Thursday 3 February 2011

Major Project Site

Ourika Valley, Atlas Mountains, Morocco



The Site for our Major Thesis project is located in the Ourika Valley up in the Atlas Mountains.
The valley itself is a volatile natural force. Every spring a torrent of water crashes through the valley, washing away makeshift bridges and sometimes homes. The river plays a paradoxical role in the lives of the Berber people, providing life sustaining water but also manifesting itself as a destructive force.

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Madrid

Two of us from the Emergent Studio decided to travel home via Madrid, spending an additional 2 days in the Spanish Capital to take in the Reina Sofia and Prado Art Galleries (29.01.11 - 31.01.11). The former contains works by Picasso, Dali, Klein and Miro among others, including Picasso's 'Guernica' (pictured). The Prado Gallery has a remarkable collection of renaissance, romantic and impressionist art including artists such as Caravaggio, Goya and Renoit, as well as sculpture by Rafael.

The Reina Sofia Gallery



The Prado Gallery


Tuesday 1 February 2011

North African Transgression

The next installment of our Emergent "Tectonic Transgressions" took us to Morocco.
We were housed in the 'Annexe', a property in Marrakesh owned by the University of Rabat, located just outside of the Medina Wall.

During the trip we immersed ourselves within the Medina of Marrakesh, designed a short project in cooperation with two Danish students from the Univeristy of Aalborg, and travelled up the Ourika Valley in the Atlas Mountains as well as to Casablanca and Rabat.

The following photographs are of our exploration of Marrakesh and the Souks



The historic Medina Wall demarcates the old fortified city



The main square - "Djemaa El Fna", is a Unesco World Heritage site, primarily for the activities which occur within it. During the day the square is relatively busy, however at night it is transformed into a hive of acrobats, story tellers and musicians, as well as food tents which are erected and disassembled daily.


The Souks are the largest traditional style market in Morocco, and are arranged by trade, ie Leather Souk, Metalwork Souk, Spice Souk etc. They are a sensory overload of noise, colour and aroma.