the idea
and meaning of space, the understanding of which
is fundamental for the learning process.
The process of building the mould, to be filled with

the liquid plaster mix, requires students to invert
the common idea of solid and void: what will be-
come solid needs to be excavated from the mould,
and the void will consequently become the solid fi-
nal product. In this way, something as thin and un-
substantial as air (and space) comes to life. While
pouring the liquid plaster mix into the mould, the
student realises the importance of the limit in de-
fining space: it can only exist if it is confined. The
— 23 —
mould indeed divides the designed space from the
rest. The last step (that is also a form of abstrac-
tion) is the mould removal, clearing the solid plas-
ter. The process of removing layers of cardboard,
which constructed the mould, lets the student
gradually discover the designed space: it emerges
thanks to the subtraction of matter. The described
method perfectly matched the purpose of W.A.Ve,

i.e. the reconfiguration of Palmyra. Here, the glory
of the past and the tragic events of the present
coexist. This makes a careful consideration of the
problem necessary, starting from the “meaning” of
the rubble, with the aim of transforming it into ruins.
In his Le temps en Ruins, Marc Augé thinks over the

duration of ancient and contemporary architecture
and how time affects it. Palmyra is divided in two dif-
ferent entities: the old city, made of ruins, and the
recently built new city, made of rubble resulting from
the ongoing conflict. It is not just damage produced
by bombs, as Augé suggests. Contemporary build-
ings do not produce ruins, but only rubble due to the
way they are built. Is there a possible link between
ruins and rubble?
It is not possible to have new buildings from rubble,

but it is still possible to convert them into new ru-
ins. The project was based on overlapping material,
working only by compression. The rubble was trans-
formed into ruins, which brought to uncovered in-be-
tween urban spaces. The project was developed from
the urban scale to the detailed one of each building.
The project was located in a strategic area separating
the archaeological site and the oasis from the con-
temporary city. It imposed a clear limit to the city and
stopped it from overdeveloping towards the oasis
and the ancient city. Around 15% of Palmyra’s build-
— 24 —
ings has been destroyed during the current conflict in

Syria. This percentage is equivalent to 1,500,000 m3.
Considering that an average building is 85% void and
15% filled space, the result is 225,000 m3 of rubble to
be relocated, 16 boxes – 40x40x12 m (307,200 m3) –
contain the entire volume of rubble.
The project’s focus was to invert the relationship be-

tween solids and voids. The result was 261,120 m3 of
available volume, which was close to the quantity of
calculated rubble. The new building we proposed was
800 metres long and 40 metres thick. It suggested the
modular size of Tadmor, the ancient city, which was
settled within the Bell Temple boundaries until the
first decades of the 20th century. The project provides
open-air exhibition areas for the archaeological muse-
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
um, a series of public terraces facing the oasis and the
archaeological site, and large rainwater tanks. These
functions are organised by level, from the ground floor
to the top. The exhibition of large proportion archaeo-
logical remains is hosted between level 0.00 m and
level + 3.00 m. Moreover, a cosy place is dug out of the
masses meant to offer a protected seat in the shade,
and flowing water pouring out of a fountain. Terraces
are located at level + 6.00 m pointing towards the
ancient ruins and the landscape. The roof, at level +
12.00 m, is tilted inwards in order to collect rainwater
and convey it in protected tanks.
The new building is something in-between the an-

cient roman city and the contemporary one. It es-
tablishes a link between the two entities in a kind
of “third city”, which is a common ground between
the Roman and Arab culture. The project reassem-
bles bits and pieces of lost cities into a new one,
where dust and debris are put back together in re-
membering an invisible past.
— 25 —
The future
will not
create ruins,
it does not
have time
for it.
Marc Aug è, Le Temps en R u in s
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 27 —
— 28 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— Palmyra.
Urban models.
Scale 1:2500
— 29 —
— 30 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 16 Boxes for Palmyra.

Schematic drawings:
plan and section.
— 31 —
— 32 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 33 —
Box 01
Luca Muffato
Lorenzo Zorzi
— Axonometric view.
The elements
of the project:
store, walk, visit,
look, rest.
— Plaster models.
(top left)
Project’s development.
Model real scale 1:400
(top right)
(bottom)
Front view.
— 34 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 35 —
Box 02
Piero Bigatello
Ambra Tieghi
Gloria Tombolato
The elements
of the project:
store, walk, visit,
look, rest.
— Plaster models.
(top left)
(top right)
(bottom)
Front view.
— On the following pages

Box 03
Edoardo Cesani
Lorenzo Nigro
Box 04
Marco Boscaro
Benedetta Friso
— 36 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 37 —
— 38 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 39 —
Box 05
Daniel Bruscagin
Giulia Levorato
The elements
of the project:
store, walk, visit,
look, rest.
— Plaster models.
(top left)
(top right)
(bottom)
Front view.

Box 06
Tommi Bimbato
Alberto Nalesso
Box 07
Amedeo Dalla Costa
Van Linh Phan Ngoc
Box 08
Nicola Rebellato
Andrea Zangari
Box 09
Alessandro Magro
Federico Urso
— 40 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 41 —
— 42 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 43 —
— 44 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 45 —
— 46 —
— Realization of plaster
model.
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 47 —
Box 10
Thomas Furnari
Francesco Gallone
The elements
of the project:
store, walk, visit,
look, rest.
— Plaster models.
(top left)
(top right)
(bottom)
Front view.

Box 11
Jacopo Baldelli
Alice Crivellente
Box 12
Emanuele Tonini
Tarik Semsi
Box 13
Jessica Bernardi
Jacopo Berti
Gianluca Perini
Box 14
Luca Piazzon
Elettra Vatta
— 48 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 49 —
— 50 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 51 —
— 52 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 53 —
Box 15
Leonardo Giacon
Enrico Marconato
The elements
of the project:
store, walk, visit,
look, rest.
— Plaster models.
(top left)
(top right)
(bottom)
Front view.
— 54 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 55 —
Box 16
Roberta Dal Molin

Ines Sordi
The elements
of the project:
store, walk, visit,
look, rest.
— Plaster models.
(top left)
(top right)
(bottom)
Front view.
— 56 —
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 57 —
— 58 —
— 16 Boxes for Palmyra.

Plaster model,
Plan and Section.
Scale 1:200 (top).
— Detailed models.
Scale 1:50 (bottom).
— Exhibition layout.
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
— 59 —
— 60 —
Francesco C a c c ia to re
— Venice, Italy
Associate Professor of Architectural and Urban

Design at Università Iuav di Venezia. From 2006 to
2014, he practiced architecture as a founder of the
Ateliermap office, with whom he accomplished vari-
ous projects. He is also frequently invited as visit-
ing professor in design workshops and seminars in
Italy and abroad.
Among his published works are: The wall as living

place. Hollow structural forms in Louis Kahn’s work
(Letteraventidue 2008); Abitare il limite. Dodici
case di Aires Mateus & Associados (Letteraven-
tidue 2009); Barclay&Crousse. Segnali di vita tra i
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
due deserti (Letteraventidue 2012); Il vuoto condi-
viso. Spazialità complesse nelle residenze contem-
poranee (Marsilio 2016).
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Giorgia Cesaro
Architect, graduated from the Academy of Architecture
of Mendrisio in 2013. She worked at Aires Mateus Arqui-
tectos (Portugal) and continued her working experience

around Italy, China, and Peru. Since 2015, she has been a
teaching assistant in Francesco Cacciatore’s Design and
Theory courses at Università Iuav di Venezia. At Iuav, she
is also a PhD student in Architectural Design.
Marcello Galiotto
Architect and PhD in Architectural Design. He is a found-
ing partner of the architecture and urban design practice
[A+M]2 Architects, based in Venice since 2012. He worked
as a staff architect at Sou Fujimoto Architects in Tokyo
(JP) in 2015. He has been a teaching assistant at Univer-
sità Iuav di Venezia since 2010.
Alessandra Rampazzo
Architect and PhD in History of Architecture. She is a
founding partner of the architecture and urban design
practice [A+M]2 Architects, based in Venice since 2012.
She has been a teaching assistant at Università Iuav di
Venezia since 2010. In addition to practicing and teaching,
she fostered research activities between Italy and India.
— 62 —
Stud ents
—
Jacopo Baldelli Nicola Rebellato

Jessica Bernardi Tarik Semsi
Jacopo Berti Ines Sordi
Piero Bigatello Ambra Tieghi
Tommi Bimbato Gloria Tombolato
Marco Boscaro Emanuele Tonini
Daniel Bruscagin Federico Urso
Edoardo Cesani Elettra Vatta
Alice Crivellente Andrea Zangari
Roberta Dal Molin Lorenzo Zorzi
Amedeo Dalla Costa
Benedetta Friso
RUBBLE OR RUINS?
Thomas Furnari
Francesco Gallone
Leonardo Giacon
Giulia Levorato
Alessandro Magro
Enrico Marconato
Luca Muffato
Alberto Nalesso
Lorenzo Nigro
Gianluca Perini
Van Linh Phan Ngoc
Luca Piazzon
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Francesco Cacciatore / Rubble Or Ruins?
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Ricardo Carvalho
— KOBANE / 36°53’22”N 38°21’12”E
IS TIME A
RAW MATERIAL?
Ricardo Carvalho
— KOBANE / 36°53’22”N 38°21’12”E
IS TIME A
RAW MATERIAL?
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Ricardo Carvalho
Is Time A Raw Material?

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Kobane
19 Introd uction
21 Is time a raw material? An aqueduct for Kobane
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Ricardo C ar valho
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
IS TIME A RAW M ATERI A L?

— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Ricardo C ar valho
elles, 1842, p.2.



— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Ricardo C ar valho
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA

Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Ricardo C ar valho
KOBANE
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E

Population
2004 44,821
2017 50,000
Description
Kobanî, officially Ayn al-Arab, is a Kurdish town in the north of Syria,
immediately south of the border with Turkey, and it is a city in the Aleppo
Governorate. The majority of inhabitants were Kurds, with Arab, Turkmen,
and Armenian minorities. Kobane has been a battleground between
Islamic State (IS) militants and Kurdish fighters since September 2014,
when IS fighters overran the small northern Syrian town, forcing almost
all of its civilians to flee into Turkey.
— 11 —
Turkish Border
KOBANE
to Aleppo
0 5 km
Turkish Border
to Aleppo
0 1 km
KOBANE
— 16 —
Ricardo C ar valho
— By May 2015, the

“Kobane authorities”,
with the help of the mu-
nicipality of Diyarbakır,
and after 8 months of no
running water, managed
to restore the water
pump and supply for the
urban area, repair the
pipelines, and clean the
main water tank. During
the war, more than 70%
of the city was reduced
to rubble and at least
3,247 structures were
damaged. The recon-
struction and the return
of the inhabitants is well
on the way; in fact, by
May 2015, a little more
than half of the pre-war
residents returned to the

destroyed town, which is
now coming back to life.
— 17 —
Ricardo C ar valho
In trod uction
—
Al essandro Dal C orso
1 – Gleick H. Peter,
The arduous task we had to face was not only to re- “Water, Drought, Climate
store the pre-war conditions of Syria, but also to initi- Change, and Conflict in
ate a virtuous process that could drive the country to Syria”, July 2014.
solve some of the urban tensions that contributed to 2 – Famiglietti J.,

the Civil War. We focused our interest on Kobane case “Weighty Water Matters
in the Middle East”, in
study and the starting debate has dealt with the com- “Gravity Recovery and
plex interrelated factors that concurred to the begin- Climate Experiment
(GRACE)”, National Geo-
ning of the conflict. It is obvious that it is not possible graphic Water Currents,
to attribute a conflict to single cause, so beside politi- February 2016.

cal, religious and sociological factors, we recognized
in the lack of water one of possible blames for the
fights. Historically the region has a rich background
of conflicts related with water and the incidences of
water-related violence is higher than the rest of the
world because of the natural scarcity.
The world’s first international water treaty is en-

graved on the Enmetena Cone and it was signed more
than 4,500 years ago between Lagash and Umma,
city-states located between the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers, after a devastating war aimed to the water
control1. Because there is some evidence in the con-
temporary situation that connected the devastating
conflict to the deficiency of water, we concluded that
climate variability and change and the availability
and use of freshwater played a direct role in the de-
terioration of Syria’s economic conditions that finally
degenerate into the current war. During the last 10
years, the general reserve of freshwater decreased of
more than 22 billion cubic meters2 as consequence
of the reduced rainfalls and poor water management
— 19 —
policies. Starting from 2006 drought pushed Syrian
farmers to migrate to urban centers, increasing ur-
ban pressure and social tensions.
On the base of this assumption we decided to devel-

op new strategies finalized to the decrease of water-
related conflicts reducing the pressures on water as a
strategic goods. For achieving that result we proposed

an improved water supply service based on a well-or-
ganized water resources managing and sharing. At the
end we reached the solution to express the maximum
of Techne creating a new infrastructural network done
by aqueducts, piping systems and connections that to-
gether could supply to the territorial development. To
build an aqueduct of a territorial connection is a process
resulted not only in the physical development of the in-
frastructure, but also in the accumulation of knowledge
and the buildup of a distinct civilization, which is rooted
in the technical characteristics of the built artifact.
In conclusion, the main aim of the workshop was not

to work on building projects but to find an artifact,
which could express how deeply culture, environ-
ment and technology are interwoven. Water doesn’t
know political boundaries, it flows across mountains,
trough countries, into deserts and cities. It is not a
barrier or a solid wall that could stop you. Simultane-
ously, water is an outstanding source of life and an
irresistible strength. It always goes where it wants
to go and the only action left to us is to channel that
force. At the same time infrastructures are foundation
elements of civilization and for that reason they are
out of the concept of time. Keeping this two main con-
cepts together, taking advantage of the incredible po-
tential of the water with the archetype of the aqueduct
was our final answer, an answer that nothing in the end
can stand against it, not even a war.
— 20 —
Ricardo C ar valho
Is time a raw m a ter ia l?

An aqued uc t for Kob a n e
—
R i cardo C ar valho
The city of Kobane, in its existential nature, is a place

of commercial trade and territorial connection: it is
a boundary city, neighbouring with Northern Syria.
The majority is composed of Kurdish people, while
the minority by Arab, Turkish, and Armenian. It is also
known as Ayn al-Arab, the Arab Spring. The construc-
tion of the railway between Berlin and Baghdad that
started in the 20th century not only determined the
formation of the rarefied and crossing city, but it also

named it. Its origin comes from the word bahn. Going
back in time, the city of Kobane historically was the
scene of occupations and re-foundations: the most
ancient one dates back to the Roman Empire.
Kobane has been one of the most damaged cities dur-

ing the Syrian conflict. The self-proclaimed Islamic
State and subsequently the Kurdish community with
the help of the United States conquered it. Today, the
city appears destroyed, both by the physical and so-
cial point of view. As a consequence, the majority of
its population, which was originally of 50,000 citizens,
has migrated to Turkey. In January 2004, it also cre-
ated an independent canton named Kobani. During the
conflict with the self-proclaimed Islamic State, part
of the infrastructures were destroyed by the Kurdish
bombardments. However, the major damages are at-
tributed to ISIS: during the retreat of the city, which
appeared to be almost defeated, ISIS continued to pro-
voke explosions on many ditches present on the terri-
tory. This resulted in the deprivation of water supplies,
for both the city and the crops surrounding it.
— 21 —
1 – UIKI ONLUS, 2017. Moreover, ISIS systematically destroyed all the sym-
bols re-echoing civil societies, like schools and hos-
pitals, leaving behind only numerous minefields. On
the Northern battlefront, due to its Kurdish majority,
Turkey has built a 700km barrier, making its border
impenetrable. Today, Kobane — decaying, without
water, and with an instable geopolitical situation —,
seems to be a city waiting for a new physical pres-

ence, capable of generating a collective significance.
Although the reconstruction process already begun
in February 2017, with isolated cases of returning
population, a real re-foundation strategy of the city
still does not exist, one that might enable an effec-
tive physical and social reconstruction. The issue of
water supply is still unsolved.
The temporary provision of water is guaranteed by

water tables, leading to ecological problems as a
consequence. These are simply transitory solutions
and not systemic. According to a report made by
international researchers1, a plan that establishes
a new 17 km-long hydro-connection between the
city and the Euphrates River exists. This could be
linked to a 200 km network, from the Euphrates to
Aleppo, built by the Syrian government before the
war, which left the connection incomplete in the ter-
ritory of Kobane. This is the opportunity that was
seized by the project: to re-found the city according
to a new infrastructural system, involving the city’s
reconstruction as well.
The proposal is based on the construction of an

aqueduct of territorial connection. Its route, in fact,
aims at going beyond the borders of the region, of
the canton or the nation: it will be a key factor for
the community, or better, for all the various commu-
nities. We would like to create a construction that is
— 22 —
Ricardo C ar valho
capable of generating collective significance, rep-

resenting a possible infrastructural engine of the
reconstruction proposal, and be a piece of architec-
ture as well.
The artefact that we seek to propose is an aqueduct

that carries not only water, but also other infrastruc-
tures necessary to the territorial development. The
Euphrates River in the west side, and the hydro-sys-
tem of spring waters at the border with Turkey in the
east side, will be the two far ends of the new struc-
ture. The aqueduct will also trespass the city of Kob-
ane, until it twists and turns in the destroyed urban
area, adapting itself in the most devastated parts
in order to found new residential neighbourhoods.

The aim of the aqueduct is to reconstruct the city,
embracing and defining its geometries, new spaces,
and complexities, generated by its crossing with the
principal urban streets.
The new aqueduct of Kobane, within the city, wants to

be the reshaping element of the built urban fabric, an
archetype of the idea of sharing among various cul-
tures. In front of the destruction, this element aims
at becoming a generating force that goes beyond its
physicality: its complexity – and eventual monumen-
tality – would result in new ways of living the house
and the city. In the green belt wrapped around Kob-
ane, the aqueduct would organise a new crop irriga-
tion system: its ambition is characterised by a series
of tower tanks that fleck and the landscape.
The same building strategy of infrastructural ar-

tefacts as foundation elements of civilization has
been present for millennia in Syrian, Turkish, Iraqi,
and Iranian territories: the Persian qanatas and the
Roman aqueducts are two monumental forms of the
— 23 —
relation between architecture and infrastructure that
today still constitute a collective memory expressed
through physical matter. The aqueduct is an element
that architects and engineers of the past used to ex-
periment in transforming the territory: these projects
depicted landscapes and fragments of cities, be-
coming indissoluble. Today, they are also intertwined
with the history of architecture, whose beauty derives

from a tradition of pragmatism, made of artefacts
that are both mighty and delicate at the same time.
The aqueduct we propose is based on simple con-

structive and technological requirements. Its con-
struction process would be grounded on the reuse of
war debris, to be reused for a good purpose. In fact,
an estimate of 2.5 million cubic metres of debris
have been removed from the streets and accumulat-
ed in other areas. These could be recovered and used
as raw material in the construction of our project.
The aqueduct would establish a relation with a tem-

poral concept that looks at the future, set out to over-
come this dark episode of the contemporary history.
The founding architecture of the aqueduct, in fact,
seeks to work with time, perceiving it as a raw mate-
rial. The aqueduct is an element of this time that will,
however, exist beyond the limits of time itself.
— 24 —
Ricardo C ar valho
B ibliograph y
—
UIKI ONLUS – Ufficio di informazione del Kurdistan in Italia, “Report sulla
situazione attuale in Kurdistan”, Marzo 2017.
— 25 —
Re-founding
the city
according
to a new
infrastructural
system that
involves city
reconstruction
as well.
— 27 —
Ricardo C ar valho

2000
TURKEY
Kobane
Aleppo SYRIA
IRAQ
10km 20km 50km
2014
TURKEY
Kobane
SYRIA
Aleppo
IRAQ
Water Kurds ISIS

10km 20km 50km
II millennium, The
Syrian area was
point of conten- Between 266 and In the VII century, From 1517 Syria
tion between 272 b.C, Palmira the Syrian region went under the
Egyptian, Assyrian became an indip- was conquered by control of the Ot-
and Hittities endent kingdom the Arabs toman Empire
From the 539 b.C, From the 395 b.C. In 639 a.C
Syria fell under it became part Damasco became
the control of of the Eastern one of the most
Persians Roman Empire important cent-
ers for Muslim
believers
— 28 —
Ricardo C ar valho
2015
TURKEY
Kobane
Aleppo
SYRIA
IRAQ
2017

TURKEY
Kobane
SYRIA
Aleppo
IRAQ
In 1945, the
In 1922 the Otto- country decleared
The constuction man empire was war to Japan and
of the Berlin - destroyed, Syria Germany, entering
Baghdad railway went under the in the Second
line began in 1903 French control World War
Around 1600 a In 1910, the construc- Thanks to a In 1946, after the

decay period af- tion site of the railway treaty signed French retreat
fected the region line created the with France, Syria from Syria, the Is-
circumstances for the could finally be- lamic Arabs took
foundation of the city come indipendent over the country
of Kobane in 1915 (1936)
— 29 —
— BEFORE BOMBING
In 1962 the
In 1948 Syria got newborn nation The first protests
involved in the declared itself against the gov-
Arab-Israelian “Arab Republic of ernement started ISIS foundation
conflict Syria” in 2011 (2014)
After the In 1976 the In 2013, the Al-Nursa

emigration of the new Republic estremists, accom-
GSPublisherEngine 0.0.100.100
Armenian to URSS, intervened in the plished significant
in 1960, the Kurds Lebanese civil results in the north-
settled in Kobane conflict ern and eastern part
of the country
— 30 —
Ricardo C ar valho
DAMAGES

100m 300m 500m
Kurds opposed to
the ISIS’s advance
in Kobane (Janu-
ary 2015)
In september In september 2015, the

2014 bombings Russian support to the
GSPublisherEngine 0.0.100.100
started taking Syrian government created
place in Syria tensions in the relations
and the battle of with Turkey, culminating in a
Kobane began crisis between the countries
— 31 —
— SOCIAL FUNCTIONS PLAN
— 32 —
1
2
1
1
1
Ricardo C ar valho
1 3
1
1
3 1 4

1
1 4
1. Schools
1 2. Offices
3. Prison
4. Clinics
Public- administrative
buildings
Mosques
Commercials buildings
Bombed areas
Main roads
Secondaries roads
Cemetery
Idric Tower
500m 1km 2km
— 33 —
— WATER SYSTEM
TURKEY
480 m
650 m
Ziyarete
Ziyarete
Karkamis
Karkamis
580 m
Jarabulus
Jarabulus
Cib Elferec
Cib Elferec Derbenobè

Mezin
Talik Derbenobè
Mezin
340 m
Talik
Zekeriya
Zekeriya
— 34 —
Ricardo C ar valho
TURCHIA
547 m
TURCHIA
Kobane
547 m
Kobane
475 m
650 m
523 m Ghasaniyeh
Ghasaniyeh
523 m Ghasaniyeh

Ghasaniyeh
580 m
560 m
560 m
Water
500m 1,5km 3km
— 35 —
— AQUEDUCT PATH
— 36 —
615 a.s.l.
594 a.s.l.
Mamit
570 a.s.l.
548 a.s.l.
535 a.s.l.
Ricardo C ar valho
Kobane
535 a.s.l.
Kobane
48 a.s.l.
Ghasaniyeh

Kobane
Sheran
- Aleppo
way
Ghasaniyeh
Kobane
Sheran
o way - Alepp
Aqueduct
100m 500m 1000m
— 37 —
100m 500m 1000m

— WATER DISTRIBU-
TION SYSTEM
In april 2015 the drink- amount of obstructed or
able water distribution destroyed canals.
system has been affected In November 2016 a
by several damages, water provision system
moreover the main water was built, with the
tank and both aqueduct restoration of the daily
branches that used to water supplies.
lead the water towards In february 2017 the city
the city have been de- is not provided of any

stroyed. There were also drainage systems yet,
damages to the drainage due to the lackness of
system with a high modern technology.
INNER CANALS AND EXTERNAL CANALS AND

WATER PIPES DAMAGES WATER PIPES DAMAGES
60% Valves 20%, pipes 25%, 40% Valves 15%, pipes 10%,
generator 15% generator 15%
Total of 19,920 km Total of 4,539 km
DAMS SYSTEM
Kobane is located 35 km
away from the Assad
lake, a natural basin
created by the Eufrate
river, that flows from the
Turkish upland and goes
to the north-eastern part
of Syria. In the Assad
lake there are two big
dams where Syria takes
electricity and water:
Tabque dam and Tichri-
enne dam. In february
2017 Turkey stopped the
water provision sistem
in Syria, closing both
dams.
— 38 —
Ricardo C ar valho
— AGRICULTURE
From 2014, it has tobacco, vegetables,
become impossible for tomatoes, potatoes
local agriculture to grow, and citrus fruits in the
due to the dryness, the mountainous areas, suit-
consequent lack of wa- able products to the arid
ter and the distruction of Syrian weather. Kobane
the wells by the Isis. In is the most fertile area
the land that surrounds in the northern part of
Kobane the soil is suit- the country, by the turk-
able for the plantation ish border. Towards the
of: cereals, cotton, olive southern territory the
trees, pomegranate, soil becomes dryer.
pistachio, beetroot,
WORKERS IN AGRICULTURE MOST FERTILE

IN KOBANE BEFORE THE WAR AREA IN THE REGION

26% Amount of workers in The most suiteble area
agriculture on the total for agriculture is near
of the population the turkish border
YESTERDAY 2014-TODAY TOMORROW
3.5 milions ton/ WAR Wheat and cereals

year of wheat and
Olive trees
cereals
Cotton
Olive trees
Pomegranates
Pistachis
Beetroot
Tobacco
Vegetables
Potatoes
Citrus fruits
— 39 —
— AGRICOLTURE
— 40 —
Ricardo C ar valho
Springs System
Arid-not Cultivable
Fertile Areas-Cultivated
Dismissed Area
— 41 —
— WATER / AQUEDUCT ATLAS
Kayseri
Aksaray
TURKEY
Konya
Adana
Adalia
CYPRUS
LEBANON
Damascus
WEST
JORDAN
JORDAN
Jerusalem
ISRAEL
— 42 —
Ricardo C ar valho
Malatya
Malatya
Batman
Mardin
Sanliurfa
Batman
Gaziantep
Kobane Mardin
Sanliurfa
Mossul
Gaziantep
Aleppo
Kobane
Mossul
Aleppo

SYRIA
SYRIA
Bagdad
IRAQ
Bagdad
IRAQ
National Border
Aqueducts
Water
10km 50km 100km
— 43 — 10km 50km 100km

— QUANAT
In some cities, water in lates at water level, and of the sites was based community using the
qanats flows in tunnels provides a cool refuge on a national survey qanat; existing system
beneath residential from the afternoon heat conducted in 2001. The of water rights and
areas and surfaces near of summer. renovation of one of the regulation; and willing-
the cultivated area. In Qanats have gone dry three (Drasiah qanat of ness of the water users
wealthy homes, special and been abandoned Dmeir) was concluded to contribute. Cleaning
rooms are constructed across the country. The in the spring of 2002. of an ancient qanat is
beside the underground widespread installation Lessons learned from Complex. The work is
stream with tall shafts of groundwater pumps pilot projects in Syria not just technically dif-
reaching upward to has lowered the water led to the development ficult, but also the social
windtowers above roof table and qanat system. of renovation criteria organization associated
level. Air caught by the Recently three sites were which included: a stable with a qanat has major
windtowers, which are chosen for renovation; groundwater level, a implications on its future
oriented to prevailing each one still had signifi- consistent underground viability (Wessels, 2000).
summer winds, is forced cant quantities of flow- tunnel construction;
down the shaft, circu- ing water. The selection social cohesion in the
01
02
— PLACE — ADVANTAGES 01 AQUEDUCT OF 02 QANAWAT
be found over much (1) putting the majority PERGE AQUEDUCT
of Syria of the channel under- DATE In the 2nd and 3rd DATE Roman time
HEADSTREAM In the ground reduces water century A.D. PLACE Qanawat, As-
dry mountain basins loss from seepage and PLACE 20 kilometers Suwayda Governorate,
of present-day Iran evaporation; (2) since east of the modern city Syria
invented by Persians the system is fed entire- of Antalya SOURCE www.get-
DATE In the early part of ly by gravity, the pumps SOURCE www.waterhis- tyimages.com, James
the first millennium B.C. are eliminated; and (3) it tory. org/histories/ Gordon
SOURCE www.waterhis- exploits groundwater as aspendos/,
tory.org/histories/ a renewable resource. Bernard Gagnom
qanats/
— 44 —
Ricardo C ar valho
— AQUEDUCT OF PERGE
The city of Perge was produced a soothing In the southeast corner and separate bathing
surrounded by a wall effect during the hot of the agora there was areas differentiated by
and divided into 4 sec- summers. There was a latrine. Water ran water temperature. An
tions by two colonnaded an agora located in the through the latrine in a underground network of
streets. The street run- southern end of the col- continuous flow. It was pipes supplied the bath
ning north to south had onnaded street. It was connected to Perge’s with clean water.
a 2-meter-wide canal the commercial, social, main drainage canal.
running down its center. and political heart of Also at the southern end
The canal had check the city. The agora was of the colonnaded, the
structures every 7 to 8 a square surrounded by street was a large bath.
meters to pool the water shops, some opening in- Since most residential
and facilitate cleaning. ward and some outward units had no bathing
There were walkways to the street. At the facilities, every Roman
over canal. The sound center of the agora there city had public baths.
of water falling over was a circular water Perge’s Southern Bath
the barriers must have reservoir and a fountain. had hot and cold water

03 05
04 06
03 THE BRIDGE DELAL 04 WATERWHEEL 05 ANTIOCH AQUEDUCT 06 ASPENDOS AQUEDUCT
PLACE Over the Khabur AND AQUEDUCT IN DATE Roman time DATE constructed in the
Tigris river in the town HAMA PLACE Antioch, Turkey first half of the 2nd century
of Zakho, in southern DATE Roman age SOURCE www.padfield. PLACE 45 km east of
Kurdistan PLACE Orontes River in com/ turkey/antioch- modern Antalya, in
SIZE 114 metres long Hama, Syria pisidia/index.html south-central Turkey
and 15.5 metres high PHOTO Yasser Tabbaa STRUCTURE Incor-
SOURCE www. COPYRIGHT Aga Khan porated bridges and
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Documentation Center at MIT tunnels.
Pira_Delal, Moplayer SOURCE www. SOURCE www.waterhis-
archnet.org/media_con- tory.org/histories/
tents/111092, Moplayer aspendos/
— 45 —
— 46 —
— 47 —
Ricardo C ar valho

— AQUEDUCT PROPOSAL
— 48 —
Ricardo C ar valho
W.A.VE 2017 – SYRIA –IS TIME A RAW MATERIAL? – STUDIO RICARDO CA
— 49 —
— INFRASTRUCTURE
-
-
— 50 —
— 51 —
Ricardo C ar valho

— 52 —
— 53 —
Ricardo C ar valho

— BOULEVARD PROPOSAL
— 54 —
— 55 —
Ricardo C ar valho

— GREEN BELT
— 56 —
Ricardo C ar valho
Hydric Towers
Arboreal Coltivation
Cereals
Legumes
100m 300m 500m
— 57 —
The aqueduct
is an element
of this time
that will,
however,
exist beyond
the limits of
time itself.
— 59 —
Ricardo C ar valho

— 60 —
Ricardo C ar valho
Ricard o C ar va lh o
— Lisbon, Portugal
Ricardo Carvalho is a PhD architect who graduated

from the University of Lisbon (2012). He is also co-
founder of Ricardo Carvalho+Joana Vilhena Arquitec-
tos (1999). He is professor at Autonoma University in
Lisbon and was visiting professor at the Brandem-
burg University BTU Cottbus (Germany 2009-13), Na-
varra University (Spain, 2013), and Carleton Univer-
sity (Canada, 2016-2017).
Ricardo Carvalho+Joana Vilhena Architects is a Lis-

bon based office responsible for both private and
public buildings. The work of the office has been

presented in several international lectures and ex-
hibitions, such as: OVERLAPPPINGS. Six Portuguese
Architecture Studios, in the Royal Institute of British
Architects in London (2009); Portugal Convida, in
the FAD, Barcelona (2010); Tradition is Innovation, in
Ozone Design Center in Tokyo (2011); Lisbon Ground,
in the Venice Architecture Biennale (2012); and A
Room for Mexico City, in Liga, Mexico City (2013). In
2015, they were nominated for the Mies van der Rohe
European Architecture Prize.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Andrea Cremasco
After studying in Venice and Lisbon, he graduated at Uni-
versità Iuav di Venezia in 2012. Today, he collaborates
with arch. Adolfo Zanetti in Venice, and occasionally tu-

tors at Iuav.
Marco Meggiato
Born in Vicenza on 23/08/1992, he graduated in Architec-
ture at Università Iuav di Venezia. He continued his studies
in the same university and has specialised in Architecture:
Techniques and Design in 2016/2017.
— 62 —
Ricardo C ar valho
Stud ents
—
Tommaso Bellomo Vittorio Perotti

Kevin Bertazzon Marco Rizzi
Luca Boato Alberto Rocco
Chiara Calcagnotto Riccardo Rodighiero
Aurora Calligher Valeria Rossi
Alessio Caregnato Sofia Scandolara
Chiara Carrera Francesco Scarpari di Prà Alto
Francesco Caputo Giorgio Spazzoli
Anna Causa Alessandra Talian
Cavazzana Nicolò Stefano Tesser
Beatrice Chiozza Giulia Toffanin

Giacomo Ciavattini Giacomo Tomaello
Chiara Colussi Marco Tosato
Mauro Dal Pozzo Giorgia Trentin
Marley D’Amore Marco Trevisan
Flora Del Debbio Beatrice Vallin
Laura Fent Viola Volpato
Tommaso Fiorato Xinning Yu
Filippo Fraternali Laura Zullian
Margherita Galante
Francesca Gemieri
Miriam Lenares
Flavia Lomonaco
Giulia Maida
Guenda Mariotti
Diletta Merlin
Edoardo Miletti
Annapaola Montagner
Valentina Morgante
Sofia Ongarato
Matteo Orsi
Federica Pezzoli
Filippo Prendin
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho / Is Time A Raw Material?
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Armando Dal Fabbro
FUTURE
— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
ALEPPO.
TRACES OF
Armando Dal Fabbro
— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
ALEPPO.
TRACES OF
FUTURE
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Armando Dal Fabbro

Aleppo. Traces Of Future.

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Aleppo
19 A manifesto for Aleppo
21 Aleppo. Traces of futu re
28 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Ar mando D al Fab b ro
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
ALEPPO. TRACES OF FUTURE

— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
elles, 1842, p.2.



— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA

Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
ALEPPO
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E

Population
2004 2,132,100
2017 1,602,264
Description
Aleppo is a city that has been settled for over 5,000 years, and is
one of the oldest cities in the Middle East, located in the Fertile Cres-
cent where the first settlements arose. Throughout history, the region
has been a conflict zone between North and South and between East
and West. Many of its houses were constructed in different historical
phases. The buildings were often demolished or destroyed and par-
tially rebuilt again.
— 11 —
ALEPPO
to Damascus
0 5 km
industrial city
citadel
airport
Al Asse River
0 1 km
ALEPPO OLD CITY
citadel
Suk
— 16 —

and destruction to
400,000 dead and
The historic monu-

down completely.
— 17 —
A manifesto for A lep p o

—
Camilla Donantoni, Anna Fabris, Matteo Piacentini, Francesco Soriani
Aleppo was born in ancient times as a Hellenistic col-

ony, placed in the middle of a system of commercial
traffic between Persia, Anatolia, and Iraq; later on, it
established itself as a port-city in the desert, located
between the Euphrates River and the sea, at the cross-
ing of worlds and caravan routes.
Today, the city is waiting for something more than a

project. Aleppo looks forward to a rebirth, starting
from its foundations, from the depths of its urban his-

tory and from its forma urbis. It doesn’t just need a
project but, indeed, a strategy, a great work plan able
to communicate and interpret historical knowledge
and urban renovation.
The citadel — the emporium and the souks, the

mosques and their minarets, the sanctuaries and
their tombs — and the archaeological sites suggest
a way towards the future, that does more than simply
recall the past. It isn’t possible to ignore its most
ancient monuments, signs of a strong historical and
cultural identity.
Starting from what is left, because what is left is the

connection between new and old, memories and fu-
ture combine.
Destruction as re-construction: first element of a

new project designed to not forget the necessary
extreme act that would be able to connect the per-
manence of memory and the thought of a renova-
tion strategy.
— 19 —
The past city and the future one could live together in
the present, if able to refuse any kind of imposed form.
The city’s rebirth has to start from the reconstruc-

tion of its monuments, located in the historical cen-
tre, along Kandar al Rum. Meanwhile, the planning
strategy will aim at the redrawing process of gardens
and parks, partially following the curvy line of the

Queweya River, and partially following the external
ring that represents the union between the city’s big
empty spaces.
Two realities that face each other, located between

abstraction and reality: on the one hand, the stone
city’s magmatic matter; on the other, the modern city’s
urban imprint, whose irregular geometry encloses, like
a treasure chest, the heart of the ancient city.
So the ancient city will rise with the new one, with
the same fervour, evoking the strength that has con-
tributed to make Aleppo bigger and greater since the
very beginning.
— 20 —
A leppo. Trac es of fu tu re
—
Armando Dal Fabbro
If we should lose our roots, what would our cul-

tural references be? What disorientation would
result from it? What would happen if we were to
lose our origins and the chance of not recognising
their founding values? The feeling of disorienta-
tion originated by the contemporary appearance of
Aleppo — a city destroyed and raped by war and
whose ruins show themselves to the world — de-
mands a reflection on how architecture could re-
interpret what is left and influence the city’s re-

building project and its urban and civil future.
The reflection on the different formative phases

of Aleppo’s urban pattern is related to a deeper re-
search, connected to the characters of the city that
are located on the Mediterranean Sea. Guarantor
of civil, cultural, artistic, and architectural model
exchanges, the Mediterranean Sea has allowed the
development of mixtures and interesting contami-
nations related to different cultural influences.
The heritage of the various phases of the city’s

construction, emphasised by the use of stone, has
granted the permanence in time of the forma urbis
and of a specific morphological character. In some
regions of on the Mediterranean Sea, where the
urban morphology and the original architectural
characters were similar to those imported by the
Romans, these characteristics are affirmed with
force, promoting the conservation of the city’s
original aspects. Especially in the Big Syria Region,
the permanence of Roman Centuriation tracks, and
— 21 —
previous phases, is stronger because in this region
the advent of Islam has not represented a break
with the ancient tradition. Syrian cities, differently
from many other European cities, that developed a
period of stasis with the end of the Roman Empire,
have enjoyed a new creative propulsion, keeping
the same main lines of the previous urban struc-
ture, even if including new aggregative logics. In

this context, Aleppo takes the shape of historical
permanence in time and – since made of stone –
a city that has preserved itself in 5,000 years of
uninterrupted urban history, and keeps track of
all the different structures whose stratification in
time has originated the last phase.
Placed in the middle of a big caravan network

between Mesopotamia, Armenia, Turkey, and the
south region of Syria, Aleppo has enjoyed profit-
able cultural exchanges in time: indeed, from the
pre-Hellenic age to the pre-modern one, Aleppo
has represented the connection between the spice
route and the silk one.
In the Roman and Byzantine ages, it became one of

the most important cities with a pre-Islamic Syrian
urban system, it assumed a very important role for
the wine and oil commercial exchange, finally es-
tablishing itself as a territorial hub during the final
period of the Roman Empire. The advantageous
geographic position has assured Aleppo an impor-
tant development not only during the Roman age,
when the caravan route system was employed by
the Roman network, but also after it, as an interna-
tional crossroads. As for previous anthropological
approaches, related to the natural morphology of
the territory, it is impossible to not consider the
tell (artificial or semi-artificial and regular up-
— 22 —
lands, shaped by stratifications of material). An

example of social identity is the city’s pre-Islamic
Acropolis. It is the present citadel’s archaeological
site, called Ayyubide before and then Mamelucca.
It is a semi-artificial and really impressive upland,
a calcareous outcrop re-shaped by man, at the
heart of the city, and origin of the decumano mas-
simo, ancient ridge that divides the city in different
geometrical sectors. Reading Aleppo’s urban pat-
tern on the French cadastral maps of the 1930s,
what has come to light is that the orthogonal align-
ments of the urban pattern are oriented along the
North-South/East-West axis.
After a previous historical and cultural research

related to the city’s origins, the planning approach
moves firstly from the monuments, or from the
ruins that are left of them, in order to freeze the
results of an anthropological destruction that can-
not be forgotten, as it is a manifestation of his-
tory. The sense of identification and recognition
belongs to the city’s architecture, because it is a
vehicle for the transmission of a community tra-
dition. Indeed, the construction activity aims at
the renovation and conservation of those build-
ings that have been considered as ideological and
cultural identity and that nowadays are supporting
elements of the city and the community architec-
tural composition. They represent an identity is-
sue in the relationship between past and future,
as memory of the past and as a starting point, be-
cause monuments are the reason why the city lives
and recognises itself as such.
Monument, as memento, in the meaning of being a

place of memory, testimony of a material commu-
nity’s recovery, whose essence is immaterial.
— 23 —
Therefore, the Monument is intended as a re-foun-
dation action of the city. Starting from what has
been left in time, remains and elements that bring
memory will be re-used in the interpretation of the
contemporary city. Monuments belong to the fu-
ture, for this reason, they are distinctive signs of
re-construction: you must start from monuments
since they are places in which people can recog-

nise themselves. It is not only the material recon-
struction of the building, but also the need to rec-
ognise a place and its identity as a testimony of
society and people’s life. We think that the ancient
city’s monuments are the tools for the re-founda-
tion of the city, starting from the proof of what had
originated it.
This is why, from the debris of monuments, “new

ruins” will rise up setting themselves free from
their vestige status to become instruments ready
to build a new future. The monuments we chose
for the first phase of the city’s re-foundation are
enclosed within the ancient city wall limits. There
is a first ring limiting the city of stone, surrounded
by a new ring of the green city: a second ring that
foresees the return of the inhabitants who had to
escape from the stone city. A “concentric” project,
starting both from the double faced principle of
monument restoration, and from the building of
the green city.
Two rings: the first one belonging to the stone city,

and the second one belonging to the green city.
The external ring becomes a useful instrument in
order to re-think the new city. We assume that the
historical memory is not enough: we will try to link
historical memory to a new one. Both these sys-
tems, the one connected to the past and the one
— 24 —
projected towards the future, belong to the same

single strategy. The new monuments are what we
will try to re-interpret and propose through the con-
temporary city dimension. The contemporary city
is going to develop in the external ring, where the
green belt will rule the urban system, holding to-
gether different themes: historical gardens, park
of Memory, and the big ring that would become an
infrastructural boulevard-system.
We cannot ignore both construction and destruc-

tion, so the first planning approach is the recogni-
tion and the documentation of the main architec-
ture within the city in order to be able to interpret
it and translate it in a new project for a new city.

The monuments we have chosen for our project
have been translated in stone characters, frag-
ments, the remains of a tragedy of war. In the an-
cient city, the relationship will be established with
its effect on the city in time, beginning from the re-
built monuments and fixing the urban blocks from
which the monuments will rise again.
A starting point of the project is the history of the

city itself, from which we can begin to re-build in
the historical centre in the near future. After that,
the residential city will grow naturally on its own.
At the same time, though, we must think about the

construction of the contemporary city. The green
belt wrapped around the historical city, where
the widespread urban pattern converges, could
host a new satellite residential system, shaping a
polycentric city, configured in free-standing parts.
A system composed by vertical elements will
stand out against the edges of the city, recalling
— 25 —
the well-known and familiar image of the minarets
that have already crowded the ancient city.
The two concentric enclosures would be morpho-

logically different, but ideologically connected:
the first one would be a civic cradle, with the cita-
del rising and bearing clear signs of the ancient
Roman Centuriation; and the second one made of

big green areas, lying near the ancient city and
the desert.
— 26 —
B ibliograph y
—
Augé M., “Rovine e macerie. Il senso del tempo”, Bollati Boringhieri, To-
rino, 2004.
Cezar M., “Typical commercial buildings of the Ottoman classical period
and the Ottoman construction system”, Ankara, Türkiye Is Bankasi Cul-
tural Publications, 1983.
Eldem E., Goffman D. and Masters B., “The Ottoman city between East
and West: Aleppo, Izmir, and Istanbul”, Cambridge University press, Cam-
bridge, 1999.
Marcus A., “The Middle East on the eve of modernity: Aleppo in the eight-
eenth century”, Columbia University press, New York, 1989.
Neglia G. A., “Aleppo: processi di formazione della città medievale is-
lamica”, Poliba press, Bari; Arti grafiche Favia, Modugno, 2009.

