Interzone —
an Ecology of the Strait
Fall 2022, Thesis research, EPFL
inspired by William Burroughs’ photographed collages (the cut-ups).
The theoretical research carried out as a preamble to the project Gleaning Interzone, uses the interzone as a working hypothesis to understand the phenomenology of Tangier, from the formation of its rocks to the occupation of its streets. It highlights a set of informal practices that enable the inhabitants of the Strait to safeguard a way of life and a force of contestation. The Strait's landscape is cultivated through a know-how of the land and sea that is integrated into the city's economy. Gathering from the hills andas much as fishing from the cliffs. Harvesting in makeshift gardens, as much as gleaning from the forest. These improvisations construct an in-between, a real and imaginary space, the interzone, in which the individual realizes themselves as an actor in the territory. If the interzone is a way of appropriating the city that goes beyond development plans, how can the architectural project stimulate it without spoiling it?
Download full theoretical statement
Fragments from the printed theoretical statement:
1- Leporello accompanying the publication with fragments of poetry written during fieldwork in Tangier (textual cut-ups). 2- Introduction to the publication with a photograph of the strait of Gibraltar taken by the author 3- Key Map and photograph of the chapter “An island, a river” diving into the strait’s mythological and medieval representation.
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