A Wake: I am in the Interzone

a wake: I am in the Interzone Daniel Lomholt-Welch & Lewis Murray Tangier Zones, Semester 2

the strait Aerial photo of Tangier and the beyond

i

epigraph “Let the setting be Tangier.

But of course not the city of Tangier that you know.

This is another that merely resembles it.

A Tangier parallel to the one you consider real.

But, mind you, being parallel doesn’t mean it is fictitious.

Let us agree from the outset that the binary of reality and fiction depends entirely on where you’re looking from.”

Mohammed Said Hjiouij, Kafka in Tangier

a continent looms

iii

abstract Perceiving Tangier through an investigation of William Burroughs’ dreamlike writing and Brion Gysin’s technique of cut-ups, the city manifests itself as a parallel, as an other. This thronging sea of relations between, across, and through the urban fabric become permutations of Tangier’s material reality; a pin-cushion of imperial flags, camouflaged and flecked with the wear of its fluctuating history. The undertones of colonialism reverberate in its streets, in its language, in its law.

The opressive policies of Mohamed VI, the king of Morocco, perpetuate this reverberation. The foreign colonial powers have been replaced by a native one, concentrating power into the singular.

The actions of the government encroach on societal freedoms, create severe environmental issues, and beset the population of modern-day Morocco with trenchant corruption.

Tangier’s siting at a confluence of narratives is exemplified in the Petit Socco, a tightly bound square which played host to a multitude of international institutions during the mid-20th century. Western nation’s legations, post offices and hotels rose high above the street, before crumbling in the wake of the International Zone’s collapse in 1956. The Petit Socco exemplifies the technique of the cut up, the rapid shuttling of one to another.

A manipulated legal framework provides an opportunity to reclaim territory in a move against the zeitgeist. This series of chance operations becomes a form of cut-ups that projects back onto itself simultaneously. Opportunistic architectural interventions cloak themselves in the historic narratives present in the Petit Socco, addressing a wide range of issues that affect modern society in Morocco.

Hidden in plain sight, the architectures play with their histories, revealing and concealing certain aspects via a series of exposed seams.

Collectively, they form the Interzone.

Host and guest switch roles with increasing acceleration, the parasitic visitor corrupting the former only then to be corrupted themselves.

The architectures operate in the intersections, folds, convolutions. Occupying buildings within tightly controlled incisions, they blend with the existing function below while gaining the horizon above. The historic seeping of parasite into host generates a novel architecture by way of palimpsest. It draws in, extracts, and imitates its architectural setting.

Bolstered by their endemic presence across the city, the parasites begin to embed themselves in aural, visual and textual forms of representation.

The liminal threshold of entity and relation buckles. Using representation as a conduit to creation, the parasites embed themselves in the urban fabric of their conception – Chambers Street. The fleeting encounters across it instigate further proliferation, taking root both in the studio and in public space.

crossing zones working process stills

v

note on the exhibition due to the nature of the work produced, it has been presented in multiple sites across the ESALA campus. the main body of work is exhibited in the Tangier Zones studio on the third floor of 7/8 Chambers Street, while the remainder is being displayed in the Gap Gallery at Minto House. this portfolio documents the entire body of work which is being submitted. as a document of crossing, it can be read from front to back, and from back to front.

a parallel Tangier field drawing, 1:5000 at A1

vii

acknowledgements Firstly, we would like to thank Dr. Ana Bonet Miro and Samer Wanan for their guidance with the project. It has been a pleasure to work with them in the studio, and we value their input greatly.

Secondly, we would like to thank our peers for creating a strong studio-culture, which has been fantastic to be a part of.

Finally, we would like to thank our families for their support throughout our architectural education.

We could not have done it without you.

cut ups William Burroughs and his method of creating cut ups

ix

contents

.

front matter

I

a wake: I am in the Interzone

II

nerve centre

III

insolvency and the vault

IV

cypher provocateur

V

acid reign

VI

copper’s nark

i

the strait

3

celestial reflection

17

veils

44

a rise

66

the truth?

