Architecture of Algeria

Distribution of Chaoui and Kabylie Berbers in Algeria

Berbers, the historical occupants of much of Algeria, largely defined the foundation of Algerian architectural heritage.

Northern Algerian Berbers traditionally utilize two types of vernacular dwelling: the Chaoui house and Kabyle akham. Shawia housing, traditional to the Chaoui Berbers of Aures, consists of flat roofed-mud brick houses with stone foundations. The ground floors of chaoui homes contain a central room used for sleeping with a hearth, weaving station, storage room, and water receptacles. These dwellings are sometimes built directly against other houses or rocks, in order to improve efficiency of construction and reduce the costs of building materials.[2]

Unlike chaoui dwellings, Kabyle homes, built by the Berbers of Kabylie, are constructed of stone and have pitched, tiled roofs. Kabyle houses are also built in sections; as the family expands additional sections can be added. The ground floor of a typical kabyle dwelling is divided into two sections, the first, darker section, is used to house animals while the other, illuminated end, is used for cooking, weaving and receiving guests. A small attic above the livestock quarters, is traditionally used as a bedroom during the winter.[2]

Ancient Carthage gained control of coastal Algeria by the 4th century BC. The empire's influence on Algerian architecture is visible in the adoption of hybridized styles that integrated Punic, Hellenistic, and Roman architecture into pre existing architectural traditions.[3]

Under the ancient Berber kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania, Algeria saw increased urban development. Urbanization is especially associated with the reigns of kings Masinissa (202 BC–148 BC) and Juba II (30 BC – 25 AD). Evidence of urban planning during the kingdom of Mauretania has been found in neighboring Morocco and Tunisia.[3]

A number of large scale funerary monuments and tombs built during the era are the most well documented examples of Berber kingdom architecture. The monuments combine a number of different architectural styles introduced by the Carthaginians, frequently referencing Hellenistic and Punic motifs.[4]

The Romans built more than 500 towns and cities in what is now Algeria.[5] When developing plans for their new cities, Roman engineers most frequently utilized an orthogonal, rectilinear grid plan characterized by a decumanus (east-west oriented street) and cardo (north-south oriented street). The two streets were capped with gates as each of their terminals and a forum stood at their intersection.[6]

The city of Timgad, established by Trajan around 100 AD, is a well preserved example of Roman urban planning in Algeria. The city is laid out in an exact square, measuring 1,200 Roman feet on all four sides. The city was further subdivided into square city blocks, each with an area of 100 square Roman feet.[7]

In 1830, France invaded Algeria and began its colonial rule of the nation.[8] Early colonial Algerian architecture was characterized by French efforts at restructuring the Islamic city via military engineering. Motivated by perceived military and cultural supremacy over their colonial subjects, the early French administration sought to radically transform the existing urban structures of Algerian cities to better allow for the logistics of military occupation and culturally mirror those of France.[9]

The first buildings constructed by the French administration largely referenced a number of established European styles including Baroque Revival and Byzantine Revival. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 21st century,

The majority of French colonial urban planners and architects viewed themselves as tasked with the duty of remodeling Algerian cities to mirror the regularity, symmetry, and public facilities characteristic of the French homeland; colonial governments designed new developments with straight lines and right angles and established numerous public facilities including hospitals and post offices.[1]

Algerian colonial architecture saw a shift in the early 1900s with the 1903 appointment of Charles Lutaud as Governor General. Lutaud advocated for the adoption of colonial cultural policy of Algerian "association" with France over Algerian assimilation, dictating that public buildings be constructed in the hybrid Moorish Revival Arabisance style.[13][14][15] In reference to Lutaud's policies, the combination of Moorish architecture with European architectural styles in Algeria is sometimes referred to as the Jonnart style (French: Style Jonnart).[16][17][18]

In the subsequent decades, the formation of a new colonial academic elite and the advent of Modernism together brought a period of architectural experimentation that pushed Algerian architecture even further away from established European styles. During this period, Algeria emerged as a viable location for modernist experimentation among French architects.[14]

During the 1930s, Algiers served as a hub for architectural intellectuals. In 1932, the Algiers branch of the Society of Modern Architects (SAM, French: Société des architectes modernes) was formed; the society advocated for modernism, dictating its adherents to build within the "principles of modern aesthetics." The following year, the city hosted the first Exhibition of Urbanism and Modern Architecture (French: Exposition d’urbanisme et d’architecture moderne).[19]

Algeria's nature as a "sandbox" for architectural experimentation is perhaps best exemplified in Le Corbusier's unimplemented 1932-1942 master plan for Algiers. The unofficial plan, entitled Plan Obus, included a series of developments built over the existing casbah around an ambitious set of elevated bridges and roadways.[20]

During the 1950s and 60s, Algerian architecture, particularly that of Algiers, was characterized by new ideas of urban modernism influenced by Le Corbusier. Architects Bernard Zehrfuss, Louis Miquel and Fernand Pouillon constructed a number of major modernist buildings within Algeria in the decades including housing developments Diar El Mahcoul and Climat de France.[9][8] During this era, French colonial architects encountered significant disagreement with one another over differing philosophies of racial integration between French and native Algerian residents.[21]

Within the ultimate years of colonial Algeria, the French administration initiated the Constantine Plan of 1959 which pushed for increased development of social housing projects, particularly those for residents of slums (bidonvilles). Dubbed cites de recasement (relocation cities) and millions, these developments have been criticized for allegedly providing residents poorer living conditions than their original bidonvilles.[2]