Nietzsche F., “Sull’utilità e il danno della storia per la vita”, Adelphi,
Milano, 1974.
Watenpaugh H. Z., “The image of an Ottoman City : Imperial architecture
and urban experience in Aleppo in the 16th and 17th centuries”, Brill, Bos-
ton, 2004.
— 27 —
Aleppo is
waiting for
something
more than a
project.
The city
needs a
strategy.
— 29 —
— 30 —
LA FORMA URBIS
BEIT GHAZALEH
— Aleppo’s urban shape.

BAB AL-NASR
BEIT JUNBLATT
BAB AL-HADID — Principal monument
of the urban and archi-
MADRASA AL-UTHMANIYAH
tectural stratification
KHAN QURT BAK
SINAGOGA CENTRAL
and urban axes.

MATBAKH AL-AJAMI
MADRASA AL-HALAWIYYA GREAT MOSQUE
BAB ANTAKYA
CITADEL
BEHRAMIYAH MOSQUE
AL-ADILIYA MOSQUE HAMMAM YALBUGHA
AL-SHIBANI CHURCH
AL SAFFAHIYAH MOSQUE
ARGHUN MARISTAN KHUSRUWIYAH MOSQUE ALTUN BOGHA MOSQUE

AL OTRUSH MOSQUE
BAB QINNASRIN RUMI MOSQUE

BAB AL-MAQAM
I MONUMENTI PRINCIPALI DELLA STRATIFICAZIONE URBANA E ARCHITETTONICA
TRACCE DELLA DELINEATIO SECUNDUM COELUM E DELLA DELINEATIO SECUNDUM NATURAM
— 31 —
— 32 —
UNA STRATEGIA PER LA NUOVA ALEPPO
0 100
500
1000
— The new strategy for

Aleppo.
— Al-Otrush Mosque.
— 33 —
— 34 —
— Al-Shibani Church.
— 35 —
— 36 —
— 37 —
— 38 —
— Altun Bogha Mosque.
— 39 —
— 40 —
A A
— Bab Qinnasrin.
— 41 —
A concentric
project
strategy.
Two rings:
the stone city
and the
green city.
— 43 —
A B
A-A
B-B
— 44 —
A B
— Behramiyah Mosque.
— 45 —
— 46 —
— Great Mosque.
— 47 —
— 48 —
— Hammam Yalbugha.
— 49 —
— 50 —
— 51 —
— 52 —
— Khusruwiyah Mosque.
— 53 —
— 54 —
— Madrasa Al-Uthmaniyah.
— 55 —
Monuments
belong to
the future.
Destruction as
re-construction,
first element
of a new
project.
— 57 —
— 58 —
— 59 —
— 60 —
A rmand o Da l Fa bb ro
— Venice, Italy
Armando Dal Fabbro teaches Architectural and Urban

Composition at the Department of Architecture, Con-
struction and Conservation of Università Iuav di Ven-
ezia. Since 2001, he has been a member of the board
of the PhD in Architectural Composition at Iuav. He
has also been visiting rofessor at the Institute of Ar-
chitectural Design of the Cracow University and the
Fachhochschule of the University of Munster MSA.
His research interests move from the critical ap-

proach to the works of the modern movement and
some particular experiences of Italian rationalism,

in relation to the architectural and urban history for
the construction of the modern city and the trans-
formations of the contemporary city. Lately, his re-
search has focused on urban regeneration and on
architectural upgrading projects for dismantled in-
dustrial areas.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Camilla Donantoni
Graduate cum laude in Architecture, Construction, and Con-
servation at Università Iuav di Venezia, she attended a Master
in Architecture, Archaeology, and Museography at the Adri-

anea Onlus Academy. Since 2014, she has been collaborating
at Iuav, where she has been a PhD candidate for the Architec-
tural Composition curriculum since November 2015.
Anna Fabris
Graduate with full marks in Architecture for the Old and
the New at Università Iuav di Venezia with a thesis on the
regeneration of the Lignano Sabbiadoro spa complex. To-
day, she works at the professional studio Fabris Architec-
ture. Since 2017, she has been collaborating at Iuav with
prof. Armando Dal Fabbro.
Matteo Piacentini
Bachelor Degree in Environmental Architecture at the Politec-
nico of Milano. Today, he is a thesis student of prof. Armando
Dal Fabbro at Università Iuav di Venezia for the Graduate De-
gree Programme in Architecture for the Old and the New.
Francesco Soriani
Graduate with full marks in Architecture for the Old and
the New at Università Iuav di Venezia, with a thesis on
the recovery of the archaeological area of Colle Oppio in
Rome. He participated at national and international design
competitions. Since 2016, he has been collaborating at
Iuav with prof. Armando Dal Fabbro.
— 62 —
Stud ents
—
Azzurra Abate Matteo

Ilaria Aganetto
Nicola Baccega
Paolo Bellone
Anna Benetti
Daniele Biolo
Laura Buiatti
Claudia Capodaglio
Simone Carraro
Simone Del Medico
Beatrice Didonè

Tiziana Eustatiu
Matteo Fabbio
Mattia Grigoletto
Alice Lenarduzzi
Sonia Lorenzi
Giulio Marcadella
Giulia Mazzon
Davide Mendo
Filippo Millosevich
Angelica Modenese
Raynny Morello Bayer
Monica Noto
Simone Pellegrino
Valentina Phung
Alberto Renon
Alessandro Sanguin
Laura Tresin
Manuel Turetta
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro / Aleppo. Traces Of Future
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Salma Samar Damluji

— MA’LŪLĀ / 33°50’44”N 36°32’52”E
MA’LŪLĀ
REINVENTING
Salma Samar Damluji
— MA’LŪLĀ / 33°50’44”N 36°32’52”E
REINVENTING
MA’LŪLĀ
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Salma Samar Damluji

Reinventing Ma’Lūlā

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Ma’Lūl ā
19 Introd uction
22 Destructi on and recost r u c ti on : p ost- wa r

l and scapes
28 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Salma Samar Damluji
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
R E I N V E N T I N G M A’ L Ū L Ā
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Salma Samar Damluji
elles, 1842, p.2.
ies, with their destruction, and with the intentional
Press, Cambridge,1973.


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Salma Samar Damluji
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Salma Samar Damluji
MA’LŪLĀ
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2004 2,762
2017 NA
Description
Ma’Lūlā is a small village about 60 km north of Damascus, facing the
Syrian-Lebanon border. It is nested in the foothills of the Qalamoun
Mountain, consisting of three plateaus: 1,000, 1,500, and 1,750 metres
high. Its fresh air, narrow irregular alleys, arid landscapes, and the pres-
ence of numerous springs and orchards make it very picturesque. It is
one of the last places in the world where a form of Aramaic (the old
Semitic dialect that dates back to obscure invaders of the second mil-
lennium before Jesus Christ) is spoken.
— 11 —
MA’LŪLĀ
Alqalamoun Mount
to Damascus
0 5 km
Al Qutayfah
Jabadeen
0 1 km
Mar Takla
MA’LŪLĀ
Ayn At Tinah
X
— 16 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— The houses and alleys

of the old town were
The main shrine contain-
ing the tomb of St.
Thecla was completely
burnt down, with little or
no information on the
fate of its sacred con-
tents and relics. Parts of
the western and eastern
walls of the Monastery
of Saints Sergius and
Bacchus were subject
to severe damage since
several mortar shells
hit them. In addition,
the big dome of the
building was affected by
shelling.
— 17 —
Salma Samar Damluji
In trod uction
—
Viola Ber t ini, Celes t e D a Bo it , G ia d a S av ia ne
The title of the workshop - Re-Inventing Ma’lūlā - aims at

defining the theoretical context within which the work-
shop activities were defined. The word invention comes
from the Latin invēntu, past participle of invenīre, that
means discovering, re-finding something by looking for
it. Therefore, we mean to investigate Ma’lūlā in order to
try to understand the spirit of the place and the sense of
the space. Both these aspects are in fact essential in try-
ing to figure out any eventual process of reconstruction
and, more in general, a possible future for Ma’lūlā. The
topic was developed following four different themes, to
which each group was assigned.
Village layout
A study on the theme of the “village” was developed,

in order to understand the logic according to which
the village was shaped, with a main focus on the re-
lationship between the buildings and the topographic
condition of the site. The study included a survey of
the demolished areas, aimed at recognising how the
urban layout changed after the war destruction and,
therefore, also aimed at defining the areas of future
transformation. The study resulted in a maquette of
the site and a masterplan that, reinterpreting the an-
cient structure of the village, suggests its possible ex-
pansion and transformation.
Housing
From a reading of the main existing housing types,

the plot of a demolished village was chosen as a
— 19 —
case study in order to experiment new housing solu-
tions. The remaining traces of the pre-existing hous-
es were considered as a footprint to be followed in
the reconstruction process, so as to not modify the
general sense of the space. After defining the overall
layout of the plot, a project of a courtyard house was
developed in detail, trying to match the traditional do-
mestic features with the new residential needs of the

local people.
Monasteries and sacred buildings
The presence of many sacred buildings in Ma’lūlā

was recognised as one of the main characteristics
of the village and as a fundamental part of its spe-
cific identity. Eight of these buildings were chosen
and, with reference to the limited existing visual
documentation, analysed in order to understand their
structure, the recurring parts they are composed of,
and their relationship with the general layout of the
village and site. The study was developed in draw-
ings and maquettes, and used as a tool to define the
project of an abstract sacred space to be intended as
a symbolic, multicultural, and multi-religious place.
Homage to Ma’lūlā
Finally, we brought homage to Ma’lūlā by creating two

installations: a dome and a sculpture. The dome, with
a 3 m diameter, was built with green and gold-painted
polystyrene blocks to cover a hexagonal room. The
sculpture, consisting of several black boards painted
with Arabic and Aramaic calligraphy (with the names
of the monasteries), hung from the ceiling of the
central space that served as an enclosed court. Both
installations had a symbolic meaning, expressing the
identity of Ma’lūlā and a hope for its future.
— 20 —
Salma Samar Damluji
The workshop results were exhibited in total dark-

ness, and the experience was articulated with Ara-
maic chants from the monasteries and choirs of
Ma’lūlā. Conceived as an abstract village layout,
with narrow passages and small squares around
the central court, each space was dedicated to one
of the four themes. The idea, once again, was that
of recreating a Sense of Ma’lūlā’s space and place,
evoking a sombre atmosphere leading to lightened
interventions within each section. At the end of the
passage to the bronze dome, with the representa-
tion of a star lit sky, a prevailing feeling of quiet and
peace emerges and rises.
— 21 —
D estru c tio n a n d rec on s t ru ct i on :
p o s t- w a r la n dsc a p es
—
S a lma S a ma r D a mluji
An introduction to reconstruction
Theory or practice?
The background and premise for the Ma’lūlā W.A.Ve.

workshop was the continuation or result of the Urbi-
cide conference started by Iuav (April 2016) followed
by Urbicide II (held in Beirut, April 2017). This forum
established an important precedent: it was a plat-
form that provoked and inspired a dialogue that chal-
lenged both the state of destruction and of despair,
amidst a continued state of horror, of the war and
plight inflicted in Syria.
Bringing the Urbicide up to the forefront also brought

a much-needed lead in engaging architecture in a
direct confronting with the cause and aftermath of
the war. The case of Syria brought the acknowledge-
ment of over two decades of silent destruction and
collateral damage in the human, social, and historic
fabric. Veiled and masked in different theatrical
productions, and supported by an entourage of bro-
kers, contractors, and speculators. These wars were
shaped into a virtual structure, removing human
killing from the scene (like a Star Wars movie), and
weaving the narrative into a myth and fiction where
reality is played into an illusion. Structures, states,
and infrastructures were thus dilapidated and broken
down. The region was silent and rendered jaded by
its utter physical and moral defeat.
Wars need an enemy, and here the enemies are war

mongers, supreme hegemony moving on stage, lev-
— 22 —
Salma Samar Damluji
elling cities and flattening buildings. “But there has 1 — Bevan R., “The
Destruction of Memory,
always been another war against architecture going Architecture at War”,
on - the destruction of the cultural artefacts of an en- London, 2006, Introduc-
tion, p.8.
emy, people or nation as a means of dominating, ter-
rorising, dividing or eradicating it altogether”1. Bevan 2 — ibid.
suggests that “it is a tactic often conducted away
from the frontline”; in fact, events in Iraq, Yemen, and
Syria have proved the contrary: the cultural destruc-
tion and devastation of Iraq’s urban landscape was
part of the agenda. The Baghdad Museum and Pal-
myra were both in the frontline for the consolidation
of the occupation: started by the US and continued
by “so called” ISIS.
The bombing of Aden, San’ā, Ta’iz, and Sa’dah in

Yemen, since 2015, was accompanied by the target
of hospitals and schools in Syria, Yemen, and Af-
ghanistan. This was no longer collateral but inten-
tional damage: it is a dark background and sequence
of events that barely sketches the backdrop to the
complex configuration and destruction course that
cities have been subjected to.
How do we read this phenomenon, as architects with

or without frontiers, for the future? As Bevan wrote in
2006: “This cultural cleansing, with architecture as
its medium, is a phenomenon that has been barely
understood”2.
Over the past 10 years, the destruction catalogue has

grown with new entries of hundreds of monuments
and institutions, (historic, contemporary, ethnic, and
cultural), on an unprecedented (and inconceivable)
scale: targeting structures and buildings of Assyrian,
Sumerian, Babylonian, Roman, Eastern Christian, Byz-
antine, ‘Umayyad, ‘Abbasid, Mamlūk, and Ottoman ori-
gin (to name only the more familiar). Obliterating large
— 23 —
swathes of history or culture urges the need to re-search
the distant and recent past. Reading destruction means
rewriting the layers of meaning, recreating the power of
the lost and destroyed fragments of place.
With Urbicide, Venice made the call to talk about and

pay tribute to the profound wounds etched by these
events, to reconsider and propose reconstruction and

change in Syria, as fact and not fiction: inspired by the
rightful urge to investigate and contemplate the im-
mediate aftermath of post-war conditions of cities,
towns, communities and lives. This was a refreshing
leap, as opposed to the political status quo brought
by despair and accompanied by an underlying illusory
pretext. It gave urban killing a presence, structure, a
name, and identity upon the international stage, by
drawing architectural fault lines and historic param-
eters. It recognised that the emergency situation and
conditions caused by ongoing wars was important to
acknowledge, and so was drawing the framework for
the response to the destruction in Syria, Iraq, and Yem-
en. The discourse had hardly begun in the region when
the events were promptly abstracted and concealed
from the minds and trajectory of ordinary lives.
Considering the scale and scope of damage across

the Middle East (and Libya) – notwithstanding the
precedence of the Palestinian cities, towns and land-
scapes – it is critical to confront the components
and the intellectual and empirical processes that are
a pre-requisite for the issue of “reconstruction”. A
new lexicon is required for our work as architects,
in referring to and dealing with post-war “strategies”.
The use of the word “urban” here becomes, arbitrarily

or implicitly, encompassing to the man-made struc-
tures and natural landscapes, rural towns, neighbour-
— 24 —
Salma Samar Damluji
hoods and inhabitants; just as to the infrastructure 3 — See Damluji S.S.,

in “La Médina et le
and historical, cultural, social, economic, and natural renouveau de la ville no-
resources. In other words, all the components that made” [“The Medina and
nomad urban renewal”],
contribute to the making of an “urban entity”; what in “La Ville Rebelle”, Ed.
the philosopher and sociologist Ibn Khaldūn referred Jana Revedin, Paris,
2015, and in “The Other
to as hadārah, or civilisation: one that is empowered Architecture: Geometry,
by culture, brought by sedentary (as opposed to no- Earth and Vernacular”,
madic) life and settlement, with the cultivation of Paris, 2015.
refinement, and the flourishing of arts, crafts, and

techniques (including building, literature, music).
Other words operate from the same level and prem-

ise of the Other Architecture3 (identified with the con-
temporary vernacular), where “reconstruction” and
emergency response are familiar phrases within the
operative framework, practice, and site strategies.
Reconstruction speaks of a reconciliation system be-
tween two lives and periods: the pre and post dam-
age, the inhabited and deserted landscape, between
loss and recovery. As with the building projects we
worked on in Yemen, ironically in the years prior to
the current war 2007-2014: natural catastrophes and
economic and political upheavals (like wars), con-
tributed to the state of destruction and collapse and
required immediate emergency measures to mitigate
the danger and threat in the urban fabric, rehabilitat-
ing and reconstructing it where possible. Hence, the
process is one that is inclusive of rethinking and re-
inventing. And each case presents us with a different
schema, in redrawing the original settlement, town or
neighbourhood layers that form the matrix.
Approach, method, and process
The studio’s approach was based on working to identify

and consolidate this process: to establish the method-
— 25 —
ology that would guide the line of inquiry for the ele-
ments of destruction and reconstruction. This was the
challenge in rethinking Ma’lūlā.
Assessing the damage entailed redressing the cul-

tural role and significance of Ma’lūlā in order to un-
derstand the making of its fabric and identity: how do
we read and convey this, and appreciate the sense of

place before we can begin to work with reinventing
and reconstructing the spaces anew?
This was true for the different layers and levels

the town presented us with: the districts, squares,
streets, alleys, architecture details; the infrastructure
and landscape (both natural and manmade), agricul-
ture, and rivers woven into the landscape and fabric.
And the particular dramatic site: the sharp white rock
walls surrounding the city were at the forefront in
providing a source of inspiration. They retained the
power of the place, drawing and consolidating its
origin and structure, but at the same time the forti-
fication and defence of the rock walls also exposed
the fragility of these spaces, ravaged and destroyed,
defining a dialectic line.
The process engaged in reading and interpreting each

of the presented aspects: the urban fabric, devasta-
tion, pain, occupation, destruction, and plight served
as the backdrop to the drawing board… a blueprint for
creative rethinking and designing for the future.
On the exterior, a new space was introduced at the

foot of the rock walls through an extension of the riv-
er channel network, at the front entrance to the town,
creating orchards for the community. On the interior
of the town, new housing schemes were designed,
through an adapted reuse of the existing courtyard
— 26 —
Salma Samar Damluji
house concept, made higher and therefore providing

more open spaces and light. The monasteries were
reconstructed to recover their significance and el-
egance as cultural and unifying spaces. This was the
process that engaged and accompanied the Studio:
serving the specific prototype of Ma’lūlā to rethink
post-war urban landscapes.
B ibliograph y
—
Revedin J. “La Ville Rebelle”, Alternatives, Paris, 2015.
Bevan R., “The Destruction of Memory, Architecture at War”, Reaktion
Books, London, 2006.
— 27 —
Reconstruction
speaks of a
reconciliation
system
between two
lives and
periods: the
pre and post
damage.
— 29 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— 30 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— Schematic representa-
tion of the three main
layers characterizing
Ma’lūlā: the buildings,
the river and the fields.
— 31 —
— 32 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— Full and empty spaces

in the city: individua-
tion of the destructed
buildings.
— Schematic plan rep-
resenting the continuity
and the connection of
the downtown with the
mountain behind.
— 33 —
— 34 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— Masterplan project:
saturation of the
empty spaces with
new buildings, creation
of new public gardens
and courts, planning of
new agricultural lands
and drawing of an
artificial lake.
— 35 —
— 36 —
— 37 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— 38 —
— 39 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— 40 —
— 41 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— 42 —
— 43 —
Salma Samar Damluji
A new
lexicon is
required for
our work as
architects, in
referring to
and dealing
with post-war
“strategies”.
— 45 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— 46 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— Project of rebuilding
of a quarter of houses
(ground floor and first
floor).
— Section study of a
new typology of contem-
porary house in Ma’lūlā:
the typical elements are
combined together with
modern features.
— 47 —
— 48 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— Project for a multicul-

tural building in Ma’lūlā,
study model and sketch.
— 49 —
— 50 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— Plan of Mar Takla

Church.
— Church of Mar Takla.
— 51 —
— 52 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— Study sketch for the

installation An homage
to Ma’lūlā.
— 53 —
To reconsider
and propose
reconstruction
and change
in Syria,
as fact
and not
fiction.
— 55 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— 56 —
— 57 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— 58 —
— 59 —
Salma Samar Damluji
— 60 —
Salma Samar Damluji
Salma S ama r D a m lu ji
— Beirut, Lebanon
British architect of Iraqi and Lebanese descent, Salma

Samar Damluji graduated from the Architectural Asso-
ciation School of Architecture and The Royal College
of Art in London. She worked with Egyptian Architect
Hassan Fathy (1975-1976) and (1983 to1984). In 2008
she established with colleagues in Yemen The Daw‘an
Mud Brick Architecture Foundation in Mukalla, Hadra-
mut and has ben working there on earth construction
and rehabilitation projects.
Damluji has carried out extensive field work and

research on architecture in the Arab region. She is
author of over 12 titles including Zillij, The Art of Mo-
roccan Ceramics (1993) with John Hedgecoe, The
Architecture of Oman (1998), The Architecture of the
UAE (2006) and The Architecture of Yemen (2007).
Her latest The Other Architecture: Geometry, Earth
and Vernacular (Leçon Inaugurale de l’École de Chail-
lot), was published in Paris in 2015 and short listed
at the Académie d’Architecture for the Prix du Livre
d’Architecture, in November 2015.
Since 2013 she is Professor, Binladin Chair for Ar-

chitecture in the Islamic World at the Faculty of En-
gineering and Architecture, The American University
of Beirut.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Viola Bertini
Viola Bertini graduated in Architecture at the Politecnico
di Milano and got a PhD in Architectural Composition at
Università Iuav di Venezia. She is a research fellow at Iuav,

studying the relation between architecture and tourism
and the concept of cultural landscape.
Celeste Da Boit
Celeste Da Boit graduated in Architecture at Università
Iuav di Venezia. She is a freelancer, collaborating with dif-
ferent professional studios. She continues her academic
experience as teacher assistant.
Giada Saviane
Giada Saviane graduated in Architecture at Università Iuav
di Venezia. She is a freelancer, collaborating with different
professional studios. She continues her academic experi-
ence as teacher assistant.
— 62 —
Salma Samar Damluji
Stud ents
—
Giuliano Battigelli Silvia Panizzo

Gloria Bernardi Maria Pernice
Milena Bertolini Giovanni Pistilli
Martina Biasiotto Sebastiano Rosin
Alessandro Bolzonella Anita Sartori
Chiara Livia Calella Sofia Sartori
Andrea Castellan Giovanna Scussat
Laura Centomo Angelica Stern
Beatrice Colombaro Carlo Tamai
Giovanni Dal Col Zhang Tao
Debora De Boni Francesca Teschioni
Serena De Conti Emanuele Zanardo
Maria Elena De Venanzi Alessandro Zanetti
Enrico Dell’Olivo Qi Zhang
Filippo Dottor
Sara Fabretti
Nilo Forcellini
Carlos Fuentes
Maria Gomez Del Rosario
Arianna Gorin
Vera Granger
Davide Grendene
Laura Guglielmin
Zhai Huihong
Tazio Emanuele Leoni
Maria Lonardoni
Simone Lorenzon
Gianluca Maggio
Maisa Mubashira Mahi
Damiano Marin
Serena Martinelli
Martina Melzi
Erika Michelazzo
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji / Reinventing Ma’Lūlā
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

SCAR
Fernanda De Maio
— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
THE ALEPPO’S
OUT OF FOCUS.
Fernanda De Maio
— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
OUT OF FOCUS.
THE ALEPPO’S
SCAR
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Fernanda De Maio
Out Of Focus. The Aleppo’s Scar

Published by
Co-published with
Santa Croce 191, Venezia,VE

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Aleppo
19 Introd uction
21 Out of focus. The Al ep p o’s s c a r
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Fernanda D e Maio
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
OUT OF FOCUS. THE ALEPPO’S SCAR

— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Fernanda D e Maio
elles, 1842, p.2.
tecture) is how to deal with the consequences of

ams Family Correspond-


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Fernanda D e Maio
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA

Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Fernanda D e Maio
ALEPPO
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E

Population
2004 2,132,100
2017 1,602,264
Description
— 11 —
ALEPPO
to Damascus
0 5 km
industrial city
citadel
airport
Al Asse River
0 1 km
ALEPPO OLD CITY
citadel
Suk
— 16 —
Fernanda D e Maio

and destruction to
400,000 dead and
The historic monu-

down completely.
— 17 —
Fernanda D e Maio
In trod uction
—
Al essandro De S avi, E lisa Pet r iccio li
“Starting from Aleppo: for Syria, for the students”.
The educational proposal that was offered to the

students involved in the Out of Focus workshop on
Aleppo comprised a series of exercises, useful to de-
velop knowledge on the identified themes, in a con-
tinuous and overlapping mix of both analytical and
propositional practices. The exercises that seemed
to be initially “unconnected” found an idea of conti-

nuity in the general masterplan, through a constantly
re-invented repetition of the same elements used in
the three exercises. The first exercise was “collage”
through which it is possible to view some of the most
compelling issues for W.A.Ve. 2017. The collage was
used as a de-constructing and discovery technique,
to read and overwrite a stratified culture, imagining
new opportunities able to rethink the meanings and
the connections between all the first elements. Sub-
sequently, the construction of the concrete model
of a part of a renowned building, used as a design
reference, was a way to question some ideas at the
basis of modern western culture. It also was a way
to explore our ability to critically adapt to the con-
text and reinvent our culture, declining and mixing it
with other contributions as a sort of “variations on a
theme”. This method of reading and re-writing, which
goes beyond the “paraphrase” of the project, became
necessary because of the difficulty of transmitting
the “corpus” of knowledge on the theme and area in
a period as short as that of a workshop. However,
this also is a specific attitude of the architectural
discipline, which tends to be realised in the actual
— 19 —
practice of “doing”. “Doing” becomes the completion
of the cognitive activity. The project thus becomes
a necessary aspect of the knowledge activity. If the
case-study building was built in concrete to stage a
ruin, the new architectures that complement it stand
out for their golden surface.
This exasperated opposition marks the need for con-

tacts: a continuous exchange between differences
within the idea that actual “collision” only happens in
the presence of a void – such as “Nobody’s Land” –
between the two battlefronts located in Aleppo in the
district of Karm Al-Jabal. This “vague terrain”, result-
ing from the division of the city into West Aleppo and
East Aleppo, takes on a remarkable further mean-
ing at Karm Al-Jabal: it is a place of terror that the
workshop project turns into a space for all, a green
park that transforms the meaning of an urban wound
into a scar, on which to lay all the rubble of the de-
stroyed city. The memory contained in the mass of
the residue holds the city together. The park, a green
element of urban continuity, becomes the common
ground for the projects.
— 20 —
Fernanda D e Maio
Out of f ocus. T h e A lepp o’s sc a r

—
Fernanda De M aio
“War and post-war”.
Why this war? Are the guilty parties for the crisis in
the Middle East area evident? In terms of geo-political
aspects, it is only evident that what we call “the Syr-
ian civil war” thrusts Syria and the Middle East into
chaos, where many characters play a significant part
and enrich themselves at the expense of the Syrian
population. Shall we – people from the West – say

“we are innocent”? I used my belonging to the west
side of the world as a burden: the burden of who
knows what is happening by analogy. Since I am the
daughter of the generation who was born during the
last phase of World War II, my DNA code holds the
traces of the survivor. Therefore, I can’t say “I wasn’t
there”. The title Out of focus. The Aleppo’s scar pos-
tulates that the chaos generated by the war, and the
questions consistent with it, is the only conceptual
tool able to give us the opportunity to create a co-
herent hank to weave a new different scenario. This
short presentation aims to emphasise how the design
process is able to hold the necessity of the condem-
nation of war, and the technical tools to rethink archi-
tecture in Syrian cities and in all territories devastated
by war. Sometimes we need to be ideological, even if
we are only humble architects, in demanding a peace-
ful world. The workshop educational exercises were
conceived to make the transitions between some
universal questions and the need for the local solu-
tions very clear, even if the information on the chosen
district to be developed was little and hard to find.
The case-study area was chosen to inspire and pro-
— 21 —
voke the students of the workshop, on issues that are
hidden behind the title Syria, the making of the future:
post-war reconstruction, heritage, collective mem-
ory, ecology, private and public pain, sudden losses,
death, broken childhoods, grotesque army oppres-
sion, and the difficulty to achieve freedom. Freedom
is the only tool for the respect of cultural differences:
the beauty of freedom represents a small amount of

the unsaid obvious things that take part inside the de-
sign process. Moreover, this presentation aims to be
both a dedication and thank you at the same time.
The grotesque sequence of the extemporary military
dinner during an aristocratic party in Shirine Neshat’s
movie Women without men – Silver Lion Award at the
66th Venice International Film Festival – is the direct
creative reference that prompted the layout of all the
different meanings and backgrounds that lay beneath
the workshop. The pioneering project Evolving scares,
by Bernard Khoury for the city of Beirut (bombed in
1991), is at the basis of our first conceptual approach
to the topic of W.A.Ve. 2017; the innocent children of
Syria are the inspiration of our task and, to understand
their shock, we looked back at Edmund, the child who
Roberto Rossellini followed in 1948 to tell the story
of the destruction of Berlin in Germania Anno Zero.
These are the fundamentals for the following chal-
lenge. In search of the keywords of the workshop, we
also looked at many other sensitive architects and
artists, such as: Piero Bottoni and his Monte Stella for
the QT8 district; Mona Hatoum and her conceptual
installations with carpets or maps of Middle Eastern
cities; Alberto Burri and his Cretto of Gibellina, among
his many masterpieces; Victor Pasmore and his Apol-
lo Pavillion, in contrast with his light paintings and
sculptures; Thomas Bernhard with one of his harsh
romances; Glenn Gould playing the Goldberg Varia-
tions; Fabrizio Gifuni playing the role of Carlo Emilio
— 22 —
Fernanda D e Maio
Gadda during World War I in the monologue L’ingegner

Gadda va alla guerra o della tragica storia di Amleto
Pirobiturro; and many others.
“Karm al-Jabal/the grapevines of the mountain”.
A deep wound crosses the Karm Al-Jabal district in

Aleppo; the limits of this wound are the two opposite
fronts of the war between the Assad Army and the Re-
bel Army, with their variable allied forces, internal and
external. Between West Aleppo and East Aleppo, dur-
ing the siege. We envision the land between the two
fronts, between the two parts of the city – one of the
most bombed parts of the district, near the Hanano bar-

racks and the road for the international airport –, as an
area for a new park, where it could be possible to col-
lect the ruins of the war and shape a new landscape for
Karm Al-Jabal. A green cretto that could underline the
traces of the urban bombed blocks with a new meaning,
and become a first step in the development and recon-
struction of a different idea of urban identity for Aleppo.
Karm Al-Jabal means “the grapevines of the mountain”.
The name evokes an agriculture, a rural landscape, a bu-
colic vision, and definitely forms of social. The contrast
between the vision inspired by the name of the district
and the reality of the war became a first starting point
of our work, a way to indicate the resilient traces of the
life in Aleppo pre/during/post war. The wound turns into
a scar. The current invisible lines of the war’s front be-
come the limits of the scar along which we insert the
new buildings for the Karm Al-Jabal district, designed
by the students. People as victims, people as oppres-
sors; architecture as victim, architecture as oppressor;
these are the extreme positions that are presented by
this war and all the wars of the past and the present
century. Is it possible to recompose these conflictual
positions with the survivors and the fugitives, with the
— 23 —
1 — For the role played relicts of war? In the vision of some people, and in the
by Urbanism and Archi-
tecture before the Syrian critical positions of some architects and urban plan-
civil war, see Al Sabouni ners, architecture and urbanism of the 20th century are
M., “Battle for Home:
The Vision of a seen as engines of violence and segregations1. But it
Young Architect”, is an old theory. Is it possible to rehabilitate some of
Thames&Hudson, 2016.
the modern (guilty) concepts of architecture and urban-
2 — Many towns are ism as tools to create new directions for future Syrian
built on the ruins of their

past layers, but a very
cities? This was our second starting point. This way,
interesting landscape huge residential blocks, new towns, controversial in-
design was made for terventions (evoking the concept of “zoning” combined
Berlin after World War
II, by the Collective di- with relevant and successful examples of 20th century
rected by Hans Sharoun, architecture) make the list of the “guilty” architecture
where a significant role
was played by the land- we proposed to use in the work of the students. All the
scape architect Reinhold notable building that were chosen are situated in cities
Lingner. He designed
the masterplan for the
of the Mediterranean countries – Agadir, Algeri, Beirut,
new hill of war debris Genua, Naples, Milan, Ouarzazate, Rome, Taroudant –
with specific attention
to the ecological need
and most of them were part of programmes of recon-
and to the ideological struction because of wars or natural disasters. But how
meanings of destroyed do we see Aleppo, today, with the nostalgia for its birth
Nazi Berlin that had to
be hidden for the fol- essence of millennial city? A different vision of Aleppo,
lowing generations. For starting from what remains on the soil, is the ex-tempore
more information, see
De Maio F., “The green exercise we asked the students to do. The fragments in
hills of black and white the pictures of bombed Aleppo are fragments of some
rubble”, in Bassanelli
M., Postiglione G. (eds.),
of the guilty modern architectures, showcased in the
“Re-enacting the past. students’ collages. The collages were our approach to
Museography for con-
flict heritage”, Lettera
the city, to its ancient history, to the different layers that
22, 2013. make its urban landscape, to its vertical and horizontal
landmarks – the Citadel, the old souk, the mosques.
The Citadel gives us both an opportunity and an answer:
the Citadel is a hill made from the ruins of other Alep-
pos; the roots of the most famous buildings take place
in this kind of soil. We aim to use the same strategy
as Berlin after World War II2. This is our alternative to
the rhetoric of the Tabula Rasa. The fragments of the
guilty modern architectures shown in the collages then
became the elements from which students started their
own projects for the Karm Al-Jabal district, in a design
— 24 —
Fernanda D e Maio
process that implied an act of correction. Ambiguous

references evolve in these new projects. Each project is
introduced by a motto claiming the function for which it
is imagined, or the sense of the transformation it is go-
ing to generate, and it is illustrated through a drawing/
manifesto and a concrete/golden cardboard model.
“Don’t forget the beautiful words, Aleppo”.
A domestic interior is the best set to display the work-

shop results: a well-furnished table, with plenty of meals
waiting for the diners, is surrounded by swings instead
of seats, evoking the children of Aleppo and the gen-
eral atmosphere at the same time. A room where no-

body can enter; it is enclosed by a double cage of metal
net where photographs, collages, and ideas written in
Arabic (by the Syrian architects invited by the W.A.Ve.
2017 staff) seem to fly among the double walls, while
the models enclose the bottom of the walls. The dense
texture of images prevents physical passage as it filters
sight, forcing the eye to a continuous effort in focus-
ing between different semantic levels. The educational
experience offered to the students is that of developing
the inevitable filter that characterises each project. A
sequence of apparently unconnected exercises helped
explore the complex stratification between memories
and suggestions, emotions and prejudices, urban analy-
sis and personal architectural references.
B ibliograph y
—
Al Sabouni M., “Battle for home: The vision of a young architect”,
Thames&Hudson, London, 2016.
Bassanelli M., Postiglione G. (eds.), “Re-enacting the past. Museography
for conflict heritage”, Lettera 22, Siracusa, 2013.
— 25 —
Aleppo’s
Room
contains the
indoors and
outdoors of
the city.
— 27 —
Fernanda D e Maio

— 28 —
— 29 —
Fernanda D e Maio

— 30 —
Fernanda D e Maio
– On the previews page

Aerial view of Aleppo.
White lines underline the
movement of the battle
front during the war.
In the Karm Al-Jabal
district, in gold, the bat-
tlefront becomes wider;
this battlefront position
lasted the longest,
from November 2015 to

August 2016.
— Aerial view of Karm

Al-Jabal District (2016).
In yellow, the most
significant elements of
the area: the Ottoman
barracks, the water
tanks, and all the main
roads and cemeteries.

— Two of the collages
made by the students.
— 31 —
— 32 —
Fernanda D e Maio
— Picture of the exhibi-

tion with the Aleppo’s
room installation.

— Two of the collages
made by the students.
— On the following page

mosaic of the collages -
first exercise.
— 33 —
— 34 —
— 35 —
Fernanda D e Maio

Collisions
happen where
divisions
dominate:
from the
territory of no
one to the war
debris green
park for all.
Fernanda D e Maio
— Aerial views of Karm

Al-Jabal District (April
2010, January 2014,
June 2016). In gold, the
different positions of
the battlefronts during
the years of war.
— On the following page

Photomontage on the
aerial view of Karm Al-
Jabal District with all the
projects superimposed
on the park. The park is
the common ground for
each project, a place to
collect the rubble of the
destroyed city. In this
image, all the designs
are visible and the dif-

ficulty to focus on them
shows the multiplicity of
the possibilities for its
reconstruction.
— 37 —
— 38 —
— 39 —
Fernanda D e Maio

— 40 —
— 41 —
Fernanda D e Maio

— 42 —
Fernanda D e Maio
— On the previews page

Composition with the
models in concrete of
the reference buildings -
second exercise.
— Picture of the exhibition.

— Still frames of the
military dinner sequence
from the movie

Women without men by
Shirin Neshat. It was the
creative reference for
Aleppo’s Room.
— 43 —
— 44 —
— 45 —
Fernanda D e Maio

— 46 —
— 47 —
Fernanda D e Maio

Using
references not
as a way to
grab ideas but
as a sincere
attempt to
question
our own
background.
— 49 —
Fernanda D e Maio

— 50 —
— 51 —
Fernanda D e Maio

— 52 —
Fernanda D e Maio
— On the preview page

Composition with the
models of the projects
in concrete and golden
cardboard.
— Pictures from the

workshop.
— 53 —
— 54 —
— 55 —
Fernanda D e Maio

— 56 —
— 57 —
Fernanda D e Maio

— 58 —
— 59 —
Fernanda D e Maio

— 60 —
Fernanda D e Maio
Fernand a D e M a io
— Naples, Italy
Born in Naples. Educated in Architecture at the Uni-

versità di Napoli “Federico II”, scholarship at the
Akademie Schloss Solitude of Stuttgart. Phd in Ur-
ban Design, Professor of Architecture and Urban de-
sign at Università Iuav di Venezia since 2005. From
1997 to 2005, member of the agency of architecture
Na.o Mi., based in Milan. Since 2007, she has been
practicing architecture as consultant for the agency
Im.Ing., based in Naples.
She is curator of international seminars, conferences,

and exhibitions. Her scholar activity is documented
by the numerous books and essays published in Italy
and abroad – Wasserwerke: Paul Bonatz: Die Neck-
arstaustufen, Edition Solitude, Stuttgart 2001; Aldo
Rossi, la storia di un libro. L’architettura della città dal
1966 ad oggi, Il Poligrafo, Padova 2014.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Alessandro De Savi
MA Architect (Iuav - ULB). Teaching assistant at the Atel-
ier for heritage architecture (prof. F. De Maio - Iuav). Cur-
rently working at The Modern Arch Duet in Venice.
Elisa Petriccioli
MA Architect (Iuav). Teaching assistant and research fel-
low (prof. F. De Maio - Iuav). Since 2008 she holds her own
architecture practice in Venice.
Vittoria Sarto
BA degree in Architecture (Iuav - UPV/EHU - ETSAB). Cur-
rently working on her final project for the master at Iuav.
Teaching assistant at W.A.Ve. 2016 - Burden of dreams
(prof. F. De Maio - Iuav).
Alessia Scudella
BA degree in Architecture (Iuav - UPV/EHU). Currently
working on her final project for the master at Iuav. Teach-
ing assistant at W.A.Ve. 2016 - Burden of dreams (prof. F.
De Maio - Iuav).
— 62 —
Fernanda D e Maio
Stud ents
—
Anita Abundus Fuentes Nicolò Marcato

Ain Abundus Fuentes Ludovico Meneghel
Alessandro Antoniazzi Rhitu Miah
Samuele Barrichello Elisabetta Palma
Elisa Bernardi Giovanni Pattarello
Edoardo Bettiol Jacopo Rizzo
Chiara Bortoli Noemi Salarolo
Linda Bozza Laura Sanavio
Giovanni Brunetti Anna Sasso
Federico Burattin Giulio Stangherlin

Francesca Cavallin Irene Tararan
Sara Celebrin Francesca Tessari
Emanuele Cicero Stefano Vidotto
Giovanni Crivellari
Alessandra Dal Din
Enrico De Pascalis
Maria Giulia Ferrari
Elia Florio
Laura Giamosa
Vincenzo Ioppoli
Sofia Mangini
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio / Out Of Focus. The Aleppo’s Scar
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects


— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
THE RED LINE

OF ALEPPO
— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
THE RED LINE

OF ALEPPO
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017

The Red Line Of Aleppo

Published by
Co-published with
Santa Croce 191, Venezia,VE

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Aleppo
19 Introd uction
21 The l i fe li ne of Aleppo
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Gaeta Sp r ing all Architects
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
TH E RED LINE OF A LEPPO

— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
elles, 1842, p.2.



— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA

Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
ALEPPO
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E

Population
2004 2,132,100
2017 1,602,264
Description
— 11 —
ALEPPO
to Damascus
0 5 km
industrial city
citadel
airport
Al Asse River
0 1 km
ALEPPO OLD CITY
citadel
Suk
— 16 —

and destruction to
400,000 dead and
The historic monu-

down completely.
— 17 —
In trod uction
—
Daniel Mast ret t a
Architecture is the ultimate expression of society,

representing the testimony of human experience
and culture. The three weeks we worked on the city
of Aleppo were incredibly challenging for both tu-
tors and students, especially because we had to
re-think and re-create in a city where destruction
has erased fundamental structures, both physical
and social.
Students were immersed in the process of creat-

ing within destruction, and the resulting ideas both

respected and re-signified the city. The life-line of
Aleppo, and the projects the students created for
it, were both actions of healing and reconstruc-
tion: students decided to leave pieces of history
while using new architecture as a catalyst for new
social interactions.
We challenged students to create things they were

not used to. Their lack of experience was present
in the workroom every day, yet it was precisely their
inexperience that developed projects in interesting
ways. We could not encourage students to create
impressive renderings or draw like the masters, but
their fresh ideas were imprinted in buildings and
ideas for the city of Aleppo. Students proposed a
sensitive approach, with a fundamentally architec-
tural solution, to a social and global problem. This
solution responds to current needs with contempo-
rary ideas, and the students left the workshop with
learned knowledge that they will be able to imprint
in their future.
— 19 —
We did not have the resources or time to develop
each individual project in detail, but the main con-
cept was strong enough to show a group effort.
It became a professional creative product where

students proposed a master plan, and conceptual
volumetric and strategic architectural objects, that
could improve the life of the City of Aleppo while

respecting centuries of history and the scars the
war left behind.
— 20 —
The life line o f A lepp o

—
Julio Gaet a and Lu by S pr inga ll
The line is a symbol of the new Aleppo. The recon-

struction of a city destroyed by war is a very com-
plicated task that involves many disciplines: eco-
nomics, politics, law, health, education, geography,
distribution of population, etc. All members of soci-
ety should contribute. The emotional condition of the
people ought to be very important to commit to the
difficult task. Our life-line points to the emotional and
symbolic in order to boost the return of population
from exile, as well as help the population that stayed
and suffered the destruction of their families and

homes. Our life-line begins at the Old Gate, passes
through the Souq and some mosques, touches the
Citadel, and moves towards the east of the city which
mostly suffered from the destruction.
We are working with elemental programmes, in

search of identity and meaning: memory, dwelling,
education, market, and public space. The life-line is
forgiveness without forgetting. The life-line is hope
for the new Syria; it will be built with red materials,
like brick and stone, that will cicatrise the wound
caused by war. Architecture can heal, if we under-
stand architecture as an antidote to war: war de-
stroys while architecture constructs. The life-line is
part of the destroyed area we chose to work on, and
all the buildings we are working with, are touched by
it. The pavement, the façades, and all the elements
of the line shall be red… but red is not the only col-
our of the line: this line is also a green river, a river
of trees, a river of life. We rebuild using the ruins of
the city, completing the houses and the buildings,
— 21 —
working with the voids caused by destruction. Void
and solid interact. We are restructure semi-destroyed
houses because people who left the city will come
back to recover their lands and homes; because the
parts of buildings that are still standing should not
be demolished, for various reasons: memory, identity,
budget; all these are part of the meaning and memo-
ry of the city. The buildings will turn into a palimpsest

in their spaces and walls. There is a need to create
a dialogue between the new architecture and the old
one. Old and new together. Rebuilding the city with
the same footprints, planning a city with a human
scale, street life, biodiversity, and a high quality of
public life.
Concept
From the beginning, man needed to express himself.

