Oasis Campus
Cultural heritage as learning model
Oasis Campus
The Oasis Campus is a project of hands-on workshops where we motivate cultural exchange and cooperation amongst international participants and the local communities where the workshops are held.
Using a wide approach to Heritage and Cultural Landscapes, we document and renovate buildings and public spaces to improve the living conditions of traditional environments. We work with local populations to define and carry out architectural intervention projects.
Debate is always a key part of the Campuses, addressing essential architectural concepts and plans: the land, the cultural heritage, the history of the settlements, the urban design of villages, the arrangement of public and private buildings, building materials and techniques, etc.
We learn to interpret the evolution of buildings using Stratigraphic Readings, and we work in the Materials Analysis Laboratory: proportions, additives, particle sizes, etc.
Working hand in hand with local traditional construction masters, we offer the opportunity to learn traditional techniques adapted to the place. Such as rammed earth, adobes, tadelakt, wooden roofings or earthen renderings.
M’HAMID OASIS CAMPUS
Terrachidia’s longest-running project is the M’hamid El Ghizlane Oasis Campus, bordering the Sahara in southern Morocco. A project to restore and preserve the traditional earthen architecture of this oasis and the trades that make it possible.
A cultural and knowledge exchange between international participants and local masters and apprentices. Always with hands on the ground.
Learn by doing.
ICH & FIGUIG OASIS CAMPUS
We propose an Oasis Campus focused on the documentation and analysis of Cultural Landscapes. Based on the intervention in a real case, the ancient ksar of the Oasis of Ich.
With visits to archaeological sites in the mountains near the oasis and various ksours in the Figuig Oasis, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
These are oases with magnificent water management, which allows us to understand the fragility of these cultural landscapes better.
The Oasis Campus is simply amazing, an unforgettable experience so dense, strong and intense…A chance to learn, reflect and rethink priorities beyond any professional experience but rather a lifetime experience
The workshop has exceeded my expectations. I was not aware that we would have such direct contact with the local master builders, I have learned directly from them.
I did not imagine that an oasis was like this. I had a more picturesque idea in my head. I have learned a lot and I see that it is valuable and I can apply it in my projects.
Contact us if you have any doubts or questions.
universities
We work with students from various universities: tutorials and project development, site monitoring, documentation and research. The students get the opportunity to do professional internships where they join the Terrachidia team for their Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis projects.
We also take part in international conferences and seminars, where we present the results of the various projects and initiatives we are involved with.
We work with, among others, the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Madrid (Universidad Politécnica of Madrid), both on the Master’s in Heritage Conservation and on the ICHaB (Institute of Cooperation and Basic Habitability) postgraduate course (UNESCO Chair) and Basic Habitability course; with Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio (Madrid); with the CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture); with the University of Girona; with the ArCHIAM Group of the University of Liverpool (United Kingdom); with CEPT University (India), and with the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, US).