Marin von Ostenwo o-CDO aO H Soop r o j e c t w a s e m b e d d
e d , a s w e l l a s t h e r e s u l t i n g f o l l o w - u p p r
o j e c t s a n d i n -h a b i t a t i o n a f t e r M o r o c c a
n i n d e p e n d e n c e , o r i t s i n f l u e n c e o n u r b a
n p l a n n i n gp l a n n i n g s t r u c t u r e s i n w h i c h
C a n d i l i s a n d W o o d s ' s C a s a b l a n c a c o n s t r
a c t i o nE v e n i n c u r r e n t h i s t o r i o g r a p h y ,
t h e y a l s o l a r g e l y i g n o r e t h e b r o a d e rb e g
u n t o c i r c u a t e i n c o u n t l e s s i n t e r n a t i o n
a l j o u r n a l s i n 1 9 5 3 .o_c roo*o*B'3-o'3"rere3 C/53 O-"O
O taViSBO Vire3"o'ff3"s.e n a f r e s h l o o k a t T e a m 1 0 ' s
w o r k . 2 T h e e q u a l l y i n t e r e s t i n g f o l l o w -
u p p r o j -e c t s a n d h i s t o r i c a l r e s e a r c h , h
o w e v e r , t e n d t o l e a v e t h e c o l o n i a l c o n t e
x tr e a d y e n d e d i n c o n f l i c t s w i t h r e p r e s e
n t a t i v e s o f t h e o l d e r g e n e r a t i o n , s u c h a
sL e C o r b u s i e r , W a l t e r G r o p i u s , a n d S i g f
r i e d G i e d i o n . T e a m 1 0 c r i t i c i z e d t h ec a l
i f o r a f u n c t i o n a l s e p a r a t i o n b e t w e e n h o
u s i n g , w o r k , l e i s u r e , a n d t r a n s -p o r t i n
u r b a n p l a n n i n g i n t h e p r e w a r A t h e n s C h a r
t e r ( 1 9 3 3 ) , p r o p a g a t i n g i n -s t e a d t h e i n
t e r c o n n e c t e d n e s s o f h o u s i n g , s t r e e t , d
i s t r i c t , a n d c i t y . T h e c o n -t e x t f o r t h i s
d i s c u s s i o n w a s a p r e s e n t a t i o n b y t h e a r c
h i t e c t s G e o r g e C a n d i l i sa n d S h a d r a c h W o
o d s a t t h e c o n g r e s s . T h e r e t h e y i n t r o d u c
e d a g r i d , a s o r to f e x p l a n a t o r y c h a r t w i t
h p i c t u r e s a n d t e x t , i n w h i c h t h e y s h o w e d
n o t n e wa r c h i t e c t u r a l o r u r b a n - p l a n n i n
g d e s i g n s b u t a b i d o n v i l l e t h a t M o r o c c a n
i n t e r -n a l m i g r a n t s h a d e r e c t e d o n t h e o u
t s k i r t s o f C a s a b l a n c a . T h i s s h a n t y t o w
nw a s p r e s e n t e d a s a t e a c h i n g m o d e l f o r t h
e a r c h i t e c t s a n d t o w n p l a n n e r s o ft h e n e x
t g e n e r a t i o n . T h e y o u n g a r c h i t e c t s w e r e
a l s o a b l e t o p r e s e n t t h e i rc o l l e a g u e s w i
t h a c o m p l e t e l y p l a n n e d a n d r e a l i z e d b u i
l d i n g t h a t t h e y h a dc o n s t r u c t e d a l o n g s i
d e t h e s h a n t y t o w n s i n C a s a b l a n c a a s a s o r
t o f e x p e r i -m e n t a l s t r u c t u r e f o r " M u s l i
m s . " T h e n e w i d e a s o f T e a m 1 0 a n d t h e i r c r i
-t i q u e o f t h e o l d e r g e n e r a t i o n u l t i m a t e
l y l e d t o t h e d i s s o l u t i o n o f t h e C I A Ma s a n
o r g a n i z a t i o n , a n d t h e m e m b e r s o f T e a m 1 0