He did so with the use of primordial signs, one of
which was the line with which he depicted the hunt
and everyday life – a linear organisational tool, to de-
scribe the passing of time or his evolutionary steps.
With the discovery of the concept of time, the prob-
lem of representation was solved with a line that
acts as a datum of the ages and events, and links
all past, present, and future generations – the dis-
covery of the infinitive line. The project is considered
as a palimpsest of points/layers of different activi-
ties that come together to form a life-line though the
destroyed parts of the city of Aleppo – highlighting
the scar left by war on the urban fabric, making it a
growing organism of green natural space, aimed at
rebuilding a new city of Aleppo. The life-line can be
compared to that of a stitch – a thread that loops
though the destruction to reunite and facilitate the
healing process of the urban and emotional scars
left by the war on the city.
— 22 —
Dwelling
Dwellings have begun to be considered as a re-appro-

priation of lost roots: a return to a motherland that
signifies hope, and brings back childhood memories,
inspiring a tomorrow that has not yet happened.
Dwellings call on a visceral need that drives us to our
places of origin. We face these issues today because
many have left the city of Aleppo and may never re-
turn, but their longing will always remain. Therefore,
the city is understood as a palimpsest, but one on
which every generation has not left an imprint on the
city, either emotional or physical. The layer of the pal-
impsest that deals with the displacement / repopula-
tion of people in a habitable way is the housing layer,
which has designed a system that inserts a housing

matrix within the ruins of the old city. It becomes
the boundary of the ruins, the boundary between old
and new: highlighting their differences and similari-
ties, the stone itself becomes memories, a concrete
mass, perceivable to the touch.
Plaza
Aleppo has wounds from the war that run through the
old city, cutting and dividing it. The concept of the
square/plaza is presented as a unifying element that
will “stitch” the severed urban fabric together along
the line, widening and narrowing — it creeps through,
leaving a light scent of memory as it runs through.
Vegetation also began to be conceived as an element
of recovery: the vegetation planted throughout the
line and plazas will act as “stitches” that force the ur-
ban fabric, once torn from war, together, providing a
comfortable gathering space for the people and their
memories. The squares/plazas are positioned along
the line, assuming various functions based on the
— 23 —
relationships with surrounding buildings, leading to
the flourishing of public life through the experience
of shared spaces.
Memorial
If we imagine being able to “walk” through memories,

we will certainly be faced with a troubled path full of

pain, and empathy for those who experienced it origi-
nally: those who walked in stifling heat and fatigue and
tiredness. We understand everything from a memory
matrix that creates a mesh framework that reminds us
of our past mistakes and serves to protect our future.
Here, nature coexists with the pervading ruins, creating
a cohesive boundary along the line between what was
there before, and what persists today: what was dam-
aged, and what was not. The memorial is not perceived
through a classical lens, but through a lens that is
“lived”, a reality. It is a scar that has been brought to an
empathetic truth, allowed to create a unique awareness
in the minds of those that exist today. It is the hope to
describe an unimaginable pain – according to the scar
of war that creeps into the city, in an empathetic way –
that will eventually come to fruition in a memorial. The
city is remodelled, recognising a new source of life in
the main monuments: a meeting point and a union to
redesign the future.
Market
The system of the market appears as a growing circle,

an ascending spiral symbol of life. It develops on a
vertical direction in order to end up on the pivot of city
life. The market is a place of meeting, of multicultural
exchange, among its users. The voice of people is the
background sound of the promenade; the smells of the
spices and the feel of the textiles, all contribute to the
— 24 —
products that a modern market can offer. The creation

of this movement makes the sharing of city life easier,
thinning the line that represents the gap of social in-
equalities in the different parts of the city.
School
Education is understood as a system that is respon-

sible for rebuilding, through knowledge, a life that
“could be”. Knowledge not as a pure notion of general
higher education, but more like a complete study of
tradition and past events: the keystone in protecting
the possible future of the people relinquished from
the anguish of war. Learning the history of the city is
extremely important, as it allows the gleaning of the
consistent evolution of the city and the understanding

of it through the lens of a palimpsest, and thus can
be understood as a plan to rebuild the city with em-
pathy towards the past and hope for the future. The
school layer deals with one main location, in which it
concentrates all its efforts, at the centre of the entire
plan, forming a centrifugal force thanks to which the
life-line of Aleppo will grow. The school is not only
where “teaching/learning” occurs, but it is perceived
as an experience of community life, sharing spaces
that become the norm, a symbiotic string of culture
and knowledge exchange.
B ibliograph y
—
Eisenman P., Rauterberg H., “Holocaust Memorial Berlin“, Lars Müller
Publishers, Zurich, 2005.
Gehl J., “Cities for People“, Island Press, United States, 2010.
Gehl J., Gemzøe L., “New City Spaces“, Island Press, United States, 2001.
— 25 —
Life line.
Re-creating
destructed
fundamental
structures,
both physical
and social,
in a complex
city.
— 27 —
— 28 —
— The life line of Aleppo,

concept.
— 29 —
— 30 —
— The life line of Aleppo,

concept.
— 31 —
— 32 —
— 33 —
‫— ‪— 34‬‬
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‫ﻡﻝﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﻭﺍﻕ‬
‫ﻱﺭﻱﺭ‬
‫ﺱﺡﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﻕﺓﻡ‬
‫ﻕﺓﻡ‬
‫ﺝﺡﻱﻉ‬
‫ﻕﺓﻡ‬
‫ﺱﺭﻡﻱﺭﻉﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻭﺍﺏﻡﻱﻝﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻕﺭ‬ ‫ﺏﻡﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬ ‫ﺍﺏﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻁﻍﻡﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻍﺍﺭﻱ‬ ‫ﺓﺱﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻍﺓﺏ ﺭﺍ‬
‫ﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺡﻉﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺍﺩ ﺭﻡﺩﻱﺡ‬

‫ﺡﻱﺡﻡ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻍﻝﻡ‬
‫ﺏﺩ‬ ‫ﺱﻱ‬
‫ﻕﺓﻡ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬ ‫ﺡﻡﻡﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺝﺓﺩﻭﺡ‬ ‫ﻕﺓﻡ‬ ‫ﻕﻡﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻱﻝﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﻭﺍﺭ ﺭﺡﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺩﺓﻡﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﻭﺍﻁ‬
‫ﻡﻱﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺱﺓﺏ‬ ‫ﻭﻡﺩ‬
‫ﺍﻱﺍ‬ ‫ﻁﺡﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺓﻍﻱ ﺭﺍﺩﺏ‬
‫ﻉﺝﻍﻱﻥﺏ‬
‫ﻕﺓﻡ‬
‫ﺩﺍﻭﺱﻱﻥ‬
‫ﺍﺡ‬ ‫ﺱﻉﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻝﻱﻝ‬
‫ﺝﺡﻱﻉ‬
‫ﻱﻉﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺭﺏﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺩﻝﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺭﺡﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺝﺡ‬
‫ﻭﺩﻝﻱ‬ ‫ﺡﻡﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﻭﺍﺡﺩ‬
‫ﻕﺱﻱﻥ‬ ‫ﻭﻡﺩ‬
‫ﻕﺓﻡ‬
‫ﺩﻭﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺍﺓ‬
‫ﻝﻕﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺭﻱ‬
‫ﻭﺍﻝ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬
‫ﻭﺍﺏﻱ‬
‫ﺏﻡﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﻕﺡﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻕﺓﻡ‬ ‫ﻭﺍﺡﺭ ﺭﺡﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺝﺩﻱﻭ‬ ‫ﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺭﺏﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﻭﻡﺩ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬ ‫ﻭﺍﺡﺩ‬
‫ﺍﻭﺓﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺩ‬
‫ﻕﺓﻡ ‪-‬‬
‫ﻭﺍ‬
‫ﻍﻡﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻭﺍﺓ ﺭﺡﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻱﺭﻡﻍﻱﺓﻍﻡﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻭﻡﺩ‬
‫ﺱﺍﺭ‬
‫ﻕﺓﻡ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻥﺩﺍﺩﻡﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬ ‫ﺭﺭﻍﻱ ﻕﺓﻡ‬
‫ﺱﺏﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﻝﻕﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺱ‬ ‫ﻭﺏﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺝﻭﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﻭﻕﺭﻱ‬ ‫ﻭﺍﺏﻱ‬ ‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬
‫ﺱﻱﺏ‬ ‫ﻭﺍﻭﻱ ﻱﻭﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻭﺍ ﺭﺡﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬ ‫ﻭﺍﺓ‬
‫ﻭﻡﺩ‬ ‫ﺏﺏﻍﻱﺱﻱﻥ‬ ‫ﻁﺍﻭﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺩﺍ ﺭﺭﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺱ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬
‫ﺭﺝﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻝﻝﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﺡﺏﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﻡ‬
‫ﻱﻉﻍﻱ ﻕﺓﻡ‬ ‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬ ‫ﺩﺍ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬ ‫ﻭﺍﻍﻱ ﻱﻭﻍﻱ‬
‫ﻁﺩﻕ‬ ‫ﺝﺡ ﺍﻱﺩﺓ‬ ‫ﺭﺭﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬ ‫ﺱ‬ ‫ﻭﺍﺓ‬
‫ﺏﺏ‬ ‫ﺍﺩﻡﻍﻱ‬ ‫ﻁﺱﻱ‬
‫ﺩ‬ ‫ﻕﺓﻡ‬
‫ﻭﺍﺏﻱ‬
‫ﺏﻱﺏ‬
‫ﺝﺡﻱﻉ‬
‫ﺭﺓﺭﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺱﻱﻥ‬
‫ﺡﻍﻱﻡ‬
‫ﻁﺱﻱ‬
‫ﻕﺓﻡ‬
‫ﻭﺍﺏﻱ‬
‫ﺏﻱﺏ‬
‫ﺝﺩﻱﻭ‬
‫ﺍﻱﺩﺓ‬
‫ﺡﻱﻉﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺏﻱﺏ‬
‫ﺝ‬
‫ﻱﻁﺱﻡ‬
‫ﻭﺍﺏ‬
‫ﺝﺡﻱﻉ‬
‫ﻕﺍﻕﻍﻱ‬
‫ﺱﻱ‬
‫ﺝﺡﻱﻉ‬
‫‪S YR I A – T HE M A K IN G OF TH E FUTURE FROM URBICIDE TO TH E A RCH ITECTURE OF TH E CIT Y‬‬
— The life line of Aleppo.

Sketches by Daniel
Mastretta and Sendy
Gonzales.
— 35 —
— 36 —
— 37 —
Line of memory.
Re-thinking
a new future,
remembering
the past:
forgiving but
not forgetting
the scars
of war.

Project sheet 1.
— 39 —
Memorial
Memorial
— 40 —
School
Housing
Public space
Market
Public space
— 41 —
— 42 —
— 43 —
— 44 —
addition
open spaces
new building

Project sheet 2, housing.

Project sheet 3, school.
— 45 —
— 46 —

Project sheet 4, Plaza.
Concept diagram.
— 47 —
— 48 —
— 49 —
— 50 —

Project sheet 5, Memo-
rial, render.
— 51 —
— 52 —
— 53 —
— 54 —

Project sheet 6, Market,
plan and section.
— 55 —
— 56 —
— 57 —
Line of
strength.
Re-connecting
the city and its
people through
a strong link
that brings
them together.
— Red line by Luby

Springall.
— 59 —
— 60 —
J ulio Gaeta a n d Lu by Sp rin g a ll

— Mexico City, Mexico
Julio Gaeta is a PhD, architect and professor with a fo-

cus in architecture, urbanism and public space. He is the
Director of ELARQA, a research and publishing center in
Architecture and Urbanism; from this platform he has au-
thored more than 20 books and published more than one
hundred titles. He is an artistic creator and member of
the National System of Creators of Mexico.
Luby Springall is an architect, graduated from Universidad

Iberoamericana de México and artist, with postgraduate
studies at the Royal College of Art in London. In 1987 she
began her teaching activity and from 2007 to 2011 she
coordinated her Vertical Studio. In 1997 she founded

Springall+Lira and she has been principal partner of
GAETA-SPRINGALL architects since 2004.
In 2014 Julio Gaeta and Luby Springall are the curator

of the Mexican Pavillon in the Architectural Biennale of
Venice. In the last years they have won several impor-
tant international competitions. A selection of winning
projects: Memorial to Victims of Violence in Mexico,
Cathedral of Celaya, Siroco-Mistral Towers, 4 Houses-
LCC and Lineal Park FFCC. Exhibitions: Building in the
Metropolis, Iuav (2016), Aedes (2014), Condemned to
be Modern, Venice Biennale (2014).
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Daniel Mastretta
He holds a Licentiate Degree in Architecture by Universidad
Iberoamericana (2008) and a Master’s Degree in Design and
Technology from Parsons School of Design in New York

(2015). He has seven years’ experience of teaching graduate
level courses in architecture, and is currently working as a
creative director of technology at a global communications
agency. He has been awarded over 15 international prizes, at
awards such as Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
Paola Ampudia
She obtained her Licentiate Degree in Architecture by Uni-
versidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in 2014.
During 2012, she participated in an exchange programme at
Politecnico di Torino where she spent a year studying at the
Architecture Department. She has developed as an archi-
tectural designer and is currently collaborating as a Senior
Architect at Gaeta-Springall Architects since 2015.
Jacopo Sapienza
Jacopo received Graduate Degree in Architecture and In-
novation at Università Iuav di Venezia. Jacopo moved to
Mexico City in January 2016 to participate in an exchange
programme at Universidad Iberoamericana. He has collabo-
rated with Gaeta-Springall Architects until July 2017.
Giovanni Caria
Giovanni obtained his Graduate Degree in Architecture and
Innovation at Università Iuav di Venezia in 2016. He cur-
rently collaborates with multiple architecture studios in
Italy, and has collaborated with Gaeta-Springall Architects
in Mexico City since 2017.
— 62 —
Stud ents
—
Giorgia Antonioli Miguel López

Rakan Balosh Chiara Lorenzi
Sara Bars Giulia Manfrin
José Basanta Fernández Matteo Marangoni
Alice Bernacci Kitzia Martínez
Cristina Bicego Andrea Melloni
Sara Biondo Bahnnisikha Misra
Eleonora Borsato Greta Mullaj
Giulia Canavese Sara Paneghel
Michela Carlesso Michela Parise
Eric Castañeda Andrea Pastrello
Pablo Castro Blanco Filippo Piana

Luca Catana Giorgio Piccolo
Andrea Cavaggion Michelangelo Portinari
Silvia Celeghin Serena Ramorino
Raúl Cherem Perla Riello
Federico Cucker Martorell Aureliana Rizzo
Lisa Dall’Anese Elena Salvalaggio
Martina de Cia Daniel Scattolin
Leonardo de Gennaro Sara Simionato
Gabriele dei Rossi Luca Spolaore
Rebecca della Torre Giulia Stefani
Ludovica di Crescenzo Elena Tomasi
Devon Diesel Elisa Valentini
Anna Disaro Costanza Vegro
Linda Falconetti Erti Velaj
Mauro Fardin Inés Velasco
Filippo Frison Angela Vezzaro
Valentina Gobbo Emma Vicariotto
Sendy González Yao Werxmoun
Giulia Grava Nan Yan Hao
Sara Guidolin Mauro Zambon
Daniel Gutiérrez
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Gaeta Springall Architects / The Red Line Of Aleppo
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Antonella Gallo
— DOUMA / 33°34’20”N 36°24’ 06”E
OF DOUMA
THE ECHELONS
Antonella Gallo
— DOUMA / 33°34’20”N 36°24’ 06”E
THE ECHELONS
OF DOUMA
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Antonella Gallo
The Echelons Of Douma

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Douma
19 Introd uction
21 The Echelons of Douma
28 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Antonella Gallo
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
TH E ECH ELONS OF DOUM A

— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Antonella Gallo
elles, 1842, p.2.



— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Antonella Gallo
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA

Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Antonella Gallo
DOUMA
33°34’20”N 36°24’ 06”E

Population
2004 500,000
2017 125,000
Description
Douma is about 10 km north-east of the centre of Damascus and is the
centre of the Rif Dimashq governorate (which completely surrounds the
Damascus Governorate). During the Syrian Civil War, Douma has been a
major flashpoint and had witnessed numerous demonstrations against
the Syrian government and armed clashes against the Syrian Army and
Security forces during the early stages of the conflict. These clashes
were named the Battle of Douma, a military engagement that began on
21 January 2012, after Free Syrian Army fighters changed their tactics
from attack and retreat guerrilla warfare in the suburbs of Damascus to
all-out assault on army units. Earlier in January, the FSA had taken the
town of Zabadani, and consequently gained control over large portions
of Douma. After a general offensive in the suburbs, Douma was retaken
by the Syrian army at the same time as the other rebelling suburbs.
— 11 —
DAMASCUS
0 5 km
DOUMA
QABOUN
to Damascus
0 1 km
DOUMA
— 16 —
Antonella Gallo
— Douma was largely

destroyed by the battle
in 2012 and later by the
siege of 2015 when the
Syrian Army cut all the
food supplies for the
civil population and hit
the town with heavy
airstrikes. The United
Nations have denounced
the deliberate destruc-
tion of health care
infrastructure in Douma,
driving up deaths and
permanent disabilities.
— 17 —
Antonella Gallo
In trod uction
—
Laura S cala
Since each workshop was given a dedicated room

that was transformed into the exhibition venue of
the workshop results, our project was conceived as a
theatrical set. With the awareness of the spatial lim-
its of “room C”, its specific measures, materials, pil-
lars, and ceiling configuration, the students worked
on the construction of a few scenic equipments, pro-
tagonists of a new spatial – and also anthropological
– dimension, highlighted by a system of lights.

The new spatial characters are only five, but they
were designed in detail:
- the jagged silhouette of the Wadi el Qubur river, the
ancient dry river of Palmyra – located in the proximity
of the Valley of the tombs – built as a snake creeping
through the pillars;
- a group of nine twisted parallelepipeds (1 m high)
representing the Palmyra Valley of the tombs:
above, a sort of calque of nine emblematic sec-
tions, chosen for their particular configurations of
the exact tombs, an articulated system of funeral
architecture among the hills;
- the huge maquette of Douma’s six layered-mass
graves, designed in the shape of a staircase in order
to occupy less surface area, appearing like a great
earth sculpture;
- the great figure of the oil pump jack (3 m high) re-
minding us of the historical horizon of the war-crime
policies. This was built with scrap wood and painted
anthracite gray;
- the twelve big crosses (1.8 m high) standing like
fierce soldiers, a sort of dramatic spatial counterpoint.
— 19 —
While the crosses and the gray oil pump jack silhou-
ette rose up from below, a system of a few vertical
banners – black drapes with the theatrical set’s sym-
bols – hung from above, and the snake of the dry riv-
er seemed to lead us inside the room, moving slowly
among the parallelepiped tombs and the wooden
crosses, walking on the pictures of the tombs of
Douma, leaning on the ground and looking at some

other pictures hanging on the wooden wall.
This workshop was a kind of a real scale composi-

tion exercise in a given space that helped rise the
students’ awareness on the topology, nature, char-
acter, dimension, and construction of the chosen
scenographic elements, built with simple or recycled
materials. A space composition made with few es-
sential objects.
— 20 —
Antonella Gallo
The Echelon s o f D o u m a
—
Antonella Gallo
In every project, there is “a theme to be interpreted”.

This is “the beginning” that precedes “the form”. In
the beginning, there are always requests made by a
reasonably large portion of humanity, who expect a
representative form of it. Here, “the beginning” coin-
cides with “the end”, in the sense that “the theme to be
interpreted is Death”. The “Death” we have the greatest
difficulty in accepting is “mass slaughter”, “the infinite
number of deaths” of a long war. The most immediate
act, the only possible one for defenseless survivors,

is “the burial of the dead”. At first sight, architecture
returns to its “level zero” because the theme is not yet
“the monument”: “the signs” of funerary rituals belong
to times or places that are not those of “mass slaugh-
ter”. The “reconstruction” occurs among the ashes of
the ruined city, it begins from an “awareness of the
anthropological dimension of the burial theme”. The
“Latin crosses”, a symbol of another identity, the “fin-
gerprints” of the valley of the Tombs of Palmyra, the
remains of an archaic civilisation, can be contrasted
today in Syria with the “multi-layered underground
graves of Douma”.
Omar Youssef Souleimane tells us from Paris: “If the

population density makes buildings grow taller, the
density of death leads to building in the depths. This
is how the citizens of Douma now build their new
cemeteries. Death has produced its own forms of art
in this war, like the mass graves that the people in
this agricultural suburb of Damascus, which is Dou-
ma, had to invent to bury the thousands of dead who
are the fatalities of air raids. Over 6,000 victims in
— 21 —
2015 alone. A number that is sufficient to destroy all
the agricultural land that the population’s food secu-
rity entirely depends on. Which is why the people of
Douma had to economise on burial spaces. Hence,
the decision of the local council to dig 4-metre deep
trenches within which a double ramp reaches a se-
quence of vertically superimposed graves, built in
steps. It may seem something simple at first, but the

fact is that the construction of this type of tomb re-
quires great accuracy, since any error in the overlap-
ping of the horizontal and vertical planes can cause
a subsidence.
The level of the plane that ascends towards the sur-

face is carefully measured. Six specular steps model
the rectangular section of the deep trench. Each of
them serves as a base to create a series of graves built
on superimposed levels. This invention began in Dou-
ma and spread rapidly to other cities near Damascus.
We might recall, in terms of economising on land use,
what the people of Homs have been doing since 2011,
transforming playgrounds into cemeteries. It might
also be helpful to recall that some of those parks origi-
nally were cemeteries, Bab Houd Park for example, or
Damascus Road Park. Some of the graves are without
a name either because of the impossibility of identi-
fying the bodies before burial, or because the bodies
had been cut into pieces. However, the worst thing
for the victims of Douma is not so much that some of
the layered graves are without a name but, rather, that
even these graves were subsequently bombed. On 14
February 2016, the city cemetery was devastated, in-
cluding several multi-layered graves. That day, Kasem
Ballah, the man in charge of the cemetery for the local
Douma Council, was killed. He had buried his two chil-
dren, Osama and Yumna, only a few days earlier. They
too had been killed in the bombing. We do not know if
— 22 —
Antonella Gallo
it was their graves, or those of others which were de- 1 — Freely adapted from
Omar Youssef Soulei-
stroyed that day. The regime usually buries those they mane: “The Echelons
torture in mass graves. But respect for the victims pre- of Death in Douma”
www.syriauntold.com/
vented the people of Douma from burying their dead en/2016/03/the-eche-
in the same way. As regards ISIS, they will not destroy lons-of-death-in-douma/
these graves as they have done with other types of
grave in the areas under their control. The multi-lay-
ered graves do not emerge above ground level, and
therefore do not “undermine the monotheism of God”,
by ascending too high, according to Wahhabi theology.
Perhaps one day, researchers will come to Douma in
search of an extinct civilisation. They will rediscover
the foundations of these structures and find that death
has its own echelons at Douma, just as life does”1.

We cannot think that in the digital era we can expel
emotions, desires, and poetry from the world of ar-
chitecture. To operate in Syria, we must first develop
the idea that death can be understood as an inher-
ent part of reality and that, at the same time, only by
interiorising tragedy in our mind, along with its many
causes, can the project phase take place. Clearly
then, this stage of the workshop is a call to architec-
ture in its interpretation of a grave that is “before the
artefact”. The exhibition turned into a privileged ter-
rain to think and experience significant ways of relat-
ing to these questions and giving them expression;
a privileged terrain to provoke a shock to incentive
reactions of curiosity and inquiry. The preparation of
the exhibition became a “laboratory” to exploit the
construction procedures of the display narration,
both in the way of inventing or interpreting the po-
tential of the space, and of including and presenting
the “objects” in that space. The creation of settings
for the observer’s perception, and experiences that
brought out its meaning, brought the exhibiton closer
to a form of theatre.
— 23 —
The first situation in which space and time are au-
tonomous with respect to reality is the dream; the
second is the theatre. The theatre, like the dream,
is the place where it becomes possible to bring to-
gether past and future, distant and nearby spaces,
to see the value of things in a new and different way.
The key mechanisms of dreaming are, as we know,
dramatisation, symbolisation, condensation, and

dispersion; mechanisms that all operate in the thea-
tre, starting from the first, which is as central to the
theatre as it is to the dream, making dreams a pre-
cise mental counterpart of theatre. The many traces,
memories, and fragments that we re-codified and em-
bodied in the space of the exhibit room aimed to build
a full sensorial experience. Collages characterised this
work, filled with shifts and re-contextualisations of vari-
ous types, from the river to the new elements included
in the atmosphere of the room.
Here, in an apparently unintentional way, we kept

together fragments and memories of the archaic,
symbolic, and mythical world of ancient Syria, along
with new brutal “intrusions” such as the pump oil and
the Douma tombs. Inside the 18×13 m room, in the
central space drawn by the two rows of pillars that
make up the building’s load-bearing structure, we
placed the silhouette of the Wadi el Qubur river, the
ancient dry river of Palmyra crossing the Valley of
the tombs. The river was evoked through a winding
pattern that ran diagonally across the room. Near it,
starting from the entry, we arranged a succession of
inclined memorial stones made of cardboard, with a
cubic base and almost a metre high. They support-
ed nine section models of some ancient hypogeum
tombs of Palmyra. Further on, on the other side of
the river, an awe-inspiring and threatening Hejduk’s
fetish of the “Oil Pump” necessarily served to remind
— 24 —
Antonella Gallo
us, along with the living survivors, of the historical 2 — Cf. Albini F., Le mie
esperienze di architetto
horizon of the policies of the massacre of war. On in Italia e all’estero, in
the same side, at the end of the room, where the river F. Bucci, F. Irace (eds),
Zero Gravity. Franco
ended, a model (scale 1:25) reproduced the multi- Albini. Costruire le mo-
layered cemetery dug in the hard ground by Douma’s dernità, Triennale-Electa,
Milan 2006, pp. 75-77.
workers to give burial to the awful number of civilians
killed by daily aerial bombings. All around, inside and 3 – Letter sent by the
outside the pillars, dispersed in space, a dramatic student A.Z. to prof.
Antonella Gallo, on
forest of crosses completed the scenic architecture 14 July 2017. Object:
of the exhibition, while on one of the longer perim- Congratulations for the
W.A.Ve. results.
eter walls a set of great photographs documented
the construction of the Douma tombs. Metric, rhyth-
mic, and iconic relationships between the objects
were exploited to “build empty spaces”2, necessary
to highlight the objects and create a space that was

similar in atmosphere to the metaphysical ones of De
Chirico, Savinio, and Carrà - where everything gravi-
tated, where objects could be positioned outside any
temporal and spatial succession. The room became
an action field for figures, objects, and presences
that, topologically placed, fluidify and animate the
space creating tension. The neutrality of the support-
ing structure enhanceed the elements whose impor-
tance was emphasised by the fact that they were not
returned to the serial order of the mesh, remaining
individual and discontinuous. It was the assigned po-
sition that conferred meaning and directional power
to these elements, which had their own life and figu-
rative substance. Composition became a strategy of
positions, giving rise to a mechanism in which the
dialectic of opposites operates.
Letter by a student3
Dear Professor, I am a Iuav student, graduating in

Techniques and Design. This morning I visited the
works at the Cotonificio, all very interesting. But I
— 25 —
must say that the exhibition you curated struck me
and moved me a great deal. In my opinion, it caught
an ineluctable level-zero reflection on the project in
its specific context. This is a sign of a civilisation
stopping before the End, and consequently reflect-
ing on the forms that architecture can assume in the
restoral of bodies to the ground. With everything that
might be said, whether theological, teleological, or

aesthetic. I have enjoyed these W.A.Ve. very much
and I think that, on average, the results are always
great. However, this morning I felt a little uncomfort-
able while examining the projects, perhaps a sense of
guilt toward a reality so far off, so violent, and so sa-
cred. On a desert of silence so much bigger than our
indissoluble desire to build, produce, and fill (even in
the correct way, I mean). And this is the point: your
work seems to me humble, good, and respectful with
a silence that must come before the project (and that
the project will then carry as a warm heart, forever).
Cordially, A.Z.
— 26 —
Antonella Gallo
B ibliograph y
—
Gates C., “Ancient Cities: the Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient
Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome”, Taylor and Francis, Hoboken
2013. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1433810.
Hammad M., “Bel/Palmyra hommage”, Guaraldi, Rimini, 2016.
Henning A., “Die Turmgräber von Palmyra: eine lokale Bauform im kai-
serzeitliche n Syrien als Ausdruck kultureller Identität”, Rahden, Verlag
Marie Leidorf, Westf, 2013.
Hejduk J., “Victims” , Architectural Association, London, 1985.
Morton M., Kochumkulova E., Kapalova A., and Rabbat N., “Cities of the
dead: the ancestral cemeteries of Kyrgyzstan”, University of Washington
Press, Seattle, 2004.
Wiegand T. et al., “Palmyra: Ergebnisse der Expeditionen von 1902 und
1917”, H. Keller, Berlin, 1932.

www.syriauntold.com/en/2016/03/the-echelons-of-death-in-douma/
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3310789/Gravediggers-forced-
build-giant-terraced-cemetery-cope-sheer-number-people-killed-Syria-s-
bloody-war.html#ixzz4qliNeWaP
— 27 —
The
silence
that
must come
before
the project.
— 29 —
Antonella Gallo

— 30 —
— 31 —
Antonella Gallo

— 32 —
— 33 —
Antonella Gallo

— 34 —
Antonella Gallo
— Model of the work-

shop room, abacus of
the building elements.
— First exsibition
project.
— 35 —
— 36 —
— 37 —
Antonella Gallo

The river
the
hypogeum
tombs of
Palmyra
the crosses
the pump oil
the echelons.
— 39 —
Antonella Gallo

— 40 —
Antonella Gallo
— Elements of the
scenic architecture of
the exhibition: the card-
board silhouette of the
Wadi el Qubur river that
runs diagonally across
the room, total length 15
meters.
— Elements of the sce-

nic architecture of the
exhibition: the crosses.
— 41 —
— 42 —
Antonella Gallo
— Layouts of the scenic

architecture of the
exhibition: the river
(left), the river and the
crosses (right). The
room space becomes an
action field for figures
and objects that, topo-
logically placed, fluidify
and animate the space
creating tension.
— 43 —
— 44 —
— 45 —
Antonella Gallo

— 46 —
Antonella Gallo
— Layout of the scenic

architecture of the
exhibition: the river, the
tombal stones, the pump
oil and Douma model.
— General plan of the

exsibition.
— 47 —
— 48 —
— 49 —
Antonella Gallo

— 50 —
Antonella Gallo
— Tower of Atenatan,
Palmyra Valley of the
Tombs , (underground
level 3); model.
level 2); model.
level 1); model.
— Tower of Hairan,
level 3); model.
— 51 —
— 52 —
Antonella Gallo
— The crosses, drawings

of the model.
— The hypogeum tombs

of Palmyra, drawings of
the model basis.
— 53 —
— 54 —
Antonella Gallo
— The multi-layered
undrgrond graves of
Douma, reconstruction
model, scale 1:25.
— 55 —
— 56 —
Antonella Gallo
— The multi-layered
undrgrond graves of
Douma, plans and sec-
tions of the levels.
The Echelons of Douma.
The gravediggers have
begun digging into the
hard earth and creating a
specially layered cemetery
to allow the victims to
be laid to rest after the
old cemetery was filled
beyond capacity. The
foundations digging and
the mud bricks used to
build burial cells.
— 57 —
Culture
pity and
economy
join
in the
echelons
of Douma.
— 59 —
Antonella Gallo

— 60 —
Antonella Gallo
Antonella G a llo
— Venice, Italy
Antonella Gallo teaches Architectural and Urban

Composition at Università Iuav di Venezia. She is
director of the Postgraduate Specialisation Pro-
gramme (Master) in Architecture at the Department
in Architecture in Arts and is a member of the PhD
teaching body in Architectural Composition at Iuav.
She is the author of studies on the work of Jože

Plečnik and Lina Bo Bardi. In 2004, as part of the IX
Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, she
curated and designed the layout, along with Luciano
Semerani and Giovanni Marras, of the exhibition Lina

Bo Bardi Architect, and in 2006 edited the reissue of
Lina Bo Bardi Arquiteto for the MASP of São Paulo.
She carries out design activity and participates in na-
tional and international competitions.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Andrea Pastrello
Architect graduate from Università Iuav di Venezia, where
he obtained the title of PhD in Architectural Composition.
He participates in research activities at Iuav, while teach-

ing and collaborating at Iuav and at the Faculty of Archi-
tecture of Trieste.
Laura Scala
Architect graduate and PhD in Architectural Composition
from Università Iuav di Venezia, with a thesis on the con-
struction of space in the first Russian Avant-garde, cum
laude and publication. She has been working as tutor of
professor Antonella Gallo since 2014.
Nicola Revolti
Graduate in Architecture: Techniques and Design at Uni-
versità Iuav di Venezia, he is currently a student of the
Postgraduate Degree Programme in Architecture Design
at the same university. After an internship experience with
professor Antonella Gallo in 2016, he has worked as tutor
at the latest W.A.Ve. workshop.
— 62 —
Antonella Gallo
Stud ents
—
Maria Sole Bruno

Giada Colussi
Giuliano Corò
Francesco Da Ros
Sofia de Stauber
Stefania Filippi
Luca Granzotto
Filippo Lazzer
Nicola Rigo
Nicoletta Ros
Mauro Serafin

Riccardo Vignoto
David Zulianello
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo / The Echelons Of Douma
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Sinan Hassan
— PALMYRA / 34°33’02”N 38°16’18”E
PALMYRA OR
PALMYSYRIA
PALIMPSEST?
Sinan Hassan
— PALMYRA / 34°33’02”N 38°16’18”E
PALMYRA OR
PALMYSYRIA
PALIMPSEST?
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Sinan Hassan
Palmyra Or Palmysyria Palimpsest?

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Palmyra
19 Introd uction
21 Palmyra or Palmysyria p a l i m p ses t?
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Sinan Hassan
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
PA L M Y R A O R PA L M Y S Y R I A PA L I M P S E S T ?
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Sinan Hassan
elles, 1842, p.2.


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Sinan Hassan
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Sinan Hassan
PALMYRA
- 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2004 55,062
2017 51,015
Description
— 11 —
to Homs
0 5 km
PALMYRA TADMOR
to Homs
PALMYRA TADMOR
archeological site
0 1 km
Palmyra airport
— 16 —
Sinan Hassan

moderately damaged,
sibly damaged. Many
Palmyra museum, the
funerary monuments
Syrian government
ISIL fighters.
— 17 —
Sinan Hassan
In trod uction
—
Ta nia S arria
During the Palmyra or Palmysyria Palimpsest? work-

shop, Sinan Hassan and his team worked on rethink-
ing parts of both contemporary and archaeological
areas of the city of Palmyra.
Palmyra, chosen as case study for the project due to

its historical and cultural values, consists in an oasis
located in the middle of Syria, and represents one of
the most important cities in ancient Syria and one of
the most famous archaeological sites in the world.
Moreover, Palmyra holds a particular role due to the
warfare that has taken place in the area in most re-
cently times. From 2015 to March 2017, during the
Syrian war, the city was under the control of ISIL and,
as a consequence of that, it suffered much destruc-
tion, which drastically changed its face.
The activities developed during the workshop started

from here, trying to tackle all themes from different
points of view. Beyond the Palmyra that everyone
knows, each group chose to focus on a specific as-
pect, consisting in the presence of three very differ-
ent areas at the same time: the archaeological site,
the modern settlement of Tadmor, and the oasis with
its natural routes and pathways. Every area was read
and analysed in its intrinsic peculiarity, and each
team identified an intervention strategy for each spe-
cific project case, built ad hoc. Though the theme of
destruction was one the most important points of the
entire workshop, the main goal was in fact not only to
work on the damages suffered by the archaeological
sites, but also to recognise the existence of these
— 19 —
three different areas and create relations and con-
nections between them, trying to join different ele-
ments in one sole unique system.
To reach this, the work was divided in two fundamen-

tal stages: the first was dedicated on focusing on the
peculiar characteristics of the place, extrapolating
the concepts on which to base the work on; while the

second was dedicated to actually designing and de-
veloping the projects. During the initial selection of
the concepts, the students (divided in 6 groups for
each of the 3 areas) studied the natural and histori-
cal elements of the place. At first, the groups identi-
fied the historical layers, the water system, and the
levels of destruction; then they selected one of these
elements and worked on it with the use of models
in order to finally ‘conceptualise’ it. At the end, the
students used these concepts to define actual pro-
posals, like museums or memorials.
Beyond the theoretical point, the common idea that

drove the different projects was what can be defined
as “material design thinking”. In other words, all
projects were development from archetypical forms
based on the experimental and creative use of differ-
ent common materials. As result, thanks to this pro-
duction of physical models, the students were able
to set up a final exhibition on possible future form
solutions for Palmyra. Through this approach, the
workshop shows how it is possible to interact with
an emergency situation, like wars or natural catastro-
phes, not only by rebuilding what has been destroyed,
but also by seeing it as an opportunity to solve pre-
existing problems.
— 20 —
Sinan Hassan
Palmyra or pa lm y s y ria p a lim ps e s t ?

—
Sinan Hassan
Palmyra – the “oasis of palms” as its Latin name sug-

gests, and the bridge that spans the common past of
both Syria and Italy – today represents the very epicen-
tre of the existential earthquake that has been shaking
the grounds of Syria for the last few years. It is the focal
point of the historical and geographical legendary Fertile
Crescent. It is where so many civilisations and empires
(Aramaic, Assyrian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Persian
among others) have crossed through, and cross-ferti-
lised, leaving their distinct marks on the majestic and
magical place. As such, it is literally a multi-layered sort
of palimpsest that was destined to its latest tragic and
dramatic fate: destined to undergo yet another round
of rewriting due to the last round and violent episode
of erasing (at the hands of some unprecedented bar-
barian terrorists, most unkind monsters in the history
of mankind). Palmyra, in spite of the above, remains a
symbolically and sentimentally charged place par excel-
lence. Because of this, it also is different from any other
place in Syria, abundantly rich of exceptional historical
places and landmarks. On the other hand, it is the cen-
tre of the Syrian steppe arid land, known as “Al Badia”,
which in turn represents the very geographical core of
the more rainy and fertile area around: the region that is
properly named the Fertile Crescent. It is also the back-
bone of the country’s integrity, as it links eastward to
Iraq and southward to Jordan. As such, it is unique in
many ways: geopolitically, socio-culturally, socio-eco-
nomically, socio-politically etc.
This is why it was selected as the area of interest for our

particular studio at the 2017 Iuav W.A.Ve. workshop.
— 21 —
It was, in fact, a unique privilege and honour to take part
and contribute to this exceptionally positive initiative. A
highly intensive, constructive, and productive workshop
(that is, in fact, the first international one of its size and
nature, solely dedicated to tackling quality design ideas
and strategies pertaining to post-war reconstruction in
Syria). Personally, it was particularly meaningful for me
being the only Syrian professor and architect in charge

of leading and advising one of the 30 studios consti-
tuting the workshop (with the valuable contribution and
assistance of the Syrian architect Ibrahim Ammash, in
addition to the two Italian technical and administrative
assistants). As a team, our take in this workshop was
a bit different. We opted for a conceptual, intellectual,
and experimental, as well as a sentimental approach,
rather than a merely practical, applicable, or implemen-
tal one. Rather than combining all student and group
efforts in one unified (and oversized) project, our ap-
proach systematically grouped the students in six dif-
ferent groups of six. Each group focused on one of
six geographically complementary parts of Palmyra,
and on one or more of its unique characteristics, his-
torical remains, topographical terrains, urban, human,
natural, ecological, and environmental elements (palm
oasis, mineral waters, hot springs) among others. Each
group was supposed to engage in a different yet com-
plementary experiment (in terms of scale, scope, and
localisation), hence achieving (geographical) unity
with (thematic and mathematic) diversity. They all fol-
lowed and invested in a visionary, rigorous and vigor-
ous, undertaking in which they had to intensively and
collectively brainstorm and test different concepts,
strategies, methodologies, and approaches that would
follow different interdisciplinary models, naturalistic,
artistic, linguistic (semiotic, semantic and syntactic,
lexical and indexical) among others. As such, each of
the six generic experiments could potentially inspire
— 22 —
Sinan Hassan
and guide multiple iterations and thematic variations in

the future. The profound rigour of the six experiments,
and the fact that the timing and duration of the work-
shop matched with the less advanced junior level of
most participants, didn’t allow for any group to reach
a fully developed and full-fledged architectural prod-
uct. Extensive, comprehensive, and inclusive surveys
and presentations where conducted In the introductory
phase of the studio, in an analytical and critical fash-
ion, in order to technically and intellectually prepare the
ground for the different experiments. In addition, mul-
tiple artistic exercises and design explorations where
conducted, and a series of inspiring visionary collages
and photomontages where produced, following a set of
poetic themes and metaphors under the general title of
“palimpsest” and “leaning from Palmyra”. These meta-
phors (see the posters below) were not intended only
to deconstruct the meanings of reconstruction (into re-
forming, re-creating, rewriting, and re-treating), but also
to exhaust all the associative poetic meanings of the
studio as a whole. They were presented as a set of five
binary posters (the pentad of the palm-column duals),
as they represent tonal variations and iterations on the
themes of inversions and positive-negative reversals.
- The first of the five palm-column duals, properly

coloured in green and entitled “roots and leaves”,
dwells on the relevant notions of branching and
growing (indicators of life), and rootedness (indica-
tor of longing and belonging).
- The second of the duals, properly coloured in red
and entitled “veins and nerves” (also indicators of
life), dwells on the relevant notions of scars, wounds,
bleeding, and nourishing as well.
- The third of the duals, properly coloured in yellow and
entitled “torch and scorch”, thematically represents
the relevant notions of light (indicator of energy re-
— 23 —
sources in the area), enlightening (indicator of cultural
dimension), blazing and razing (indicator of the violent
acts of terror, horror, and destruction by ISIS).
- The fourth of the five duals, properly coloured in
black on white and entitled “fume and exhume”, repre-
sents relevant notions of flaming, burning, burial, and
unearthing (associated with the death of the body).
- The fifth variations of the five binary duals, properly

coloured in white on black and entitled “presence
and absence”, relates to the soul and spirit of the
place, and its anticipated resurrection, reincarnation,
and rising from the ash.
A brief outline of the six design explorations and ex-

periments undertaken by the six groups is presented
below in successive order.
Group 1: X-tension. It is an open-air archaeological

museum and cultural urban park in the form of an
intense and condensed spatial web: a system of
suspended walkways, representing the notion of ten-
sion-extension through the clash, collision, and con-
flict of intersected and intermeshed urban grids (old
and new, formal and informal, natural and artificial).
Group 2: I-conical insertions. It is a cultural and rec-

reational infrastructure, a festive theatrical memorial
and infrastructural complex in the form of voids and
cavities. As such, it is a punctured mountain, a porous
terrain, a “whole full of holes”: tunnels and funnels,
ducts and aqueducts, framing and projecting sound,
air, light, sight, and views, in and out, day and night.
Group 3: Rhythmic disruptions. It is a memorial in the

form of an artificial oasis, a monumental graveyard
representing a forest of tower tombs (one of the main
archetypal architectural typologies that are distinctive
— 24 —
Sinan Hassan
of Palmyra), numbered and named after the martyred

soldiers that sacrificed their souls (on behalf of human-
ity at large) to free Palmyra from aggressors. Each sin-
gle tower tomb represents different tectonic, platonic,
and programmatic variations. In fact, it is designed in
the form of point-grid fields as to indicate a historical
timeline, mapping the main milestones as well as the
forces and flows of events along with some dramatic
and tragic intermittent interruptions.
Group 4: E-ruptured strata. It is a multifunctional cultural

complex with a museum at its core, and a pedestrian
compositional spine in the form of a wound cutting
across a layered entity. It is designed around the notion
of weaving, interlacing, and stitching the ruptures and
wounds of the historical, geographical, and socio-cul-
tural fabric of Palmyra.
Group 5: Subversive in-versions. It is a natural his-

tory museum of Palmyra, intended as a re-treat and
re-creation. It incorporates local ecological and aq-
uaculture elements. It is designed around the no-
tions of reversal: inversion and subversion of life
and death; the upper world and the lower world; the
constant and variant; and the eternal and temporal,
ephemeral, and seasonal.
Group 6: Palimpsest re-writing. It is an urban design

of a proposed residential neighbourhood that produc-
es textual and contextual terrain, at once verbal and
visual. It does so by learning form the linguistic mod-
el and by being based on the notion of translating:
the verbal text into a visual one; two dimensional into
spatial; abstract into experiential; typographic into
pictographic; and iconographic into typological. The
main constituent elements and textual vocabularies
are derived from existing local archi-typologies.
— 25 —
Six different
groups of six
students that
will focus on
one of six
geographically
complementary
parts of
Palmyra.
— 27 —
Sinan Hassan
— 28 —
— 29 —
Sinan Hassan
— 30 —
— 31 —
Sinan Hassan
The
pentad
of the
palm-column
duals.
— 33 —
Sinan Hassan
— 34 —
Sinan Hassan
— The six geographically

complementary parts of
Palmyra in which each
one of the six different
groups of six students
had work.
— 35 —
— 36 —
— 37 —
Sinan Hassan
— Group 1: X-tension.
— 38 —
— 39 —
Sinan Hassan
insertions.
— Group 2: I-conical
— 40 —
Sinan Hassan
insertions. Collage3.
— 41 —
— 42 —
Sinan Hassan
insertions. Collage2.
— 43 —
A series of
inspiring
visionary
photomontages
where
produced
under the
title of
“palimpsest”.
— 45 —
Sinan Hassan
— 46 —
— 47 —
Sinan Hassan
disruptions.
— Group 3: Rhythmic
— 48 —
— 49 —
Sinan Hassan
strata.
— Group 4: E-ruptured
— 50 —
— 51 —
Sinan Hassan
in-versions.
Group 5: Subversive
Five binary
posters
as tonal
variations
on the
themes
of inversions
were
presented.
— 53 —
Sinan Hassan
— 54 —
— 55 —
Sinan Hassan
re-writing.
Group 6: Palimpsest
— 56 —
— 57 —
Sinan Hassan
— 58 —
— 59 —
Sinan Hassan
— 60 —
Sinan Hassan
Sinan Hassa n
— Damascus, Syria
Recognized and established as the most published,

accomplished and internationally established Syr-
ian architect, Sinan has been “spearheading” the dis-
course of local contemporary architecture in Syria. He
has notably published, taut, lectured, and exhibited (lo-
cally, regionally and internationally). He has also won
numerous awards, and compiled an impressive body
of built work in Syria where he had been leading the
most prominent local “boutique” practice up until the
current tragic war. His work has always been driven
by the intention to challenge, and elevate the locally
prevalent standards, and by the will to place himself,
and the country, on the architectural map.
He had completed his intensive and extensive archi-

tectural educational endeavor (which spanned two
cities: Damascus and Los Angeles) over two dec-
ades (1980-1995). In fact, he had spent 13 intensive
years in formal architectural education (completing
4 different undergraduate, graduate and post-gradu-
ate programs, and earning 4 different degrees from
4 different institutions in Syria and the US); and 13
years in his private practice (Studio Of Sinan Archi-
culture) in Syria (before starting in 2014 to serve as
a senior design consultant with DARGROUP in Bei-
rut); as well as 13 more years in formal architectural
teaching in Syria at the I.U.S.T in (as leading and
founding faculty member from 2005 to 2010) and
in Lebanon, at AUB (as senior lecturer and design
professor since 2010) and at P.U (as an associate
professor, founding and dean of architecture and
design programs since 2016).
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Ibraheem Ammash
Syrian architect Ibraheem H. Ammash been engaged in dif-
ferent professional practices in the UK, Syria, and Lebanon.
In the year 2000, he completed his architectural undergradu-

ate study (B-ARCH) at Damascus University, and his gradu-
ate programme (M-ARCH) at the Architectural Association
(AA) in London in 2006. In 2006, he joined Zaha Hadid Archi-
tects in London, and in 2007 he returned to his hometown of
Damascus to establish his own ambitious private practice
(unexpectedly suspended in 2012 due to the tragic events
erupting in the country). Damascus is also where he made
his first academic contribution, joining the architectural
faculty at the International University of Science & Technol-
ogy in Damascus. He recently joined Phoenicia University in
Lebanon as part-time lecturer and design instructor.
Martina Germanà
She received her undergraduate degree in architecture from
Università Iuav di Venezia in 2015. She studied for one year
in Beirut, at AUB, during her master in Architecture and Arts
at Iuav. She collaborated with prof. Sinan Hassan during
W.A.Ve. 2017 as part of her research on post-war recon-
struction of small villages in Syria. She has recently done an
internship with him in Beirut to further develop the topics of
her research. The issues she is developing will lead to her
final master thesis.
Lorenza Villani
She holds a bachelor degree in Scienze dell’Architettura
from Università Iuav di Venezia. She is currently enrolled
in the master program Culture del Progetto at Iuav and in
an exchange program in Urban Planning, Policy and Design
Master at the American University of Beirut.
— 62 —
Sinan Hassan
Stud ents
—
Mariele Abou Raisa Sirbu

Hosam Aldabet Alice Smagliato
Sally Almallouhi Merve Uzuner
Yuser Alsalkini Veronica Vigolo
Davide Armellini Roberta Zobbio
Zeina Ashkan
Samahr Baredooan
Marta Bertoldo
Nicola Bolzan
Fernando Buraggi
Enrico Caldo
Cristiana Campaci
Eva Chiesa
Vittorio Cusan
Gianluca Drigo
Eliana Epifani
Lucrezia Fabrizio
Davide Guzzon
Kawthar Jeewa
Javier Jipoulou
Ahmed Kaki
Elissa Lorenzato
Carlo Magro
Alberto Matteuzzi
Hanna Medeghini
Carlotta Menegazzo
Emma Neri
Naela Rajoub
Francesca Rossi
Eugenio Santelli
Riccardo Serena
Irene Simionato
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan / Palmyra Or Palmysyria Palimpsest?
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Ammar Khammash
— HAMA / 35°08’06”N 36°45’12”E
NATURAL-
CULTURAL
HERITAGE, IS IT
ABOUT THE PAST

OR THE FUTURE?
Ammar Khammash
— HAMA / 35°08’06”N 36°45’12”E
NATURAL-
CULTURAL
HERITAGE, IS IT
ABOUT THE PAST
OR THE FUTURE?
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Ammar Khammash
Natural-Cultural Heritage, Is It About The Past Or The Future?

