A New South

Exhibitions about the cities of the Global South presented in the Global North are not particularly rare. However, they most often fall into one of two categories: the neo-colonial, which offer a condescending look at cities as understood only through the scope of amused curiosity; and the capitalist, which attribute value to cities according to their level of development and analyses these based on the economic policies of the respective governments – thus contributing to the promotion of the latter.

The first New South show in Paris (Galerie du Crous, November 2015) easily escaped these distinctions comprising six thesis projects resulting from five years of study in architecture school, each student formulated a personal vision for their chosen urban context. Moreover, the exhibition was conceived as a place for research and discussion, with three evenings duly dedicated to reflections on various metropolises (Algiers, Gaza, Cairo, Chandigarh, and others). Last but not least, five of the six participants, including curator Meriem Chabani, actually come from the Global South. Naturally, this does not necessarily prevent a false reading of the location for which the work was produced, although it certainly decreases the chances of neo-colonialism being applied in the logic. Let’s consider these projects one by one, from the West to the East.

Yusti Gómez Herrera focused on his native city of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, aiming to decentralise the tourist economy by transferring from Spanish operators to a local network. He designed scenarios of architectural transformation and/or extension in order to accommodate alternative methods of visitor integration.

Othmane Bengebara’s train station project for Tangiers (Morocco) might have appeared to be a classic government commission for a multimodal transportation node during a time of fast economic growth. But Bengebara understands the station not in its sole relation to Europe – as the Afrotunnel linking both continents, but merely as the gateway to a gigantic train network on the scale of the African continent.

Chamss Doha Oulkadi also chose Morocco – Agadir, where the 1960 earthquake entirely destroyed the Kasbah, causing the site to become abandoned. Her design for a memorial combined with an archaeological museum refers to the precolonial past, something often neglected in the North African memory.

Cyril Chabaud created a publication detailing vernacular construction techniques for the inhabitants of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. Unlike most manuals, it does not contain outsider knowledge intended for thrusting onto local professionals and inhabitants; rather, it’s a collection of relevant craft techniques – in particular that of the Nubian vault, identifying locally available materials.

Amine Ibnolmobarak’s analytical project emerged from his own pilgrimage to Mecca (Saudi Arabia). Unsatisfied with the imagery of disincarnated crowds as per the usual perception, he wanted to return to the simple unit: each body, unburdened of wealth and objects and experiencing the several steps of the pilgrimage as part of a collective. A few months after the two tragic accidents that killed several hundred pilgrims and also revealed the capitalist culture of Mecca, his words and documents provide a precious alternative vision of the pilgrimage.

Meriem Chabani imagines a different future for the garment industry in Chittagong (Bangladesh), in particular for the predominantly female workforce. Her project entailed the design of workshops operating at a much smaller scale than that of the dehumanising scheme that currently supplies the globalised garment market. To this network of workshops she added a large building housing a trade fair, in which the workers could sell the goods they have produced.

Amine Ibnolmobarak’s analytical project emerged from his own pilgrimage to Mecca (Saudi Arabia). Unsatisfied with the imagery of disincarnated crowds as per the usual perception, he wanted to return to the simple unit: each body, unburdened of wealth and objects and experiencing the several steps of the pilgrimage as part of a collective. A few months after the two tragic accidents that killed several hundred pilgrims and also revealed the capitalist culture of Mecca, his words and documents provide a precious alternative vision of the pilgrimage.

One way or another, these six projects are motivated by the ability to empower the inhabitants in each location. Of course, they are student works and as such rely on the absence of a constraining set of specifications. Nevertheless, this presentation is only a first step and, the countries of the New South not being a closed group, it is hoped that young Egyptian, Palestinian, Indian, and Indonesian architects will soon join in. An enlightening future for such an international association is foreseen.

In concluding this article, we pay homage to Amine Ibnolmobarak, who was tragically killed in the Paris attacks on 13 November. His death, which occurred while the exhibition was still running, surely adds intense emotion, but at the same time it beckons for this first event to be enjoined, so as to perpetuate the resolute spirit of Ibnolmobarak’s proposal for Mecca.