87

a mirror to time

105

masking who?

ii

epigraph

4

fertile ground

18

- worm’s eye

45

- worm’s eye

67

- worm’s eye

88

- worm’s eye

106

- worm’s eye

iii

iv

a continent looms

abstract

5

6

baby no junk is good

native?

21

crossing zones

7

double crossing

22

vii

note on the exhibition

a parallel Tangier

10

11

word

acknowledgements

14

ix

dreams

145

underworld

165

material dreams

125

celestial canopy

131

war cabinet

146

and the colour red

166

the skies

126

cypher x4

134

surfaces transcend

147

trace this

167

the streets

- long section

- short section

- short section 109

portals perpetuate

127

patterns

135

dream plateaus 1-3

148

foreshadowing

168

a wake

110

- long section

138

atmosphere

149

drop the awning

139

collisions 1-4

150

reveal yourself

it’s yours

- masked elevation

- ground floor plan

50

- isolated axonometric

51

masks

- masked elevation

- shadow space

- isolated axonometric

- roof plan

- isolated axonometric

- entrance axonometric

- isolated axonometric

- entrance axonometric 75

76

77

the fall

38

hide and seek

39

horizons

40

the ascent

- catalyst no. 3

- isolated axonometric

- operational plan

- entrance axonometric

151

the book I read

115

liberty

152

stitched up

116

- catalyst no. 4

154

the space between

- material axonometric

156

surface tension

119

past the shadow

157

spectres

120

tone and line

158

dream machine

121

- model

160

on the face of it

161

reflected back

162

shared jurisdiction

- material axonometric

98

seeping through

81

leaky vessels

- operational plan

100

- model

leaking source

transparency in silver 82 - model

99

are we patriots?

server glitch

horizon fading

resistance

95

- external view 80

material extraction

35

- catalyst no. 2

- material axonometric

parasitic gathering

legislative assembly

- masked elevation

no evil

agitation

- short section

- operational plan

high indefinition

61

bleeding

- catalyst no. 1 - operational plan

60

94

loss

is it licit?

layers / lairs

- entrance axonometric

liquidating assets 72

59

34

130

- second floor plan

58

33

permutations

- long section

- material axonometric

32

124

- long section

55

31

dream: I am in the Interzone

- perspective section

cut ups

30

IX

- site elevation

54

29

shapes beyond form

- first floor plan

meddling hands 28

VIII

- first floor plan

- perspective drawing viii

extraterritorial horizons

- first floor plan

- second floor plan

enemy of my enemy

VII

- first floor plan

- first floor plan vi

a moment’s rest

- site section

71 v

.

- model - external view

- external view

- external view

I a wake: I am in the Interzone celestial arabesques rain upon the cobbles and thrones pelt, a skin masquerading dominion, the greed grins snarls berates its litter awash the streets melt into another, swept into the sky all and none spoke cried softly the word that has betrayed again, plurality reigns, it is true

a wake: I am in the Interzone Tangier’s visceral history of contestation has resulted in the fracturing of the city’s genus loci from a singular entity into plural spectres of spirit. By investigating these narrative strands, opportunities to create a counternarrative begin to form, seeking to reconvene these spectres.

The relations of these agents to one another shift in a constant state of flux, informing a reading of the city and its urban spaces.

This fluidity of mask and veil is present in the architecture and its relations.

celestial reflection

3

N

marina

moored ship

Hotel Continental

building site

Sandwich Gate

Petit Socco

Bab al-Fahs

Gran Socco

fertile ground Cinema Rif

incubators of Tangier 1:2000 at A1

4

baby no junk is good cut ups by authors

5

native?