Published by
Co-published with
First edition: november 2017

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Hama
19 When the only defence against death is life
22 Natural -cul tural heritage,

i s i t about the past or th e f u tu re?
28 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Ammar K hammash
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
N AT U R A L - C U LT U R A L H E R I TA G E , I S I T A B O U T T H E PA S T O R T H E F U T U R E ?
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Ammar K hammash
elles, 1842, p.2.


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Ammar K hammash
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Ammar K hammash
HAMA
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2009 312,994
2017 460,602
Description
Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River, in west-central Syria.
Located 213 km north of Damascus, Hama is the fourth-largest city in
Syria, after Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs. The city is known primarily
due to the imposing norias of the Seleucid, which lifted water from the
River Orintes and used it to irrigate vegetable and botanical gardens.
The city of Hama still possesses seventeen significant specimens of
norias (diameters ranging from 10 to 22 metres), which form an integral
part of its urban landscape and contribute to the city’s great reputation.
— 11 —
HAMA
to Homs
0 5 km
Mar Shahour
Al Orontes River
old castle site
0 1 km
HAMA
— 16 —
6
Ammar K hammash
— In Hama, general
destruction is minimal.
It mostly affected the
suburbs, with several
offenses occurring in
the north of the city.
Satellite imagery has
identified 5,968 affected
structures, of which
4,969 destroyed, 345
severely damaged,
and 654 moderately
damaged. This analysis
does not include pre-war
military bases and
facilities.
— 17 —
Ammar K hammash
When the only defence against death is life

—
Filippo De Dominicis
For three weeks, Hama was our city, Syria our na-
tion, the Middle East our background, and the whole
Earth our horizon. As global citizens and designers,
we tested a dozen ways to put Hama on the map of
the world.
Not actually being there, we succeeded in experienc-

ing the deepest nature of the city, and its glorious
thousand-year-old history along with its dramatic
present. However, our efforts did not remain locked
inside a classroom, or in the Iuav Cotton Mill, the
magnificent building in which we were hosted: at
least 250 people from all over the world followed
the preparation of MyHama, the Facebook page we
opened one week after the workshop’s inauguration.
More than one hundred people – mostly from the
Arab world and some from Syria – replied to the first
short account posted by Ammar Khammash on his
page. While only few of them reacted harshly – with
rabid latent feelings, often troublesome in such an
optimistic educational context – most people sup-
ported the project, with wonderful words and ask-
ing for more detailed information. Faced with such
a reaction, we pushed further: during the last two
days, with the support of the main bakery of Santa
Marta, we succeeded in spreading our ideas not only
in the blurred space of the web but also in the physi-
cal neighbouring of the school, where people (other
than professors and students) had the chance to
pick up and eat noria-shaped breads, freshly baked
by Panificio Fabio Gaio. So, at our side (54 students,
one tutor, and one professor), other 700 people
— 19 —
were directly involved in the project for Hama (not
to mention all the students that provided materials
for most of the models that were exhibited in the
final presentation). Gathering old materials from
the Iuav warehouse mirrored the need of revealing,
reinterpreting, and reinventing the stratification of
ideas and concepts that steered Hama’s own devel-
opment up to date. Instead of starting from zero,

we decided to use whatever could be useful to re-
trieve the city’s genetic code, as the final purpose
was not to produce an ultimate solution but rather to
trigger a manifold of solutions, as occurred with the
norias, the wooden waterwheels that allowed a first
mechanisation in agriculture and the production of
food surplus that characterised the city in its earlier
stage. On the one hand, we were forced to excavate
to find the genetic code of the city, as we were op-
erating in an archaeological site. On the other, we
had to understand how to manipulate and reactivate
it, overlapping and overwriting new ideas onto old
ones in order to build the future of Hama. The twelve
proposals presented in the final exhibition were the
result of this process of activation, as if Hama could
be the Middle Eastern research centre on ultramod-
ern technology and automation.
These proposals were the outcome of an open plat-

form through which we overtook classic design in-
struments whose effectiveness often runs out of
date before they are even completed. In this frame-
work, we carried out a pure and inclusive research
– on activities rather than buildings, and processes
rather than forms – as if we were part of the cen-
tre we imaged in our workshop. We were called to
implement ideas that could mirror the multifaceted
reality witnessed by all people – including tutors,
speakers, practitioners, and professors – that daily
— 20 —
Ammar K hammash
shared their on-site experience with us. Words and 1 — Tyrwhitt J., 1951,
“The Pros and Cons of
concepts mentioned by students after their first Architecture for Civil
week of research represented the first attempt to Defense. Do new towns
provide safety?”, in
encompass an intricate but fertile reality: terms like “Progressive Architec-
“return, go away, narration, interaction, community, ture” n.9, p.77.
identity, soul, politics, citizenship, control”, but also
like “walnut trees, picnic, barbecue, food, kitchen,
water”, displayed the need to break down an object-
oriented approach, toward an open manoeuvre-field
that could make Hama a global centre for rethinking
automation and robotics, as it was when norias were
initially set up helping the city grow and acquire its
status. By projecting Hama into the future, we ex-
perienced the possibility of reflecting upon the true
nature of cities, a fact that dates back a thousand
years and resides in producing more food than is
needed. Through automation and robotics, we would
recall and implement such approach again, reaffirm-
ing the need to overtake the idea of mere survival
that each war may imply. After all, as Jacquelin Tyr-
whitt wrote: “the only defence against death is life”1.
— 21 —
N a tu ra l- c u ltu ra l h eri t a g e, i s i t
a b o u t th e pa s t or th e f u t u re?
—
Amma r K ha mma sh
During the few weeks of the Iuav W.A.Ve. 2017 work-

shop, around 50 students worked on the theme of
“Rebuilding Syria after the war”. We were given the

city of Hama as our general site/subject.
Students spent the first few days understanding the

bigger context of the city of Hama, and of Syria, with-
in the wider view of the entire Eastern Mediterranean,
as a unique region at the centre of early human in-
novation, and by looking into larger concepts such
as the “Fertile Crescent” and the “Levantine Bridge”.
This investigation aimed to identify the original “in-
telligence of the Land”, the reasons behind the first
human settlement ten thousand years ago during the
Neolithic Era: a turning point in the history of man-
kind, because of its innovations (agriculture and do-
mestication of animals) and, as a consequence, the
first manifestation of permanent architecture in the
earliest known settlements. All of this took place in
the Levant, the broader context of Hama city.
The geological reasons behind the geo-morphology

of the area were also discussed; mainly, the tecton-
ic action of the Great Rift Valley and its Dead Sea
Fault System that passes 35 km west of the city of
Hama, and heads north towards Eastern Turkey. This
geological investigation was pivotal in understand-
ing the inherent “original site attraction” of Hama,
namely the system of the River of Orontes, that starts
in the mountains of Lebanon, southwest of the city,
and passes in the middle of the modern city head-
ing northwest until it reaches the Mediterranean. The
— 22 —
Ammar K hammash
surrounding geological area was then investigated

as a harvesting and channelling water system, as its
role as provider of fertile soil and of building mate-
rials (volcanic basalt stone and white sedimentary
limestone) were both greatly used in the architecture
of Hama for the past ten thousand years.
Within this broader spatial and temporal picture, the

workshop concluded that what makes Hama unique
as a city is basically the ingenious way in which its
people have animated it since antiquity, building
norias, using the energy of the river water-flow and
pumping it to higher elevations, in order to irrigate
bigger areas and provide water for the city.
The norias were viewed as the world’s oldest running

engines, 17 of which still function today, allowing Hama
to boast about being the city with giant robotics in ac-
tion since the Byzantine period, 1,500 years ago, and
today representing living monuments of functioning ar-
chaeological, hydrological technology, kinetic sculpture,
and working artefacts of past human imagination.
Focusing on this unique feature of Hama, the work-

shop concentrated on the idea of placing Hama on
the globe as the city of mechanical innovation, the
new centre that could house the history of medieval
devices, and celebrate the history of scientific innova-
tions, different civilisations, and of the Islamic world
in general, celebrating the works of the Banu Musa
brothers in their book Kitab al-Hiyal (Book of Tricks or
Ingenious Devises), written in Bagdad around 850 AD.
This broader vision of Hama meant that we needed
to reconstruct the role of the city as a global con-
tributor in a today that presents a very competitive
scene in “innovation economy”; and not just physi-
cally reconstruct or renovate architecture damaged
— 23 —
by the war, or add any formalistic “iconic” structures
outsmarting the original uniqueness, but also recon-
struct the fragile features of the place as well.
Based on this approach, efforts were put in design-

ing a chain of functions (not buildings), of activities
and of “good seeds” that could put Hama on the map
of global innovation, its most legitimate address, as

an extension of its living ancient intellectual property
in this field: the norias.
The idea here was to design a mixture of new func-

tions (academy, museum, history of robotics, genera-
tive design lab, augmented human design department,
neuro-computer interface, library, student housing,
restaurants, cafes, art/design residency, archives,
biomimicry lab, herbarium, galleries, and any other
functions that can be added) to help Hama in locating
itself on the world map as the centre of science and
mechanics in history, today and in the future.
The other thing we were keen to follow was the idea of

housing all these functions without adding much visible
“architecture” to the city. The result of this direction was
the creation of a linear “building” that could be tucked
along the banks of the Orontes River as it makes its way
through the dense urban centre, placing the functions
mostly underground below the existing gardens, with
the “invisible” structure working as a long terrace wall
between the cultivated fields and the river. Here, the
question was: can we add all these needed new func-
tions without adding an architectural object, without
adding a statement of any formal visual intervention?
This almost invisible architectural intervention grew to

about 1.8 km in length, forming a chain of functions,
some of which could be semi-indoor or completely
— 24 —
Ammar K hammash
outdoor, and a pedestrian garden-bridge to cross

the river near the most scenic noria. Of course, this
concept was more like a master plan, which implied
it could be built in stages: growing like a living root
of a fig tree, like a thread following a needle gradually
stitching its way under the edge of the garden fabric.
The line of functions starts from one end, where a

large available open space can house temporary
pavilions for something like a “design biennale“. At
the other end, the line of the functions enters into
a carefully sectioned narrow ramp that penetrates
the entire archaeological layering of ancient Hama,
reaching its base and exposing the full sequence
of civilisation periods accumulated in ten thousand
years. The visitor then exits at the top, where today’s
remains of the city are collected and where the visi-
tor can view the living city.
Our Iuav W.A.Ve. 2017 workshop carefully avoided

direct involvement in usual Architecture design ex-
ercises − building design of technical renovation etc.
− and concentrated instead on ideas that came from
our understanding of the place, its genuine past and
potentials for the future, and the chance to rethink
the role of the architect.
Besides the building-chain of different functions, the

class produced a dozen exit ideas. One group of stu-
dents worked on discovering if there was any hidden
order in the elevations of heritage buildings, showing
patterns resulting from the mixing blocks of white
limestone with blocks black basalt, and with some
elevations showing a transition to total randomness.
This project experimented with the “sonification” of
architectural elevation, trying to perceive architectur-
al patterns more like sound rather than visuals. The
— 25 —
experiment was based on playing some elevations of
Hama historical buildings like musical composition,
using software programmes that process MIDI (Mu-
sical Instrument Digital Interface) as a protocol, al-
lowing electronic instruments and other digital musi-
cal tools to communicate with each other, or with any
virtual musical instrument, and play the architectural
visual composition as a sound piece.
One project explored the idea of reversing the strati-

fication that resulted from the systematic excavation
of a section of the Hama city site. The concept was
to use the materials removed during excavation to re-
build a wall, with the newest layers at the base and the
oldest at the top, following synchronised stages of ex-
cavation and building at the same time. The students
here created a fragmented wall using recycled models
from older projects of other classes, casting them in
gypsum and producing a powerful visual composition
that evoked emotions, memory, and a sense of com-
pressed time. This work illustrated “temporal transpar-
ency”, perfectly mirroring the essence of archaeologi-
cal stratigraphy and how vertical excavation sections
expose different time periods at the same time.
Other projects included the development of an app that

could become the ultimate online real-time tool to de-
sign the masterplan a city from the input of people liv-
ing in it and those who left it to live in other cities of
the world. The app explored ideas related to “virtual
cities”, diminishing the line between geographical of
political citizenship and the new more human “virtual
citizenship”. It also explored the idea of democracy and
citizen-driven tools for the shaping of a dynamic, real-
time, quick masterplanning that can house memories
and stories of people, as well as their aspirations and
their economic, environmental, and cultural destinies.
— 26 —
Ammar K hammash
One group of students worked on rebuilding 3-metre-

high wooden norias, to understand their geometry in
detail, as carpenters, and to go through the physi-
cality of the craft involved in the process. The noria
was also used as an icon of Hama by another group
of students: its symbolic shape was adopted to pre-
pare baked bread and cookies. This design project
left the boundaries of the allocated studio space and
began to spread into the city of Venice. Some baker-
ies around the university were directly involved in de-
sign development as well as baking, using the story
of a city in Syria (and its ancient wooden wheels) as
a source of inspiration for something new for our din-
ing tables. This “Baking for Syria” idea became real:
one bakery made 80 euros in one day with the special
baked goods and the owners of the bakery even came
to see the workshop final display. Students worked on
many other ideas, researching possibilities of crafts
and of developing new materials from the walnut tree
that grows in many Hama farms. They also worked on
the use of seeds in special mixtures as architectural
“bandage” material, to help heal the war-wounds in the
walls and tissues of the city.
Nothing good comes from wars. But when wars hap-

pen, they present us with challenging questions; they
present unusual situations and needs to act, pushing
us hard to think in different ways. Some of the result-
ing ideas born under the misfortunate pressures of
war can bring architecture back to some degree of hu-
manity, humility, responsibility, and meaningfulness.
Some resulting ideas could possibly give birth to new
solutions that could be used to build better environ-
ments, not only in cities injured from wars, but also in
places that were not touched by wars and merely have
forgotten how to provide a meaningful and truly live
place, for people and for other forms of life.
— 27 —
What makes
Hama
unique is the
ingenious way
in which its
people have
animated the
rives since
antiquity.
— 29 —
Ammar K hammash
— 30 —
— 31 —
Ammar K hammash
— 32 —
— 33 —
Ammar K hammash
— 34 —
— 35 —
Ammar K hammash
The
geological
investigation
was pivotal to
understand
the inherent
“original site
attraction”
of Hama.
— 37 —
Ammar K hammash
— 38 —
— 39 —
Ammar K hammash
— 40 —
— 41 —
Ammar K hammash
The noria
was used as
an icon of
Hama.
It was used
to create
backed bread
and edible
cookies.
— 43 —
Ammar K hammash
— 44 —
— 45 —
Ammar K hammash
— 46 —
— 47 —
Ammar K hammash
The idea
was to
design a
mixture
of new
functions
for Hama.
— 49 —
Ammar K hammash
screen.
— MyHamah App loading
— 50 —
Ammar K hammash
— “Sonification” of
architecture using a
patterns resulting from
the mixing blocks of
white limestone with
blocks black basalt.
— 51 —
— 52 —
— 53 —
Ammar K hammash
Some
resulting
ideas can
give birth
to solutions
that can be
used to make
better built
environments.
— 55 —
Ammar K hammash
— 56 —
— 57 —
Ammar K hammash
power of the earth.

— Architecture does
not forget. The healing
— 58 —
— 59 —
Ammar K hammash
— 60 —
Ammar K hammash
Ammar Kham m a s h
— Amman, Jordan
Ammar Khammash has been working as an architect,

anthropologist and artist for more than 25 years. He
is well established in Jordan and internationally for
his knowledge in cultural and natural heritage and in-
corporating it in his designs. He is an expert in local
and practical building traditions and heritage. He has
extensive knowledge in the geology of Jordan and its
natural features and he is one of the few architects
that are interested in medicinal plants and using them
as a viable tool in the socio-economic development.
Ammar has renovated many historical structures in

Jordan and the Arab world. He is an expert in inno-
vative environmental and sustainable design solu-
tions. His work includes commercial projects, ho-
tels, sustainable tourism, residential, renovation and
restoration, cultural centers, landscape design, inte-
rior design, planning as well as destination design.
Khammash Architect’s Royal Academy for Nature
Conservation was shortlisted for the 2017 Aga Khan
Award in Architecture.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Filippo De Dominicis
He studied Architecture in Brussels and Rome, where he
was among the recipients of the PhD in History and Theory
of Architecture and Planning. From 2013 to 2015, he has

been a post-doctoral researcher at Università Iuav di Ven-
ezia, and an Post-doctoral Fellow at the Aga Khan Program
for Islamic Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
nology (Cambridge, MA) in 2016.
His research agenda ranges from strategies of transna-

tional design and planning - with a specific focus on the
relationships and exchanges between sub-Saharan Af-
rica, Europe, and North America - to contemporary forms
of macro-scale urbanism, notably in the desert areas of
Africa and the Middle East. Author of more than 30 pub-
lications on these topics, he lectured in Italy and abroad
(Europe, Africa, and United States), participating in vari-
ous seminars, conferences, and symposia.
— 62 —
Ammar K hammash
Stud ents
—
Felix Erol Abiral Eva Carmina Jervolino

Tomas Ambra Claudia Lazzari
Rebecca Ambrosi Rachael Leslie
Kodjo Donatien Amon Pamela Lillo
Dennis Baganz Fosca Majer
Claudio Bettarel Francesco Manganotti
Valeria Bolentini Magdalena Margesin
Laura Boliter Martino Montresor
Giovanna Bordin José Maria Muriel
Ilaria Bortolato Linda Padovani
Federica Bozzolan Alessandro Peruzzo
Vittoria Brandani Lina Player
Francesca Caloi Alvise Romanzini
Valentina Carpin Melissa Rossetti
Riccardo Carvaro Allegra Sieni
Edoardo Casagrande Marina Silvello
Valeria Cavaliere Andrea Sogliacchi
Giulia Cervi Federica Szalaiszter
Luca Ciciriello Simone Tosato
Gianmarco Costantini Massimiliano Vasta
Marta Dal Pozzo Stefano Zuccatti
Irma Delmonte
Luca Brenno Dessì
Francesca Di Bussolo
Benedetta Falcone
Barnaba Fernarese
Gianmarco Filippo
Diego Francescato
Silvia Genovese
Mattia Grigolato
Alessandro Guarese
Marco Guidetti
Aleksandar Jankovic
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash / Natural-Cultural Heritage, Is It About The Past Or The Future?
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects


— PALMYRA / 34°33’02”N 38°16’18”E
THE PALMYRA’S
OXYMORON:
HOW DESTRUCTION
CAN BE
PRESERVED?
— PALMYRA / 34°33’02”N 38°16’18”E
THE PALMYRA’S
OXYMORON:
HOW DESTRUCTION
CAN BE
PRESERVED?
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017

The Palmyra’s Oxymoron: How Destruction Can Be Preserved?

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Palmyra
19 Introd uction
21 The oxymoron of Pal m y ra
28 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
C amillo M ag ni - O p erastudio
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
T H E PA L M Y R A’ S O X Y M O R O N : H O W D E S T R U C T I O N C A N B E P R E S E R V E D ?
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
elles, 1842, p.2.


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
PALMYRA
- 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2004 55,062
2017 51,015
Description
— 11 —
to Homs
0 5 km
PALMYRA TADMOR
to Homs
PALMYRA TADMOR
archeological site
0 1 km
Palmyra airport
— 16 —

moderately damaged,
sibly damaged. Many
Palmyra museum, the
funerary monuments
Syrian government
ISIL fighters.
— 17 —
In trod uction
—
Al essia Boldrin, M a nuel Minto , Ro ssella Villa ni
As scraps of columns and ancient walls are able

to evoke an archaeological set, scraps of designs
and projects evoke general strategies. With this ap-
proach, it was possible to consider which new func-
tions could be overlapped on the archaeological site
of Palmyra, to restore vital life to it, strengthen the ar-
chaeological area, and not hide or deny its historical
destruction. Palmyra is an ancient city, and today has
become an archaeological site of great value in mod-
ern times as a result of its partial destruction. We
must find a new function that valorises its past, con-
siders its present, and looks with renewed interest in
its future. The archaeological site is connected to the
contemporary city not only in physical and functional
terms, but also in deeper social terms. The relaunch
of the archaeological site can only happen through
an appreciation and reconstruction of the entire city,
in order to rebuild the community, the most precious
asset that will take care of Palmyra in the future. For
this reason, the functions that could take place in the
archaeological site must be addressed to the local
community, and not to a purely tourist operation.
Each project aims at overlapping a new “graveyard” —

containing burial sites, a place of prayer, a mosque, a
church, and a system of paths — on the archaeologi-
cal site of Palmyra. The seven proposals investigate
different forms of relationship with the archaeologi-
cal site. The cemetery welcomes Muslims, Catho-
lics, lay, and people of all creeds.The monumental
strength of the archaeological site imposes an ar-
dent dialogue between the new and the past, a pro-
— 19 —
found reflection on monumental architecture and
its construction. Each proposal explores different
portions of the project. Students were asked not to
touch the actual ground because it belongs to the
site’s archaeological history: not to touch the sur-
face because it narrates the tragic of the present.
For this reason, the projects investigate the existing
space through the suspension of architectural ele-

ments or the movement of new land.
The past belongs to the subsoil, the present on

the surface, while the future is a layer gently lean-
ing on top.
— 20 —
The ox ymoro n o f Pa lm y ra
—
Ca millo Magni - Op era st ud io
I postulate
History teaches us that appeasement is possible only

through the memory of events. Remembering, even if
agonising, is the only manner to reconcile inhabitants.
Conversely, oblivion conceals rancour and hate.
II postulate
Archaeology has the task of proving the testimony of

ancient human culture, through the collection, informa-
tion, and analysis of material traces. In the case of the
archaeological site of Palmyra, we take part in the strati-
fication of Greek, Roman, Persian, and Arab cultures.
III postulate
The destruction of Palmyra, committed by both mili-

tants of ISIS and governmental forces, cannot be denied
or removed. Such act of destruction must be somehow
arranged in the history and memory of the city.
Palmyra: oxymoron
The application of the third postulate negates the

second one, but denying it would negate the first.
War conferred a new significance to the archaeo-
logical ruins of Palmyra. These ruins cannot be re-
constructed as if nothing ever happened. But the
history of the archaeological site cannot fade away,
and the hope for a new rebuilding persists at the
same time. We are immersed in a contradiction. An
— 21 —
oxymoron. In this uncertainty, architectural design
could find enhancement.
Palmyra: stratification
An extraordinary example is the Cretto di Ghibel-

lina, realised by Alberto Burri, that shows how a
design is able to preserve both the memory of dis-

astrous events, and the traces of the past before
them at the same time. The process of layering
can help to overtake the planning impasse. Giving
a new function to the archaeological site of Pal-
myra, means to start a new chapter of the city’s
history. It means to highlight the war as an occa-
sion for a new birth.
Why a cemetery in Palmyra?
A cemetery could be a remarkable plan in this ar-

chaeological site. This new function could improve
the connection among citizens, archaeological ar-
eas, and the modern city, avoiding principles of mu-
sealisation. In our opinion, the cemetery and the ar-
chaeological ruins can coexist. The cemetery is, par
excellence, the ultimate place for reconciliation. Each
project overlaps on top of the archaeological site of
Palmyra, with a new cemetery — containing burial
sites, a place of prayer, a mosque, a church, and a
system of paths. The seven proposals investigate
different forms of relationship with the archaeologi-
cal site. The cemetery welcomes Muslims, Catholics,
and people of all faiths.
New domus to accomodate the cemetery
The project uses the rhythm of the Decumano as

a “mould” for the setting. In the southern part of
— 22 —
the archaeological park, there will be burial sites

shaped on the geometry of the ancient Roman do-
mus placed in that area. A series of rectangular
fences marks the different sites of the domus, and
replaces its volumes. In the meantime, these define
the entrances to the Decumano. Each fence hosts a
specific function of the cemetery park: the Islamic
burial place and the Christian one, the Mosque and
the church, the Orthodox church and the Memorial
palm garden. The earth-filling on the existing level
allows to host tombs, without having to excavate
the ground and the archaeological remains. A new
main path for the archaeological park are set upon
the Decumano, reviving the ancient street and in-
centivising contaminations between visitors and
Palmyra’s population.
Dichotomy between light and heavy
The projects offer a reinterpretation of the Cardo-

Decumano system by combining burial sites and
archaeological paths in the same modular fig-
ures, orthogonal to the Decumano. Light and thin
boardwalks — sticking out from the archaeological
level, safeguarding the ruins and helping to guide
the visit of the area at the same time — containing
burial sites, a place of prayer, a mosque, a church,
and a system of paths — define the paths.
The northern part of the Decumano hosts the Is-

lamic cemetery, while the southern area the Chris-
tian one. Following the same approach, an informal
Mosque and Catholic church seem to rise upon the
Baal Temple ruins. Both worship places are built
with light structures, on wooden platforms de-
tached from the soil and the ruins. Light curtains
hang over the oversized structure, covering it and
— 23 —
flowing in the desert wind. With this image, light-
ness is directly connected to the heaviness of the
ancient columns of the Baal Temple.
The topographic strength of a place
The project aims to set up a new landscape from

the earth that is uncovered and dug out from the

archaeological site. Topographic work is set in or-
der to define a buffer zone on the edge between
the ancient part of Palmyra and the modern one.
That sloping space will be the burial place: on the
top, on a stair-system, there will be the Islamic
tombs, as a hypogeum corridor to the Christian
ones. The difference between the archaeological
level and the “new” ground is the site where reli-
gious functions and archaeological paths match.
The project deeply investigates the possibility to
design an underground space as accessible areas
to live in.
A new monumentality
The project uses the Cardo traces as a place to set

the project. Starting from the existing Decumano
site, still visible and recognisable, a new building
reconfiguring the ancient Cardo is imagined. This
building assumes a monumental size through a tri-
lithic system, repeated on a 600 metre-long struc-
ture: the dialogue with the existing colonnade of
Palmyra is evident. The structural system is de-
fined, firstly, in its geometric morphology, and then
in the different and variable pitches between the
two sides of the structure. This subtle work on the
variability of a scheme creates a feeling of disori-
entation. The ground floor of that grand covered
path hosts the burial sites that disappear on the
— 24 —
stone paving as the archaeological paths begin

to match the religious ones. The structure comes
to define a new border inside the archaeological
park: the ruins on one side, and a limitless palm
grove on the other.
Geometric repetition of the Temple of Bel
The project holds the geometry of the Temple of Bel
as the established principle of the cemetery area.
For this reason, an eight-meter wall delimits two
new 200x200 m square areas. These areas are dedi-
cated to burial and prayer. One square is devoted to
Islamic faith while the second to the Christian one.
For the organisation of the burial grounds, the mor-
phology of the ancient Temple of Bel was lost before
the French demolished the secondary structures at
the beginning of the last century; it was a complex
system of buildings that today has been transformed
into a tangle of tombs. In addition, a design study
on the mosque created a large 42-metre sphere as a
perfect form of dialogue with the square geometry of
the outer perimeter.
Dialogue with the city evoking the ancient

necropolis
The project aims to redefine the access to the ar-

chaeological area by building a new entry system.
For this reason, buildings dedicated to religious cults
are located symmetrically on the outside, building a
new relationship with the city. A new large square
is set as a public space that penetrates the exist-
ing architectural fabric, while a new pedestrian path
crosses the archaeological site, reinforced by the
presence of burial grounds that welcome Catholics
and Muslim faithful, is set on the other side. This
— 25 —
path overlaps a system of small museum areas dedi-
cated to archaeological excavations, entering in the
soil and studying the ruins in their ancient location.
This architectural form is an explicit evocation of the
ancient necropolis present in Palmyra, just like the
ground cover evokes the geometry of the burials.
Strengthen the limits to build identity
The object of this design proposal is the outer wall

of the archaeological site. The identity of the site it
strengthened with the definition of its perimeter. The
more you define the largest enclosure, the stronger
will be its content. According to these principles, a
system of high paths overlap the archaeological ru-
ins of the external wall. In some cases, the wideness
of these paths increases in order to accommodate
an exhibition area linked to the site’s tourist opera-
tion. In the east, a large landscaping project com-
ing from the excavations involves the construction
of large palm islands where burials are located. The
cemetery becomes a large palm grove, a garden of
Eden, redefining the relationship between nature and
man (the reference to the Stockholm cemetery of As-
plund and Lewerentz is not figurative but evocative).
— 26 —
B ibliograph y
—
Al-As’Ad W., “Some tombs recently excavated at Palmyra”, in M. Gaw-
likowki, G. Majcherek (eds.), “Fifty Years of Polish Excavations in Pal-
myra 1959-2009”, International Conference (Warsaw, 6th-8th December
2010), Studia Palmyrenskie, XII, 2013, pp. 15-24.
Kaizer T., “The religious life of Palmyra: a study of the social patterns of
worship in the Roman period”, Stuttgart, 2002.
Kaizer T., “Religious mentality in Palmyrene documents” in Klio n.86, 1,
2004, pp. 165-184.
Kaizer T., “From Zenobia to Alexander the Sleepless. Paganism, Juda-
ism and Christianity at Late Roman Palmyra” in B. Bastl, V. Gassner, U.
MUSS (hrsg.), “Zeitreisen. Syrien-Palmyra-Rom. Festsschrift für Andreas
Schmidt-Colinet zum 65. Geburtstag”, Wien, 2010, pp. 113-123.
Khayyatan M. W., “Les relations étrangères de Palmyre du point de vue
commercial et religieux” in Palmyra and the Silk Road, International Col-
loquium - Palmyra 1992, (Les Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syriennes,
vol. XLII), Damascus, 1996, pp. 197-198.
Piacentini D., “The palmyrene attitudes towards death” in ARAM, 17,
2005, pp. 245-258.
Rostovtzeff M.I., “The Caravan-Gods of Palmyra”, in The Journal of Ro-
man Studies n.22, 1932, pp. 107-116.
Saito K., “Palmyrene Burial Practices from Funerary Goods” in E. Cussini
(ed.), “A journey to Palmyra. Collected Essays to Remember Delbert R.
Hillers”, Leiden, 2005, pp. 150-165.
Schnadelbach K., “Topographia Palmyrena, Documents D’archeologie
Syrienne Xviii”, Damascus, 2010.
— 27 —
Seven
stratifications
for seven
projects.
— 29 —
— 30 —
— 31 —
— 32 —
— 33 —
— 34 —
— 35 —
model.
— Stratification. Gypsum
— 36 —
— Geometric repetition
of the temple of Bel -
strategy.
— Mosque (right) and

church (left). View and
axonometric projection.
— 37 —
— 38 —
— Mosque and cem-

etery. Plan.
— Mosque and cem-

etery. Section, model
and view.
— 39 —
— 40 —
— New wall, section.
— From portico. View.
— Muslim cemetery in
the palm grove. Model.
— 41 —
Why a
cemetery
in Palmyra?
— 43 —
— 44 —
— Muslim and Catholic

cemeteries. View.
— Cemetery. Plan and

section.
— 45 —
— 46 —
— Mosque and church

plan on the Temple
of Bel.
— Mosque. Section.
— Light covering and

minaret. Model.
— 47 —
— 48 —
— Topographic strength
of a place - strategy.
— Cemetery. Axonomet-
ric projection and view.
— 49 —
Scraps
of seven
projects.
— 51 —
— 52 —
— Catholic cemetery.
View.
— Cemetery, external
wall up to the great
colonnade. Sections.
— Mosque. Section.
— 53 —
— 54 —
— Orthodox church, from

the colonnade. Plan.
— Church and archaeo-

logical paths. Section
and model.
— Orthodox church, from

the colonnade. View.
— 55 —
— 56 —
— Cemetery and hypo-

gean museum. Plan.
— Cemetery and mu-

seum area. Section.
— Cemetery and hypo-

gean museum. Model.
— New hypogean
archaeological area.
View.
— 57 —
— 58 —
— 59 —
— 60 —
C amillo Mag n i - Opera s tu dio

— Milan, Italy
He studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano

and at ESTA, Madrid, in 1973. In 2006, he obtained
his PhD in architectural design at the Politecnico di
Milano, where he has been acting as assistant pro-
fessor in several architectural design courses since
2001 (Leonardo and Bovisa). In 2006, he was ap-
pointed adjunct professor of architectural design.
In 2004, he participated in the international re-

search project Casapartes to build low cost housing
in Latin America. He is the president of “Architectes
Sans Frontiers - Italy”, and his working experience
took him to Argentina, Paraguay, Guatemala, Ghana,
Egypt, and Cambodia. In 2007, he founded Oper-
aStudio, an Architectural Design firm in Milan with
Lucia Paci. Now, he is the Western European Coordi-
nator of Union Internationale des Architectes – UIA.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Rossella Villani
Graduate cum laude in 2016 from Università Iuav di Ven-
ezia, with a master thesis on the reconstruction for Aleppo
(prof. Benno Albrecht as thesis advisor). She has worked

at Studio Prototype and is currently working at LEVS archi-
tecten in Amsterdam.
Manuel Minto
Graduate cum laude in 2016 from Università Iuav di Ven-
ezia, with a master thesis on an interfaith building as a
haven for the city of Milan. He participated to various ar-
chitectural competitions and is currently working between
Italy and Portugal.
Alessia Boldrin
Graduate in Architecture and Innovation in 2017 from
Università Iuav di Venezia, with a master thesis on a
modular ecovillage for refugees in Hamburg. She is cur-
rently an intern at Guillermo Vazquez Consuegra Arqui-
tecto in Seville, Spain.
— 62 —
Stud ents
—
Anna Acciarino Manuel Revoltella

Vittorio Barbato Jacqueline Siega
Alessandro Barollo Fulya Tanyel
Sara Benetti Francesco Tassello
Ginevra Berton Pascal Toma
Marco Bonotto Andreafrancesca Zagaglia
Ludovico Cancian Giacomo Zella
Edgardo Cancino Laura Zovatto
Caterina Capuzzo
Beatrice Carraro
Francesco Cester
Pietro Cirilli
Isabella Dagostin
Francesco De Marchi
Rangelov Dimitrov Genadi
Matteo Ergazzori
Ivan Favretto
Yara Teresa Gibin
Lifu Lin
Isabella Lovato
Lorenzo Lualdi
Eva Maniero
Enrica Martignon
Cristobal Melo
Nicolò Mengoli
Nicola Misuri Fiodor
Elia Molon
Alessandro Motagner
Francesca Morello
Estefania Parada
Giacomo Picco
Francesca Pontello
Vanessa Racconci
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Camillo Magni - Operastudio / The Palmyra’s Oxymoron: How Destruction Can Be Preserved?
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Giancarlo Mazzanti
— RAQQA / 35°56’58”N 39°01’13”E
LUDUS, PLAY, AND

COOPERATION
AS MECHANISMS
FOR SOCIAL
RE-COMPOSITION
Giancarlo Mazzanti
— RAQQA / 35°56’58”N 39°01’13”E
LUDUS, PLAY, AND

COOPERATION
AS MECHANISMS
FOR SOCIAL
RE-COMPOSITION
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Ludus, Play, And Cooperation As Mechanisms For Social Re-Composition

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Raqqa
19 Introduction
21 Ludus, play, and cooperation as mechanisms

for social re-composition
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
L U D U S , P L AY, A N D C O O P E R AT I O N A S M E C H A N I S M S F O R S O C I A L R E - C O M P O S I T I O N
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
consequence or manifestation of something else),
et ses environs”, Société
elles, 1842, p.2.


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
RAQQA
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2004 220,488
2017 177,636
Description
Raqqa is located on the North-East bank of the Euphrates River, about
160 kilometres East of Aleppo. It is located 40 kilometres East of the
Tabqa Dam, Syria’s largest dam. Star of the fertile crescent, Raqqa is a
city of contact between three worlds: the world of nomadic pastors, the
sedentary world and that one of the city dwellers. It is actually a semi-
arid region and agricultural prosperity thus depends to a large extent
on the capacity of the State to guarantee the perenniality of the works.
— 11 —
RAQQA
0 5 km
Al Nasirah
Euphrate River
New Bridge
0 1 km
RAQQA OLD CITY
Euphrate River
— 16 —
— Since March 2013,
Raqqa has been at the
centre of the conflict
in Syria. It was first
captured by opposition
groups, and after fierce
fighting with the latter in
October 2013, ISIS took
control of the city. In No-
vember 2014, the Syrian
Observatory for Human
Rights reported that the
Syrian Arab Republic
Government bombed
Raqqa, and that damage
was extensive inside the
old city area, especially
next to the Raqqa Mu-
seum. There have been
reports of damage to
cultural heritage near
the Abbasid period walls
of Raqqa, such as the
damage to statues of
lions in the Al Rasheed
Park, the shrine tombs
of Uwais al-Qarani, Obay
ibn Qays, and Ammar
ibn Yasir. Migration from
Aleppo, Homs, Idlib and
other inhabited places
to the city occurred as
a consequence of the
uprising against Assad.
— 17 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
In trod uction
—
N icola Bedin, Umber to Bo no mo , Ma rco Ca r ra ro
The conceptual articulation of the workshop is based

on the principles of play and anomaly: in this sense,
the practice of architecture is primarily conceived as
a “creative and innovative” practice (Perea, 1999), not
as a simple accumulation of information or sum of
methods to apply.