b e g a n t o d e v e l o p t h e i rp r o j e c t s a n d o r g a
n i z e d m e e t i n g s i n d e p e n d e n t l y u n t i l 1 9 8
1 .F i r s t p r e s e n t e d i n 2 0 0 5 , a l a r g e t r a v e
l i n g e x h i b i t i o n c a l l e d " T e a m 1 0 :A U t o p i
a o f t h e P r e s e n t " a n d a n e x t e n s i v e c a t a l o
g h a v e d o c u m e n t e d a n d t a k -rc*nrea rt-5'o P=o p_r^C
L0 rt3 nT-T h e e x h i b i t i o n " I n t h e D e s e r t o f M o
d e r n i t y : C o l o n i a l P l a n n i n g a n d A f t e r "e
r n p l a n n i n g a l t i t u d e s . B u t t h e u n d e r s t a
n d i n g o f t h e m o d e r n " a n d " m o d e r n -i z a t i o
n " d e v e l o p e d n o t o n l y i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e s
o - c a l l e d p r e m o d e r n a n d v e r -n a c u l a r , b u
t a l s o t o t h e s t a t e o f e m e r g e n c y t h a t w a s c
o l o n i a l r a l e .a r c h i t e c t u r a l d i s c o u r s e
, r e s u l t i n g m o r e o r l e s s d i r e c t l y i n t h e c
r i s i s o f m o d -t h e s o - c a l l e d c o l o n i a l l a b
o r a t o r i e s t h e r e f o r e p l a y e d a n i m p o r t a n
t r o l e i n t h ec r i t i c a l r e v i s i n o f m o d e r n i
s m a n d t h e e m e r g e n c e o f p o s t m o d e r n i s m w i
t h i ng o t f o r g o t t e n i n t h e d i s c o u r s e a b o u
t E u r o p e a n p o s t w a r m o d e r n i s m , w h e t h e ri
t w a s b e i n g v i l i f i e d o r h i s t o r i c a l l y r e c
o n c e p t u a l i z e d . B u t c o l o n i a l - m o d e r ng o
v e r n i n g s t r a t e g i e s w e r e f i r m l y e m b e d d e
d i n E u r o p e a n p o s t w a r a r c h i t e c -t u r a l a n
d u r b a n p r o j e c t s . M a n y n e w p l a n n i n g c o n c
e p t s i n t h e c o l o n i e s w e r ed e v e l o p e d i n r e
s p o n s e t o t h e l a r g e n u m b e r s o f m i g r a n t s i
n t o t h e c i t i e s o f t h ee m p i r e . T h e s e m o d e r
n m o d e s o f m a s s c o n s t r a c t i o n , w h i c h w e r e
t e s t e d i nN o r t h f r i c a i n t h e 1 9 4 0 s a n d ' 5 0
s , s o o n m i g r a t e d t o t h e p e r i p h e r i e s o fw e
s t e r n E u r o p e a n c i t i e s w h e r e t h e a l l - t o o
- f a m i l i a r s u b u r b s a r s e t o a c c o m -m o d a t e
h u n d r e d s o f t h o u s a n d s o f p e o p l e . I n m a n y
c a s e s , t h e i n h a b i t a n t s l i v -i n g i n t h e o u
t s k i r t s o f P a r i s a n d L o n d o n o r i g i n a t e d f
r o m t h e f o r m e r c o l o n i e s .S i m u l t a n e o u s l
y , a r c h i t e c t s a t t e m p t e d t o e n g a g e i n t h e
i r p r o j e c t s o n c o l o n i a lg r o u n d w i t h t h e l
o c a l c o n d i t i o n s b y s y n t h e s i z i n g t h e w a y
o f l i v i n g o f t h ec o l o n i z e d u s u a l l y l a b e l
e d " p r e m o d e r n " a n d t h e p r o j e c t o f m o d e r n
i z a d o ni n t o a n e w a n d " o t h e r " m o d e r n i s m .