The Petit Socco, 1940s

6

double crossing mapping a century of subterfuge across Tangier and beyond

7

word The Petit Socco, 1970s, showing an increased prominence of the native language, Arabic, compared to the 1940s

10

enemy of my enemy mapping the nefarious activities across the four adjacent legations in the Petit Socco and their implications in the world beyond Tangier

11

meddling hands paper model of the final exhibition proposal

14

II nerve centre shudders the frame, shackles the heart, respite denied with brutal consideration. masks slip and veils flutter above paternal ornament secretes scarlet whispers, change revolution mutiny they assert to what they know, another is yet, to be once more

nerve centre A series of programmes take cover behind the storied facades of the four buildings that once played host to Western legations running along the Petit Socco; those of Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Great Britain.

Utilising the site’s genus loci, each of these legations forms a catalyst for an architectural response to the issues which transcend the temporal gap between the conflicted era of the International Zone and that of Mohamed VI’s severe policies.

These programmes, operating between past and present, public and private, and ground and sky, collectively form the Interzone.

veils religious procession passing through the Petit Socco, 1950s

17

[1]

[2]

[5] [3]

[6]

[4]

[8]

[7] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

digital stock market server bank printing gallery editors chamber rooftop oasis laboratory workshop hydrological laboratory telecommunications hub cabinet / conference chamber

nerve centre worm’s eye view

18

[9]

conference chamber digital stock market

telecommunications hub lecture theatre

hydrological laboratory publishing house

nerve centre long section through the Interzone, 1:200 at A1

19

nerve centre site elevation of the Interzone, 1:200 at A1

20

it’s yours The Petit Socco, 1970s

21

[2] [1] [7] [6]

[3]

[4]

[8]

[9] [5]

1 2 3 4 5

Cafe de Maroc Hotel Fuentes Newsagents Restaurant de Ville Hotel des Postes

6 7 8 9

double-crossing concierge bookseller’s kiosk public fountain concealing phonebox

nerve centre ground floor plan, showing the veiled access to the Interzone 1:200 at A1

22

[1]

[3]

[2]

[4] [5]

1 2 3 4 5

editorial chamber lecture theatre plant room hydrological laboratory telecommunications hub

nerve centre first floor plan, showing the occupation of space above street-level, 1:200 at A1

23

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

1 2 3 4

washroom agent’s quarter’s anechoic chamber conference chamber

nerve centre second floor plan, showing the occupation of space above street-level, 1:200 at A1

24

nerve centre roof plan, showing the circulation across the rooftops to link the Interzone, 1:200 at A1

25

nerve centre southwest axonometric, isolated

26

ceiling and sky perspective view of the Interzone looking north towards Europe

27

is it licit? permutation poem [beyond]

28

layers / lairs models, 1:100

29

high indefinition interior view through proposals

30

parasitic gathering employing devices in order to harvest material to construct the Interzone

31

material extraction extracting material from replete sites across Tangier

32

horizon fading cut ups by authors

33

legislative assembly application of Tangier’s conflicting land laws onto each other, mapped through the site of Petit Socco

34

resistance Anti-government protests in Tangier, in the wake of a coal mine collapsing which killed three people

35

hide and seek the Interzone as seen from the alleyways of the Medina

38

horizons perspective drawing from rooftop of the digital stock market

39

the ascent view across western europe, contextualising Tangier’s political situation

40

III insolvency and the vault debts wracked against the wall surge like shoots through cracks, whip the back cleaving one from self, over the boundary into the embrace tender is the flight, reborn liquid again dear life sold another conspires, profit nicks the heels stumbles the never, makes worthy the lie of the land

insolvency and the vault The grand facade of the Italian legation [now the Hotel Fuentes], once masked the nefarious deeds of Michael Mochi, the viceconsul during the Second World War. He was forced to flee after having gambled vast sums of the Italian state’s money away, as well as being in league with the Nazis.

In the 21st century trenchant corruption within the Moroccan government undermines the lives of the population, with a recent report

by Transparency International claiming that bribery had become institutionalised. The majority of these bribes are in cash, as it is harder to trace than digital methods.