The invitation proposed by the laboratory is to extend
our point of view beyond our constructive habits or
functional aesthetics. During the workshop, a debate
focused on new forms of use and new types of space,
through the experimentation of abnormal and oppos-
ing programmes with the aim of allowing the construc-
tion of cooperative structures.
Like a toy – whose value comes from the object itself,

as well as what can be done with it –, architecture and
design are not only valued as objects: their value re-
sides in the social dynamics that they can generate.
In this case, the idea of cooperation is interesting, in
its ability to produce new behaviours and to develop
innovation and/or knowledge.
Physical and social reconstruction process can take

place only if there are moments of memory and recon-
ciliation. In this sense, it was essential to develop pub-
lic education, production, and healing infrastructures
that also allow the collective construction of memory
and reconciliation.
However, locating these infrastructures on specific

sites is unreasonable in the conditions of Syria today.
— 19 —
For this reason, the workshop has proposed to de-
velop a perspective in which architecture is not a pre-
cise scenario for Raqqa, but rather a series of open
and adaptable strategies. Buildings are conceived as
open and modular systems that can be repeated and
arranged in different places. Their use and their mate-
rial nature are able to change, fitting in different but
precise conditions and territories.
The students worked on the idea of typology as a con-

figuration in contrast with specific projects based on
composite strategies related to a defined place. The
shape is one of many results, always different but al-
ways valid since it is produced by certain rules and
parameters. Each community will decide the proposed
system configurations: the group work will decide the
eventual use and location. In the workshop, the visitor
could play and configure each project with the toys. In
the same way, Syrian communities can define project
configurations by playing. Play and games are consid-
ered moments of socialisation, for a future project and
for a deep reconstruction of the social, cultural, and
physical fabric of Syria.
In conclusion, the workshop did not work on building

projects, but on the rules that can allow many buildings
to be manufactured efficiently and quickly. Projects
that – by sharing common rules, shapes, pieces, and
modules – belong to a recognisable formal universe
that contributes to the recovery and strengthening of
identity. Configurations that conform to possible pro-
jects must be understood as urban-pedagogic infra-
structures, which can accommodate multiple uses
and generate new economic dynamics and social in-
teractions based on play and collaboration.
— 20 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
Ludus, play, and cooperation as

mechanisms for social re-composition
—
Gi ancarlo M azzanti
“The aim of architecture, more than satisfying desire

(or the beauty, or emotion), is to lead people to be-
have, mentally or physically, in ways they didn´t be-
lieve they could possibly do”. (Price, 2003)
There can only be a reconstruction process a mem-

ory and reconciliation process also exists. This is
why it is essential to develop public educational,
production, and healing infrastructures that can also
become places for memory and reconciliation, grown
from cooperation. Places in which the initial use is
multiplied, and can be linked to new conditions like
game and leisure, which will bring to traditional rela-
tions between communities in playful open ways. We
believe that introducing new concepts like counter
spaces (places that free you from your daily condi-
tions and project you into other spaces) will open to
the possibility of building new community relations
– new places for coexistence, learning, diversity, re-
spect – and to the possibility of increasing produc-
tive life in general. We understand the practice of
architecture essentially as “creative and innovative”
(Perea, 1999), and it is on this reassurance that we
will base our work. Architecture as a creative and an
innovative way of thinking, instead of simple knowl-
edge accumulation or prefixed method. The objective
is not only to acquire new lessons, but to produce
ideas, live creative situations. With these means, we
can enrich our work with the most diverse intellec-
tual panoramas that can help us face each project
with different views and perspectives, according to a
changing contemporary world.
— 21 —
The workshop is grounded on concepts such as “play”
and “anomaly”, which will be considered as opportuni-
ties for the reconstruction of cooperation; and spaces
that will host new inhabiting ways, allowing reconcilia-
tion and memory. To achieve this, we used experimen-
tation with heterotopic and counter spaces, as well
as “abnormal” spaces that could help to build coop-
eration structures. That will show and open the views

on how architecture is understood. The mission is to
achieve the establishment of mechanisms that pro-
duce – mainly – new events and community interper-
sonal and associative relations. This way of thinking
will be valuable for Syria and refugees camps, for the
development of designs and buildings for learning and
exchange based on cooperation and community life.
Not only schools, memorial museums, or orphanages:
also small infrastructures, or urban public space arte-
facts, that are simple, cheap, and that can trigger ludic
and play areas related to memory and reconciliation.
This strategy will be directed more to a reconstruction
of the social tissue of war areas than a reconstruc-
tion of a physical one. Pretending to develop public
infrastructures in specific places is not reasonable in
Syria’s conditions of today. This is why we decided to
develop a kind of architecture viewed as modules: a
system that can be repeated and adapted to different
sites, uses, and materials in the city of Raqqa. They can
be changed, depending on where they will be applied.
We are interested in working on the idea of typology

as a configuration in contrast with specific projects
based on composite strategies related to a defined
place. In this sense, projects are adaptive structures,
able to grow in time in a cooperative way. We are in-
terested in their operational rules, and in how each
system is able to react to the programme and place
they will be located in.
— 22 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
Cooperating and working in groups, each communi-

ty will decide the configuration, use, and location of
the systems designed in the workshop. During the
final review, each visitor can play with the student-
designed toys, which are pieces of the systems de-
signed during the workshop: they become a meta-
phor of how Syrian communities can define and
change configurations, through cooperation and
according to their needs. The projects are based on
rules, like a game in which players act and react de-
pending on the place and use that each community
proposes to develop. As happens with a toy, archi-
tecture and design not only have value as objects,
but in the actual virtues of the social dynamics they
produce, in their ability of generating new behav-
iours, innovation, and knowledge development. The
workshop is a place for playful encounter and dia-
logue, ludus and anomaly act for social re-compo-
sition: a design process at the service of memory,
reconciliation, and learning. It is an invitation to
extend our view beyond good practices, aesthetics
or functional established canons. This brings to a
debate on methodologies focused on new uses of
form and space typologies in a place like Syria.
The workshop seeks for a process that we will call

performative (diversity and difference), near what we
call material practices: “an architecture that acts”.
Defined by what architecture produces instead of by
its substance (truth), an architecture that looks for
social actions, for their use, for their play, not just
an efficient mechanism. The debate lies in aesthetic
aspects and in the lead of these actions: the effect
of which will allow us to develop forms, patterns, and
systems. We are interested in relations and actions,
not only in efficiency. I like to imagine architecture
that is related more to contemporary art exhibitions
— 23 —
(that require a user) than to sculptured pieces of
modern architecture (based mostly in efficiency and
aesthetics). Architecture that is more than just the
product of diagrams: architecture that is able to pro-
duce action and guide the user to act.
The value of public infrastructure or space design

cannot simply lie in itself. It also lies in what it trig-

gers, as agents between all the actors that build
them. I think that, before designing beautiful public
spaces, we should learn to design actions and events
that trigger new community ways for their uses. We
do not only design benches, floors, and other public
space components, but we design actions that really
matter in the city and its community life. Is it pos-
sible to programme and design actions, in a public
space, in a more communitarian way? How can we
project architectural systems that can adapt and
change according to these new ways of citizen par-
ticipation based in diversity? How can we connect
different natures (human too) that exist and coexist
in public space? How can we work with the existent
conditions and many community groups to develop
democratic community public spaces?
The workshop centred on public infrastructures

and public spaces as places for the reconciliation
and memory of Syria´s inhabitants. We worked on
a neighbourhood scale, in terms of knowledge and
reconciliation public spaces, kindergartens, memo-
rial museums, educational parks, and infrastructure
that can trigger exchange and development. The
workshop’s design and construction was based on
community and cooperative processes. It also looks
forward to build a platform for students, for them
to learn, anticipate, and define social actions in the
public area and through architectonical projects.
— 24 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
Building as a communal and associative institution,

and its daily relationship with citizens, will be the ap-
proach to our design process, mental and physical.
Architecture becomes an opportunity to empower
social inclusion, with the achievement of ideals and
dreams, the improvement of the quality of life, and
the strengthening of a healthy competitive economy.
In conclusion, we want students to produce ideas
that go beyond building, and focus on developing ur-
ban designs able to have multiple uses. And, at the
same time, generate new economic dynamics and
social interactions based on cooperation.
B ibliograph y
—
Fink E., “L’oasi del gioco”, Cortina Raffaello, Roma, 2008.
Foucault M., “Sorvegliare e punire. Nascita della prigione”, Einaudi, Milano, 2014.
Foucault M., “Utopie-eterotopie”, Cronopio, Milano, 2006.
Hardt M., Negri A., “Oltre il privato e il pubblico”, Rizzoli, Milano, 2010.
Hill J., “An architecture of action” in “Revista Oeste”, 2004, no. 17, pp. 48-63.
Mazzanti G., “From the construction of community to play as a mechanism
of social interaction” in “Sage Publication Jounal of Visual Culture”, 2015.
Mazzanti G., “Lo spazio pubblico come luogo collettivo” in “Lotus Interna-
zionale”, 2012, no. 152, pp. 36-39.
Paris N., “Quatro Variações a Volta de nada Ou Falar Do que não tem”,
Museu Coleção Berardo, 2012.
Perea A., “On the education of the architect” in “Quaderns Journal debate
on teaching”, 2004.
Price C., “Creativity and technology” in “Revista Oeste”, 2003, n.16,
pp.1-7/11-21.
Sennet R., Bottini A., “Insieme. Rituali, piaceri, politiche della collaborazi-
one”, Feltrinelli, Milano, 2014.
— 25 —
Architecture
has a value
not only in
itself but also
in what it
produces.
— 27 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
— 28 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
Raqqa domes
The system is
composed by dome
modules of three sizes,
with circular openings
on the top.
Different dome ag-
glomeration can fit
into the city, creating a
multifunctional covered
space that can promote
gatherings, meetings,
and social rebirth.
The dimension of the
modules is linked to the
use of space. The larg-
est diameter element
(30 m) hosts the market,
the square, the green
space or the theatre.
The medium one (15 m)
is a pray area, a pool, a
playground or a place
of memory (connected
to the ruins of war). The
smallest module (7.5 m)
hosts services.
— 29 —
— 30 —
— 31 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
— 32 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
Pixels
The strategy of the
project is related to the
theme of memory and of
water. In particular, it is
linked to the origins and
development of Raqqa
and the Euphrates River.
The river enters the city
through a subterranean
delta canal, emerging
in the areas that were
bombed and destroyed
by war.
Square modules with dif-
ferent public functions,
made with prefabricated
materials, compose the
system. Production and
sales areas are con-
nected to squares and
playgrounds, in order to
promote the coexistence
of various contradictory
activities set to regener-
ate the area.
The community decides
the configuration of this
“Pixels space”, accord-
ing to their needs.
— 33 —
— 34 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
Polyhedral Raqqa
The operation means to
become a growth cata-
lyser, just as the river
was before. The system
is composed by octahe-
drons and tetrahedrons,
the agglomeration of
which produces concave
and circular spaces that
favour encounters and
interactions between
people.
The octahedron is two
storeys high, and hosts
public activities on the
ground floor and different
functions on the second.
The tetrahedron provides
the staircase.
All the modules can be
connected by modular
triangular walkways.
The modules can be re-
peated infinitely, and can
be combined in all the
directions, infiltrating in
the interstitial spaces and
seep into the destroyed
buildings.
— 35 —
— 36 —
— 37 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
— 38 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
Tiles
The system works with
“tiles” (15 x 8 x 4.5 m).
A single module is an
autonomous structure
that hosts a single
programme within it.
The aggregation of
these modules allows
new connections, both
physical and social,
and the possibility of
generating various
systems: open, closed,
and hybrid.
In addition, the flat
shape of the upper face
of the tile allows the
possibility of vertical
development.
— 39 —
— 40 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
3D Tetris
The system consist
of different modules
(6x3x3 m) inserted in a
three-dimensional 3 m
regular grid (prefabri-
cated wooden structure)
evoking a kind of 3D
Tetris.
This system has been
designed to occupy
vacant and destroyed
spaces, adapting itself
to the shapes of each
specific site.
From this idea, the
infrastructure is also
capable of accommo-
dating the most diverse
functions. The volumes
on the grid can become
schools, homes, retire-
ment homes, markets,
and orphanages; but,
above all, gathering
spaces necessary for
the reconstruction of the
community destroyed
by war.
— 41 —
— 42 —
— 43 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
— 44 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
Productive landscape
The system is conceived
as a series of productive
modules that responds
to the necessity of new
productive spaces, inn
order to support the
regeneration of the city
after the destruction
of war.
The geometric shape of
the module allows the
creation of infinite, ever-
changing, and innovative
combinations that can
be adapted to different
functions.
Each module is charac-
terised by an open and
permeable productive
ground floor (that is
connected with the
surrounding crop fields),
a gathering space on
the roof of the first floor,
with a pathway and arti-
ficial irrigation channels
stemming off it.
— 45 —
— 46 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
Labyrinth
The project tries to re-
turn physical and mental
security to citizens in
a post-war context, in
order to promote the
regeneration of the Syr-
ian community.
The system is com-
posed of a series of pro-
tective walls that gives a
sense of security.
This labyrinth can adapt
itself to all kinds of ar-
eas, creating a dialogue
with the ground, with the
green areas, and even
with pre-existing build-
ings, promoting spaces
for gathering and social
encounters.
— 47 —
The learning
act or
experience
is based on
an attitude
of curiosity
toward the
unknown.
— 49 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
— 50 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
— The cooperation
between the various
students allows them to
share all their individual
skills.
— Construction of card-
board models and boxes
to make silicone molds.
Pouring the silicon into
the cardboard boxes.
Removing the cardboard
model and subsequent
mold cleaning, neces-
sarily to use it for the
next construction of
the toys.
— Colouring and activat-

ing the acrylic resin.
Casting the resin inside
the molds. Dismantling
the mold and subse-
quent smoothing of the
acrylic toys. Repetition
of the process until
there are enough toys
available to make vari-
ous configurations.
— The completion of the

architectural models.
— 51 —
— 52 —
— 53 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
— 54 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
— Each visitor partici-

pates in the regenera-
tion act by configuring
the project that he be-
lieves most appropriate
and necessary to the
community.
— 55 —
— 56 —
— 57 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
We are
interested
in triggering
actions
and
relationships.
Giancarlo M azzanti
— There is no need to be
architects to configure
buildings.
Everyone can follow the
rules that are suggested
and can propose his
own idea: there are
no correct or wrong
configurations.
Let’s play.
— 59 —
— 60 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
Giancarlo Ma zza n ti
— Bogotá, Colombia
Giancarlo Mazzanti (1963), Hon. AIA, is an architect

from the Javeriana University Colombia, with a post-
graduate degree in Architecture History and Theory,
and one in Industrial Design from the University of
Florence, Italy. He has taught in several Columbian
universities, and: Princeton University (2012), Har-
vard (2014), University of Pennsylvania (2016), and
Columbia University (2016-17).
He has won several awards, such as: the XX Colom-

bian Architecture Biennial, Public Space category, in
2006; the Ibero-American Biennial, Best Architecton-
ic Work category, in 2008 (Portugal); Panamerican
Architecture Biennial, Architectural Design category,
in 2008 (Ecuador); Global Award for Sustainable Ar-
chitecture in 2010 (France). Many of his works were
exhibited in permanent collections at the MoMA
(New York), Museum Georges Pompidou (Paris), and
CMOA (Pittsburgh).
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Nicola Bedin
He graduated from Università Iuav di Venezia (2010), after
studying in Venice and Oporto. He has worked with Perdo
Reis (Lisbon, Portugal) and Javer Corvalan (Asuncion, Par-

aguay). He has been working as an independent architect
since 2010, and he founded CLAB architettura in 2013.
Umberto Bonomo
PhD in Architecture and Urban Studies at Catholic Univer-
sity in Chile (2009), Architect Università Iuav di Venezia
(2004). Now, he is assistant professor, researcher, and
vice-director in Development of the School of Architec-
ture at PUC.
Marco Carraro
He graduated from Università Iuav di Venezia (2017), after
studying in Oslo and in Santiago de Chile. He worked with
Carlana Mezzalira Pentimalli Architetti (Treviso, Italy), and
with Ensamble Studio (Madrid, Spain). He collaborated
in the Swiss Pavilion Exhibition “Incidental space”, at the
2016 Venice Architecture Biennale.
— 62 —
Giancarlo M azzanti
Stud ents
—
Omar Al-Abkal Andrea Maso

Filippo Ambrosini Daniel Mcmanus
Niccolò Andreella Maria Medushevskaya
Ariel Arrigoni Giada Milan
Paulina Avila Valentina Miranda
Sindi Baku Victoria Mohr
Marco Bassi Elisa Montanari
Zhang Bilun Giulia Patacini
Irene Bordin Ugo Pavanello
Sara Borsato Sara Pellizzer
Denis Caprini Irene Peressotti
Chiara Cavazzini Chiara Peron
Sebastiano Ciminari Pietro Peroni
Jessica Coccimiglio Noemi Perruolo
Fabio Corazzin Benjamin Reise
Daniele Cortez Beatrice Rigo
Francesca Dalla Mora Nicolas Rojas
Matteo Faccin Valentina Rosato
Roxana Bajelan Farrokhi Martina Segafredo
Eleonora Favaro Cristina Stupai
Andrea Fedrigo Elena Terrida
Dalila Fermezza Fabio Tognon
Mathilde Fleury Benjamin Valenzuela
Giulia Formato Gianluca Vassallo
Maria José Garay Sofia Visentin
Alessandro Gava Zizhe Wang
Giada Gavin Chuanjiang Xia
Federico Giusti Bin Xiao
Giacomo Laffi Noel Yanez
Yuru Li Ying Yu
Luis Lobos Yichen Zhang
Maria Elena Lovato Marco Zuanon
Maxim Macarov Gloria Zuin
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
Bom Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti / Ludus, Play, And Cooperation As Mechanisms For Social Re-Composition
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

FROM
ALEPPO
— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
LEARNING
— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
LEARNING
FROM
ALEPPO
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017

Learning Form Aleppo

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Aleppo
19 Reflections on city planning through

the workshop experience
21 Lear ni ng from Al eppo
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Patr izia M ontini Z imolo
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
LEA RNING FORM A LEPPO

— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
elles, 1842, p.2.



— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA

Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
ALEPPO
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E

Population
2004 2,132,100
2017 1,602,264
Description
— 11 —
ALEPPO
to Damascus
0 5 km
industrial city
citadel
airport
Al Asse River
0 1 km
ALEPPO OLD CITY
citadel
Suk
— 16 —

and destruction to
400,000 dead and
The historic monu-

down completely.
— 17 —
Reflections on city planning through

the workshop experience
—
Stefano Ferro, Giulio Ma nga no
The W.A.Ve. 2017 topic, The Making of the future,

has forced the entire work group to reflect deeply on
the identification of a more sensitive approach, con-
sidering the current geopolitical situation of Syria.
The city of Aleppo, with its geomorphological con-
formation and historical heritage, has provided us
with an idea of urban design, one that keeps togeth-
er the needs required and wanted by any contempo-
rary city. If gave way to an intense collective work of
teachers and students, confronting and exchanging
opinions and gradually becoming familiar with the

architectural and urban scale of Aleppo. You must
learn from the city in order to design a part of it.
Starting from here, we chose a simple set-up to de-

scribe the city of Aleppo and its projects:
– A large model (4.5x2 m) in an archaeological

site, joining together (with the same architectural
language of the monumental ruins of the historic
city, Citadel and Souq) the historical city to the
large project area located in the west part of the
Gate of Antioch.
– A central scene with 160 postcards, describing
and narrating the project as a collage of building
redesign, photography, emotions, and reflections
on Syria and on the topics that were covered dur-
ing the workshop.
– Seven projects for Aleppo, with a series of two
drawings (1:500 scale plan and project view) sus-
pended with a light steel structure around the cen-
tral model.
— 19 —
The idea of a workshop, limited in time compared
to a regular studio project, requires some choic-
es in terms of design and exhibition layout. This
has led to additional effort, but it has also led to
awareness in seeking a synthesis of our thinking
at the same time.
— 20 —
Learning f ro m A lepp o
—
Patrizia M ont ini Zim o lo
1 — Cees Nooteboom,
“There is something mysterious in the fact that land- “Voorbije passages”, De
scapes, which ultimately are not responsible for our Arbeiderspers, Amster-
existence, have nothing to do with it; and certainly dam, 1989.
do not care, despite the fact that they express some-

thing of what you feel because if it did not, you would
not feel anything for what you see”1.
Syria has always been a crossroads, a stratification

and contamination of cultures, stories and religions.
Aleppo, specifically, is a city that has been able to

overcome numerous catastrophes over time, and re-
build on the signs and fragments of old traces. Learn-
ing from Aleppo is an invitation to capture the design
guidelines of the building texture and the natural vo-
cation of the site in order to give voice to new build-
ing. The urban texture does not “forget” its past: it
retains traces of its various stages of expansion, de-
struction, and transformation. Learning from Aleppo:
relying on the ability of urban tissues to integrate and
erase the pre-existing features, and to measure (with
urban typologies and forms) what has remained and
changed within the Hellenistic, Islamic, and modern
city. Even measuring the transformation of the natu-
ral elements of the soil in anthropic structures, tells:
a calcareous outcrop of strong symbolic character
that has been remodelled over time. Through the
“strip” designed by the Citadel’s tell (and by the souq
and mosque system, madrase, khan), it is possible
to have the city grow along the east-west historical
axis, the Decumano, in the voids left by the war. The
new buildings are connected by an urban meaning:
— 21 —
from the point of view of the relationship they estab-
lish with the city, and their ability to transform the city
itself. Buildings that highlight the timelessness and
specificity of certain urban phenomena. The story of
its history, its previous “stories”, is read on the plani-
metric relief as an archaeological trace, revealing a
monumentality that seems to have disappeared in the
aftermath of the destruction, but that is still legible

and must be considered in its new relationships with
the urban voids. A project for Aleppo that does not
want to go beyond memories, but aims at measuring
and re-inventing them in the present, to avoid the risk
of having the new urban structure become a simple
sum of experiences.
During the workshop, we experienced ways to inte-

grate and recover Aleppo from Aleppo. We extended
the “DNA” formed by the court buildings – found in
madrasas, funduqs, khans, hamman, souq, colon-
naded streets, bridges, and passages – in a series
of memorable pieces: pieces with which we can
build the “background” of a new life for a city rising
from the ashes of a tragic war, triggering change and
renewal. These are the fragments of a safe reality:
the ancient city becomes the future of the new city,
gradually building new areas from the sum, space,
form, and elements of other contemporary architec-
tures. This horrible war remains a fundamental and
indispensable moment in the city’s history. It is not
enough to overcome issues and problems that Alep-
po has gradually developed and that will be faced in
the post-war period.
Aleppo is a city in search of a new identity, and not

only because of the conflicts that have devastated
and divided it. In its urban fabric, there are places
that constitute opportunities for its growth and that
— 22 —
can give rise to new aggregation spaces and new

communications between cultures and peoples of
different nationalities and religions. The selected
area is an important example: a vast space that ex-
pands the twentieth-century city to the west that is
characterised by the presence of unplanned holes
that alternate with service spaces, such as the cur-
rent bus terminal and the remains of a market. The
“empty areas” are not just places that must be re-
structured, built or used as “green areas”: our goal
cannot be their simple recovery and reuse. The
“voids” are a sort of key that opens up new urban
mechanisms. The area we chose for the project
plays a strategic role: the end of the great Omar
Bin Abdel Aziz axis, ending in the Antioch Gate, is
the access point to the souq and citadel. The pro-

ject incorporates a very dense programme aimed
at building and strengthening this urban axis (free-
way terminal, taxi, bus parking), organising a new
entry to the historic city and a new opening to the
market, with places for business as well as for ex-
hibitions, concerts, and cultural events in the vast
abandoned area in the south. The general idea is
to build a network of public services and equip-
ment along the historic perimeter for the popula-
tion that will return to Aleppo, bringing different
experiences and cultures along with it. The green
bands that cross the entire area are also impor-
tant, since they accentuate the connections with
the large Jamal Abdunnaser Park, which is a major
green lung for Aleppo. The strip of the park can be
connected to the chosen area of study by redraw-
ing the geography of this urban part with ground
movements (terraces, ramps, spaces, slopes) that
reflect the garden theme that is present in the city,
determining the layout of new spaces and dwell-
ings for displaced people.
— 23 —
We clearly outlined four areas within the space that
we set out to design. Each area responds to the char-
acter of the adjacent context: sectors that, even if
connected to each other, are imagined for different
activities. They offer the opportunity to start a radi-
cal transformation of an urban landscape that does
not yet have a common history, but that will incor-
porate different uses and cultures as it grows and

develops. The projects we present (albeit the limita-
tions of a workshop experience) display the vitality
of a research that relies on the migratory nature of
architecture. Shapes and figures travel in time and
space, unceasingly repeated and transformed, and
seek the ambition to build new and old buildings in
the re-development of the city of Aleppo.
The design projects – Mahkama Space Mobility and

Opportunities, and Omar Bin Abdel Aziz Gate – set a
new arrival station in the centre of Aleppo for buses
and taxis. Here, circulation stops and a welcome area
is set up (information, refreshment, meeting points):
a large entrance space that opens in front of the Gate
of Antioch.
The projects for the new market – rural souq, arcade

souq – seek a close relationship with the meeting
point, gathering larger sales spaces, meeting venues,
restaurants, and possible areas for cultural events.
The design for the cultural centre of the citadel de-
fine a central path that winds through the open spac-
es of the sheltered houses. It is the main axis of the
new settlement system of courthouses, ending in the
culture citadel at a level of +12 m. On an artificial el-
evation made from the rubble of destroyed buildings,
the volumes of the new auditorium and music centre
come to revamp the skyline of this part of the city.
— 24 —
B ibliograph y
—
Anania A., CarriA., Palmieri L., Zenoni G., “Siria viaggio nel cuore del Me-
dio Oriente”, Polaris, Faenza, 2009.
De David J.C., Degeorge G., “Alep”, Flammarion, Paris, 2002.
Galletti M., “Storia della Siria contemporanea”, Bompiani, Milano, 2006.
Sauvaget J., “Alep. Essai sur le developpement d’une grande ville syri-
enne, des origins au milieu du XIX siècle”, Paris, 1941.
David J.C., “L’habitat permanent des grandes commercants dans les
khans d’Alep: processus de formation et d’adaptation d’un modèle exté-
rieur”, in D. Panzac, “2 la ville dams l’empire ottoman: activités et soci-
etés”, IREMAM-CNRS, Aix en Provence, 1994.
Fabbri G., “Damasco e lo spettacolo della storia”, in A. Gallo, G. Marras (a
cura di), “L’invenzione della tradizione”, Il Poligrafo, Padova, 2017.
Neglia G.A., “Aleppo, Processi di formazione della città medieval islami-

ca”, Poliba Press, Bari, 2009.
— 25 —
Plan games:
the projects
simulate the
process of
building the
contemporary
city of Aleppo
beyond the Gate
of Antioch.
— 27 —
— 28 —
— Model. Top view.
— 29 —
— 30 —
— Omar Bin Abdel Aziz

gate.
— 31 —
— 32 —
— 33 —
— 34 —
— Mahkama, Space Mo-

bility and Opportunities.
— 35 —
— 36 —
— Arcade souq.
— 37 —
— 38 —
— 39 —
— 40 —
— Rural souq.
— 41 —
Aleppo,
new
architectures
for the
ancient city,
stage of
prophecy
and memory.
— 43 —
— 44 —
— Terrace market.
— 45 —
— 46 —
— 47 —
— 48 —
— Fondaci avenue.
— 49 —
— 50 —
— 51 —
— 52 —
— Cittadella cultural
center.
— 53 —
— 54 —
— 55 —
The voids
left by war
are a sort
of key that
opens up
new
mechanisms
for urban
reinvention.
— 57 —
— 58 —
— 59 —
— 60 —
Patriz ia Mon tin i Z im o lo

— Venice, Italy
Patrizia Montini Zimolo is architect and professor

of Architectural Composition at Università Iuav di
Venezia. Here, she was assistant to Aldo Rossi from
1987 to 1997, and is now member of the Academic
Board of the Doctorate Programme in Architectural
Composition. She has also been visiting professor
at various Italian and international universities: Inter-
national Bauaustellung in Berlin, Ecole d’Architecture
de Nantes, Hochschule di Weimar, Leibnitz Universi-
tat Hannover, Ecole d’Architecture Paris Malaquais,
Museo d’Arte Moderna di Vassivière, ETSAB - Funda-
cio UPC (Barcelona), FAAP San Paulo (Brasile), EA-
MAU Lomé (Togo).

Many of her projects have been presented in exhibits,
conferences, and international seminars around the
world: Biennale di Venezia, 1985; Triennale di Milano,
1995; Biennale de l’Habitat Durable, “ Habiter la Mé-
diterranée”, Grenoble, 2008; Premio Architettura città
di Oderzo, 2012.
She has also published various articles, books, and

essays: “Berlino ovest, tra continuità e rifondazi-
one”, Officina 1987; “Il luogo del progetto”, CLUVA,
Venezia 1990; “L’architettura del museo”, Città studi,
Milano, 1995; “Il progetto del monumento tra me-
moria e invenzione”, Mazzotta, Milano 2000; “Aldo
Rossi e Venezia, il teatro e la città”, Unicopli, Milano,
2002; “Sotto sopra. Le forme del movimento nella cit-
tà antica” in “Forme del movimento”, Officina, Roma,
2008; “Aldo Rossi, la storia di un libro. L’architettura
della città dal 1966 ad oggi”, Il Poligrafo, 2014; “Il
mosaico africano”, in “L’invenzione della tradizione”,
Il Poligrafo, 2017.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Stefano Ferro
Stefano Ferro graduated with Gino Malacarne from Univer-
sità Iuav di Venezia in 2005, where he is a teaching as-
sistant. He did research on urban planning and many com-

petitions at UNIBO of Cesena. He is architect partner in
NAOS Architecture Office in Chioggia, coordinator of Aalto
Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, and president of “Architec-
ture without borders of Veneto”.
Giulio Mangano
Giulio Mangano graduated in Business Administration at
Bocconi University in Milan. He received his Graduate De-
gree in Architecture from Università Iuav di Venezia. After
a period of training and work abroad, he came back to Ven-
ice where he co-founded Barman Architects while teacher
assistant at Iuav.
Federico Trenna
Federico is registered in the Graduate Degree Programme
in Architectural Science at Università Iuav di Venezia. He
studied at Leeds Beckett University where he followed
“Fluctuating Archipelago”. During his stay in England, he
developed his thesis The Archipelago with Prof. Teresa
Stoppani. His main areas of interest are interior design
and retail.
Marco Lucchiari
Marco Lucchiari began his architecture studies in 2012 at
Università Iuav di Venezia, and in 2016 at the University
of Oulu in Finland. He participated in the Roma 2020 Pro-
gram. His fields of interest are urban planning and design,
and real estate development.
— 62 —
Stud ents
—
Chiara Avesani
Nicolò Bagagiolo
Elisa Baldelli
Erica Bolis
Federica Bradariolo
Giacomo Bregolato
Francesca Bressanin
Anna Calligaris
Federico Cassaro
Laura Cavestro
Alessia Cavinato
Gianmarco De Pieri

Alessia Eustacchi
Matteo Fasoli
Filippo Girotto
Alessio Grava
Giulia Livan
Lisa Manzin
Matteo Maraner
Kevin Mutton
Camilla Savazzi
Nazarin Soufi
Giorgia Varotto
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Patrizia Montini Zimolo / Learning From Aleppo
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

VS
Paredes y Pedrosa
— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
WAR HERITAGE
RAW HERITAGE?
Paredes y Pedrosa
— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
WAR HERITAGE
VS
RAW HERITAGE?
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Paredes y Pedrosa
War Heritage Vs Raw Heritage?

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Aleppo
19 Introd uction
21 Aleppo Souqs.
WAR Her i tag e vs RAW Heri ta ge?
24 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
W A R H E R I TA G E V S R A W H E R I TA G E ?
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
elles, 1842, p.2.


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
ALEPPO
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2004 2,132,100
2017 1,602,264
Description
— 11 —
ALEPPO
to Damascus
0 5 km
industrial compound
citadel
airport
Al Asse River
0 1 km
ALEPPO OLD CITY
citadel
Suk
— 16 —
Paredes y Pedrosa

and destruction to
400,000 dead and
The historic monu-
down completely.
— 17 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
In trod uction
—
Luis G. Pachón
Three weeks are not much to develop a project in

contexts like these with 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students.
But they are enough to introduce them, as architects,
to the importance of working in a specific site and
with an actual “utilitas”. The spatial structure of
Aleppo Souqs gave us an exceptional urban outline in
which all 54 students could work as a large team and
as individuals to reach an equilibrium between the
study and approach of the subject and the potential
learning in architecture.
Designing among the existing traces of the city with

architectures from different periods, set side by
side, seemed like a suggestive way of working with
a subject as delicate as the reconstruction of Syria.
We also wanted students to work around the univer-
sal documents/techniques for the representation of
architecture: the map, the plan, the section, the el-
evation, the axonometric, the hand-made model, the
diagram, the collage, and the abstract, having them
understand the value of precision.
Work was developed in three stages: whole workshop

teamwork, 4-people group work, and individual work.
In this way, students experienced different work tech-
niques, workflows, times, and efforts.
Workshop teamwork
As a whole team, the students had three main tasks

to fulfil. The first one was to redraw and complete the
plan of the area of the Aleppo Souqs. The second one
— 19 —
was to hand-make a 1:300 model (5x1.82 m) of the
area, as a live design instrument for the students´
proposals. A type of document that greatly helped
connect them with the context. The third task was the
final coordination and assembly of the exhibition that
represented the spatial organisation of a common
core space of the Souqs, in a synthetic way.
Group work
Students divided in groups of 4 were invited to choose

an example of modular spatial systems from different
times and cultures. They studied different combina-
tions, transforming and adapting them like a “theme
variation”. Simultaneously, they had to identify a po-
tential use – temporary, fixed or hybrid in time – de-
pending on the needs of the area and the flexibility of
the proposed spatial system. Finally, they designed a
project proposal based on their modular unit (adapted
to the context and the programme), on the one hand;
and a territorial proposal by means of a collage with
a radical variation of their modular unit, on the other.
Individual work
We believe in a collective imaginary built on different

views of a same topic. In this sense, the individual
work implied a “collage” view of their proposals, mul-
tiplying the possibilities of each project by 4, and
generating a graphic atlas of 54 possible future solu-
tions for Aleppo.
— 20 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
A leppo S ouqs :
WA R Heritag e v s R AW H erita g e?
—
Ángela García de Pa red es a nd I gna cio G . Ped ro sa
1 — WAR. noun:
Taking into account our main concerns – heritage, A state of armed conflict
urban history, hybridity, density, culture, and local between different coun-
tries or different groups
identity – as actual tools for the project, we believe within a country.
that the size and urban structure of the city of Alep- A state of competition
po (and its core and communities) give us a great or hostility between dif-
ferent people or groups.
opportunity to study spatial growth forms. Heritage A sustained campaign
structures in the Souqs based on repetition and isot- against an undesirable
situation or activity
ropy, on the one hand, and on historical strata, on the
other, allow us to get in touch with actual case stud- 2 — RAW. adjective:
(of food) not cooked.
ies in which students work as a team. Each proposal (of a material or
is part of a general layout that gives sense to other substance) in its natural
state; unprocessed.
projects. The final project is the result of the sum of (of data) not analysed,
the different proposals, for each precise site on the evaluated, or processed
Souqs, and is not the result of an imposed structure. for use.
(of a part of the body)
The whole project therefore becomes a choral work red and painful, espe-
of different projects. Aleppo’s history of architecture cially as the result of
skin abrasion.
is used as a project tool, requiring a programme to (of a person’s nerves)
remind us of the social role of architecture. In this very sensitive.
(of an emotion or
sense, architecture is concerned with reality, permit- quality) strong and
ting construction in different phases and by different undisguised.
Frank and realistic in the
hands for a diverse group of projects. depiction of unpleasant
situations.
So, why WAR1 Heritage vs RAW2 Heritage? (of language) coarse or
crude, typically in rela-
tion to sexual matters.
We understand that, for an effective reconstruction (of the weather) cold
and damp; bleak.
and transformation of Aleppo, we have to pay at- New to an activity or job
tention to the different faces of the word heritage, and therefore lacking
experience or skill.
from cultural and economic to urban and archi- (of the edge of a piece
tectural. RAW meaning natural and original-native; of cloth) not having a
WAR meaning heritage left by war, in a positive and hem or selvedge.
negative manner, as traces of former buildings and

urban structures have become tangible because of
— 21 —
destruction, conforming a whole new level of herit-
age. Therefore, post-war reconstruction is two-fold:
related to RAW buildings and urban groups existing
above ground, and to underground buildings uncov-
ered by WAR destruction.
Urban systems such as the Souqs have always played

a key role in the city for the evolution of public life.

They have become cities within cities, with their own
spatial and social rules in buildings, streets, alleys,
squares, and plazas. Souqs show a clear mixture of
formal and informal urban natures, scales and func-
tions, which convert them in positive factors and
tools for local recovery. We will seek to determine the
extension of heritage damage in architectural struc-
tures in order to recover original uses and accom-
modate new ones in a hybrid manner, demonstrating
the various ways in which they can be adapted or
transformed. People and their cultures and identities
become a powerful connecting hinge.
“Hybrid Heritage” is not only considered as archi-

tectural-space matter, but also as something that
regards the complex communities and practices
that have existed and that will continue to evolve
in the near future by means of “Heritage Hybridisa-
tions”. This fact will help the areas to transform
toward contemporary interpretations of traditional
multicultural practices, through architectures that
give spatial articulation to pre-existing and future
needs. The concept of cultural identity in today’s
society is continuously shifting and adapting, and
the reconstruction process should act according
to both the necessity of memory and the adapta-
tion to current uses.
Time builds!
— 22 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
The opportunity of working in the Aleppo Souqs al-

lows an interchange between different time peri-
ods. The patina that time lends to architecture is a
building material as constructive as actual design
techniques. The plan of Aleppo shows the layers
of different eras and expresses both continuity and
transformation for a desirable future.
B ibliograph y
—
Abido H., et al. , “Development Plan: The Rehabilitation of the Old City of
Aleppo. Aleppo: City of Aleppo”, 1998.
Aureli P.V., “The city as a Project”, Ruby Press, Berlin, 2013.
Bianca S., “Urban Form in the Arab World, Past and Present”, Thames and
Hudson, London, 2000.
Gaube H., “Aleppo: Historische und Geographische Beiträge zur baulichen
Gestaltung, zur sozialen Organisation und zur wirtschaftlichen Dynamik
einer vorderasiatischen Fernhandelsmetropole”, Wiesbaden, 1984.
Gharipour M., ed., “The Bazaar in the Islamic City: Design, Culture, and
History”, American University in Cairo Press, Cairo, 2012.
Raymond A., “La ville arabe, Alep, à l’époque ottomane : (XVIe-XVIIIe siè-
cles)”, Nouvelle édition [en ligne], Presses de l’Ifpo, Damas, 1998.
Rossi A., “The Architecture of the City”, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1982.
Rowe C., Koetter F., “Collage City”, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1979.
Russell A., “The Natural History of Aleppo”, London, 1754.
Smithson A., Smithson P., “Urban structuring: studies of Alison & Peter
Smithson”, Studio Vista, London; Reinhold, New York, 1967.
— 23 —
Hybrid Heritage
regards the
communities
and practices
that have
existed and that
will continue
to evolve
in the future.
— 25 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
— Selection of project collages. Marco Padovani

(Aleppo Analogue), Ilaria Bazzo + Enrico Da Pian
(Fasayfsà), Júlia Androvičová (R-esistere), Lucia
Campagnaro (Inheritance), Shenghao Si (AdMosaic),
Sebastiano Artico (Timeline).
— Selection of territorial collages.