T h e e x p e r i m e n t s o f m o d e r n a r c h i t e c t s i
nT h e c o l o n i a l a n d a n t i c o l o n i a l c o n d i t i
o n s i n w h i c h h i g h m o d e r n i s m a r s ee x p l a n a
t i o n o f t h e m o t i v e s b e h i n d t h e b u i l d i n g a
c t i v i t i e s i n N o r t h f r i c a .t o d a y . T h e a r c
h i t e c t ' s v i e w a n d t h e a u t h o r s h i p o f t h e o
b j e c t o f h i s / h e r a n a l y -s i s a n d p l a n n i n g
a l s o r e m a i n u n q u e s t i o n e d , a l o n g w i t h t h
e q u e s t i o n o f t h er e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e a
r c h i t e c t u r e i t s e l f , w h i c h i s g e n e r a l l y
p h o t o g r a p h e d i nt h e u n i n h a b i t e d s t a t e o
f i t s f i r s t c o m p l e t i o n . A b o v e a l l , h o w e v
e r , t h e r e i s n oMarin von OstenDisplaying the Absent192of
migrationascultural identityinsteadofacknowledging it as a
stageofbecomingand/ora socialmovementthatconstantlycalistheability
to planintoquestion. Thecolonial modernin timesof
decolonizationwasunder-stood as a spaceof
negotiationamongdiverseactorswith differing
privileges.ModernistLearningsAlready at thebeginning of
themodernmovement,studiesof vernaculararchitecturein
ruralenvironments andin thewhole Mediterraneanreginalong withits
aesthetics,functions,andstructureswere partiallysynthe-sizedinto
themostmodernformof newindustrialized buildingtypes.Examplesof this
are the Artsand Craftsmovement, thestudiesof thestu-dentsof
AugustePerret,or the first Bauhaus-school phasein Weimar.4Though
modernismconstituteditselfdue tohybrid, transcultural
transla-tions,modernisthousesandsettlements,with
theirwhitewashedwalls,cre-ateda rupture due to theidea of a "pur"
ahistorical formand a hierarchy
be-tweenthemodernandthepremodern.5Evenin oppositionto
theiroriginalaestheticresources,majormodernists' town-planning
concepts,such as LeCorbusier'sPlan Obsfor Algiers,
almostignoredfunctioninghousingstructures orinhabitants
whomighthave had their ownlogicsof settlement,although
LeCorbusiertookmanyofhisurban andarchitecturalideasfromhistravel
totheM'Zab valleyin
Algeria.6Thedoubleroleoflearningfromthevernacular, ontheone
hand,andofabstractingit
fromtheeverydaycontextandtranslatingitintoaestheticmodels,on
theother,is groundedincolonial perceptionsand narratives.
Thisroleof acknowledging, translating,andignoring was boundto
theidea of the tabula rasa,an uninhabitedand/or"uncivilized"space,a
characteristicfeature of the territorial imaginations,practices,and
representationalpoliciesof colonial modernism.7
Nevertheless,theideaof also projecting theconceptand technologies
intoan "emptyterritory" todevelop,plan,and orderit is a
centralmotifin the veryemer-genceof modernurbanism andcapitalist
societies.By assertingatemporalrupturebetweenthecontemporaryand the
traditional, modernismembracedthepossibilities ofindustrialization
andstandardized aestheticforms.Inthe final marriageofartand
technology, of theartist/architectandtechno-modernization,the
modernmovementrejecteda vernacularand colonialpastin
itssecondphase,whichis expressedin the AthensCharter.This
technocratic andformal approachof the modern movementexpe-rienceda
deep crisis in the195 Os, when
thenextgenerationtookthedweller193environmentsofhutsettlementson
colonialgroundintoaccountindesign-ing processesand modelsfor
urbanplanning. Thiscrisisin highmodernismthatcarne aboutin
theeraofdecolonizationpromptedme some yearsagoto
beginaninvestigationinto the housingdevelopments built
undercolonialrule,mainly in Casablanca in the1950s,on the outskirts
of the French colo-nialcity. The paradigmshiftin the
postwaryearsmarkeda greatparadox,as colonial modernity
wasandisanarticulationof thedesireto plan asociety. As previously
mentioned,colonialmodernityalsobecamea
testinggroundfornewdiscoursessurrounding modernizationandfor
thelargehousing programsthatwereinstalled throughoutEuropeand
itscoloniesafterthewartoconstitutea globalconsumersocietyand
newexportmar-kets.
