Azza JANI
PORTFOLIO
Eighth Art Temple
A revisited memory
The reconversion of the Matmata synagogue into a cultural center dedicated to photography
5th year architecture dissertation application project at ENAU
February 2020
Mention: Good
Summary:
This thesis is a reflection on the semi-troglodyte synagogue of Matmata , a building abandoned since the sixties. This building is now anachronistic and risks falling into oblivion . Through this research, we try to restore the memory of the place and to transmit it through interpretation. Being a unique architectural witness, we are trying to enhance this building and revisit it through architectural conversion .
Extérieur
Motivation
During my visits to Matmata, I was always fascinated by the exceptional landscape of this millenary village and the local constructive know-how of its inhabitants. However, moving was my first encounter with a strange building. Abandoned, a construction with a rectilinear appearance in this specific organic fabric of this Berber village challenged me, I was impressed by the charm of this atypical construction "what is it?" This curiosity was forgotten for a while until a second meeting. During the exploration of the book Synagogues of Tunisia, monuments of a history and an identity1 which is interested in synagogues in Berber environment. It was the moment when I realized that this is a "Synagogue". I then wanted to come back to the scene. However, my reaction was mixed. The current state of this neglected building was distressing. Such architecture is gradually being forgotten. Many questions were necessary and pushed me to develop them in this architectural dissertation.
Problematic
" Architecture is the incorruptible witness of history " Octavio PAZ
Abandoned in the mounds of Matmata, a strange building presenting a mysterious style between the apparent and the hidden invites us to understand it in order to restore its memory. Indeed, for lack of historical sources and archival documents, neither the precise date of its construction nor information on the users who occupied it can be found. A "rare witness" goes into oblivion, after the life he has lived, this building suffers from clinical death. In oblivion, it loses its beating and remains suspended in time.
Neither its past is recognized nor its future is known, the synagogue of Matmata is today anachronistic. Such architecture goes beyond material dimensions to transcend and reach intangible dimensions, which legitimizes its consideration as a socio-cultural heritage. Passing by this neglected ruin, even marginalized and denied because of its Jewish origins, this deeply felt misfortune was born neither of its religious ties, nor of ethnic sympathy but of a broader perception of our history, of our heritage and what builds this history and this identity specific to our diverse and rich society.
This great disappointment is further aggravated during our research in the archives. In each attempt to unveil the history of this construction, the obstacles confronted turn into a challenge, and prompt us to launch a track of research deep in memory aiming at architectural practice.
How can we, through architecture, revisit this building, update it and adapt it to the needs of current social and cultural life?
And how can we succeed, at the same time, the architectural intervention on the synagogue, the restitution and the transmission of it's memory?
Methodology
This work is primarily an attempt to restore a forgotten memory. It was first necessary to discover the history of the building, then recognize its architectural value in order to find a process of transmission of this memory and intervene on the existing heritage.
Architecture and its use evolve over time. It is not only attached to spatial continuity or discontinuity but also to temporal continuity. To begin, it is advisable to speak and to insist on the material fact of the architecture, It falls under the three special dimensions. But what is more interesting, is to reveal the hidden dimensions of this designed space. Condemned, architecture occupies a place, and by its hidden dimensions, it tries to escape and often survive for a long time. Our prospection is thus based on the three continuous temporalities of architecture.
As we are facing a building without a written history, we started with a collection of information concerning the genesis of the synagogue of Matmata based on a deep bibliographic research, an on-site survey and an “in-situ” architectural analysis and this in order to know, have recognized and transmit the memory of the building. "The social history of our territories finds an extension in contemporary use" *, therefore, our second objective will be the intervention on this synagogue in order to revive the building and make the local community aware of its value. In order to achieve these objectives, we opt for a progressive research process. This work revolves around three main parts.
* DRAY (J.) “Avant-propos”, in DAMM (P.) (dir.), Renovating, reusing, reconverting heritage: proceedings of the regional conference, Paris, Somogy éditions d'art, 2015 (ESSAI SOMOGY), p.9
Interieur
Ground Plan
General conclusion
Through this thesis, we tried to manifest the invisible dimension of a building weakened by its own history. The divergent memories between fascination and sadness calls into question the current state of the building being an architectural heritage which risks disappearing. We then seek to establish an architectural dialogue between this building and its context.
The first challenge was to show the historic value of a lost and forgotten building. Faced with ideological problems, this synagogue was rejected by the matmatis. Being a unique witness to the ancient presence of a community and architecture both troglodyte and Jewish, its enhancement legitimizes our intervention. Despite the degraded state of the synagogue, it still persists against spatiotemporal inconstancy. Forgetfulness, whether conscious or unconscious, brought this architecture into a state of rest while awaiting the moment of rebirth.
Our reflection on this place is inspired by both the authenticity of a ruined architecture and its perceptible fragility. It is therefore a moment of rebirth and reintegration over time. We try with this architectural project to transmit the memory of the place through its rewriting. We opt to revisit this memory through the architectural conversion of the semi-troglodyte synagogue of Matmata into a cultural center dedicated to photography.
The intervention that is proposed is not limited solely to a reflection on the values ​​and potentials of this synagogue but also it is interested in any architectural heritage neglected and little known in Tunisia.
Ground floor plan
Floor Plan
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
