CIMS back in Morocco working on Historic Earthen Architecture
Carleton University faculty and students from Carleton’s Immersive Media Studio (CIMS) returned this spring to Ouarzazate (Morocco) to resume an architectural survey and training module per request of the Getty Conservation Institution (GCI) and the Centre de conservation et réhabilitation du patrimoine architectural des zones atlasiques et sub-atlasiques (CERKAS) in order to finalise a series of architectural drawings for the earthen Kasbah de Taourirt and sorroundings.
The principle investigators from Carleton are Stephen Fai (CIMS) and Mario Santana Quintero (CIMS and Department of Civil Engineering), along with their team, consultants Christian Ouimet and John Gregg; and Carelton students Kenneth Percy, Sarah Ward and Zeynep Ekim.
This time around, the group is undertaking a comprehensive survey using digital technology suitable for the region to document the Caid Residence and Ksar at the Kasbah Taourirt.
Furthermore, Carleton’s team also continued building the capacity of CERKAS personnel in the process to document similar sites along the valleys around Ouarzazate.
The Kasbah of Taourirt is known for being one of the most significant sites in Morocco, listed as national heritage and is one of the most visited sites in the region. The site is a 1.6 hectare four-level complex constructed of rammed earth and adobe with beautiful decorated surfaces. The series of architectural drawings will be used by a team lead by Mohamed Boussalh and Claudia Cancino from CERKAS and the GCI respectively that is currently undertaking a project that aims to develop and apply a methodology for the documentation, emergency stabilization, and the integrated conservation planning for the rehabilitation of earthen architecture settlements using the Kasbah de Taourirt as a case study.
For more information on CIMS, visit http://www.cims.carleton.ca/. Amongst some of the exciting research and projects happening through CIMS, the studio is dedicated to exploring a symbiotic relationship between 2D and 3D, digital and fabricated, modes of representation.