Projects: R-esistere, Aleppo Analogue, New Souq Gallery.
— 26 —
— 27 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
Work area: pla n s
!"#
— Aerial image of the
souqs and sourounding

area, showing the WAR
state of the context
in 2017.
— 28 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
#"!
— Plan of the souqs
and surrounding area,
redrawn by the stu-
dents showing the RAW
state of the context
before the war.
— 29 —
Work area: m odel
— 1:300 scale model of the souqs divided in 12
areas. Each group studied and produced one area as
a design tool for their proposals.
Dimensions: 5x1,8 m.
— 30 —
— 31 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
— 32 —
— 33 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
A 4 / Wrapped a n d u n wra p p ed ‫وغ� حماط‬
‫حماط ي‬
— Building in Syria, in Students Team
a territory destroyed Debora Casagrande
by wars, where human- Manuel Longa
ity was erased by fear Gilles Tognetti
and the cities by the Diego Zanette
bombs. Our approach Project typology
to the project, with the New building for an Arts
modular form of the Academy

Kimbell museum, starts State of destruction
with reconstruction, not 90% destroyed
only of the architecture Intervention area
but also, and even more 6,000 m2
important, the rebuilt Reference module
of human being and his Louis Kahn,
dignity thought culture Kimbell Museum of Art 1971
and arts. We’re going to 180 m2 / 6 x 6
built a modular space
that will host an art
academy and a few
gallery, that wrap and is
unwrapped by the ruins
of the past.
— 34 —
— 35 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
1: 1000
C 2 / New S o u q G a ller y ‫املعرضالديدللسوق‬
‫ج‬
— Our project for Students Team
Alepppo consists in the Alice De Paoli
variation of Aldo Van Francesco Fantinato
Eyck’s module for his Giovanni Svalduz
unbuilt church “Wheels Loris Villa
of Heaven”. Configured Project typology
as a crossable gallery Drive-in Market
for pedestrians and State of destruction

vehicles, thanks to the 50% destroyed
elimination of the cen- Intervention area
tral non-bearing walls, 4,500 m2
the New Souks Gallery Reference module
hosts commercial Aldo Van Eyck, Wheels
spaces parallel to the of Heaven 1996
main street becoming 200 m2 / 24.2 x 2.70 m
a connection between
the Great Mosque and
Aleppo’s main axes. The
presence of skylights
above the circular roofs,
symbol of the rebirth of
the Old Souks after war
and destruction, allows
the light to penetrate
and scans the rhythm of
the modules.
— 36 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
Double lane road
Pedestrian walkways
Market stands
Skylights
Typologies Constructive system
— 37 —
A 3 / Fasay fs à ‫فسيفساء‬
— The project sets on a Students Team
destroyed area with the Ilaria Bazzo
intention of recoiling Gioriga Carteri
the feelings of a walk Enrico Da Pian
through the ancient Greta Mariotti
city. The aim of the Giorgia Omiccioli
composition lies in the Project typology
modern interpretation University, library and

of the rhythm suggested collective dormitories
by the alternation of State of destruction
buildings and gaps that 90%
typify Aleppo and its Intervention area
streets. The project also 53,856 m²
result from the study Reference module
of natural lighting in its Louis I. Kahn, Erdman
main peculiarity in this Hall Dormitories
city of being in most 1960 -1965
cases zenital or diffused 730 m2 / 35.35 x 15 m
by the inner courts that
give life to the buildings.
— 38 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
covered connection courts louvers
1: 2000
— 39 —
B 2 / Aleppo An a log u e ‫نظ� حلب‬
‫ي‬
— “The ancients built Students Team
Valdrada on the shores Francesco Maria Fratini
of a lake, [...]. Thus the Marco Padovani
traveler, arriving, sees Francesco Salvalaio
two cities: one erect Laura Allibardi
above the lake, and the Project typology
other reflected, upside Souq’s storage area
down. Nothing exists State of destruction

or happens in the one 20% destroyed
Valdrada that the other Intervention area
Valdrada does not re- 1,200 m2
peat. [...] The twin cities Reference module
are not equal, because Yona Friedman, Ville
nothing that exists or Spatiale 1960
happens in Valdrada 64 m2 / 8 x 8 m
is symmetrical: every
face and gesture is an-
swered, from the mirror,
by a face and gesture
inverted, point-by-point.”
Italo Calvino, “Le città
invisibili”.
— 40 —
— 41 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
1: 1000
B 3 / Inherit a n c e ‫ت�اث‬
— This project for Students Team
Aleppo had its first Belli Carmela
inspiration from Rafael Campagnaro Lucia
Moneo’s “National Cappelletto Nicola
Museum of Roman Art”. Marcato Matteo
The wall and the arch Trevisan Mirco
are repeated among the Project typology
city ruins, connecting Souqs Centre of

the hill with the center Interpretation and new
of the city. A type of market spaces
arch protects the signs State of destruction
left by the war, the other 75% destroyed
one underlines the path Intervention area
through the area. As a 10,826 m2
sort of “architectural Reference module
promenade”, inheritance Rafel Moneo, The
is proposed to be a con- National Museum of
nection between past Toman Art 1986
and future, between 44 x 0.7 x 19 m
Aleppo’s strong will to
rebirth and its profound
wounds. A legacy that
must not be forgotten.
— 42 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
‫ت‬
B A23 / Under th e R o of ‫�ت السقف‬
— Our topic is the Students Team
construction of a new Matteo Fontana
and temporary building, Giacomo N. Ghobert
which purpose is to Othmane Kandri
receive the religion Marta Magnaguagno
functions while the Victoria Mura
pre-existent mosque Project typology
is rebuilt, as the 35% Temporary Mosque
of the site is currently State of destruction
destroyed. The model, 35% destroyed
made assembling our Intervention area
units, is a 25x25 m 625 m2
square (625 m²); a white Reference module
sheet spread over the Aires Mateus, Atrio de la
city of Aleppo, with Alhambra 2010
domes and studied 25 m2 / 5 x 8 m
spaces underneath.
— 43 —
— 44 —
— 45 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
B 3 / TIME LIN E �‫الزم‬ ‫خ‬
‫الط ن‬
‫ي‬
— Timeline is a project Students Team
that looks at the future Sebastiano Artico
of Aleppo, in a post- Claudia Bertolin
War atmosphere. The Elena Bredariol
reconstruction takes Francesca Quaglietti
place in small parts in Project typology
which the new cores Modular multi-purpose
originate from a cross- structure

shaped form: the central State of destruction
void defines 4 square 50% destroyed
spaces. Each area can Intervention area
accommodate a new 276,178 m2
structure or a pre-exist- Reference module
ing one. New buildings Dogma, City Walls
are characterized by 2005
simple structures which 29,400 m2 / 32 x 110 m
can be repeated and can
be more or less open.
These constructive
systems can host any
function, such as library,
e-point, open-air music,
juice stand, nursery,
classrooms... according
to people needs.
— 46 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
A B3 / R- esistere ‫أن نقاوم‬

— Aleppo struggling on Students Team
“Resist to Exist”, brings Júlia Androvičová
also the question that it Valentina Ceschi
must “Exist” to “Resist”. Serena Costantin
Bridging these two Berk Ozturk
moments, the leading Project typology
role of architecture is Hybrid spaces for local
preeminent and it must comunities
consider both the “mak- State of destruction
ing of the future” and 100%
the future of making. Intervention area
This awareness 6,960 m²
guides to a composi- Reference module
tion of repeated and Aldo van Eyck
adapted modules Amsterdam Ophanage
which reestablishes 1960
the pre-war conditions 11.3 m2
of the Al-Madina Souq,
furthermore brings new
opportunities to the
city with its Khan-like
appearance.
— 47 —
‫أ‬
B C2 / Hex ag on a l ‫مسدس الضالع‬
— The project is Students Team
developed in the Carlo Brivio
inner courtyard of the Stefano Florian
Omayyadi Mosque. The Antonio Giuliani
hexagonal architecture Sofia Remolins
on different levels Project typology
allows to replicate the Temporary mosque
module and to develop State of destruction

structures of different 30% destroyed
spatial geometries. The Intervention area
project is based in low 3,800 m2
cost mobile architecture Reference module
that enables different Antonio Corrales
kind of uses to take y Ramón Vázquez
place, in this case prayer Molezún
and worship. It has an Pabellón Español
ephemeral nature, as his 1958
lifetime is proportional 23.4 m2
to the final works of
reconstruction of the
adjacent damaged build-
ing or structure.
— 48 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
Aggregation
Low - High
Puntual
Low - High Puntual
Puntual
1: 1000
— 49 —
A 3 / Lantern exp a n se ‫فسحة الفانوس‬
— This project, based Students Team
on the module of the Elena Manzato
Moderna Museet by R. Edoardo Pattaro
Moneo, concerns the Giulia Guizzo
construction of a com- Project typology
plex for a large under- Energy and water
ground Energy and water logistics infrastructure
logistics infrastructure. State of destruction

The under-developed 50% destroyed
position has Intervention area
been structured with 30,272 m²
a strong recall to the Reference module
traces of the bombs Rafael Moneo, Moderna
and the lanterns of Museet 1991-1998
light emerging from the 8,500 m²
ground (main form of
the module).
— 50 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
C 2 / Zakhra fa ‫زخرفة‬
—This project, based on Students Team
Shigeru Ban’s Haesley Alessia Corradini
Nine Bridges Golf Club Chiara Cortivo
House, offers protec- Thibault Sale
tion from weather. Its Brigitta Zecchin
lightweight structure it’s Project typology
designed to create an Structure for building
enclosed space while materials storage and
still being extremely logistics
open and transparent. State of destruction
The module of 9 x 9 m 75%
is extremely versatile Intervention area
and can be employed in 3,000 m²
many of Aleppo squares Reference module
and streets. Placed Shigeru Ban Architects
in front of the Great Haesley Nine bridges
Mosque, this structure golf club house
will take the place of 2009
the previous square, 20,977 m2 / 9 x 13.5 m
now almost completely
destroyed, creating a
new meeting space.
— 51 —
B 3 / Mod ules a n d R u in s ‫وحدات وركام‬
— The proposal is based Students Team
on Frank Lloyd Wright’s Mirco Canzian
module for the Johnson Martina Filippi
Wax Building in Racine Mattia Orlandi
(Wisconsin, USA), Giada Santucci
projected to obtain an Project typology
object that could be Open space for daily
inserted and repeated market

in the territory. The State of destruction
intervention area is one 75% destroyed
of the most damaged in Intervention area
the city, a condition that 12,000 m2
evokes a future develop- Reference module
ment of the area with Frank Lloyd Wright,
totally new elements. Johnson Wax Building
However, in this new 1936 - 39
image the ruins won’t be 33.2 m2 / 6.5 x 8 m
completely dismantled,
but they will coexist with
new projects that will
contribute to the recon-
struction of Aleppo.
— 52 —
— 53 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
1: 1500
A 4 / A d Mos a ic ‫إفسيفساء إداري‬
— There is a choice Students Team
between meeting and Eleonora Frison
exclusion, between be- Anna Grazia Capparotto
ing in the open or being Gloria Cristina Muñoz
hidden. Meeting places Shenghao Si
are always present in Project typology
Hertzberger’s build- Office spaces for the
ings, but they change reconstruction process

overtime. The regular, State of destruction
orthogonal scheme is 100%
released to a more free Intervention area
layout, giving attention 21,240 m²
to inner space. Meeting Reference module
places changes from H. Herzberger,
ground floor to upper Centraal Beheer Offices
level in Central Beheer, 1968 - 1972
making those places 324 m2 / 9 x 6 m
more lively.
Finally, we believe that
Hertzberger’s buildings
are put together in an
interesting spatial dispo-
sition which encourages
meeting.
— 54 —
— 55 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
1: 1000
Mod ular un it m odels selec tio n
From left to right: Wrapped and Unwrapped, New Souq Gallery, Fasayfsà, Aleppo Analogue, Inheritance, Under the
Roof, Timeline, R-esistere, Hexagonal, Lantern expanse, AdMosaic, Zakhrafa.
Models physical scale: 1:50 / 1:100 | Photographs by Diego Zanette.
— 56 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
A rchitectura l sy stem m odels sel ec t i on

From left to right: Wrapped and Unwrapped, New Souq Gallery, Fasayfsà, Aleppo Analogue, Inheritance, Under the
Roof, Hexagonal, Modules and Ruins.
Models physical scale: 1:300 | Photographs by Diego Zanette.
— 57 —
— 58 —
— 59 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
— 60 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ángela G. de Paredes and Ignacio G. Pedrosa

— Madrid, Spain
Ignacio Garcia Pedrosa (Madrid 1957, ETSAM 1983,

PhD 2015) and Ángela García de Paredes (Madrid
1958, ETSAM 1982, PhD 2015) established the archi-
tectural firm Paredes Pedrosa in 1990, after collabo-
rating with José M. García de Paredes.
They are professors at the Architectural Design De-

partment in Madrid School of Architecture, and visit-
ing professors in the architecture schools of Pam-
plona, ESARQ UIC in Barcelona and Iuav in Venice.
They have held lectures at several Universities as
GSD Harvard, ETH Zurich, Accademia di Architettura
di Mendrisio, EPFL Lausanne, TU München, TU Graz,
FADU Buenos Aires e Ibero en México, among others.
Paredes Pedrosa is dedicated to projects and urban

designs mainly for public buildings related to cultural
equipment. Their built works include cultural build-
ings that integrate archaeology remains, on site, and
specific interventions in historic buildings with herit-
age interest.
Among several national and international awards,

they have been awarded the Fine Arts Gold Medal
2014 and Spain Architecture Award 2007 by the Gov-
ernment of Spain.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Luis G. Pachón
Luis G. Pachón (M.Arch with honors ETSAM Madrid 2015) has
collaborated as architect in competitions and projects in Spain,
Europe, South America, and Africa, in studios of high national
and international relevance, such as Paredes Pino Architects,

estudio Herreros, and Paredes Pedrosa Arquitectos (in which he
is currently architect collaborator). He was awarded a scholar-
ship by UPM in the Master of Advanced Architectural Projects
(MPAA) of the ETSAM, where he collaborated in the coordina-
tion and design. He collaborated with the foundation, start off,
and coordination of the Design and Publications Office of the
Architectural Design Department, highlighting research editorial
works such as “folDers” or “Talkuments”. He recently won the
first prize in COAM awards granted by the Architects Association
of Madrid for his final thesis project “Madrid Cycle Space”.
www.cargocollective.com/pachon
Francesca Cremasco
As graduate in Architecture at Iuav Venezia, PhD in architec-
tural design at UniUd, Francesca is interested in design theory
and the role of light on composition. She has undertaken aca-
demic research at Iuav, and is a teaching assistant involved
in professional activities (architectural and lighting design).
Federica Fiorese
She graduated from Iuav in 2015, Scienze dell’architettura,
with the highest marks. She is enrolled in the Iuav graduate
degree programme in Arts and Architecture Design. Now,
she is preparing her thesis after a year in Madrid, where she
completed her academic studies at the ETSAM Madrid and
held an internship at ParedesPedrosa arquitectos.
Emanuele Biscaro
Emanuele studied architecture at Iuav, ETSAG Granada,
and ETSAM Madrid. He is now developing his thesis at
Iuav. He has collaborated as architect in different offices
in Treviso and Venice.
— 62 —
Paredes y Pedrosa
Stud ents
—
Laura Allibardi Greta Mariotti

Júlia Androvičová Gloria Cristina Munoz
Sebastiano Artico Victoria Mura
Ilaria Bazzo Giorgia Omiccioli
Carmela Belli Mattia Orlandi
Claudia Bertolin Berk Ozturk
Elena Bredariol Marco Padovani
Carlo Brivio Edoardo Pattano
Lucia Belen Campagnaro Francesca Quaglietti
Mirco Canzian Sofia Remolins
Anna Grazia Capparotto Francesco Salvalaio
Nicola Cappelletto Giada Santucci
Giorgia Carteri Si Shemghao
Valentina Ceschi Giovanni Svalduz
Alessia Corradini Sale Thibault
Chiara Cortivo Gilles Tognetti
Serena Costantin Mirco Trevisan
Enrico Da Pian Loris Villa
Alice De Paoli Diego Zanette
Casagrande Debora Brigitta Zecchin
Francesco Fantinato
Martina Filippi
Stefano Florian
Matteo Fontana
Francesco Maria Fratini
Eleonora Ghobert Frison
Niccolò Giacomo
Antonio Giuliani
Giulia Guizzo
Othmane Kandri
Manuel Longa
Marta Magnaguagno
Elena Manzato
Matteo Marcato
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Camillo Magni / Operastudio
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa / War Heritage Vs Raw Heritage?
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Ciro Pirondi
A CITY
— JARAMANA / 33°29’13”N 36°20’41”E
FOR EVERYONE
Ciro Pirondi
— JARAMANA / 33°29’13”N 36°20’41”E
A CITY
FOR EVERYONE
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Ciro Pirondi
A City For Everyone

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 J aramana
19 Introd uction
21 J aramana, architecture, c i ty, a n d n a tu re
24 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
C iro Pirondi
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
A CITY FOR EVERYONE

— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
C iro Pirondi
elles, 1842, p.2.
A CITY FOR EVERYONE



— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
C iro Pirondi
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
A CITY FOR EVERYONE

AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
C iro Pirondi
JARAMANA
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
A CITY FOR EVERYONE

Population
2004 114,363
2017 NA
Description
Jaramana is a suburb of Damascus situated 8km from the city and
it connects the city centre to Damascus International Airport. It is a
crowded busy area with a downtown vibe: it is organised along a broad
main road and between two roundabouts that act as landmarks. Since
the 1990s, the city has been growing along a road that is parallel to
the central highway to the airport. In 2004, the population density was
greater than 15,000 inhabitants per km2. The arrival of 30,000 registered
refugees since 2003 contributes to this development.
— 11 —
DAMASCUS
0 5 km
JARAMANA
Old City of Damascus
0 1 km
JARAMANA
to airport
— 16 —
C iro Pirondi
— In 2011, there were

more than 18,658
registered refugees. Ja-
ramana had six schools,
one food distribution
centre, one health cen-
tre, and one community
centre. In 2012, Jara-
mana witnessed a large
W.A.Ve. of displacement
from neighbouring
towns and provinces
because of security
issues and because of
the increasing ferocity
of the battles. According
to the most current
data, in 2014, Jaramana
increased its inhabitants
up to 189,888, and
further increased it to
300,000 in 2017. The
total population of Rural
A CITY FOR EVERYONE

Damascus Governo-
rate is of 2.84 million,
representing 13% of the
total population of Syria,
with approximately 1.65
million people affected
by the crisis.
— 17 —
C iro Pirondi
In trod uction
—
Valent ino Consiglio, E lisa Vend emini
As every urban reconstruction needs to be based

on a clear idea, we believe that even the recon-
struction of Syria must be driven from very true
problems and issues. This idea should not be a
vague and undefined, but rather an intuitive and
comprehensive one that moves on both a larger
and smaller scale.
Therefore, an urban project is not simply a sum of

differently small sketches, but something striving
to keep homogeneity. All large projects may ap-
A CITY FOR EVERYONE

pear simple once accomplished. It is easy to say
“Why didn’t I think about it?”
The aim of the project in Jaramana is to improve

and accomplish its spatial structures, by analysing
the potentials of existing space and buildings that
were designed considering the economic, social,
and historical development of the city. As a result,
we developed our design strategy as follows:
1. Identifying empty and destroyed areas as areas

with the potential to become public spaces.
2. Introducing water surfaces as an element of life

and wellbeing.
3. Protecting and developing urban and rural ag-

riculture lands for a common economical benefit.
4. Intensifying public transport by proposing new

transportation systems.
— 19 —
5. Defining the physical borders of the city in order
to manage and control its growth.
6. Transforming refugee camps into residential ar-

eas by designing high-rise buildings.
7. Creating three new settlements in the southern

part of the city.
We propose a design strategy with the intention of

creating a land of peace and freedom for Jaramana
and its people. The workshop was structured ac-
cording to these seven strategies. The project pro-
cess in Jaramana foresaw a continuous change of
scale: from the single architectural structure to the
city, and from the city to the region and vice versa.
On the neighbourhood scale, the issues concerned
the various types of empty spaces (residual spac-
es and the war destruction); at the same time, on
the urban scale, there was a definition of the rela-
tionships between these areas. Finally, the same
themes were address on the territorial scale, from
the centre of Damascus to the Airport area.
— 20 —
C iro Pirondi
J aramana, arc h itec tu re, c ity, a n d

nature
—
Ciro Pirondi
Jaramana was approached through the use of three

“lenses”. Jaramana, the city: the analysis of its as-
pects of mobility, housing density, public spaces,
infrastructure, and services were at the basis of our
work. Jaramana, the natural geographic features:
its topography, geographical situation, and interde-
pendence with Damascus, only 8 km away. Rivers,
core of the agricultural economy, motivated us to
intervene locally and regionally, since the waters
and cultivated fields are not born nor end in the city.
They serve and are servants of a wider territorial
A CITY FOR EVERYONE

dimension. In the span of one decade, the city mul-
tiplied its population by four. Refugee camps, Chris-
tian, and Iraqi reshaped the eastern edge of the city.
A population of 100,000 people moves to Damascus

every morning by bus, generating a huge amount of
traffic. Agriculture, responsible for more than 60%
of the local economy, suffers in the summer, due
to the lack of water engineering that could provide
adequate and permanent reservoirs or channels. The
complete absence of public spaces, like central so-
cial conviviality areas, generate a “dormitory city”
fully dedicated to the nearby airport, approximately
25 km away, representing its connection with Da-
mascus and the world. If a suitable regional design
is not organised in time, the conurbation between Da-
mascus, Jaramana, and new poles that are already
under development between Jaramana and the air-
port could become an irreversible trend. In a short
time frame, we will see only one human settlement,
immense and disordered, combining refugee camps,
— 21 —
social housing, and environmental degradation, proba-
bly with greatly harmful consequences for agriculture.
Our preliminary study suggested confronting these

items on two different scales: inside the city itself
(its areas of destruction and its residual spaces),
and on a regional scale (its rivers, its mobility, and
its agriculture).
1. On a city scale, we thus propose the use of its

spaces (residual or destroyed by war) to be convert-
ed into public spaces of social use, taking advan-
tage of the leftover materials from the demolitions
when possible.
2. Opening of irrigation canals, with mills and grain

production for a balanced urban agriculture.
3. Redesigning Main Street as the 3 km-axis connect-

ing the city on the east-west line. Lowering crossings
and generating squares and places of conviviality,
mainly in the “historical centre” of Jaramana.
4. Densification, through verticalisation, with empha-

sis on refugee areas, establishing a physical limit
for the spatial growth of the city: housing for refu-
gees on the east side, and residences for agricultural
workers on the west.
5. Rethinking rivers in specific areas in order to gen-

erate permanent lakes for use in urban agriculture.
Designing a hydro-urban system as a possible future
for the city, with longitudinal parks and nautical lei-
sure areas and urban mobility.
6. Installing an electric mono-rail link between Da-

mascus and the airport, in the “patchwork” of the
— 22 —
C iro Pirondi
existing auto-lane, easing the morning “chaos” of

movement of thousands of citizens every day.
7. The mono-rail would incentive the opening of three

new urban settlements in pre-existing settlements
with a range of 4 km between each city.
8. The impoundment of regional rivers and the shad-

ing of linear parks would create artificial lakes, aim-
ing at a general maintenance of the waters.
9. Rivers and lakes would limit the physical expan-

sion of the city, favouring agriculture and vertical de-
velopment, if necessary, avoiding undesirable distur-
bances between Damascus and the airport.
A CITY FOR EVERYONE

The base of our design is physical-spatial reality and
the work promoting the local economy. Our design is
utopian but not unrealistic, based on the construction
of a human Jaramana, with spaces, dimensions, and
qualities capable of favouring collective and social
conviviality. Without this dimensions, architecture
loses its soul and purpose, generating forms without
light, without life.
— 23 —
Public
spaces,
water,
ambience.
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 25 —
M
AG
ST I
RA
— 26 —
SH
UR
WAVE-SYRIA
HU
C
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 27 —
DAMASCUS
DAMASCUS
Old City
Jaramana Camp, Palestinian Refugee Camp
Beirut
Dam
asc
Dam us C Ya
asc ity
us R
if (C
oun
try
)
Sayda Zainab, Iraqi Neighbourhood

km 1 2
— 28 —
C iro Pirondi
Aleppo
A CITY FOR EVERYONE

Bab Touma / Bab Sharki, traditional Christian Neighbourhoods
Dweila, Informal Christian Neighbourhood
Jaramana
armouk,
u Palestinian Neighbourhood
Airport, Baghdad
— 29 —
— 30 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— The city of Jaramana.
— 31 —
1
2
4
— 32 —
3
C iro Pirondi
— Jaramana, 4 project
areas:
1. Main street;
2. Fallujah street;
3. Linear street;
4. New street.
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 33 —
— 34 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— New masterplan for

Jaramana.
— 35 —
— 36 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 37 —
— 38 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— The final exihbition.
— 39 —
— 40 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 41 —
— 42 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 43 —
— 44 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 45 —
— 46 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 47 —
— 48 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 49 —
— 50 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 51 —
— 52 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 53 —
— 54 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 55 —
— 56 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 57 —
— 58 —
C iro Pirondi
A CITY FOR EVERYONE
— 59 —
— 60 —
C iro Pirondi
C iro Felice P iro n di

— Sao Paulo, Brazil
Ciro Pirondi has been a supporter of the renewal

movement in Sao Paulo since his youth. Graduated
from the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the
Universidade Braz Cubas in Sao Paulo in the early
80s. After studying for a Doctorate at the Universitat
Politecnica de Catalunya – UPC in Barcelona, he stud-
ied at Università Iuav di Venezia. He then opened his
own studio in Sao Paulo. Pirondi was president of the
Brasilian Architect Institute from 1992 to 1994.
He was the initiator and co-founder of the Escola da

Cidade em Sao Paulo, one of the most prestigious
architectural schools in Sao Paulo in 2001. He is in-
A CITY FOR EVERYONE

volved in topics such as the development of the urban
sprawl of Sao Paulo. Together whit Oscar Niemeyer,
Pirondi rehabilitated Edificio Copan, in the 1990s, with
over 5,000 inhabitants: the world’s largest residential
high-rise. He restored the collection of Lucio Costa
and today holds the position of director of the Escola
da Cidade, with the architecture studio Ciro Pirondi
Arquitetos Associados.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Elisa Vendemini
Elisa Vendemini graduated with honours from Università
Iuav di Venezia in 2016, with a postgraduate thesis on the
reconstruction of the city of Aleppo – Informal settlement.

She is currently working is an architecture and landscape
studio and is involved in research and teaching assistance.
Valentino Consiglio
Valentino Consiglio graduated from Scuola Politecnica di
Palermo in 2014. In the same year, he began a postgradu-
ate specialisation programme at Università Iuav di Ven-
ezia. In 2016, he attended one year at University Escola da
Cidade of Sao Paulo, and then returned to Iuav to finish his
university career, with a research on the topic of sescs and
their relations with the city.
— 62 —
C iro Pirondi
Stud ents
—
Giacomo Berloni Irene Micheletto

Sofia Bernedo Lopez Monserrat Milos Miljkovic
Irene Biliato Luciana de Sol Mira Michell
Giorgia Bonet Pablo Andres Morales Ibarra
Benedetta Boso Estefanos Naser
Enrico Calore Daniella Neizberg Kalanit
Federico Maria Camaldi Valentina Perez de Arce
Serena Casarotto Elisa Pistoni
Elena Castelbarco Visconti Davide Pivato
Cristobal Contreras Valenzuela Carlotta Pozzobon
Lucrezia De Lorenzo Giulia Raccamari
Mattia Deon Carmen Raczynski
A CITY FOR EVERYONE

Gaia Di Bonaventura Martina Saccuzzo
Alfa Dolfini Maria Ignacia Sagardia Ibanez
Ayoub El Hachri Carmina Salinas
Elisa Franceschini Elena Tabarelli De Fatis
Lavinia Gabor Anda Felipe Antonio Venegas Campos
Allegra Maria Girolami Vittoria Vesentini
Isadora Carvalho Francisca Belen Vilches Villarroel
Maen Jamoor Pietro Zamperetti
Aleksandar Jankovic
Katja Kovacic
Edona Kuci
Edoardo Lazraj
Marielisa Lemma
Giacomo Lissandron
Emma Madinelli
Juan Francisco Mamani Carvajal
Diego Manaigo
Mauro Masieri
Caterina Mattiolo
Juan Carlos Mechasqui Petro
Giorgia Andrea Menon
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi / A City For Everyone
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Plan Collectif
— ARIHA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
«IN BETWEEN»
Plan Collectif
— ARIHA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
«IN BETWEEN»
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Plan Collectif
«In Between»

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Ari ha
19 Introd uction
27 «In B etween»
32 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Plan C ollectif
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
«IN BETWEEN»
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Plan C ollectif
elles, 1842, p.2.
«IN BETWEEN»

— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Plan C ollectif
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
«IN BETWEEN»
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Plan C ollectif
ARIHA
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
«IN BETWEEN»
Population
2004 39,500
2017 57,500
Description
Ariha is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Gov-
ernorate, and is located 13 km south of Idlib. Ariha Town is known for
being one of Syria’s oldest summer resorts and a tourist destination,
since it presents exquisite nature and significant monuments. It also
holds the Jabal al’Arba’in and its famous cave, a mountain near Maarin
al-Jabal in the Hama Governorate. The town is located near Idlib-Lat-
takia highway and is connected to the nearby villages by a network of
roads. Nowadays, Ariha hosts almost 10,000 IDPs, most of them from
the countryside of Aleppo, Damascus, and from Homs city.
— 11 —
to Latakia
0 5 km
to Aleppo
ARIHA
Kafar Najd
0 1 km
ARIHA
— 16 —
Plan C ollectif
— Ariha has faced

different types of
destruction, ranging
from light damage (wall
and roof) to completely
destroyed buildings.
Damage in public facili-
ties and infrastructure
has also occurred, and
many traditional shops
were almost completely
demolished in 2016.
During the war, most of
the people abandoned
their jobs, for security
reasons and because
of the destruction of
their factories and
shops. The town has
nearly 8,000 housing
units. Currently, 3,000
houses are affected with
repairable damage, but
800 houses have been
«IN BETWEEN»
— 17 —
Plan C ollectif
In trod uction
—
Gi ulia Piacenti
The result of the three-week workshop is a movie. Each 1 — IDP means Internally
Displaced Person. Today
group of students started working on a different topic Ariha has 50,000 inhabit-
with a different technique, but eventually they joined ants and 10,000 individu-
als are IDPs – mainly re-
their project in one work. As a matter of fact, all the bels from Aleppo, Homs
topics had a common feature: the creation of a new and Damascus – hosted
by Ariha community.
community. Ariha is a city whose number of inhabitants
increased during the war mainly because of IDP people1
with the result that the previous community doesn’t ex-
ist anymore and a new one must be created in order
to prepare the process of reconstruction. The lack of
a community, more than an identity, was perceived by
the students as an important difference compared to
«IN BETWEEN»
the situation of emergency experienced in Italy, where
the community stays and especially in these situations
becomes stronger than ever. The transcript of the movie
will follow. Interviews are interrupted by clips concern-
ing topics suggested by the answers.
INBETWEEN
I u av st udent s and Pla n Co llect if
In your ideal city, which elements of other

cities you visited you would put in?
Shaad (from Syria): «Something that we can use as a

“mirador” or a viewer or gazer for the city».
Hadeel (from Syria): «I think in Beirut I saw some-

thing beautiful. The light of the buildings».
Maria (born in Syria, based in France): «I’ll take back

from each city its heritage from the world museums».
— 19 —
Hosam (born in Syria, based in Greece): «I really liked
the transportation system in Barcelona».
Alfa (from Italy): «Some years ago I’ve been in Berlin

and there’s an abandoned airport where people meet
and organize markets».
Hadeel (from Syria): «Museums and opera houses

where music is».
Vittorio (from Italy): «A pier».
Sabrina (from Italy): «It would be nice to walk quietly

in my ideal city».
Hosam (born in Syria, based in Greece): «The sea».
In your ideal city, which place would you

choose for recreation?
Maria (born in Syria, based in France): «No nature, no

human being».
Sofia (from Italy): «In cities, in my opinion, green

spaces should be exalted maybe including some
educational element».
Reem (born in Syria, based in the UK): «I do not look

at it as an isolated element but integrated within. I
see green areas and elements everywhere in my city,
in private houses, in the streets, in schools… it is part
of everything you look at».
Fares (born in Syria, based in Turkey): «Everything is

related to nature. The whole role is for nature to cre-
ate and shape our lives».
— 20 —
Plan C ollectif
Stefano (from Italy): «The city must develop in the

territory and not try to modify it».
Fares (born in Syria, based in Turkey): «My home».

———
Arise Ariha
Ariha means perfume of flowers.
“Moreover in this garden were all manners of other

fruits and sweet-scented herbs and plants and fra-
grant flowers, such as jessamine and henna and
water-irlies and spikenards and roses of every kind
and plantain and myrtle and so forth, and indeed it
was without compare, seeming as it were a piece of
paradise to whom beheld it, he came forth from it like
«IN BETWEEN»
a lion[…]” (Ali-Nour Al Din and Miriam the Girdle-girl,
Arabian Nights).
People of Ariha have known too much grey so far. It is

time they are reintroduced to beauty. And indeed, veg-
etation can beautify the city since it recalls purity, free-
dom and the original harmony between man and nature.
Vegetation contributes to refresh not only the air

of the city, but also the soul of its inhabitants.
Tree-lined avenues may also serve as screens,
useful for concealing the life which takes place
in the first floors of the buildings around. Syrian
population is mainly rural and it has to be recon-
nected to its roots in order to rediscover its dam-
aged identity. While the surroundings of Ariha are
very green and abundant in cultivated fields, the
center of the city is mainly grey and built. That is
why in the past people used to go out of town to
gather in their free time.
— 21 —
Our aim is to make the nature enter the city as well,
to bring it back to life! In the area all rivers are dry,
but Ariha can draw the water it needs from its mul-
tiple wells, as the subsoil is rich in water reserves.
The green spaces we thought of have different

functions: we have boulevards, perfect for prom-
enades in the shade. Then, green roofs and pub-

lic gardens. Near the most congested road which
connects Ariha to other cities we could set a lon-
gitudinal park, interrupted now and then by the
perpendicular streets, which could also serve as a
sort of acoustic insulator.
Ariha means perfume of flowers. In ancient times,

the city was known to be “one of the pleasantest
and best of the places on God’s earth”, thanks to
its various olive and cherry orchards, gardens and
rivers.Bringing the green back to Ariha means re-
constructing the city and its soul.
———
In your ideal city, how would you imagine

transportations?
Marsel (from Syria, based in France): «Tramway it’s

a good mean of transportation so included a lot of
people in one place».
Alfa (from Italy): «Certainly bike lanes for bicycles

and elevated tramway to facilitate the traffic».
Shaad (from Syria): «Maybe bicycles».
Fares (born in Syria, based in Turkey): «Walking».
Vittorio (from Italy): «Enterprising».
— 22 —
Plan C ollectif
Hadeel (from Syria): «I like Venice so I just imagine

transportations on boats and walking».
In your ideal city, in which place would you

meet if traditional meeting places wouldn’t
exist anymore?
Marsel (from Syria, based in France): «I think my

friends and I created a sort of public space where we
can do everything».
Jasmine (from Italy): «If you really want to meet some-

one in my opinion, the meeting place is not important».
Shaad (from Syria): «I don’t know, maybe in the hous-

es or on the rooftops of the buildings».
«IN BETWEEN»
Vittorio (from Italy): «I would meet outside my house».
Alfa (from Italy): «In the libraries».
Maria (born in Syria, based in France): «Coworking

spaces, art exhibitions, and cinemas».
In your ideal city, which is the place dedi-

cated to the children?
Hadeel (from Syria): «I think children don’t just have to

go to school. Maybe, I dream of some spaces they can
go and learn new things that they don’t learn in school».
Sabrina (from Italy): «If you are talking about a city, I

would think of something interactive to let them dis-
cover and appreciate the city where they live».
Hosam (born in Syria, based in Greece): «Everywhere,

but somewhere safe. I don’t know if we can do it but…»
— 23 —
Fares (born in Syria, based in Turkey): «Everywhere
should be a child friendly space. Of course away
from any transportation or danger».
Stefano (from Italy): «Socially, I consider them very

important and we have to focus on them because
they are an investment we make».
———
Wa’el
My name is Wa’el, I’m 9 years old.

I had a dream, maybe it was a distant memory, but
there wasn’t only this emptiness.
There were voices, laughter, happiness, colors.
There was life.
The only thing that I owned was a carpet.
In my dream, I wasn’t alone.
We were not just holding a carpet, we were holding
our future.
There were not only children.
———
What is your idea of the city?
Jasmine (from Italy): «An idea of a sustainable city

where people talk to each other».
Shaad (from Syria): «My idea of the city is a collec-

tive place where we can all live together in harmony».
Sabrina (from Italy): «Where you can be yourself».
Hadeel (from Syria): «Maybe where I can find all the

people I love».
Alfa (from Italy): «My ideal city is rich in open spaces».
— 24 —
Plan C ollectif
Fares (born in Syria, based in Turkey): «A safe place

where everybody can live together peacefully».
In your ideal city, what do you want to see

through your window?
Marsel (born in Syria, based in France): «I’d love to

see public spaces, a lot of people, tourists, interna-
tional events».
Vittorio (from Italy): «I would like to see someone

else’s window».
Stefano (from Italy): «Absolutely the mountains».
Alfa (from Italy): «The horizon».
«IN BETWEEN»
Fares (born in Syria, based in Turkey): «The lady
I love».
Reem (born in Syria, based in the UK): «I want to see

people talking, laughing, arguing, singing and social-
izing in a safe and peaceful environment».
In your ideal city, which sounds and

colours do you want to see and hear?
Marsel (from Syria, based in France): «Maybe the blue

and green and the sound of the water all the time».
Jasmine (from Italy): «I would like to see the sea».
Hadeel (from Syria): «Actually, I’d like to hear music

everywhere. Street music, like in San Marco square».
Maria (born in Syria, based in France): «Festivities

and big events preparation».
— 25 —
Hosam (born in Syria, based in Greece): «When I
travel, the first thing I wanna hear is local small
kids playing».
———
Where Is The Color?

Ariha is one of the most important touristic destina-

tions of Northern Syria and now it’s destroyed. We
are a group of students from the University of Archi-
tecture in Venice and we want to help Ariha!
We need to bring life back to Ariha, we need some-

thing to gather people, give happiness, bring back
courage and even peace. In a world where war turns
all black and white and everything is monochrome
Ariha, where is the color?
We invite street artist from all over the world to do-

nate their art to Ariha!
———
A film by INBETWEEN WORKSHOP and Plan Collectif
— 26 —
Plan C ollectif
«In Between »
—
P lan Collectif
Between war and peace there is an indeterminate

space, what reconstruction and what architecture for
this space.
The initial process of reconstruction is obviously

political, since reconstruction can only be initiated
once peace has been restored and the conditions
for its maintenance have stabilized. The guarantee
of a controlled reconstruction is the establishment
of a planning and management structure capable
of ensuring all aspects of the process, be they eco-
nomic, social or technical. In this, the architect is
«IN BETWEEN»
only a link of a long chain. The pitfalls to be avoided
are those of a too rapid reconstruction which would
be inherently unsatisfactory in the long term and
those of a reconstruction which would begin with a
phase of temporary housing which by nature tends
to become definitive. In our view, an appropriate ap-
proach involves three phases. The first phase con-
sists of an emergency habitat that ensures the sani-
tary conditions to the population; this phase remains
traumatic due to its emergency nature. The second
phase consists of a housing and provisional equip-
ment ensuring, over a limited period of time, to define
the services and functions of the city in reconstruc-
tion. Metaphorically, this phase is equivalent to the
period of mourning. This second phase should be
considered as the substratum and the basis of the
final reconstruction which will be carried out within a
historical time-scale. It is a time without urgency that
allows the population’s appropriation of the cultural
and final process of reconstruction.
— 27 —
Makani, my place
Giulia Calesella, Pietro Carra, Claudia Nembi, Riccardo Squarcina
Architecture as a medium and as an answer must

start from mankind. Before reconstructing a coun-
try that is damaged in its deepest roots by the en-
demic evil of the war, the society primary links must
be fixed. Interviewing students from the venetian

university, students and young professionals from
Syria about their personal idea of the city, meeting
places organization and urban green areas, we wor-
ried about starting the suture of those links, giving
back importance to the differences and making the
bounds between different entities and personal expe-
riences bloom: a connecting bridge of ideas and pur-
poses between Venice and Syria. With the humility of
our experiences, we hope that what we achieved may
be a valiant help to those who, through the art of the
construction, might have to deal with such a strenu-
ous and necessary effort as the rebuilding. The lay-
ing of the foundations of a new reality dissolved the
black layer of the conflict which hides the humanity
and the sense of social identity under a pile of vic-
tims and stones.
Arise Ariha
Veronica Altamura, Giacomo Ber tacche, Jacopo Calzavara,
Nicole Costantini, Elena Zilli
In Between is the time frame between the end of the

war and the total reconstruction of the city. Right af-
ter providing the population with its primary needs
such as houses, schools and the main facilities, it is
of the utmost importance to “reconstruct” the soul
of the people and the sense of community that has
been lost. To start this process, we need to bring
the people back to their origins by founding the re-
— 28 —
Plan C ollectif
birth on the simplest and cheapest thing ever: na-

ture. The garden becomes the main point of our pro-
posal. In arabic culture and especially in the Quran, it
is described as a paradise on earth, a place of delight
and refuge from whatever fear. It is very curious that
in Arabic, there is a single word that indicates both
“heaven” and “garden”: janna. The garden is a form of
art that expresses beauty, life and prosperity and that
creates a clear distinction with the desert, symbol
of absence. Ariha is surrounded by vegetation and
cultivated fields and indeed cherries represented the
foundation of the economy for the area. Making the
green, the nature, enter the heart of Ariha as well, by
creating gardens, boulevards and parks could be the
right way to make this city “live” again. As a meta-
phor of the peace of senses, the garden becomes the
starting point from which to improve the life of the
«IN BETWEEN»
people, but also to build a new city where it is really
possible to live.
Wa’el
Michael Bordin, Daria Marchi, Alessandro Martin, Vicky Saraceni,
Francesco Tassinato
When a country is destroyed by wars and conflicts, it

is not only the buildings that crumble, but the civiliza-
tion, the identity and the soul of that place. Looking
around, you no longer find what you have always lived
and seen, there are only desolation and the deep feel-
ing that something has failed. In our video, we have
entrusted Ariha’s rebuilding and rebirth to a child, as
he evokes the weakest part of the situation, but at
the same time with the potential to create a different
and calm future. Wa’el, “the one who comes back”, is
a simple child who, along with many others like him,
expresses the desire for rebirth, tending towards a
new normality and rediscovering his own origins and
— 29 —
culture. He represents what war and destruction may
not have been able to fully scratch and for that rea-
son manages to look at the world with different eyes.
The medium and the end of Wa’el’s journey is the rug,
an integral part of the Syrian tradition, which in our
video becomes the symbol of a reconstruction that
starts from the individual and ends in the community.
The rug becomes the brick with which children can

rebuild their city; this allows us to introduce into our
project the theme of re-use, the will to reinvent recov-
erable materials already present in the site discover-
ing their unprecedented potential.
Where is the color?

Ma t t eo G iga nt e , G iuseppina N a tal e, A n d rea Pen d i n ,
Ma rgher it a Z a nuso
Where is the color is a project that acts on the mono-

chrome palette that identifies all the cities destroyed
by the civil war in Syria and the loss of urban life and
the sense of belonging of the citizen. Starting from the
city center of Ariha, through painted electric cables,
we disperse color into the most important streets and
bring to life the main buildings for the community of
Ariha such as schools, mosques and public spaces.
We paint the ruins with colors of all kinds, except white
and black, colors related to the concept of war. And
with the help of street artists from all over the world
we enrich the walls of the ruined buildings with graffiti
that inspire people with the values of peace, love, hope
and collective growth. Post-war city rubble is also re-
shaped, colored and reinvented to create gathering
items, recreating environments where each individual
can feel attached to his country again. In between is
therefore an intervention that arises between destruc-
tion and reconstruction, it has no other purpose than
revitalizing the city and the minds of its inhabitants.
— 30 —
Plan C ollectif
B ibliograph y
—
Anonymous, translated by Burton R. F., “Ali-Nour Al Din and Miriam the
Girdle-girl, The Book of The Thousand Nights and a Night”, Kama Shastra
Society, London, 1885.
Calvino I., “Le città invisibili”, Einaudi, Torino, 1972.
Calvino I., “Invisible cities”, eds. William Weaver, A Harvest Book, a Helen
and Kurt WolffBook, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego New York
London, ed 1974, copyright Einaudi, 1972.
«IN BETWEEN»
— 31 —
You take
delight not in
a city’s seven
or seventy
wonders, but
in answers
it gives to a
question of
yours.
Italo Calv in o, In v is ible C it ies , 1 9 7 2
Plan C ollectif
«IN BETWEEN»
— 33 —
— 34 —
Plan C ollectif
«IN BETWEEN»
— Image of the entrance

to the final exhibition.
— 35 —
— 36 —
Plan C ollectif
«IN BETWEEN»
— 37 —
— 38 —
Plan C ollectif
— Poster of the clip

Makani, my place.
— INBETWEEN, the
film headlines, see it at
<www. youtu.be/R40G-
grYAEC0>.
«IN BETWEEN»
— 39 —
In your
ideal city,
which place
would you
choose for
recreation?
Plan C ollectif
— The answers to the

question “In your ideal
city, which place would
you choose for recrea-
tion?”.
«IN BETWEEN»
— 41 —
— 42 —
Plan C ollectif
«IN BETWEEN»
— Poster and storyboard

of the clip Arise Ariha.
— 43 —
— 44 —
Plan C ollectif
— Frames of the clip

Arise Ariha. A quote
from the Arabian Nights.
«IN BETWEEN»
— 45 —
— 46 —
Plan C ollectif

Arise Ariha. The rebirth-
ing of Ariha.
«IN BETWEEN»
— 47 —
— 48 —
Plan C ollectif
«IN BETWEEN»
— 49 —
— 50 —
Plan C ollectif
— Poster of the clip

Wa’el and frames of the
clip. The beginning of
Wa’el’s journey.
«IN BETWEEN»
— 51 —
— 52 —
Plan C ollectif
«IN BETWEEN»
— 53 —
What is
your idea
of the city?
Plan C ollectif
— The answers to the

question “What is your
idea of the city?”.
«IN BETWEEN»
— 55 —
— 56 —
Plan C ollectif
— Poster and frames

of the clip What is the
color? Monochrome im-
ages of destruction.
«IN BETWEEN»
— 57 —
— 58 —
Plan C ollectif

What is the color? The
colored post-war city.
«IN BETWEEN»
— 59 —
— 60 —
Plan C ollectif
Plan Collec tif

— Paris, France
Plan Collectif, was created from the desire of four

architecture firms to meet each other and exchange
ideas about their ongoing or completed projects.
PHILEAS Architectes (Dominique Vitti), KOZ archi-

tectes (Christophe Ouhayoun), PERIPHERIQUES Ma-
rin Trottin Architectes (David Trottin) and NICOLA
SPINETTO represents a new generation of architects
involved in production and teaching, and who share
the desire for dialogue and action.
«IN BETWEEN»
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Giulia Piacenti
Giulia Piacenti has graduated with honors in 2016 from
Università Iuav di Venezia with a thesis on the Recon-
struction for Aleppo – Historical core. She has worked at

Superpool office in Istanbul and is currently working at
Iotti+Pavarani Architetti in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
— 62 —
Plan C ollectif
Stud ents
—
Veronica Altamura
Giacomo Bertacche
Michael Bordin
Giulia Calesella
Jacopo Calzavara
Pietro Carra
Nicole Costantini
Matteo Gigante
Daria Marchi
Alessandro Martin
Giuseppina Natale
Claudia Nembi
Andrea Pendin
«IN BETWEEN»
Vicky Saraceni
Riccardo Squarcina
Francesco Tassinato
Margherita Zanuso
Elena Zilli
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif / «In Between»
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

Attilio Santi
WHAT IS
— PALMYRA / 34°33’02”N 38°16’18”E
THE FUTURE
FOR MEMORY?
Attilio Santi
— PALMYRA / 34°33’02”N 38°16’18”E
WHAT IS
THE FUTURE
FOR MEMORY?
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
Attilio Santi
What Is The Future For Memory?