AsFrantzFannargued,Intheearlydaysofcolonization,asingle
columncouldoccupyimmensestretchesof
country:theCongo,Nigeria,theIvoryCoast,andso
on.Today,however,thecolonizedcountries'nationalstrugglecropsupin
acompletelynewinternationalsituation. Aftera phaseofaccumulation
ofcapital,capitalismhastodaycometomodifyits conceptionof
theprofit-earningcapacity of a
commercialenterprise.Thecolonieshavebecomeamarket.
Thecolonialpopulationis a customerwhois readyto buygoods.8It was
ashiftin Europe's colonialmodernpoliticsat a moment
whendecolonizationwasmarchingonwardglobally,andonethatonanotherlevel
causeda rupturein the ability to plan.Thiswasthrownintoquestionby a
youngergenerationofarchitectsin Europewhobecameinterestedin
theeveryday,thepopular,and thediscoveryof theordinary. Thisshiftwas
celebrated by "asfound"aesthetics,whichencourageda newrelation-ship
to theconstructedenvironmentasit is usedand visually
perceivedbyphotographsandanthropologicalstudies.9A resultof
thisshiftin perspectivewasthedisputeat theninth CIAMmeetingin
Aix-en-Provencein thesummerof1953wheretheteamof
youngarchitectsthatwouldformTeam10 presentednewideason
urbanismandthefunctionofarchitecture. Thisdisputewasbasedon
threevisualurbanstudies: theGAMMA(Grouped'ArchitectesModernes
Marocains)grid,generatedby theServicedePUrbanisme
fromCasablanca(whichincludedthe youngCandilis,Vladimir
Bodiansky,and Woods);a studyof an Algerianshantytownin the
MahieddinegridgeneratedbyLeCorbusier'soffice,main-194195ly by the
young RolandSimounet andothers;and theUrban Re-Identificationgrid
by Alison and Peter Smithson, a study of the usage and meaning of
thestreetin
EastLondon'sworking-classandcolonial-migrantdistrictofBethnalGreen.10
MarkCrinsonhasanalyzedthelatterusuallydescribedas
anavant-gardestudy of English working-classdistrictsas highly
entan-gledwithcolonial modernizationandthe
postwar,postcolonialcrisis.11Two of
thesecontentiousstudieswereinvestigationsof
theself-builtshantytowns thatgrewon theoutskirtsof
theFrenchcolonial townsofCasablancaand Algiers.Butonly two
youngarchitectsfromtheGAMMAgroup,CandilisandWoods,laterleadingTeam10
members,werealreadyable to presentacompletely plannedand
realizedbuilding thattheyhadconstructedasan
experimentalhigh-risestructurefor incoming
Moroccanworkersalongsidetheshantytownsin Casablancatheyhad
transferredtheiranalysisof hutsettlementsdirectly ontoa
modernistarchitectural proj-ect.In
theframeworkofCasablanca'sextensin plan,
theybuilttwoexperi-mentalhousing
blocksthecitverticalewhichsynthesizedtheirstudiesof the realityof
the bidonville with themodernistapproachtoplanning.Theresultwasa
designthatintegratedthe
bidonville'severydayvernacularpractices,local
climaticconditions,anda modernistidea of educatingpeo-plefora
betterfuture.Ona formallevel, thebuildings can beseenas a typeof
localtraditionalbuildingthe patiohousetranslatedintoastackedblockof
apartments.Allthreestudies resulted in discussionsconcerninghow
theninthCIAMmeetingitself markeda worldwideshiftin approachesto
postwarmodernbuildingdue toits
presentationofself-builtenvironmentsas modelsfor
un-derstandingtheinterrelation of public and theprivatespheresin
relationtoa newconceptcalled"habitat."12
