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ABSTRACT
This essay serves as an initial analysis of events relating to the protection of twentieth century cultural objects produced in Oran during the colonial period. It considers the role Law 98-04 played in establishing the legal framework of heritage protection in Algeria, and considers how the law was applied, especially since the 1990s when civil society associations began working toward using this law to protect Oran’s architectural heritage. Looking through the prism of what is today known as ‘national identity’, the essay describes various cases in which built environments were either preserved or destroyed. A significant section of this essay is dedicated to the role that Oran’s associations have played over the years in enhancing heritage consciousness. Particular attention is paid to the association Bel Horizon, created in 2001, whose organised walking tours through historical routes in Oran and whose training of local guides have led to annual meetings that gather together hundreds of Oran’s residents. At the same time, the Algerian state has undertaken operations in support of heritage protection, the most important of which has been the rehabilitation of buildings in downtown Oran. This rehabilitation has allowed locals to rediscover their city through new means, and it has allowed the city to declare its candidacy to host the 2021 Mediterranean games.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 We prefer to use the term ‘twentieth century architecture’ instead of ‘colonial architecture’ because this term refers simply to chronology, whereas the term ‘colonial architecture’ has a pejorative connotation and places judgment on an object’s value. Additionally, we do not choose to use stylistic classifications (art deco, art nouveau, modern, etc.), as they are not dependable because of their chronological variations and the many different aesthetic expressions they can refer to.
2 See Article 67 of law 98-04 – ‘Intangible cultural goods are defined as the sum of understandings, social representations, knowledge, skills, abilities, and techniques that are based on traditions and present within the various domains of cultural heritage, as they represent the true sense of attachment a person or group of persons feel towards their cultural identity’. The delay between the law’s proclamation and the application of its decrees is most frequently linked to the political-administrative context. In 1998, the Algerian state’s priority was to see the end of the civil war (commonly referred to as ‘The Dark Decade’). The war between the government and various Islamist groups cost the lives of thousands of people. In 2000, Algeria’s finances flourished once again due to a profitable oil market, enabling the launch of several large-scale projects and urban reclassification projects. Law 98-04’s implementing decrees came into existence in 2003, followed by rehabilitation projects in Algiers and Oran some years later.
3 Engineer Emile Cayla proposed the first comprehensive plan for Oran in 1890, which did not succeed because of land speculation. This plan was followed by the Gasser plan that was not successful in putting forth a truly coherent proposal, although the Khemisti garden that looks onto rue Khemisti (formerly rue Alsace Lorraine) was an endeavour under this plan, initiated in 1912.
4 Neo-Moorish architecture is the example that best expresses the ambiguities associated with the identity crisis in Algeria. In fact, recognising neo-Moorish structures as heritage served to push the Arab-Muslim referent into the forefront and to obscure the French contribution.
5 The neo-Moorish style is also called ‘Arabisance’ or ‘the protector’s style’ according to the definition offered by François Beguin. See Beguin (Citation1983, 196).
6 During my field research on twentieth century architecture in Oran, I realised that these aesthetic misunderstandings are very common among the city’s inhabitants. Most employees of the Oran train station think that the building was constructed during the Ottoman presence in the eighteenth century rather than during the French period.
7 The term ‘torn memory’ is borrowed from Pierre Nora. Nora suggests a relevant definition of heritage consciousness in volume one of Les lieux de mémoire (1984):
Acceleration of history … . Things tumble with increasing rapidity into an irretrievable past. They vanish from sight, or so it is generally believed. The equilibrium between the past and the present is disrupted. What was left of experience, still lived in the warmth of tradition, in the silence of custom, in the repetition of the ancestral, has been swept away by a surge of deeply historical sensibility. (17)
8 ‘Exposition of Modern Architecture and Urbanism, Oran 1937.’ North African Construction special issue, (10), January 1937. It can be found at http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9743916h/f29.image.r=chantiers%20nord%20africains1937%201937
9 Most often, the classification of Algeria’s heritage sites as national heritage is initiated by the State. Very few citizens or associations have been able to propose heritage classification up until now.
10 180 million Algerian dinars were allocated for the renovation of the roof, while the rest of the building was deemed to be in good condition.
11 The wali, or prefect, proposed holding a bazaar there, with Middle Eastern inspirations, following the destruction of the building that had been constructed under the colonial period.
12 Interview with M. Othmani Mohamed, vice-president of the AMO, on 18 May 2016.
14 In France, the designation ‘twentieth Century Heritage’ had been established in 1999 in order to better safeguard heritage in the form of twentieth century architecture. More than 2800 buildings or urban ensembles (protected under the title of historical monument or not) have been labelled as such today. However, objects threatened by demolition are on the list, as was the case in 2018 with Clichy’s ‘house of the people’. See https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/l-invite-de-8h20-le-grand-entretien/l-invite-de-8h20-le-grand-entretien-03-juillet-2018.
15 In using the term ‘local knowledge and craftsmanship’, Laws 98-04 refers, for example, to plaster sculpture and brick manufacturing used in the construction of Saharan homes, artisanal tapestry work in southern Algeria, the production of pottery and jewellery. All these crafts were exhibited over the past two decades in the International Salon of Traditional Artisans [Salon international de l’Artisanat traditionnel], organised by the National Agency of Traditional Artisans [Agence nationale de l’artisanat traditonnel] under the patronage of the Minister of Tourism and Craftwork.
16 See https://www.oran-belhorizon.com/.
17 Many student members of Bel Horizon, myself included, conducted work for their theses on different architectural periods in the city of Oran, in Algeria, and abroad. Still the preserve of urban sociology, these new studies by architects focused particularly on reconstructing the context of architectural production in Oran, a rather vacant field of research in western Algeria.
18 The El Derb El Ihoud quarter (literally, the Road of Jews) is one of the oldest quarters in Oran. It borders the city centre and is lined by the streets once named rue Philippe, rue des Jardins, and the boulevard once named boulevard Stalingrad. Constructed outside of the European quarter of the city, it housed the city’s strongest Jewish community. This quarter is also known for having been the home of many singers in the Algerian style known as Raï and in Andalusian styles, such as Albert Rouimu and Sultana Daoud.
19 See: https://www.elwatan.com/archives/oran-archives/oran-153-immeubles-sont-a-demolir-25-08-2011.
20 EUROMED HERITAGE is a project funded by the European Union that began in Barcelona in 1995, assembling countries from the Mediterranean region. Its focus is the appropriation of heritage by local populations and awareness of cultural heritage. Architecture students from Bel Horizon had the opportunity to participate in the project in 2008, developing a reclassification system for old Oran.
21 The students involved in this project were Benali BabHamed, Younes Ainir, and Zakaria Bensmicha and the anthropologist was Laurent Bazin (CNRS). Bazin then published an article titled ‘The Indebted State in Algeria: State Demand, Social Conflict, and Imaginary Sources of Power’ wherein he explored the issue of resettling the people living in El Derb’s decrepit housing. See https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00957251/document.
22 Let us consider some examples on two different scales. First, there was Bel Horizon’s appeal against the dangerous restoration of the Santa Cruz fort undertaken without an initial appraisal, causing the work to be stopped and leading to the suspension of the architect heading the project. Then, appeals were also led by means of social networks, such as in 2018 when, during the Palace of Culture’s interior renovation, a PVC drainpipe was placed on the mosaic frieze encircling the former Maison du Colon built in 1930. A few days following this controversy, authorities finally removed the tube.