| Ghardaia.
Above, the mausoleum of the holy founder with a terrace and a courtyard
for harvesting humidity. Below, the overbuilding of the settlements
on the rocky summits along the palm-grove forms the so-called pentapolis
of the M'zab valley. |
| Ghardaia
(Algerian Sahara). The mosque had to accommodate all the inhabitants.
When this was no longer possible a new settlement was built in a
similar context. The habitat, therefore, maintained its clustered
shape which was in harmony with the environment. |
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Matera,
Civita and the glacis of the Sasso Barisano. An urban ecosystem
is an oasis model which evolves into a town. It gains complexity
and stratification, but retains its organic relationship with
the environment and a sustainable use of resources. The aesthetic
qualities we appreciate in the Sassi di Matera are due to the
rules and restraints imposed on the settlement by the water and
energy requirements and the need to protect the soil. The adoption
of the same principles in similar environmental situations explains
the similarities arising even with distant urban ecosystems such
as Ghardaia in figures on the left.
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| Sasso
Barisano, one of the two large depressions forming the ancient town
of Matera. The houses, terraces and gardens develop in successive
circles and surround the riverbed of the narrow drainage stream,
the "grabiglione", now paved. The high spur of the Civita, where
the Cathedral stands on a rise, overlooks the urban landscape. The
dwellings envelop the limestone bed by stretching out into the rock
with deep underground cavities whose entrances may be observed where
the buildings become fewer and leave the rock matrix bare. |
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