A digital stock market is suspended within the partially hollowed hotel, allowing both to function simultaneously. An anechoic chamber shrouds the activities of the operation from the government’s surveillance, while the rooftop occupies the horizon in an escape from the corruption below.

insolvency and the vault mapping the agitations and crossings of Tangier relating to financial transparency across a century

43

a rise protests relating to Government corruption, Tangier, 2018.

44

[6]

[2]

[3] [5] [1] [7]

[4]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

anti-corruption unit headquarters agent’s quarter’s washroom retracting stock market ‘floor’ anechoic chamber server repair gantry server bank concealing kiosk

insolvency and the vault worm’s eye view

45

[8]

A

[3]

B

[2]

[4] [1]

B

[5]

1 2 3 4 5

stock market billboard hoist agent’s desk agent’s niche washroom anechoic chamber

insolvency and the vault second floor plan, 1:100 at A2

46

A

insolvency and the vault section AA, 1:100 at A2

47

insolvency and the vault section BB, 1:100 at A2

48

insolvency and the vault masked elevation, 1:100 at A2

49

liquidating assets

50

shadow space interior view showing the anechoic chamber, a shadow space

51

insolvency and the vault southwest axonometric, isolated

52

“I need a vault, corruption is rife outside Interzone”

insolvency and the vault axonometric showing how access to the Interzone is gained

53

loss permutation poem [freedom]

54

catalyst no. 1 initial prompt using the genius loci of the Italian legation

55

insolvency and the vault operational plan of the digital stock market

56

[2]

[3]

[1]

[4] 1 2 3 4

mashrabiyah - agent’s quarters retracting oasis roof folding louvers salvaged steel gantry

insolvency and the vault material axonometric of digital stock market

57

the fall

58

server glitch interior view of the server bank

59

transparency in silver internal view of the server bank and beyond

60

insolvency and the vault model, 1:100

61

insolvency and the vault view towards the digital stock market

62

IV cypher provocateur proclamations sway in the breeze carried across the bay, weak tired broken, they crash against the sky falling to earth smouldering in their wake the funeral begins, to speak cry mourn the tower shall not permit blessing yesterday or tomorrow, now the voice commands

cypher provocateur In 1943 the Spanish consul in the International Zone accused the Tangier Gazette, an independent newspaper, of peddling anti-Francoist ideals, and petitioned for its closure.

Today, press freedom is once again under threat from state power, with Mohamed VI’s government clamping down on independent media.

A free-press publishing house is shrouded inside the former Spanish legation building, a series of mashrabiyas inhabited by various elements of the editorial team. A broadcasting tower rises above the horizon to allow for the continual transmission of a free, independent media source.

cypher provocateur mapping the agitations and crossings of Tangier relating to press freedom across a century

35

the truth?

66

[1]

[2]

[5]

[4]

[3] [7]

[6]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

horizon lookout printing press paper store editorial headquarters oasis veranda lecture theatre access stair concealing kiosk

[8]

cypher provocateur worm’s eye view

67

B

A

[2]

[3]

[4]

[1]

[5]

A

[6]

1 2 3 4 5 6

conference room editor’s mashrabiya broadcaster’s mashrabiya stenographer’s mashrabiya projection niche retracting screen

cypher provocateur first floor plan, 1:100 at A2

68

B

cypher provocateur section AA, 1:100 at A2

69

cypher provocateur section BB, 1:100 at A2

70

masks

71

cypher provocateur masked elevation, 1:100 at A2

72

cypher provocateur southeast axonometric, isolated

73

cypher provocateur axonometric showing how entry into the Interzone is gained

74

no evil isometric showing the detailed functions within the inhabited mashrabiyas

75

agitation permutation poem [propaganda]

76

catalyst no. 2 initial prompt using the genius loci of the Spanish legation

77

cypher provocateur operational plan of the free-press house

78

[2]

[1]

[4]

[3]

1 2 3 4

mashrabiyah - projection room water collection basins retracting cinema screen, vinyl reclaimed shelving units

cypher provocateur material axonometric of free-press house

79

are we patriots?