Discussionsstemmingfromthestudies
ofworking-classdistrictsandshantytowns ledtoa
generationalconflictthatmarkedthedissolutionof
CIAMasaninternationalorganizationof themodernist movement.13 The
buildingmodelandshantytown study neverthe-less hada
lastinginfluenceon a youngergenerationof
architects,whowit-nessedmodernismappearingtoadapttolocal climatic
and "cultural"condi-tionsanddeviating slightlyfromitsuniversalist
path.14 Andyetthebasiccapacityfor
youngarchitectstofullyrealizethesestudiesin theshanty-townsanda
wholesettlementwasfundamentally bound to
thecircumstanc-esofcolonialoccupation.The new housingprogramsin
Moroccoof which the citverticale wasoneamongmanywereanattemptby the
protectorateto buildmodernsettlementsfor thecolonizedworkforce.15
In Moroccoand Algeria,theseprograms werea response to the
growinginfluxof migrants from the coun-trysideinto
thecolonialcityafterWorld War II,for whom
theFrenchpro-tectoratebuilt fenced
settlementsfarfromthecolonialcitycenters.Withinthese,Moroccansettlersbeganbuildinginformalhuts,
which were thentermed "bidonvilles" afterthematerialsusedto build
them(thetermliteral-ly means "tin-cancities").
Theshantytownsthatemergedfrommislimitedaccessto theformal
citycenters becamethesubject of
theServicedeTUrbanismeprojectimplementedin thelastdecadeof
FrenchruleinMoroccoandled by Michel Ecochard,thedirectorof
Casablanca's urban-planningoffice.16Thestrategyof
theprotectoratefromthelate1940sonwardwas to buildenormousnumbers
ofhousingestateswithin theframework ofa large-scaleextensin planof
the city, one of thelargest planning operations of thetimefor
thenewsub-proletarianworkforce.ThestrategiesofServicedeL'Urbanismevariedfromthe
reorderingof thebidonvilles(restructuration)to
temporaryrehousing(relogemenf)and finally tothecreationof
newhousingestates(habitationloyermoder)basedon
thestandardEcochardgridof small, quickly buil
tsingle-floorpatiohouses.17 Theselow-risesettlementswereoriginally
developedto containandgovern thegrowingnumberofinhabitantsliving in
theshantytownsand working undermisera-ble conditionsin the nearby
phosphatefaetones;as urbanstrategiestheywerefromtheoutsetlocatedin
thetensinbetweentheemancipatoryaimsof
improvinginhabitants'everydayUves
andthesearchforappropriategoverning tools thatcompliedwith
theseintentions.
In1952generalstrikesandseveralprotestdemonstrations,mainly
organizedbyanticolonial activ-istsfromtheGarrieres
Centralesshantytowns,were violentlysuppressed.One thousand
Frenchtroops,includingSenegaleseandothercolonialsol-diers,
werebroughtintoCasablancafor the"protection" of thecity.Besidesthe
high presenceof militaryforces,tanks,and
machineguns,thelocalp-licecarriedoutits roleof
repressingandterrorizing theemergingindepen-dence movement.On
themorningof December16,1952,500 housesweresearchedin a plice
raidonGarrieresCentrales,during
whichmanypeoplewerekilled.18Constructionof
thenewhousingplanactuallycontinuedinthe midstof allthis military
actionwith tanksand heavilyarmedtroops,ar-rests,andkilling.Thoughit
mustnave beenvirtually
impossiblenottorec-ognizetheconflict,theoptimistic youngFrench
plannersremainedvirtuallyunmovedby the conditions surroundingtheir
work.19
