REHABILITATING THE RIVER OF TRASH (FEZ, MOROCCO)

Abstract

This thesis aims to design a community space and building where both local inhabitants and tourists alike can come and interact in the urban context of Fez, Morocco. This project will be a learning point for locals to about the possibilities of in-situ phytoremdiation (particularly rhizofiltration) as a means to cleanse the river over a period of time. Currently, the water that passes through the 1400 year old Medina of Fez has the lowest water quality in all of Morocco due to the leather tanneries and various other metal industries. Unfortunately, more than half of the Medina (pop: 1.1 million) lives under poverty line. Therefore, any conventional active river cleansing method would be far too expensive for the inhabitants to up keep. The search for a passive method to clean the river leads to rhizofiltration. This thesis aims to incorporate the passive methods of this process, new spaces for the community to enjoy in interact in and the need for a successful urban renewal that both locals and tourists can enjoy together. The thesis takes into consideration the existing typology of the Medina of tight alleyways, courtyard and monolithic structures of varying levels and seeks to continue the same language in today’s modern context. Once up and going, and is a permanent fixture in fez’s urban fabric, the plant can serve as a learning facility, a research facility, putting fez at the forefront of a passive technology Morocco can learn from. And not just be a religious capital.