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Palmyra
19 Introd uction
21 A new museum for Palm yra
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
Attilio Santi
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
W H AT I S T H E F U T U R E F O R M E M O R Y ?
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
Attilio Santi
elles, 1842, p.2.
tecture) is how to deal with the consequences of
ams Family Correspond-


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
Attilio Santi
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
Attilio Santi
PALMYRA
- 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2004 55,062
2017 51,015
Description
Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of
the most important cultural centres of the ancient world. The ruins of
ancient Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are situated about 500
m southwest of the modern city centre. The modern city is built along
a grid pattern.
— 11 —
to Homs
0 5 km
PALMYRA TADMOR
to Homs
PALMYRA TADMOR
archeological site
0 1 km
Palmyra airport
— 16 —
Attilio Santi

moderately damaged,
sibly damaged. Many
Palmyra museum, the
funerary monuments
Syrian government
ISIL fighters.
— 17 —
Attilio Santi
In trod uction
—
Nicole Addati Sansonetti, Riccardo Pontarolo, Davide Zagato
Working in a context like Palmyra is not easy, for

several reasons. And the theme of the “museum” is
not easy either, especially if you try to develop it in
only three weeks, with a group of fifteen students
of different ages, experiences, and abilities. It is a
big challenge. Students had to face a major task:
understanding the duality of the meaning of the
concept of “museum”.
Museum as a “container of memory” and, following
the tragic events that struck the area, as “a story of
the history of the place”: reconciling everything in a
context of great historical, artistic, and cultural sig-
nificance, and putting in contact the modern and the
ancient city.
What is the future of memory? Is thus the main topic

that students developed in group projects. Our goal,
as tutors, was to encourage them not to think of a
mere restoration or reconstruction of buildings, but
to imagine a future: what is the role that the new
museum could hold for the ancient city? What about
the modern city? Which benefits could both parties
gain from it? And, moreover, could it become the
starting point for the economic, cultural, and social
revival of the city?
These are just a few of the questions that emerged

from the analysis with the students, taking into ac-
count the various recovered materials and the col-
lection of valuable information provided by foreign
tutors. Consequently, the main reason for this work
— 19 —
was the ability to rethink the entire function of the
museum in relation to the city, the exhibition, and the
intrinsic meaning that it is meant to give to the “mem-
ory place”. We were delighted to see how the various
work groups were able to take these issues and inter-
pret them in their favour, and elaborate project pro-
posals that were not only different from each other
for architectural and idealistic aspects, but also and

above all for their offer of different opinions and fu-
ture heterogeneous scenarios, exposing the various
facets that such an intervention can bring to light.
— 20 —
Attilio Santi
A new museu m fo r Pa lm y ra
—
Attilio S anti
The title of the W.A.Ve. workshop What is the future

of memory? was chosen to identify paths and solu-
tions that could make a positive contribution to the
present time, which is characterised by the destruc-
tion and loss of significant city heritage.
The city of Palmyra – Todmor – has taken various

configurations over time, some of which are still vis-
ible (even if just in traces) while others have by now
disappeared, either because they were destroyed or
because they have been buried and have not yet been
brought to light.
Currently, it is possible to see two cities, side by side:

the ancient city and its remaining ruins – many of
which have been restored and only reduced to de-
bris via demolitions in recent years (2015) –, and the
modern city built on a grid-scheme during the French
mandate of Syria and Lebanon (1923 - 1943). These
two cities lie side by side differently from other cities
that usually transform, stratifying each city layer one
over the other.
Indeed, this happened with the construction of the

Arab city above the ancient one. However, in the
1900s they decided to recover and expose the an-
cient Roman ruins. This decision led to the complete
deletion of the Arab city and the construction of a
new town alongside the ancient one. We should also
keep in mind that there are still some of the oldest
traces below the level of the Roman city, which new
excavations could bring to light.
— 21 —
The Museum of Palmyra was created outside the
walls of the ancient city, between the ancient city and
the modern one: hinged between the two realities. The
two-storey stone building consists of a central block
and two wings, with a central entrance leading to an
atrium where the connecting staircase is located be-
tween the floors. A corridor facility brings access to
the various rooms, three per side on both floors.
The facility expresses the criteria of the era in

which it was designed and built, both in terms of
its architectural character and in terms of the ser-
vices it is equipped with: they were appropriate at
the time but insufficient for a contemporary mu-
seum nowadays.Students were offered the task of
shedding light on the past of the city, bringing out
all the documents belonging to the various ages,
and giving value and dignity not just to the testi-
monies of a particular age but to the entire docu-
mentary heritage that was available. The idea was
to use culture as a means to counter authoritarian
and destructive actions.
The Museum if for certain the best place to do this: it

is a place that guards memory, but also a living place
for research, experimentation, and divulgation.
The objective of the design research is twofold: re-

alising an architecture that expresses itself and the
principles we mean to highlight, and creating a com-
plex that can perform the tasks that we identified. The
workshop participants worked on a common scheme
that provided adequate spaces to contain material
belonging to the various eras that have evolved over
time: spaces for management, research, museum ar-
chives, and spaces that could be interrelated with the
contemporary city.
— 22 —
Attilio Santi
Different architectural solutions were proposed, the

main qualities of which are presented here below.
They are five projects, each featuring a specific and
characterising motto.
A way to embrace memory
Students proposed an expansion of the Museum,

with the construction of a new building connected
to the existing one, providing public services on the
ground floor: cafeteria, bookshop, and temporary
exhibitions. The exhibition space begins on the first
floor of the existing museum building and continues
in the first and ground floor of the new building. From
this ground floor, you return in the entrance area of
the main Museum by crossing a porch area. This
proposal communicates with the existing museum
architecture: by redesigning the main volume and
the central hall, connecting the two floors of the new
building, and studying a new cover, it looks for rela-
tionships with the architectures of the place.
Culture as a means to reconstruct the city
Again, the students proposed an expansion of the

museum space. In this case, however, they did it
through articulated architecture, proposing to be-
come a mediator between the current building and
the surrounding urban fabric. The proposal means
to allocate the present building of the Museum to
the headquarters of management, storage, resto-
ration, while dedicating the new building to all ex-
hibitions and public service activities. This project
looks for a relationship with the articulation of the
architecture of the Arab city, which has now dis-
appeared through the modulation of the elements
that formed it.
— 23 —
New faces of the city and the garden of
sculptures
This proposal presented an addition to the façade of

the Museum with the creation of a completely new
one, maintaining the original entrance portal, and an
expansion of the building towards the walls. The pro-
ject presents a “defensive” architecture for the con-

temporary city, while it proposes a system of spaces
and articulated paths for the ancient one.
Keeping recent memory
This project proposed to reduce the existing mu-

seum to an empty container, formed only by its pe-
rimeter walls, and to build a new adjacent museum
complex to contain all the spaces that are needed
for a museum. In this case, the students’ proposal
addressed the current museum as our historic Ro-
manesque buildings, which survive only as ruins,
proposing a variation on the theme of memory with-
out reconstruction.
A link between past and future
This project proposes the creation of connections and

relationships of various kinds: functional, visual, and
formal. The role of the Museum as a hinge between the
ancient city and the contemporary one is enhanced,
making the museum’s location a crucial point of refer-
ence. The museum complex is organised around an
open and covered area, including various buildings:
the existing one, the transformed museum, and the
new buildings. There are many relationships between
the building and the city: the path that runs through
the museum complex connects it to the ancient city,
on the one hand, and to the contemporary city on the
— 24 —
Attilio Santi
other, through visual links between the spaces of the

Museum and the archaeological area.
The results of the workshop are of various kinds.

However, the message they all mean to propose is
that violence and destruction are in contrast with
laboriousness, collaboration, and memory preserva-
tion. The archaeological site and the museum rep-
resent a resource for the city and a means to estab-
lish relationships with the world: reconstructing the
cultural system in the city is also the motor for the
rebirth of the local community.
From this point of view, the students’ response was
very positive, and their proposals (even though com-
ing from first year students at the beginning of their
training path) indicate interesting directions for a re-
construction of Palmyra.
The strong commitment of students to give a con-

crete answer to the problems of these places and
themes (like the creation of an archaeological mu-
seum complex) resulted in a significant maturation
of their analytical design communication.
B ibliograph y
—
Minissi F., “Il Museo negli anni ‘80”, Edizioni Kappa, Roma, 1983.
— 25 —
Reconstruction
and
conservation
of memory.
— 27 —
Attilio Santi
— 28 —
— 29 —
Attilio Santi
— City of Tadmor.
— 30 —
Attilio Santi
— The Museum, plans

and view of the halles.
— 31 —
— 32 —
Attilio Santi
— The new layout for the

Museum.
— 33 —
— 34 —
Attilio Santi
— A way to embrace
memory. Maquette,
ground floor plan and
view of the exhibition
halls.
— 35 —
— 36 —
— 37 —
Attilio Santi
— 38 —
Attilio Santi
— Culture as a means
to reconstruct the city.
Maquette, ground floor
plan and view of the
inner court.
— 39 —
— 40 —
— 41 —
Attilio Santi
— 42 —
Attilio Santi
— New faces towards

the city and the garden
of sculptures. Ground
floor plan, first floor plan
of the museum and view
of the inner court.
— 43 —
— 44 —
— 45 —
Attilio Santi
— 46 —
— 47 —
Attilio Santi
Establishing
a relationship
between the
archaeological
site and
the city.
— 49 —
Attilio Santi
— 50 —
Attilio Santi
— Keeping the recent

memory. Plan of the
ground floor, maquette,
section and view of the
exhibition halls.
— 51 —
— 52 —
— 53 —
Attilio Santi
— 54 —
Attilio Santi
— A link between past

and future. Plan of the
ground floor, view of
the exhibition halls,
functional diagram and
maquette.
— 55 —
— 56 —
— 57 —
Attilio Santi
— 59 —
Attilio Santi
— 60 —
Attilio Santi
Attilio S anti
— Venice, Italy
Graduated from Università Iuav di Venezia, and

teaches architectural design courses at Iuav. For
many years, he has also held courses in interior de-
sign and museography.
His main research interests are focused on the de-

sign of city architecture. As an architect, he has de-
veloped many restoration projects for historic build-
ings, interior designs, and exhibit designs. He has
also participated in many architectural competitions.
He lives and works in Venice.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Nicole Addati Sansonetti

Born in 1994, she studied at Mendrisio Academy for two
years and continued her studies at Università Iuav di Ven-
ezia, where she is completing her graduate degree pro-

gramme in Architecture and Innovation. She worked as an
intern at Aires Mateus Architects for four months.
Riccardo Pontarolo
Born in 1989, he studied at Università Iuav di Venezia and
graduated with the thesis Project for the New Oriental Art
Museum of Venice. He worked as assistant to prof. Attilio
Santi from 2012 and from 2016, and now works as a free-
lance architect.
Davide Zagato
He graduated in Architecture at Università Iuav di Venezia.
Since 1998, he has been a Cultor of Matter on Architec-
tural and Urban Composition at Iuav. Since 1999, he has
been a teacher and researcher at Iuav. From 2013, he has
been councillor at the Order of Architects of Rovigo, and
referent of the Sustainable Urban Regeneration Commis-
sion of the FOAV.
— 62 —
Attilio Santi
Stud ents
—
Simone Bonato
Arno Cattel
Matteo Coppe
Eugenia Maria Dalrì
Luca Forlin
Donatien Kodjo Amon
Luca Mazzieri
Martina Pesce
Marco Robbi
Elena Roncato
Valery Salviato
Giulio Silvestrini
Luca Tricol
Ugo Uljancic
Elia Zennaro
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi / What Is The Future For Memory?
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects

TAMassociati
SAME,
— QABOUN / 33°32’26”N 36°20’19”E
SAME BUT
DIFFERENT
TAMassociati
— QABOUN / 33°32’26”N 36°20’19”E
SAME,
SAME BUT
DIFFERENT
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
TAMarchitetti
Same, Same But Different

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Qaboun
19 Introd uction
21 Same, same but d iferen t
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
TAM associati
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
SAME, SAME BUT DIFFERENT

— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
TAM associati
elles, 1842, p.2.



— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
TAM associati
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA

Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
TAM associati
QABOUN
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E

Population
2004 89,974
2017 NA
Description
Qaboun is located northeast of Damascus. It has 6th October Street run
along its south side, with the old town of Qaboun rising on the north of
it. The total area is 59.38 hectares and has been divided into a planned
Zone A area of 28.41 ha, and a Zone B with an area of 54.85 ha (92.4%)
of the land is owned by the private sectors, while roads occupy 4.53 ha
(7.63%). The road area is as small as most other irregular areas. Within
the area of the construction contracts, agricultural and freehold land
occupies 16.46 ha (about 30%).
— 11 —
DAMASCUS
0 5 km
QABOUN
Barzeh
0 1 km
QABOUN
— 16 —
TAM associati
— The conditions of
Qaboun are generally
good and the number of
buildings destroyed is
very small. The city can
be described as a mixed
area: half is completely
planned and the other
half hosts unplanned
houses. More than 1,500
rebels and family mem-
bers left the devastated
district of Qaboun on
the edge of Damascus,
as the Syrian army and
its allies continue to
advance in the areas
and around the capital.
Inhabitants are slowly
returning to their homes,
but because of political
and military agreements,

this process is quite
difficult.
— 17 —
TAM associati
In trod uction
—
Anna M erci, Enrico Via nello
A participatory workshop
Same, same but different saw the involvement of a range

of guests from different professional backgrounds.
Given the complexity of the topic, we felt it was impor-
tant to introduce a series of phases in the teaching pro-
cess, consisting of brief lectures that were functional
to understanding the context and development of the
project. Chronological sequence was given priority in
two lectures that contextualised the teaching: the first

lecture was given by Massimiliano Trentin, a researcher
in Political and Social Sciences at Università di Bologna,
who retraced the phases of the Syrian conflict; the sec-
ond lecture by Raul Pantaleo, co-founder of TAMsso-
ciati, presented some of TAMassociati’s architectural
works as examples of achievements in war zones. A
final preliminary lecture, given by the engineer Franc-
esco Steffinlongo, concerned technological aspects of
the construction system proposed for this workshop. In
this way, students were supplied with some instruments
that were necessary for the subsequent phase of de-
sign, which was therefore dealt with more consciously
and coherently. Two final lectures closed this teaching
phase. The first, given by Tomà Berlanda, Director of the
Cape Town School of Architecture, started with a reflec-
tion on the design method in the South of the world; and
the second, given by Edoardo Narne, teacher ICEA at the
Università di Padova, dealt with the typological theme
of the patio house. Finally, an important contribution to
building a cognitive picture of the area was made by the
architects Mariam Eissa and Lujain Hadba, both Syrians
from Damascus.
— 19 —
A work-based workshop
Same, same but different sought to bring students

closer to the concrete aspects of the architect’s pro-
fession by addressing the design theme with an ex-
tremely pragmatic approach. The first step was to
work with a construction system of low-cost prefab-
ricated elements, as commonly happens when we are

faced with the need for a fast and effective response
for building in emergencies. From these elements, the
student groups developed the unit/cluster/district se-
quence on different scales. Of these, 9 groups worked
on the theme of accommodation clusters, 3 groups on
the theme of public clusters (a clinic, school, and mar-
ket with space for cultural events), and one group on
the masterplan of the district to coordinate the inser-
tion of the projects produced by other groups. In addi-
tion, as is customary in professional work, importance
was given to the graphic output of the work, provid-
ing students with the tools necessary to obtain a high
quality standard.
A collaborative workshop
The workshop setting was a collective project, with

the work of each group constituting a single part of
the whole. We chose to get the students to work on
multiple scales simultaneously: from the definition
of the plan of the apartments to the design of open
spaces on the urban scale. The designs of the indi-
vidual clusters, after being conceived on the basis of a
predetermined dimensional module, underwent some
variations to integrate them more effectively into the
masterplan, a rhythmic sequence of public spaces and
new infrastructures. The point of arrival was a new im-
age of a city in which the vision of the whole is the
result of a collaborative work mode by the students.
— 20 —
TAM associati
Same, same b u t differen t

—
TAMassociat i
“Architecture is a pretext.
Life is important, man is important”.
Oscar Niemeyer
Towards a history of the Syrian war.

And its future.
Massimiliano Trent in
In February 2011, Syria fell into war and now, more

than six years later, no end is yet in sight. It has gone
through several phases and involved various forces.

At first, the internal dimension prevailed, with the
clash between a ruling group (regime) that combined
political authoritarianism with economic neo-liber-
alism and a population whose younger, more edu-
cated segments, connected to the world through IT,
unemployed and unhappy, no longer responded to
the traditional channels of control and discipline.
From 2012 on, the social and civil conflict was over-
whelmed by the military dimension, involving other
countries and regional political forces (Iran, Hez-
bollah, Turkey, the Gulf Monarchies, Muslim Broth-
erhood and jihadist groups). Each of them relied on
the various militias in the field. Lastly, the interven-
tion by international powers, such as Russia, the
USA, France and the UK, since 2015 has played a
leading role in the armed conflict.
In these phases, various forces and logics have over-

lapped and assumed more or less dominant roles,
transforming the conflict and waging a war of attri-
tion expressed in religious and confessional terms.
None of the parties involved, however, has ever had
— 21 —
the ability, or the will, to completely defeat the en-
emy. The result is that a third of the population has
abandoned their homes, a seventh has emigrated or
become refugees, millions of children have lost years
of schooling, illiteracy has exceeded danger levels,
and half the manufacturing, health, and communica-
tion facilities are in ruins. From being an agricultural-
industrial country, Syria has become one where near-

ly half of the population is living from hand to mouth.
By summer 2017, the country was divided into sev-

eral zones. The most populous and fertile land is
controlled by the government of Damascus; the
northeast by the Kurdish Rojava; a northern sac is
governed by the surviving rebels and at risk of jihad-
ist radicalism; the organisation of the Islamic State is
under siege along the River Euphrates; finally, a rebel-
held area in the south is protected by NATO forces
and their Arab allies. Though warfare continues and
diplomatic negotiations are being carried out with
extreme difficulty, the population has begun to return
to their places of origin wherever possible. The physi-
cal destruction is immense, and internal and external
financial resources limited. However, the ingenuity
and laboriousness of the population offer a guaran-
tee within the limits of the communities’ margins of
self-organisation. Both the government and the re-
bels can condition their activities, but today they are
unable to impose blanket prohibitions at the risk of
further insurrections. A major challenge, however, is
rebuilding ties between individuals and communities
divided by war, hatred, and the distrust that it cre-
ates. And here (re)construction of physically shared
spaces (schools, parks, hospitals, gardens, avenues,
and neighbourhoods) could be decisive in develop-
ing new practices of sociality and even citizenship.
Despite everything.
— 22 —
TAM associati
Making architecture in an emergency

TAMassociat i
Making architecture in a war zone means being ca-

pable of combining ethics, aesthetics, economics,
and the time factor; giving rapid, practical responses
to an emergency but also asking ourselves how to
imagine the near future, hence how to make it better.
The Same, same but different project stems from a
simple principle of justice: the assumption that be-
ing in a place devised to meet the needs of the local
community helps imagine the future. It is a right that
is independent from where it is realised, not a matter
of cost or context, but of the culture of the project. Or
more simply, it’s just better!

In a beautiful place you live better, whether in the afflu-
ent West or in the deepest despair of a wartime emer-
gency. It is an extremely concrete approach that in the
broad scope of utopia helps to think of a different global
future. It goes beyond emergency through imagination.
Even in the emergency of war or post-war reconstruc-

tion, in the face of immediate and urgent needs, we
must have the courage to speak of beauty, because
this quality is a stimulus for the collective imagination.
This, we believe, is a solid and concrete beauty that
speaks of permanence and of the project’s belonging
to the places where it is located: firmly placed with its
feet on the ground but always thinking of tomorrow.
Beauty is indispensable, a matter of justice, especial-

ly in places where war has left nothing but destruc-
tion and annihilation. But beauty is a very slippery
word. It is difficult today to identify the original mean-
ing of the Greek word, given that kalón comprised a
close tie between aesthetics and ethics.
— 23 —
Here we are rather seeking a form of imperfect beauty
that accepts the harshness of life; which lacks the
ethereal distance of classical beauty. It means simply
taking care of things, places, and people; cherishing
communities and, above all, the environment. That
is why we feel we also have to ascribe great impor-
tance to the issue of environment. Because a fairer
and therefore more beautiful future starts from the

opportunity to intervene with state-of-the-art criteria
in terms of environmental, economic, and social sus-
tainability: a concrete, practical, pragmatic, and non-
ideological way of interpreting the theme of “sustain-
ability” as an indispensable right in the places where
it is implemented.
Building ethical architecture in the places where it is

needed means seeking the maximum environmental
and energy efficiency in the short term and with very
limited resources. There has to be a constant effort
of simplification starting from the difficulties of the
context. The process of reducing the superfluous be-
comes a method, the paradigm of any approach to de-
sign. The response to an emergency thus becomes an
opportunity to rethink architecture unconventionally,
through places where the right to beauty is affirmed by
combining functionality and design, utility and beauty.
A project for the new residential settle-

ment of Qaboun – Damascus
Making architecture where a conflict has just ended

can serve to explore that kind of ground-zero which is
the end of a war, where everything has to be reinvented.
In this context, the search for the utmost restraint and
simplicity seemed the most effective strategy to deal
with places shattered by war such as Qaboun.Conven-
tional forms of social housing projects, conceived as
— 24 —
TAM associati
huge dormitory quarters, no longer address the needs

of the people. Things that people living in traditional
residential settlements once took for granted – family,
community, a sense of belonging in places on a hu-
man scale – now have to be actively sought, especially
in a new housing complex such as Qaboun.
Same, same but different is a non-ideological process

of synthesis between tradition (a critical reinterpreta-
tion of the morphological structure of the traditional
Arab city) and innovation (the use of innovative and
cost effective construction systems). The challenge
is to build dense spaces, where density is not meas-
ured only in terms of the number of dwellings but also
as the potential for interaction between inhabitants.

New Qaboun is a low-cost project conceived with the
precise goal of generating high values (social, envi-
ronmental, and economic). The final result is an at-
tempt to combine quantity (of dwellings, buildings,
neighbourhoods) and quality (of private spaces, pub-
lic facilities, shared spaces).
As Serge Chermayeff and Cristopher Alexander wrote

in 1963: “The time may soon come when planners,
designers, developers and others will recognise and
act on the simple notion that the spaces between
buildings are as important to the life of urban man as
the buildings themselves”. The “spaces between” are
not only physical spaces but also intangible places
of inclusion, sharing, and belonging.
Same, same but different has a powerful symbolic

value: a response to an emergency but, above all, an
example of rethinking the future in an unconventional
way, putting the focus of reasoning on truly sustain-
able development for the community of Qaboun and
other Syrian settlements.
— 25 —
A research
for the utmost
sobriety and
simplicity
as effective
strategy for
the Qaboun
project
design.
— 27 —
TAM associati

— 28 —
— 29 —
TAM associati

A
A
D
B
B
— 30 —
E
C
C
TAM associati
— New Qaboun district,

plan and perspective
view.
— 31 —
— 32 —
TAM associati
— Composition of
clusters types.
— 33 —
Face to face.
Students: Alex Favaro,
Paolo Fontanella, Mauro
Marchesin, Giulio Si-
mioni.
— Perspective view,
elevation.
— 34 —
TAM associati
Education en plein air

Students: Camilla
Corato, Livia Grigori,
Filippo Ossola, Franc-
esca Vallarsa.
— Perspective view,
elevation.
— 35 —
— 36 —
— 37 —
TAM associati

The souk
Students: Valeria Fialho,
Barbara Boy Oliveira,
Ansari Mahani.
— Perspective view, first

floor plan and section.
— 38 —
TAM associati
Punica granatum
Students: Marco Cau,
Edoardo Frasson, Lu-
crezia Pasquali, Filippo
Pilati.
— Perspective view, first

floor plan and section.
— 39 —
A non-
ideological
process of
synthesis
between
tradition
and
innovation.
— 41 —
TAM associati

#Dashed
Students: Pier Lodovico
Bortolato, Giulia Fabian,
Mattia Lazzarato, Elisa
Rossi.
— Axonometric view,
elevation.
— 42 —
TAM associati
Sijada
Students: Giorgia Boso,
Martina Cortesi, Viola
Gregorini, Elena Pac-
cagnella.
elevation.
— 43 —
Locus amoenus
Students: Elisa Lazzaro,
Aurora Pizziolo, Ele-
onora Scrigner, Beatrice
Aimeé Timircan.
elevation.
— 44 —
TAM associati
Across the squares

Students: Mauro Am-
brosi, Angela Pranovi,
Alberto Mancin, Laura
Fongaro.
elevation.
— 45 —
— 46 —
— 47 —
TAM associati

Transition
Students: Aicha Sabrina
Amiane, Mirko De Roia,
Ana Carolina Gomes,
Giulia Rebellin.
— Prospective view,
elevation.
— 48 —
TAM associati
Inside the fortress

Students Sara Bertin,
Beatrice Pelizzo, Davide
Rostellato, Giovanni
Tantaro.
— Model, photo credits

Andrea Avezzù, ground
floor plan and elevation.
— 49 —
— 50 —
TAM associati
Ink
Students: Francesco
Baggio, Marco De Zotti
Michielin, Irene Di Buono,
Alessia Tramontina.
— Ground floor plan,
elevation, sketches,
model photo credits
Enrico Vianello.
— 51 —
— 52 —
TAM associati
Court-ster
Students Gianmichele
De Sario, Matteo
Gumirato, Elena Savciuc,
Giacomo Spanio.
— Ground floor plan,
elevation, house type
plans, model photo
credits Andrea Avezzù.
— 53 —
— 54 —
— 55 —
TAM associati

A response to
an emergency
but, above all,
an example to
rethink
the future
in an
unconventional
way.
— 57 —
TAM associati

— 58 —
— 59 —
TAM associati

— 60 —
TAM associati
TAMassocia ti
— Venice, Italy
TAMassociati (Massimo Lepore, Raul Pantaleo, Si-

mone Sfriso) is an Italian team of architects known
worldwide, particularly for healthcare works carried
out in African continent.
The team has been based in Venice since 1996, and

operates in different projects for sustainable archi-
tecture in Africa, the Middle-East, and Italy.
Recent awards and acknowledgements: Idea Tops

Award Shenzhen 2016; Italian Architect of the Year
2014; Zumtobel Design Award 2014, Curry Stone De-

sign Prize 2013, Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2013;
G.Ius Gold Medal 2013, Gold Medal for Italian Architec-
ture 2012 category Architecture and Emergency.
TAMassociati has curated the Italian Pavilion at the

XVI International Architecture Exhibition - Biennale di
Venezia 2016.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Enrico Vianello
Architect, born in Venice in 1981. Postgraduate Degree in
Architecture at Università Iuav di Venezia (2007). TAMasso-
ciati Jr partner, experienced in healthcare design projects

and in urban regeneration processes for the suburbs.
Anna Merci
Architect and landscape designer, born in Verona in
1982. Postgraduate Degree in Architecture at Università
Iuav di Venezia (2008). Member of Renzo Piano G124, the
senator working group on Italian suburbs. Experienced in
works on various scales, from temporary installations to
urban regeneration.
Susanna Campeotto
Architect, born in Conegliano (Treviso) in 1989. Post-
graduate Degree in Architecture at Università Iuav di
Venezia (2016) with a thesis on the preservation of In-
dustrial heritage. TAMassociati intern and design stu-
dios assistant at Iuav.
Massimiliano Trentin (guest)

Assistant Professor of History of the Middle East Depart-
ment of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bolo-
gna, Italy.
— 62 —
TAM associati
Stud ents
—
Mauro Ambrosi Filippo Ossola

Aicha Sabrina Amiane Elena Paccagnella
Maham Ansari Lucrezia Pasquali
Francesco Baggio Beatrice Pelizzo
Michele Beltrame Filippo Pilati
Sara Bertin Aurora Pizziolo
Giorgia Bosa Angela Pranovi
Pier Lodovico Bortolato Giulia Rebellini
Barbara Boy Oliveira Elisa Rossi
Lara Brmbolic Davide Rostellato
Alberto Calore Elena Savcic

Marco Cau Eleonora Scrigner
Camilla Corato Giulio Simioni
Martina Cortesi Giacomo Spanio
Mirko De Roia Giovanni Tantaro
Gianmichele De Sario Beatrice Aimee Timircan
Marco De Zotti Michielin Alessia Tramontina
Irene Di Buono Francesca Vallarsa
Giulia Fabian Roberto Zanini
Alex Favaro
Valeria Fialho
Laura Fongaro
Paolo Fontanella
Edoardo Frasson
Ana Carolina Gomes
Viola Gregorini
Livia Grigori
Matteo Gumirato
Mattia Lazzarato
Elisa Lazzaro
Alberto Mancin
Mauro Marchesin
Richard Marcuzzi
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati / Same, Same But Different
UNLAB
VMX Architects

UNLAB
— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
HOW CAN WE
TURN ALEPPO’S
CONFLICTING
NARRATIVES
INTO STRATEGIES
TO BUILD THE
COMMON?
UNLAB
— ALEPPO / 36°11’52”N 37°09’37”E
HOW CAN WE
TURN ALEPPO’S
CONFLICTING
NARRATIVES
INTOSTRATEGIES
TO BUILD THE
COMMON?
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
UNLAB
How Can We Turn Aleppo’s Conflicting Narratives Into Strategies To Build The Common?

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Aleppo
19 Introd uction
21 Aleppo archi pelag o: stra tegi c p roje c ts

for post-war reconstruc ti on
28 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
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W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
H O W C A N W E T U R N A L E P P O ’ S C O N F L I C T I N G N A R R AT I V E S I N T O S T R AT E G I E S T O B U I L D T H E C O M M O N ?
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
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elles, 1842, p.2.


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
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W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
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ALEPPO
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2004 2,132,100
2017 1,602,264
Description
— 11 —
ALEPPO
to Damascus
0 5 km
industrial city
citadel
airport
Al Asse River
0 1 km
ALEPPO OLD CITY
citadel
Suk
— 16 —
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and destruction to
400,000 dead and
The historic monu-
down completely.
— 17 —
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In trod uction
—
Marlinda Tafaj
The three-week workshop focused on an overall vi-
sion for the city of Aleppo, taking a critical stance
towards the status quo of “reconstruction”. The in-
tention was to investigate the possibilities of a new
civic-oriented project for the city by bringing the for-
mal and informal archetypes, and its peripheral ter-
ritory, together in one comprehensive plan. The idea
was approached through “research by design”.
Research by design is a suitable yet necessary ap-

proach to plan for the future, especially in projects
concerning complex environmental, social, econom-
ic, and political challenges. Planning the future can
no longer be based on the certainty of programmes
and conditions. Instead, the planner is confronted
with changing conditions and shifting programmes.
A plan also has to reflect its own conditions and the
effects of the planned interventions. Therefore, the
process of planning has to be transformed into a pro-
cess of multiple feedbacks. This is why the students
started working and giving their views and feedbacks
in order to define arguments to be collected in an AT-
LAS (Aleppo Transformation Landscape Architecture
Society), one of the outcomes of the workshop.
After the first week, students were divided in 8 re-

search groups investigating the potential of different
topics, focusing on: infrastructures, public buildings,
public spaces, religious buildings, housing, commer-
cial areas, historical sites, and cultural areas. The
aim was to address the “common” as a tool for trans-
forming the latent yet necessary condition of the city
— 19 —
into an environment of collectivity, going beyond the
simple distinction between public and private space.
The masterplan for the city of Aleppo addressed the
spatial and symbolic definition of a system of “com-
mon spaces”. Architectural devices were used pre-
cisely for the construction, representing the idea of
diverse areas.
By addressing the common, a study on Aleppo’s pe-

culiar “common” environmental qualities and charac-
teristics became necessary: the colours of the stone,
sky, pavements and else were incorporated into
graphics, representations, and drawings. The final
exhibition was then conceived as an open space in
which the ATLAS, the suspended boards, and mod-
els displayed the tactical outcomes of our “common”
narrative for the rebuilding of the city of Aleppo.
— 20 —
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Aleppo archipelago: strategic projects

for post-war reconstruction
—
Andreas Faoro
1 — Edward Said in his
“The more insistent we are on the separation of cul- lecture “The Myth of The
tures, the more inaccurate we are about ourselves Clash of Civilizations”,
and about others”1. (Edward W. Said) University of Massachu-
setts, Amherst, 1998.
The dramatic vicissitudes that heavily affected the

city of Aleppo we know today demonstrate how its
history is far from being a linear process of accumu-
lation; there is no fixed way to approach Aleppo. It is
an ancient city, and one of the oldest continuously
inhabited cities in the world, having been inhabited
since the 6th millennium BC. Throughout history, the
region has been a conflict zone between North and
South, East and West and has been destroyed and
rebuilt many times. Due to the location of the city
along important trade routes between Asia and the
Mediterranean region, it became a major trade centre
and the interaction between different cultures repre-
sented a crucial aspect for the development of the
city and of the region.
The city cannot be reduced to a single statement or

to a precise definition. It is rather a complex system
of fragments and identities emerging out of centu-
ries of encounters and exchanges between civilisa-
tions defining its archaeological stratification, and
consequently its cultural legacy. The continuous
armed conflict in Syria that has reached Aleppo in
2012 has caused massive damages and destruction
to invaluable monuments and inhabited neighbour-
hoods. The city has been a battlefield of ideas and
ideologies that have brought to an extraordinarily
“conflicting” heritage.
— 21 —
2 — The term “urbicide” The relevance and importance of this city reaches
became popular in the
1992-95 Bosnian war far beyond local urban interests, and at the same
as a way of referring time it probably no longer is the city as we know
to widespread and
deliberate destruction of it. It acts as a node for an extended territory, a net-
the urban environment. work of geographies and systems rapidly reshaping
Coined by writers on
urban development
its identity and role within an unstable geopolitical
in America, ‘urbicide’ scenario. The transformations and manipulations
captures the sense of

the widespread and
of this heritage have defined a unique urban com-
deliberate destruction plexity in which the urbicide2 that has taken place,
of buildings is a distinct especially during the last three years, has redefined
form of violence.
the structure of Syrian cities.
The local realities in the city are an expression of

new opposite conditions. They bring evident traces
of both a highly specific culture and the city’s contro-
versial modern history. It is in this tension between a
crossing identity and an irreducible milieu that Alep-
po finds its complex and specific character in the age
of globalisation.
The work that follows represents an attempt to inves-

tigate both aspects: on the one hand, it uses the city
to script the story of a whole territory; on the other, it
is a reflection on characters that are specific to Alep-
po. It is based on a collection of designed narratives.
Overall, it aims to offer a critical point of view on the
city, through a selection of representative areas and
consequently projects of its potential future.
The critical selection of areas, sites, and locations

is the pre-requisite for strategic proposals that are
able to resonate beyond their specific scope and thus
affect a larger territory. It aims to set up a potential
programme for housing the displaced population in
Aleppo through the introduction and redefinition of
a new infrastructural system able to enact and link
parts of the territory that are now disconnected. It
— 22 —
UNL AB
also aims to facilitate the access to the city by re- 3 — Lieven De Cauter,
“Architecture and Dis-
building it. It aims to create a local alternative to the aster: the Spatial Order
“traditional” reconstruction programme and, in many of a Dualized World”,
Reader Berlage Institute
ways, an alternative to how public housing and the 2010-11. See “The other
“public city” is typically conceived. Archipelago”, p.11.
The issues of accessibility and scarcity of resourc-
es greatly influenced our approach, issues that are
slowly crossing from political-economics into a more
architectural debate. Housing was thought of not as
a form of shelter, but as a form of living.
The vision of Aleppo should be built up by re-read-

ing its current occupancy patterns, as an alternative
statement of what it means to be a territorial city.
This is not a matter of simply providing space for
housing, but rather of setting a structure able to host
different lifestyles and urban districts that can com-
plement to each other. Depending on the site, we pro-
posed different combinations of living and working
settlements, ranging from houses with workshops
and public services on the ground floor to farming
areas with housing of lower density that can actively
protect the city from expanding too much, diminish-
ing the impact on resources. In order to allow this
wide range of urban spaces and foster interaction be-
tween them, the mobility and infrastructure systems
must be possible across the whole urban territory.
The proposed reconstruction process extends the
notion of network. In fact, “the network constructs
a parallel reality which holds together the Archipel-
ago”3, literally abandoning what used to be the “inte-
grated territory”.
Before the war, Aleppo was a city that was mainly

divided in two parts. Now the city is even more frag-
mented. The city expansion after the colonial period
— 23 —
4 — Looking at recent has moved west. The urban interventions, under and
maps of the destroyed
parts of Aleppo, you can after the French Mandate, along with the recent rapid
see how the informal growth of the planned compounds of the western
settlements have been
heavily affected. This part of the city, have redefined the positional value of
part of the city is a its historic centre. The test projects developed dur-
spatial expression of a
geographical area.
ing the workshop started with an expanded agenda
for public infrastructure, services, housing, religious
building, and converged with the realities of how the

city is occupied.
The proposed development zones are juxtaposed

against a backdrop of grid-based concrete “pixel”
towers that currently spread across the western
part of the city. The southern and eastern parts of
the city are mainly defined by “informal settlements”,
creating a sort of “parallel city”. This part of the city
has been heavily affected by the war, showing us the
“geography of the war”4 and the potential for read-
dressing the development into a more defined urban
environment.
To ensure the success of any effort in rebuilding

the city and accommodating the displaced people,
Aleppo must be re-oriented. Spaces of participa-
tion and identification need to be distributed so that
those living outside of the old neighbourhoods are
not penalised as peripheral. At the same time, the
variety of spaces provided need to be expanded
in order to include those excluded from the formal
economy. Finally, transportation is needed in order
to provide continuity and movement between the dif-
ferent parts. Along the trajectory of the two new ring-
like transit lines, we selected a number of sites from
the areas that are currently vacant, lacking definition,
or in need of being reconceived. We proposed trans-
forming each site into a dense system of living and
working spaces. These would be organised around
— 24 —
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large open common rooms-multipurpose collective 5 — More than 16,000

individual buildings,
spaces to be used for daily market activities as well mostly with enclosed
as public events. The architecture is based upon courtyards, go along
with the residential
Aleppo archetypes – courtyards, porticos, walls, and quarter structures
enclosed gardens – with shared universal values: el- characterised by closed
off dead-end alleys. This
ements that formally define public and private build- historic old city, with its
ings. In fact, the entirety of family life is organised 360 square hectares and
around the space of the courtyard, which is isolated 100,000 inhabitants at
the centre of a metropo-
from the street and provides privacy, safety, and good lis of two million people,
climate in all seasons. Each courtyard is used differ- has been affected by
great social and eco-
ently by each family, according to habits, beliefs, and nomic changes in the
economic status. The same is true for the courtyard past few years. A great
part of the traditional
of mosques5. quarters has become
the residential area of
the poorer classes of
This generic architecture, however, would be struc- the population.
tured by an urban form and spatial composition that
serve as the real catalysts for the transformation 6 — See the definitions
by L. de Cauter, Com-
of the status quo into something more specific. mon Places: Preliminary
Reconsidering the sense of community and intro- Notes on the (Spatial)
Commons, <http://com-
ducing the notion of “common”6, our series of test munity.dewereldmorgen.
projects put forward an alternative approach in be/blogs/lievende-
cauter/2013/10/14/
conceiving primary services and housing. Instead common-places-pre-
of merely being a place of shelter detached from liminary-notes-spatial-
commons>.
the condition of production and cooperation, we in-
troduced a system of common spaces as the place
where different modes of living and working could
be facilitated. Our ideas about the importance of
location, mobility, and the spatial character of the
living conditions, are illustrated through projects
with a unitary architectural approach. By designing
concrete proposals, we have tried to convey the po-
tential quality of an innovative agenda. As a result,
the new urban islands connected by a new infrastruc-
tural network define a comprehensive experience of
the city, re-establishing a balance between the east-
ern and western part of the city with primary services
that the city lacks of today.
— 25 —
7 — The Archipelago The general project for Aleppo would become a punc-
as metaphor of the
new spatial order. See tual and pro-active intervention, able to stimulate
Lieven De Cauter, “The positive urban transformation. In these test projects,
Capsular Civilization:
On the City in the Age we made an argument by means of the architectural
of Fear” (Reflect No. 3), representation of space, namely “urban rooms” or
NAI Publisher, 2004.
“common courtyards”. By emphasising the spatial
impact of the proposal, instead of relying on facts
and figures, we tried to shift the discussion away

from the reconstruction cliché (rebuilding things as
they were before), towards the social value of com-
mon infrastructures and civic space. Our world has
become an Archipelago of connected islands in a
ubiquitous periphery7.
— 26 —
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B ibliograph y
—
AA.VV., “Architecture of Peace Reloaded”, in Volume n.40, Archis, 2014#2.
Bottici C., Challand B., “The Myth of the Clash of Civilizations”. Rout-
ledge, London, 2010.
Coward M., “Urbicide: The Politics of Urban Destruction”, Routledge,
London, 2008.
David J.C., “La formation du tissu de la ville Arabo-islamique; rapport de
l’etude des plans cadas-traux d’Alep”, Environmental Design 13-14, 1993.
De Cauter L., “Architecture and disaster: the spatial order of a dualized
world”, Reader Berlage Institute, 2011.
Dehaene M., De Cauter L., “Heterotopia and the City: Public Space in a
Postcivil Society”, Routledge, London, 2008.
Flint C.(Editor), “The Geography of War and Peace: From Death Camps to
Diplomats”, Oxford University Press, USA, 2004.
— 27 —
ATLAS
Aleppo
Transformation
Landscape
Architecture
Society
UNL AB
— 29 —
— 30 —
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— Aleppo Archipelago,
The rings system are
established as a transit
mechanism. A series
of interventions along
them serve to reinforce
the new urban hierarchy
in accordance with the
other urban clusters
attempting to define an
archipelago of dense
urban artefacts.

— O.M.Ungers. Berlin
as a Green Archipelago,
1977.The project was
based upon the process
of Berlin de-population.
“Berlin as Green
Archipelago” can be
regarded as an example
of a political and formal
interpretation of the city.
— Luigi Ghirri (ATLAS).

Ghirri tells us in his 1973
essay Atlas: “An atlas is
the book, a place where
all the features of the
Earth, from the natural
to the cultural, are con-
veniently represented:
mountains, lakes, pyra-
mids, oceans, villages,
stars and islands. In this
expanse of words and
descriptions, we might
locate the place where
we live, or where we
want to go, and the path
to follow”.
— 31 —
— 32 —
UNL AB
— Aleppo Archipelago,
New Urban Islands
(NUI). The logic, visibly
the airport framed by
a low structure will be
a major pole in the est
side of Aleppo.

— Aleppo archetypes:
the “Portico” - canopy
closes the view upwards
and opens it laterally.
— Archetypes in Aleppo:
the wall closes the
lateral view and opens it
to the sky.
— 33 —
— 34 —
UNL AB
— Exploded axonometry
of the new stations. Every
station is functioning as
a specific hub. They will
host different functions
and activities: healthcare
centres, commercial
areas, markets, housing,
offices, schools. All of
them are linked to the
light rail infrastructures
and to the surroundings,
acting as centralities for
the neighbourhoods.

— Detailed exploded axo-
nometry of two stations
along the rings.
— On the following pages.

Model of the Aleppo air-
port city. The airport will
act as a counter centrality
of the “citadel” in the est
side of the city. The frame
around the lending strip
has been conceived as a
city, combining multiple
urban functions in one
structure able to create a
city-district with unique
identities and a strong
visual identity.
Drawing of the proposed
Aleppo airport city.
— 35 —
— 36 —
UNL AB
— 37 —
— 38 —
UNL AB
— Exploded axonom-
etry of the new public
buildings and public
urban rooms. These are
distributed in specific
areas with specific func-
tions: civic centers, local
municipal offices, social
housing, NGO’s and
educational centers, po-
litical laboratories, sport
facilities, community
services. Each of them
has an enclosed green
space with recreational
and sport activities.

of the new administra-
tive and civic center.
— 39 —
— 40 —
UNL AB
— View from the
encircled plaza within
the forum. The common
square will act as a
representative political
stage; the space of
encounters.
— Fragment of Aleppo
Archipelago top view.
Location of the Forum
(circular building) and
other public buildings in
the vicinity.

— Partial view of the
Forum.
— On the folowing pages.

Al-Madina Souq and
the Citadel. The Souq
project consists of a
proposal for the recon-
struction of the urban
pattern based on the
grid system defined by
the reading of its micro
dimention. The Citadel
has been coinvived
as an archeological/
memorial and green
park. A network of
public spaces, gardens
and plazas will stretch
across the site.
— 41 —
— 42 —
UNL AB
— 43 —
Cities are
places of
cohabitation,
where we
share the
needs of
living as part
of an enlarged
community.
UNL AB
— 45 —
— 46 —
UNL AB
of the covered plaza. the
module used is 10x10 m.
that is based on the
elemental module of
the Souq (5x5 m.). The
same size has been
used for the three distri-
bution in the Citadel.
— Fragment of the 18th

century Map of Rome
by Giambattista Nolli
(1748).
— Drawing depicting the

covered plaza (crossed
arches) between the
Souq and the Citadel
park. The structure will
be built reusing the
material of the previous
building. Frontal view
along the main axis of
Souq.

— 47 —
— 48 —
UNL AB
— Perspective drawing
depicting the urban
room between the two
east-west axis of the
Souq. The arcade opens
up the lateral view pro-
viding a space of “tem-
porary permanence”.
The water and palm
threes are the common
natural elements of the
islamic gardens.
— Exploded and frontal

axonometry of the urban
room between the two
covered plazas. It func-
tion as a urban thresh-
old and a permeable
garden. A transitional
space defined by a
portico absorbing the
north-south axis high-
lighted by a different
size of arches.
— 49 —
— 50 —
UNL AB
depicting the Citadel
Park. The strategy has
been based on two ele-
ments: one restoring the
remaining buildings and
reusing the holes as the
result of the Citadel mas-
sive destruction; two, the
definition of a plateau
of threes as a natural
oasis in the center of the
city. The grid resulting
from the extension of
the Souq architecture
creates a landscape of
micro-squares in which
a variety of conditions
can be activated (both
outside and inside the
restored buildings). The
grid does not just ex-
presses the urban design
aspect but also refers to
the scientific monitoring
standards in biology. A
system of walkways will
lead the visitor through
the park, sometimes
elevated, sometimes
lowered within the holes
bringing the eye of the
visitor to ground level.
— Drawing depicting
Aleppo Citadel Park.
— 51 —
— 52 —
UNL AB
— Night view drawing
of Umayyad Mosque of
Aleppo.
— Selection of destroyed
minarets.

