Aziza Chaouni: How I brought a river, and my city, back to life
Comment j'ai ramené une rivière et ma ville à la vie
Aziza Chaouni focuses on projects that integrate architecture and landscape, and that ultimately give back to their communities. For years, she has worked to revive the Fez River, which runs through her hometown of Fez, Morocco. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
de la Rivière de Fez.
medieval cities in the world,
médiévales murées au monde,
une vallée où coule une rivière.
au Patrimoine Mondial de l’UNESCO.
population of the medina grew,
la population de la Médina grandissait,
ou les égouts
à de fortes contraintes.
victimes de la situation
the medina in its middle
la Médina en deux
de la présence
les fontaines publiques et privées.
de la Médina
devenus des parkings illégaux
était assez sain.
des eaux usées non traitées
des activités comme le tannage.
je ne pouvais plus supporter
avoir appris que la ville
pour détourner les eaux usées
est devenu impossible,
work with a team of engineers
une équipe d’ingénieurs
en allées piétonnes,
brièvement vous montrer
au-dessus de la rivière,
une plaque tournante des trnsports
bridge that you can see here,
que vous pouvez voir ici,
nous avons proposé de rendre
en cuir recyclés
le long de la rive,
à partir de pneus recyclés
à un marécage construit
d'éventuelles inondations
received several design awards,
des prix de conception,
intervenaient
la conception du projet.
d'assez inhabituel
les architectes ne font pas.
sur l'objectif principal :
à la place Rcif
6 ans plus tôt
devenue aujourd'hui
ressemblera la place Rcif
comme une déchetterie
de la Rivière de Fez
qu'en réinventant
of the project into motion;
le cœur du projet
une rivière polluée
pour ses habitants
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aziza Chaouni - Architect + ecotourism specialistAziza Chaouni focuses on projects that integrate architecture and landscape, and that ultimately give back to their communities. For years, she has worked to revive the Fez River, which runs through her hometown of Fez, Morocco.
Why you should listen
Civil engineer and architect Aziza Chaouni creates sustainable, built environments in the developing world, focusing on the deserts of the Middle East. Chaouni’s design philosophy holds that it is not enough for sustainable buildings to have zero impact—they must give back to the community on social, economic, infrastructural and environmental levels too. The founding principal of Aziza Chaouni Projects, she collaborates closely with local communities and experts from other disciplines to integrate architecture, landscape and infrastructure in innovative ways.
Born and raised in Fez, Morocco, Chaouni has long found herself fascinated with the Fez River, which winds through the city's ancient Medina. Once considered the city's soul, sending water to both public and private fountains, in the 1950s, the stream started to become a toxic sewer because of overcrowding, over-development and pollution. The city responded by covering the river over with concrete slabs, bit by bit, in the process destroying houses and creating dumping grounds. When Fez received a grant to divert and clean the river's water, Chaouni proposed the Fez River Project to uncover the river, restore its riverbanks and create pedestrian pathways. Her vision: to reclaim these areas as public spaces and reconnect them to the rest of the city.
A project that Chaouni has been working on for two decades, her mission to transform the Fez River began with her thesis in graduate school and has continued throughout her career. Over the course of years, the river is gradually being uncovered—illegal parking lots are being transformed into playgrounds, trees and vegetation are being planted to create public spaces. Overall, the project is revitalizing Fez as a living city.
Aziza Chaouni | Speaker | TED.com