— Internal perspective
view of the Umayyad
Mosque of Aleppo. The
corner and the minaret
are new parts (white).
The logic follows the
principal to rebuild the
damaged parts using
glass as a recognisable
intervention and at the
same time opening
the view to the interior
courtyard.
— 53 —
— 54 —
UNL AB
of three different types
of patio houses.
— Plan view of the pro-

posed patio houses in
“Hanano” neighborhood.
(North-east side).
— 55 —
— 56 —
UNL AB
— 57 —
What is
“common”
will be
one of
the most
important
struggles
of the 21st
century.
UNL AB
— 59 —
— 60 —
UNL AB
And reas Faoro

— Rotterdam, The Nederland
Andreas Faoro is an architect and urban planner. Af-

ter graduating from Università Iuav di Venezia, he ob-
tained a Postgraduate Master degree in Architecture
and Urbanism at the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam.
His theoretical and practical work focuses on the
relationship between, politics, economy, and large-
scale urban design, exploring the disputed, conflict-
ing, and often paradoxical transformation of cities
and urban environments.
Since 2003, Andreas has been collaborating with

different international architecture offices (Stefano
Boeri Architetti, Fritz van Dongen, Christophe Cornu-
bert - PUSHLA, IND, and Winy Mass at the Why Fac-
tory in Delft). In 2004, he established UNLAB (UrbaN
Landscape Architecture Bureau), an international ar-
chitecture office based in Rotterdam. Along with his
professional activity, he has experience in teaching
architecture and urban design programmes in differ-
ent universities and cultural Institutions.
Along with design projects, he is engaged in writing,

research, and offering consultancies to municipali-
ties and agencies concerned with urban planning and
architectural issues. He has been the team leader of
different projects and competitions, and recently co-
ordinated the new Master Plan of Tirana (approved in
April 2017 by the Albanian National Council). He has
won important international competitions, exhibiting
his work worldwide.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Marlinda Tafaj
Born in Tirana, Albania, Marlinda Tafaj studied at the Poly-
technic University of Tirana, where she obtained her mas-
ter degree in Architecture in 2008. In 2010, she moved to

Paris to carry on her studies, gaining a post-master degree
in Projet Urbain et Metropolisation at the Ecole National
Superieure d’Architecture de Paris la Villette in 2012. Back
in Tirana since 2012, she started her academic activity at
the Albanian University teaching Urban Planning. Since
then, she has worked as urban planner at the Municipality
of Tirana. As a licensed architect and urban planner, she
continuously works and collaborates with private and pub-
lic institutions and architectural offices as a freelance ar-
chitect, and recently as part of the UNLAB office in Tirana.
— 62 —
UNL AB
Stud ents
—
Patric Battisti Alessandra Peroni
Andrea Belloni Alexander Regno
Enrico Bettin Francesca Rossi
Donia Bizgan Elena Rossi
Riccardo Giovanni Boccato Livia Sassudelli
Gabriel Salomon Calderon Bravo Leonardo Schiavo
Tomas Hector Calvo Canevaro Marta Sette
Edgardo A. M. Cancino Araneda Giammetta Sharon
Nicola Cappelletto Giukia Strippoli
Federico Ceccarello Antonella Tiscorina
Tommaso Cestaro Francesco Todeschini
Collisi Clemens Elena Vazzeoler
Marta Colcone Maddalena Venturini
Filippo Dallago Vittoria Vesentini
Giulio Dalle Vedove Marco Viel
Perla De Caro Marco Zaccarato
Alberto De Pieri Ilaria Zennaro
Mattias Deon Aleksandar Zlatanovic
Batiston Eliana
Giacomo Femetto
Filippo Ferro
Giacomo Frison
Leonardo Giacon
Romanato Giulia
Jana Haidar
Alessandro Lanna
Francesco Luise
Damiano Marin
Benjamin Massai Del Real
Alessia Michelin
Masa Mori
Alberto Parolin
Marta Jesus Perelez Lopez
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB / How Can We Turn Aleppo’s Conflicting Narratives Into Strategies To Build The Common?
VMX Architects


— SHAHBA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
FROM BLACK
TO LIGHT.
HOW DO YOU
RECONSTRUCT
A MEMORY?
— SHAHBA / 36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
FROM BLACK
TO LIGHT.
HOW DO YOU
RECONSTRUCT
A MEMORY?
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017

From Black To Light. How Do You Reconstruct A Memory?

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Shahba
19 Introd uction
21 From black to l i g ht.

How d o you reconstr uc t a m e m or y?
26 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
João Ventura Tr indade
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
F R O M B L A C K T O L I G H T. H O W D O Y O U R E C O N S T R U C T A M E M O R Y ?
— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
elles, 1842, p.2.


— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan
Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
SHAHBA
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E
Population
2004 14,784
2017 NA
Description
Shahba is a town located 87 km south of Damascus, in the Hauran re-
gion. It was formerly called Philippopolis, in the name of the emperor,
and it was the capital of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea. The new
city followed the extremely regular Roman grid-plan, with the main col-
onnaded Cardo maximus intersecting a colonnaded Decumanus maxi-
mus at a right angle near the centre.
— 11 —
0 5 km
to Damascus
Shaqqa
SHAHBA
to As Suwayda
to As Suwayda
0 1 km
to Damascus
SHAHBA
— 16 —
— Shahba was not physi-

cally affected by the
conflict, but it has been
subject to rapid changes
been abandoned, and
the infrastructure of the
city has been neglected.
Many displaced people
from the surrounding
area have reached
Shahba. Densification
affected the historical
aspect and the structure
of the city.
— 17 —
In trod uction
—
Andrea Castellani
The city of Shahba, located in southern Syria, was

not directly affected by the war and has not suffered
any physical damage so far. In the general context
of the country, this particular condition has strongly
influenced the choices, processes, and actions of the
W.A.Ve. workshop.
We did not look at the war scenario from the war

front but from the war “rear”: we focused on the city
of Shahba from its backward position. The site was
not destroyed by the brutality of bombs, but by the
violent alteration of the social life that caused gen-
eral carelessness and abandonment.
During the three weeks of the workshop, we ana-

lysed the elements that define the material and non-
material values of this area, identifying representa-
tive parts for the future of the city: these elements,
if enhanced, may be able to rebuild or consolidate
the memory of the city after the destructive course
of the war.
The Roman structure of the city, and the presence of

Roman ruins in the area, falling in degradation and
abandonment, turned out as the best opportunity for
the definition of new public spaces designed for the
future of the city. The reactivation of historical civic
spaces has a strong identity value, bringing collec-
tive spaces back to the core of social repair after the
occurring traumatic. This could answer the question:
how do you reconstruct a memory? Operations on
historical ruins are also operations on infrastruc-
— 19 —
tures: re-activation of water systems, covering public
spaces to help with the climate conditions or to ac-
commodate local markets and more.
We developed five projects, each related to the Ro-

man structure of the city: Teatro, Templi, Terme, Cinta
Muraria, Vulcano (Theatre, Temples, Thermal baths,
Walls, Volcano).
Teatro, Templi, Terme, worked on ruins raised on car-

do maximus and decumanus maximus, realising new
public spaces; Cinta Muraria developed the Roman
walls transforming them into an aqueduct; Vulcano
took advantage of the necessity of a water tank to
define a new landmark structure on top of the vol-
canic hill just outside the city.
— 20 —
From black to lig h t.

How d o you rec on s tr u c t a m em or y ?
—
João Maria Vent ura Tr ind a d e
Destruction / Erosion
War is a violent way of accelerating the “ruin process”

of a building, city, or society, when compared to the
slow process of time, a smoother erosion.
War destroys the bonds on which the structure of a

society rests, but violence sometimes also creates,
in contradiction, a strengthening of group, a cohesion
and solidarity among people. Violence is often the re-
sult of a too speedy process of urbanisation of a soci-
ety, of building a common everyday life, in which it is
not possible to dilute in time the shock of the arrival
of something different, or the withdrawal from some-
thing that has always been regular. There is a form
of natural violence resulting from a similar process
of removal or confrontation: between tectonic plates
and continents that once formed a single territory and,
over time, diverge or approach each other.
There are, therefore, slow forms of destruction – by ero-

sion – and rapid forms of destruction – by violence. The
shape of a building ruined by time is not very different
from one ruined war, or by earthquake or volcano erup-
tion. But it is slower and certainly less violent. We often
say that violence is the dark black side of society. Black
is the colour of mourning in many cultures. Many reli-
gions associate black with hell and white with heavenly
(perhaps architects should not wear black so often). The
white flag announces truces in a war. Medical gowns and
Papal robes are white, which is a way of announcing their
— 21 —
aseptic cleanliness or their heavenly purity. The territory
of southern Syria barely suffered the physical violence
of war. Its black and dry landscape is punctuated by the
presence of several volcanoes, which emerged from the
plain non-violent natural processes. Ironically, this part of
the country that has been most subject to the violence of
nature was spared the physical destruction of war.
In arabic, Shahba means “black and white”.
In Shahba-Phillipopolis, in the extreme south of Syria,

the origin of the name probably refers to the contrast be-
tween the black volcanic earth and the white blanket of
snow that covers it in the winter. Allepo in the north, how-
ever, is also called with the same name of Shahba some-
times, for the presence of its famous white limestone.
War front / War rear
In a country at war, not being on the front line does

not mean being absent from conflict. It means suf-
fering from a different kind of violence. Images and
news of the war are spread profusely and insistently
via television broadcasts. What happens behind the
war front is a different form of violence, certainly
less noisy, but no less corrosive.
Shahba, like other cities in southern Syria, has un-

dergone migratory processes that have altered the
physiognomy of its society, sending many of its young
people to the war front (even if many leave in order
to avoid recruitment) and receiving countless people
fleeing from it. The result of this back-war situation is
a sudden and disorderly growth of the urban structure
of the city, and the emergence of social conflicts be-
tween people forced into a coexistence that they did
not want and did not have time to adapt for.
— 22 —
Desert / Geometry
The city, founded by Phillipe the Arab in 244 BC, was

drawn on a green oasis in the middle of the black de-
sert between Damascus and As-Suwayda.
In a vast and exposed territory, a Roman city was de-

signed on a structure of two perpendicular axes (Car-
do massimus and Decumanus massimo) oriented n/s
and w/e respectively. These axes were inscribed in
a walled border with 1,000 x 750 m approx., within
which a rectangular grid of blocks, hierarchised from
the central cross, is inscribed. It is in this central
zone that the main public buildings of the city – like
the Forum, Theatre, Temples, and Thermal Baths –
are located. The Roman system of urban organisa-
tion also includes the fundamental infrastructure
elements, established from the same orthogonal
geometry, which are – in the case of Shahba, a city
in the middle of the desert – a collection of architec-
tonic spaces to collect, conduct, and store water.
With the death of Phillipe the Arab, just 5 years after the
foundation of the city, Shahba began a slow physical
and demographic decline that only migrations caused
by war in other areas came to reverse. The Roman
structures were abandoned (or simply not welcome
anymore) and became ruins, debris, and raw material
for the construction of new houses. There is only one
cadastral record of the old aqueduct implantation, car-
rying water from the southeast to the city and Thermal
Baths. The old stone shells excavated in the ground
were deactivated after the construction of a dam near
the town centre, probably because the water storage
was insufficient for the growing population. The old
wall included an upper channel that received water
from the aqueduct, distributing it to the entire city.
— 23 —
Even though the city centre was not fully occupied per
se, more than half of the wall was destroyed to make
room for new constructions spreading out along the
agricultural land. The same happened along the road
to Damascus, on the north side. The Roman system
that allowed to organise a city in a time frame of 20
centuries was abandoned. Today, nothing organises
the growth of Shahba in the desert anymore.
Public space / Infrastructure
We propose to recover the old civic spaces of the city,

which are mostly Roman remains. With this, we aim to
promote the resurgence of collective every day social
activities, against a global trend of growing individual-
ity. The reconstruction we propose regards the social
structure of this city more than of the buildings them-
selves. It seems to us that this is the emergency in the
practice of reconstruction.
We are interested in ruins as a possibile starting point

for the building of a future, and not just a way of looking
at the past. We need to look at ruins as a continuous
process of events, not a crystallised moment in time.
Just like an archaeologist, we do not focus on the con-

templation of a finding, but we try to reconstruct its origi-
nal state and “design” in order to understand its function
and consequently reconstruct the piece as a whole, al-
lowing us to perceive the various layers of History and
the interventions that have been done. But, above all,
we recover the ruins from their lethargic state, giving it a
new opportunity. Our process is also similar to the Japa-
nese art of Kitsugi, in which a broken object is recon-
structed using a bonding material that makes the object
more valuable than its original undamaged self, because
it now also incorporates the history of its destruction.
— 24 —
Thus, others spaces are added to the existing ruins,

completing their form, altering or updating their func-
tion. Parts of these added “prosthetics” are completed
in a white Mediterranean limestone. It is a pragmatic
operation, putting fallen stones back in their place and
completing the missing parts. An essential operation
that simply allows the reuse of spaces, without pre-
tending to restore any historical truth.
Consolidating only what is necessary to stop or re-
verse the ruin process, without meaning to restore
the original form. It is not a nostalgic attitude toward
the past. It is a matter of “burying the dead and car-
ing for the living” (as said the Marquis of Pombal,
leading the reconstruction process of Lisbon after
the 1755 earthquake). Once the ruins are stabilised,
another layer is introduced, creating covered spaces
to protect the ruins; spaces that are for public pur-
poses and that mitigate atmospheric factors. The
creation of a cover on an archaeological site is in-
tended for protection but also, and above all, for the
creation of spaces for encounters and multiple so-
cial common uses.
The operation also greatly helps with the mitigation

of climate conditions, allowing for the introduction of
vegetation (the first form of life that resurfaces after
a catastrophe), while at the same time recovering the
oasis atmosphere at the base of the city’s creation.
War seems less viable in a space full of flowers (the
revolution in Portugal was done by putting flowers in
gun barrels instead of bullets).
We are proposing infrastructural common spaces,

common ceilings. Something “in between”, medi-
ating the past and the future of Shahba. Between
black and light.
— 25 —
In Arabic,
Shahba
means
“black and
white”.
— 27 —
— 28 —
— View from above

of the black and dry
landscape and the city
of Shahba. The picture
was taken by Eyad Nofal
a local photographer.
— 29 —
— 30 —
— Women wearing
traditional clothing of
druze community.
— Local construc-
tion made with black
volcanic earth, covered
in winter snow.
— Detail of a Roman
wall.
— 31 —
— 32 —
— 33 —
The name Shahba
probably refers
to the contrast
between the
black volcanic
earth and the
white blanket of
snow that covers
it in the winter.
— 35 —
— Thermae ruins.
— 36 —
— 37 —
— 38 —
Teatro
Axonometry and picture
of the model.

— Teatro ruins. Credit
Eyad Nofal.
— 39 —
There are
two forms
of destruction:
a slow one
by erosion,
and
a rapid one
by violence.
— 41 —
— 42 —
Vulcano
Axonometry, photomon-
tage and picture of the
model.
— 43 —
— 44 —
— 45 —
— 46 —
— 47 —
Templi
of the model.
Axonometry and picture
— 48 —
— 49 —
— 50 —
— 51 —
Cinta Muraria
Plan and model.
— Roman wall ruins.
— 52 —
— 53 —
— 54 —
— 55 —
Terme
tage and model.

Axonometry, photomon-
— 56 —
— 57 —
We are
proposing
infrastructural
spaces.
Something
“in between”,
mediating
the past and
the future.
— 59 —
— 60 —
J oão Maria Ven tu ra Tr in da de

— Lisbon, Portugal
He graduated in Architecture at ESBAL/FAUTL, Lis-

bon, Portugal (1995). Between 1993 and 2002, he
collaborated at João Luís Carrilho da Graça ́s office,
in Lisbon, and as coordinator of the studio from 1998.
Teacher of Architecture at Faculdade de Arquitectura –

Lusíada’s University of Lisbon, between 1998 and 2009;
at Evora’s University from 2009; at the Escuela Superior
de Arquitectura y Tecnologia, Madrid - Spain in 2011; at
ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon from 2015.
Guest-Teacher in seminars, workshops, and juries

at Accademia di Archittetura di Mendrisio, Politec-
nico di Milano, Università Iuav di Venezia, Universitá
degli Studi di Trieste, Universitá degli Studi di Reg-
gio Calabria, Laboratorio di Architettura di Mantova,
Universitá degli Studi di Firenze, and in some other
portuguese and foreign institutions of architecture.
Between 2003 and 2004, he was a consultant for the

Portuguese Ministry of Environment, responsible for
managing the key projects for the Programa Polis,
in the framework of which the pedestrian bridges of
Coimbra (Cecil Balmond/ Adão da Fonseca), Covilhã
(Carrilho da Graça/ Adão da Fonseca) were built,
among other projects.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Andrea Castellani
After graduating from Università Iuav di Venezia in 2010,
he had different professional experiences in Paraguay,
Brasil, and Portugal. Since 2009, he has been collaborat-

ing in the academic activities of Iuav and of the Politec-
nico di Milano, participating in several workshops and
exhibitions. In 2014, he co-founded CLAB architettura,
based in Verona.
Ana Pedro
She graduated from Évora University and Politecnico di
Milano. Between 2012 and 2015, she collaborated as as-
sistant and guest professor at Évora University, and worked
several years in Ventura Trindade Architects. In 2015, she
co-founded Pontoatelier with Pedro Ribeiro, based in Fun-
chal (Madeira Island). She recently won the 1st prize for the
competition Duas casas para as ilhas Selvagens, Madeira.
Pedro Ribeiro
He graduated from Évora University and Politecnico di
Milano. Between 2012 and 2015, he collaborated as as-
sistant and guest professor at Évora University, and worked
several years in Ventura Trindade Architects. In 2015, he
co-founded Pontoatelier with Ana Ferreira, based in Funchal
(Madeira Island). He recently won the 1st prize for the com-
petition Duas casas para as ilhas Selvagens, Madeira.
— 62 —
Stud ents
—
Federica Bernardi Lorenzo Vaccari

Elena Bit Giovanni Valentini
Roberto Bonamin Samantha Veneziano
Enrico Breggion Susen Veronese
Valentina Ciancaglini Chiara Zagallo
Diletta De Bortoli Marika Zanella
Eleonora Dolonato Tommaso Zarpellon
Michele Ferracin
Giovanni Gambarotto
Giulio Giannico
Johanna Hofmann
Aida Koni
Paolo Longo
Farina Ludovica
Filippo Lunardelli
Irene Magrin
Davide Mattarolo
Giorgia Maule
Annamaria Mazzi
Cesare Mazzocato
Marta Murru
Elena Noventa
Vanessa Paccagnella
Daniele Panozzo
Giulia Pecoraro
Emilly Pereira Maciel
Anna Rinaldi
Valentina Savella
Martina Semenzato
Valeria Simonini
Mina Spasojevic
Sabrina Strangio
Elisabetta Toso
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
João Ventura Trindade / From Black To Light. How Do You Reconstruct A Memory?
VMX Architects

VMX Architects
— AL MEZZEH / 33°29’18”N 36°14’40”E
HOW TO
(RE)BUILD
A COMMUNITY?
ANYWHERE OR
SOMEWHERE
VMX Architects
— AL MEZZEH / 33°29’18”N 36°14’40”E
HOW TO
(RE)BUILD
A COMMUNITY?
ANYWHERE OR
SOMEWHERE
Sponsored by:

W.A.Ve. 2017
VMX Architects
How To (Re)Build A Community? Anywhere Or Somewhere

Published by
Co-published with

Luca Pilot
Copyright

CONTENTS
5 W.A.Ve. 2017
10 Al Mezzeh
19 Introd uction
22 Und erstand ing the i nvi si b l e

consequences of confli c t
30 The workshop
60 Colophon
— 4 —
V M X Architects
W.A .Ve. 201 7

—
Al ber to Ferlenga
HOW TO (RE)BUILD A COMMUNITY? ANYWHERE OR SOMEWHERE

— 5 —
—
Benno Albrecht




— 6 —
V M X Architects
elles, 1842, p.2.



— 7 —
—
KOBANE
ALEPPO
AL BAWABIYA RAQQA
TA’UM
NAHLAYA ARIHA
LATAKIA
HAMA
KAFR BUHUM
TARTUS
PALMYRA
BEIRUT
MA’LŪLĀ
DAMASCUS
DARAYYA AL MEZZEH
DOUMA
JARAMANA
QABOUN
SAROUJA
SHAHBA
AMMAN
— 8 —
V M X Architects
W. A . Ve. 2 0 1 7
—
ALEPPO NAHLAYA
Fernanda De Maio
Paredes y Pedrosa
PALMYRA
Roberta Albiero
UNLAB
Gaeta Springall
Camillo Magni
Architects
Attilio Santi
Sinan Hassan

Damascus
AL MEZZEH Damascus
MOSUL VMXarchitetti
QABOUN
TAMassociati
ARIHA
Plan Colletif
RAQQA
Giancarlo Mazzanti
AL BAWABIYA
Felipe Assadi
Damascus
SAROUJA
Aldo Aymonino
SHAHBA
Damascus
DOUMA
Antonella Gallo
BAGHDAD HAMA
Ammar Khammash
Damascus
JARAMANA
Ciro Pirondi
KOBANE
Ricardo Carvalho
MA’LŪLĀ
Salma Samar Damluji
— 9 —
V M X Architects
AL MEZZEH
36°01’31’’ N 36°89’12’’ E

Population
2004 123,313
2017 NA
Description
Al Mezzeh is a municipality in Damascus west of Kafr Sousa. It lies
southwest of central Damascus, along the Mezzeh highway. The old
city dates back to the 6th century and some modern structures were
planned and built during the French mandate. The actual development
of the modernist suburb, though, started after Syria became independ-
ent in 1958. Today, the city has a mixed character: there is a planned
area inhabited by high-income and middle-income groups, and there
are rural areas around it hosting immigration and refugees, who con-
struct illegal housing.
— 11 —
DAMASCUS
Al Mezzeh
0 5 km
Mount Qudssaya
Al Mezzeh
to Beirut
0 1 km
Umayyin Square
— 16 —
V M X Architects
— According to HRW’s
satellite images, a
total of 41.6 hectares
of buildings was de-
molished around the Al
Mezzeh military airport,
mainly between Decem-
ber 2012 and July 2013.
In September 2012,
the Syrian president
issued a presidential
decree authorising the
construction of two
urban planning areas
within the governorate

of Damascus, as part
of a “general plan for
the city of Damascus
to develop the areas of
unauthorised residential
housing”. The first
area is situated in the
southeast of Al Mezzeh,
encompassing the
real estate depart-
ments of Al Mezzeh
and Kafarsouseh. The
second extends south,
encompassing the de-
partments of Al Mezzeh,
Kafarsouseh, Qanawat,
Basateen, Darayya and
Qadam.
— 17 —
V M X Architects
In trod uction
—
Maar ten Kempenaa r, D o n Mur phy
Conflict
War is a horrific thing. Thinking about reconstruction,

or the rebuilding of an area of conflict is extremely
relevant. But to do it in a genuine way, with a group of

1st to 3rd year students from western societies, in only
3 weeks is almost impossible.
Rebuilding starts with understanding
Therefore, we decided to start our research with a

personal and emotional understanding of conflict.
Because a conflict, like the one taking place in Syria,
is extensively covered by various media. This media
provides us, in the west, with different perspectives,
but not always a better understanding. Television, in-
terviews, documentaries, pictures, and social media
visualise and interpret the area of conflict for us, but
what do we really know? How does the war, in all its
dimensions, influence the people and communities of
Syria? Real understanding is emotional and personal.
Students and tutors were forced to look into a mirror.
What would you take with you when you are forced to
flee your home? What do your loved ones – mothers,
fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents and friends –
take? And how is it for the Syrian people that had to,
and still have to, deal with the reality of the conflict?
Students then had to move from the emotional as-

pects to the one of built environment. First their
own cities, villages, squares and balconies. Places
they relate to. To imagine your own city demolished,
— 19 —
would you go or stay? What is it that you value so
much that you are willing to continue living for to
get it back? Family, dignity, individuality, love, work,
pride, memory: it is these values that should be at
the core or rebuilding a community.
Approach to Al Mezzeh, Damascus

Al Mezzeh is a modern and successful area of Damas-

cus. Wealthier layers of society live here in formal and
private developments, side by side with informal areas
and historic agricultural plots with low-density hous-
ing. Al Mezzeh is growing rapidly, but for whom?
The conflict has left Al Mezzeh affected and unaffect-

ed at the same time. The built environment has little to
no physical war damage and can be considered a safe
haven. But there are other consequences of conflict:
the loss of memories, rapid urban growth, increasing
segregation, migration, changing social structures,
the loss of trust, economic uncertainty, and an unclear
and short-term perspective for the future.
How can we re-act on these consequences in a strategic

way? Can we harvest positive change by smart and in-
clusive urban implementations? Conflict promotes seg-
regation and divide but we also believe, however harsh
it may sound, that every conflict also opens up possibili-
ties for positive change. The approach was to find this
positive change within the built environment and com-
munities of Al Mezzeh and use it to transform it from a
place of divide into a place of refuge and inclusion.
Strategy
Contrary to a masterplan, we proposed a strategy

of fragments: a sort of “acupuncture” that exempli-
— 20 —
V M X Architects
fies positive change and fosters development driven

by people and communities. All strategies are about
inclusion, including universal human values, like pub-
lic life, trust, forgotten groups, economy, individual-
ity, free-choice, self-support, memories, and dignity.
These values were defined by the students during
their initial exercise of personal and emotional un-
derstanding and were juxtaposed upon the specific
area of our research: rebuilding the communal iden-
tity of the safe haven of Al Mezzeh, Damascus.

Goal
The goal was not to develop a plan for the area, but
rather to come up with appropriate tools; so that if
you were to develop the area, the tools would en-
able you to rebuild in an inclusive way, addressing
the community: tools can that operate on any area
affected by war with the focus of creating a “some-
where” and not an “anywhere”.
— 21 —
U n dersta n din g th e i n v i s i b l e
c on sequ e n c es o f c on f l i ct
—
Ma a r t en Kempena a r, D o n Mur ph y
1 — Popular expression,
author unknown.
Where to start?
How to rebuild a community by understanding.
Every project is personal. Every strategy or tool fo-

cused on the reconstruction of built environment
has an emotional layer. For u,s rebuilding a commu-
nity starts with understanding the community and
its people.
“To be able to write the city, one has to be able to read

it first”.1
In order to develop valuable tools and strategies for

Al Mezzeh, Damascus, we have to put ourselves in
the situation. How can we understand the feeling of
loss? How does memory play a role? And how can
we develop tools to think about rebuilding parts of
Al Mezzeh, parts of Syria, and parts of other areas
affected by conflict.
Where to start as architects and urban thinkers?

Tools, strategies, and scales to rebuild a community.
For us, as architects and urban thinkers, building

always relates to people and communities. There-
fore, the personal and emotional understanding is
the right point of departure for every project. But
there is more. We believe that in every country,
context, or region, the specificity of its historical
layers is vital in reconstruction and rebuilding.
With these tools, one can create a “somewhere”
and not an “anywhere”.
— 22 —
V M X Architects
Every region has a specific way of parcelling land: the

demarcation of urban and rural land. This forms an
important first tool for the development and rebuild-
ing of city areas.
Secondly, every area has a unique way in which the

urban block is composed: based on social conven-
tions, natural resources, and community structures.
And thirdly, there is the scale of a smaller nucleus or

floor plan: in every country, or local region, the floor
plan of a single home or group of houses finds its
origin in the historic development of this country and
the specific needs of its inhabitants. We believe that
these elements, all on a different scale – from city
to family, from public to community – should be the
architectural and urban tools that lead the rebuilding
process. It is extremely valuable for us as profes-
sionals to research these elements in depth and re-
define and translate their value into a contemporary
form and meaning.
What to do, and how to do it?

Relating strategies from our context to strategies for
rebuilding a community in Syria.
As architects and urban thinkers from the west,

we started by looking at examples from our own
context. What were the strategies that created the
Marshall-plan blueprint?
– The question of collectivity versus individuality in

society was of interest: in our view, the Marshall plan
was successful for many of reasons. Most impor-
tantly, it was developed in a time where society relied
more on the basis of collectivity, differently from to-
day’s more individual society.
— 23 —
– Top-down strategies and government trust: as a
consequence, this allowed for the Marshall plan to
be defined in a more rigid and top-down manner.
There was a high basis of trust in experts and politi-
cians; this, at the moment, is not the case. In a larger
spectrum, one could argue that top-down governing
was a useful strategy to move from industrialisation
towards post-industrialisation.
– The approach relating to the type of transition that

will take place: we question if a similar top-down plan-
ning approach is the right answer for the current tran-
sition that has to be made; in essence, this is a differ-
ent transition, as Syria, the region and its people, is (or
was) already well developed before the conflict.
– The influence of time and a sense of belonging: it

took a long time for the Marshall plan to become ef-
fective. Most importantly, in giving the people in Eu-
rope the feeling that they were part of the reconstruc-
tion process themselves. A sense of belonging takes
time to build but is key in the process of rebuilding.
While looking at the Marshall Plan, we believe that in

the current context of Syria different strategies can
prove to be more efficient:
– There is no time: inhabitants should directly be-

come part of the process of reconstruction. Their
involvement should be clearly present. The role of
people and community is vital.
– Syria as a country comes from a well-developed posi-

tion, meaning there is a different transition to be made.
This asks for a different approach and strategy; a hybrid
and flexible strategy, involving the small scale and mov-
ing away from the “Marshall Plan long term blueprint”.
— 24 —
V M X Architects
– We need a strategy that enhances the sense of a

collective society and, more importantly, gives way
to and framework for individuality. Accepting an im-
portant change that is undoubtedly taking place at
the moment.
Where to do it?
The community of Al Mezzeh, Damascus.
Al Mezzeh is a well-off neighbourhood of Damascus.

Modern and successful formal areas and new private
developments are growing rapidly. This is quickly
replacing informal neighbourhoods and historic ag-
ricultural plots with low-density housing.
The area is unaffected by the conflict. There is no vis-

ible or physical war damage and life carries on in an
even higher and more intense pace. But what is hap-
pening is that many Syrians from other areas come to
Al Mezzeh for housing, work, public life, and safety. Al
Mezzeh is a safe-haven within a country heavily affect-
ed by conflict. This has consequences on every level:
the existing, the historical, and the new. Not visible on
short-term, but clearly changing the built structure of
the neighbourhood and the life of inhabitants.
The conflict accelerates this change: the loss of

memories, rapid urban growth, increasing segrega-
tion, migration, changing social structures, the loss
of trust, economic uncertainty, and an unclear and
short-term perspective for the future. But we believe
that conflict can also accelerate positive change,
opening up new possibilities. The essence of the ap-
proach we chose is based on this. How can we re-act
on the less visible consequences of conflict, and de-
velop tools and strategies to harvest the opportuni-
ties of positive change?
— 25 —
A strategy of fragments, harvesting posi-
tive change
The safe haven of Al Mezzeh, Damascus.
With this in mind, we believe Al Mezzeh doesn’t need a

new large-scale master plan. In contrary, we propose a
strategy of fragments that touch important alterations
that take place in society and communities. These

alterations have an effect on the built urban environ-
ment, or (vice versa) are fuelled by the rapidly changing
built environment. The eight strategies we developed
for the safe haven of Al Mezzeh touch upon these is-
sues, taking into account social and community layers
as well as the built environment where life takes place.
A. Public life goes on!

Situated in a central area of Al Mezzeh where public
life takes place: food, shopping, religion, encounter,
shading, privacy. Public life goes on, and has even
greater importance during conflict. It gives people
perspective, hope, distraction, and happiness. How
can we accommodate this?
B. Trustnet: Trust me, I am your neighbour.

A zone where many different groups live close to
each other, but clearly separated. Conflict enlarges
segregation: rich, poor, conservative, liberal, govern-
ment supporter, or opposition. Re-building mutual
trust is essential. How can we rebuild trust in com-
munities? What are shared values? Can children, the
future generation, help us formulate an answer?
C. Double Density: If you don’t do it, who will? We

look at a high-end residential zone of Al Mezzeh.
Different typologies, built between the 50s and
70s, house the wealthy of Damascus. What can
the role of these areas be in the conflict? Can they
— 26 —
V M X Architects
accommodate the immigration influx? And how to

make it realistic? Can an increase of density also
be beneficial for the existing inhabitants? Can 1+1
make 3?
D. New hope: the future after demolition.

This is the only urban fragment close to Al Mezzeh
that suffered of large-scale physical demolition, di-
vided into a no-man’s land and a ghost city. Where
to re-build in order to make sure that demolition will

not affect the area again? How to deal with no-man’s
land and memory? How to motivate new people to
return and build the Syria of the future?
E. Food as a weapon.
Many areas of Al Mezzeh are historical areas of
agriculture and low-density housing. This is one of
them and it is subject to rapid change. This process
is taking place during the conflict and preventing
food production is used as a weapon by the govern-
ment towards its own people. Which tools can we
develop to revert this and use food as a weapon for
the people?
F. No man is an island – mutual economic benefit.

This is a central district in Al Mezzeh with large-
scale institutions. Refugees come to the central
park near the institutions and are continuously
pushed out. Can we strengthen their economic con-
tribution? Can work help rebuild life? Can they earn
their existence in this successful area by offering
small scale business?
G. The people’s plan: elements for a site specific

habitation.
This is an evicted area where a new masterplan is
devised. Demolition and displacement of existing
— 27 —
2 — Quote used by Iwan inhabitants has begun, but has slowed down due
Baan, in TED: ingenious
homes in unexpected to the conflict. The designed masterplan could be
places. anywhere. Can we invert this logic? Can we build
new neighbourhoods that reflect specific elements
of Syrian life, like climate, ownership, social struc-
tures, growth, and flexibility?
H. The Military: pride and understanding.

This is a military camp where soldiers live isolated,
near the military airport of Al Mezzeh. Soldiers seem
to be the least popular people in society. But they
come from all kinds of families: wealthy or poor, op-
position or government. Young Syrian men are forced
in the army, far away from their family and normal
life. Can we offer them a piece of normal life? Can
we offer them tools that help rebuild their pride and
develop an understanding of their role by society?
Conclusion
Communities are everywhere, and always somewhere.
Every strategy proposed for the eight fragments

is about inclusion, a sort of “acupuncture” that
exemplifies positive change and fosters develop-
ment driven by people and communities, including
universal human values like public life, trust, for-
gotten groups, economy, individuality, free-choice,
self-support, memories, and dignity. These values
are close to universal, although often expressed
in different nuances by the different cultures and
people we know. It is this balance between the
general and the specific that was very important
from the beginning of our research: the “anywhere”
or the “somewhere” of the built environment.
“There is a kind of sameness that is killing hu-

man joy”. 2
— 28 —
V M X Architects
The goal was not to develop a plan for the area,

but rather to come up with appropriate tools; tools
that in the future can become the key in rebuild-
ing communities after conflicts. Tools that can
also go beyond the specific area of Al Mezzeh.
Tools that will prove to be successful if they cre-
ate a “somewhere” and not an “anywhere”.
— 29 —
Public
life
goes on!
— 31 —
V M X Architects

— 32 —
V M X Architects
— Public life goes on.

Axonometric view and
visualisation of interven-
tion in public space.
— 33 —
— 34 —
— 35 —
V M X Architects

— 36 —
V M X Architects
— No man is an island.
Concept and impression
of strategy implemented
in urban area.
— No man is an island.
Research and analysis.
— 37 —
Trust me,
I am your
neighbour.
V M X Architects
— Trust in communities.
Examples of re-used ur-
ban spaces for children
in post-war Amsterdam
(Aldo van Eyck).
— 39 —
— 40 —
V M X Architects
— Food as a weapon.
Masterplan and analysis.
— 41 —
— 42 —
V M X Architects
— Double density.
Strategies of addition
and requalification.
— 43 —
— 44 —
— 45 —
V M X Architects

— 46 —
V M X Architects
— New hope.
Development through
time and impression of
wall of memory.
— 47 —
— 48 —
V M X Architects
— The people’s plan.

Models of urban blocks
developed by the
influence of climate
and studies on the influ-
ence of wind on urban
shapes.
— 49 —
— 50 —
— 51 —
V M X Architects

— 52 —
V M X Architects
— The military.
Concept development
and axonometric view of
implementation.
— 53 —
— 54 —
— 55 —
V M X Architects

If you don’t,
who will?
— 57 —
V M X Architects

— 58 —
— 59 —
V M X Architects

— 60 —
V M X Architects
Don Murphy
— Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Don Murphy (1965 Cork, Ireland) founded VMX Archi-

tects in 1995. After his studies at South Bank Univer-
sity in London, he followed the post-graduate course
of the Berlage Institute in Amsterdam.
Don Murphy is an international operating architect

with a strong focus on high quality and innovative

design. In VMX Architects, he operates as creative
director and is responsible for the office designs
and presentations. He is also active in the Academic
world. He regularly lectures on architectural topics
in many countries such as Switzerland, Brazil, Korea,
Oman, Italy, and The Netherlands, amongst others.
He is involved in the educational world as: professor
at Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea; Unit professor
at the Berlage Institute Rotterdam; visiting profes-
sor and external examiner at TU Delft, Academie van
Bouwkunst Amsterdam, and initiator of the Interna-
tional Summer School of Amsterdam.
Don Murphy has taken place in many juries and his

own work has won numerous prizes. Since 2008, he
has been supervisor for the Municipality of Amster-
dam for several urban developments, such as the
Sloterdijk area and the Amstel-river corridor.
— 61 —
Tutors and G u ests
—
Maarten Kempenaar
Maarten Kempenaar (1987 Lushoto, Tanzania) is a young
Dutch architect, graduated with an honourable mention at
TU Delft. During and after graduation he worked in Switzer-
land, Brazil, Indonesia, and Tanzania on a variety of archi-

tectural projects and urbanism related research.
With his broad international experience, Maarten Kempe-
naar is a senior architect at VMX Architects in Amsterdam,
working on a variety of architecture and research projects,
both in The Netherlands and abroad.
Marco Cellini
He graduated with Armando Dal Fabbro at Università Iuav
di Venezia in 2013, with a thesis on the city of Padua. He
has worked with Eric Lapierre Experience (Paris) and Valle
Architetti Associati (Udine). Since 2015, he has been
collaborating with Ceschia&Mentil Architetti Associati
and has been carrying out his design work at Studio Ar-
chitetti Cellini. He has worked with Iuav and the University
of Udine in the undergraduate and graduate degree pro-
grammes with Prof. Pietro Valle.
Placido Luise
He graduated with Angelo Bucci and Alberto Ferlenga at
Università Iuav di Venezia in 2013, with a thesis on the city
of Sao Paulo in Brazil developed during a period of study
at the FAU USP. He worked with Campos Costa Arquitectos
(Lisbon) and Valle Architetti Associati (Udine). Since 2015,
he has been collaborating with Ceschia&Mentil Architetti
Associati. He has collaborated with Javier Corvalan + Co-
letivo Aqua Alta, as part of the 2015 Summer Workshop
and also during his undergraduate and graduate degree
programs with Prof. Pietro Valle.
— 62 —
V M X Architects
Stud ents
—
Marco Allegro Gianluca Mantovani

Valentina Anastasia Vodola Maraco
Clarissa Attombri Carlotta Marchesi
Maria Antonietta Balestriere Elena Marchiori
Martina Baraldi Reicel Mastrantuaono
Mariano Barbato Elisabetta Minnich
Eniana Baruti Lodovico Moroli

Marta Battocchio Luca Nadal
Davide Bergo Marco Nesi
Massimiliano Bovo Diana Nguyen
Davide Burro Giulia Paiusco
Camilla Caber Leonardo Pampagnin
Andrea Cancian Andrea Pellizzon
Alberto Canton Giovanni Prandstraller
Giona Carlotto Giacomo Premoli
Matias Cook Tugui Rares
Alberto Curti Francesca Reolon
Alessandro Dalla Libera Vittorio Romieri
Alberto Dei Pieri Maximiliane Sattler
Manuel Del Rio Giovanni Schiavini
Linda Dozzo Tommaso Spagnoli
Caterina Drago Giovanni Stevanato
Francesca Durante Simone Stocco
Elia Edoardo Bettini Federico Taiarol
Giorgia Fabi Alessio Tenti
Martina Gorza Caludia Teslaru
Christian Guldman Annachiara Trabacchin
Nicole Gutzman Laura Van Huet
Magdalena Iturriaga Andrea Vidotto
Daniel Jignea Alessandro Visentin
Emi Kashiwagi Paride Zambeli
Nicola Lazzarin Ilaria Zampieron
Luca Ludovica Pietro Zandonella Maiucco
Irene Lugato Giovanna Zanotti
— 63 —

Roberta Albiero
Felipe Assadi
Aldo Aymonino
Solano Benitez
BOM Architecture
Ricardo Carvalho
Armando Dal Fabbro
Salma Samar Damluji
Fernanda De Maio
Antonella Gallo
Sinan Hassan
Ammar Khammash
Giancarlo Mazzanti
Paredes y Pedrosa
Ciro Pirondi
Plan Collectif
Attilio Santi
TAMassociati
UNLAB
VMX Architects / How To (Re)Build A Community? Anywhere Or Somewhere

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— VENEZIA / 45°26′23″N 12°19′55″E

SYRIA – THE MAKING OF THE FUTURE

edited by Jacopo Galli

Incipit Editore ISBN: 978-88-85446-10-6

First edition: November 2017

Cover design: Stefano Mandato

This work is distributed under Creative Commons License

ATLAS 198 Tales from Syria. Case studies

VENICE 341 Venice charter on reconstruction

A post-WWII Italian intellectual, Elio Vittorini, said

We see the University as an institution that serves so-

In Iuav’s W.A.Ve. workshop, a future of Peace, the

The immanence of the “environmental and human

Venice is where reflecting on these things is pos-

However, we side these reflections with the words

nale di Venezia (1991).

cal ones in particular) — dealing with what is happening

Some of the necessary requirements have little to do

relationship with the inhabitants of the city. Such a

can successfully tackle complex actions of cultural re-

If ground maintenance implies a monitoring of the un-

torical or archaeological parts of cities in Syria were,

If this happened, all of us would lose something grand.

Today, Iuav — a place of experimentation, at the fore-

Today, we are faced with a slithering Third World — Benno Albrecht

“This understanding of the violence faced by cit- 5 — Marshall Berman,

Today, the practice of a “salvific destruction” of the

“Even today the threat of attack from the air de-

means of defending them is by the construction, on 13 — Sigfried Giedion,

It is clear that the reconstruction/preservation of the

preservation of stone heritage and memories and the 22 — Jan Assmann,

Today, we know that reconstruction (of what has

Fred Charles Iklé, the greatest expert in consequences

Addressing this state of affairs with the tools of ar-

manist” answer to oppose destruction and oblivion: 30 — Victor Branford,

A humanistic defence line could be set up by militant 31 — Ibidem p.217.

Strategies of reconstruction can become the fo-

The concept of reconstruction is vast and demand-

36 — Immanuel Kant, Obviously, the role of historical heritage is a main

“l of social life”34. All’università la possibilità di realiz-

The great research field of “globalisation as spatial-

We know that art and aesthetic feelings outweigh

tion that looks to the future — is what Nietzsche de- 37 — Friedrich

In 1667, Nicolas Sanson published a conceptual map — Jacopo Galli (Crema,

W.A.VE. 2017: EXERCISES IN HUMANISTIC RESISTANCE

This new paradigm is defined as “war amongst the

places and forms that make it impossible to imme- 6 — Sarah Sewell,

W.A.VE. 2017: EXERCISES IN HUMANISTIC RESISTANCE

The conscious transformation of battlefields into

W.A.VE. 2017: EXERCISES IN HUMANISTIC RESISTANCE

educational and cultural experience to the 1.341 stu- 13 — Ibidem.

dents participating from 26 countries. W.A.Ve. 2017 14 — Patrick Geddes and

W.A.VE. 2017: EXERCISES IN HUMANISTIC RESISTANCE

The subtitle — From Urbicide to the Architecture of

Looking at a map of the destructions in the city of Alep- 21 — Yasser

W.A.VE. 2017: EXERCISES IN HUMANISTIC RESISTANCE

W.A.VE. 2017: EXERCISES IN HUMANISTIC RESISTANCE

The workshop opened with an inaugural lesson held

Ricardo Carvalho, working on one of the main tabulae

struction. The idea of sustainable resource sharing 28 — Alexander Langer,

W.A.VE. 2017: EXERCISES IN HUMANISTIC RESISTANCE

Researching a role for the architect and architecture

Kilian Kleinschmidt, for a long-time director of the