80

leaking source internal view of the free-press house

81

cypher provocateur model, 1:100

82

cypher provocateur external view of the bookseller’s kiosk that admits entry to the Interzone

83

V acid reign clouds gather in the square words blur promises torn, from the tower and wall on which they were emblazoned. friends in high places spit runs black over the parapet, treachery poisons streaming like veins the maze carries its cursed gift straight to the temple or worse

acid reign Exacerbated by the Moroccan government’s nepotistic permission of phosphate extraction across the country’s south, local water sources are polluted, clouds of acid rain drifting across the whole region.

Concealed within the walls of the former legation for the Portuguese Empire, which was a major extractor of toxic materials in countries around the globe, the programme fights against an environmental hazard which threatens Morocco.

A hydrological laboratory filters rainwater through a series of channels and basins, providing a public drinking source whilst conducting research into the toxicity of rainwater in the region.

a mirror to time

87

[7]

[8]

[9]

[6]

[1]

[2]

[3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

rainwater collection screen rainwater collection basins disinfectant channel veiled hammam concealing fountain equipment store workshop gantry rainwater chanelling workshop production area

acid reign [5]

[4] worm’s eye view

88

B

acid reign first floor plan, 1:100 at A2

A

89 [5]

1 2 3 4 5 6

[6]

hydrologist’s mashrabiya disinfectant channel water testing basins sedimentation vats water sample storage planting beds

[1]

[2] [3]

[4]

B

A

acid reign section AA, 1:100 at A2

90

acid reign section BB, 1:100 at A2

91

acid reign southwest axonometric, isolated

92

acid reign axonometric showing how access to the Interzone is gained

93

bleeding permutation poem [fracture]

94

catalyst no. 3 initial prompt using the genius loci of the Portuguese legation

95

acid reign operational plan of the hydrological laboratory

96

[1]

[4] [3]

[2]

[7]

[6]

[5]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

mashrabiyah - hydrologists’s quarters water flocullation basins water sedimentation vats disinfectant channel hammam screens reclaimed wash basins fountain

acid reign material axonometric of hydrological laboratory

97

seeping through dust cloud forming across the Al-Hoceima plateau

98

leaky vessels internal view of the hydrological laboatory’s fountain

99

acid reign model, 1:100

100

from the well view along the Petit Socco towards the hydrological laboratory

101

VI copper’s nark blink the swarm feeds, ringing the bells above. awake asleep and none previous to utter centuries untold rumour and kin. sweat beads torn run through palms lies seethe from lips the dust of truths blackens the glittering Rock the agony it cannot exalt it cannot prevail

copper’s nark The British government, bolstered by its presence in Gibraltar, operated an extensive intelligence network in the International Zone until its collapse. Personal freedoms held little opposition to this, and agents would routinely arrest native Moroccans to extort information at any cost.

Recent actions by the Moroccan government have once again encroached upon individual freedoms in the country, with serious state investment into surveillance and monitoring systems.

A telecommunications hub is stashed behind the facade of the former British legation, opening to the sky in order to ensure freedom of communication for individuals in the Interzone.

copper’s nark mapping a century of agitations across Tangier

104

masking who? satellite dish currently in use by the Moroccan Government

105

[2]

[3]

[1]

[8]

[5]

[4]

[6]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

transmission veil retracting screen water collection basins stenographer’s recording desk communications archive electrical substation concealing phonebox the cabinet

[7]

copper’s nark worm’s eye view

106

B

[1]

[2]

A

[3]

A

B

1 mashrabiya- operation room 2 wiring reels 3 satellite operation desk

copper’s nark first floor plan, 1:100 at A2

107

[1] [2]

1 the cabinet - conference space 2 retracting table surface

copper’s nark second floor plan, 1:100 at A2

108

portals perpetuate

109

copper’s nark section AA, 1:100 at A2

110

copper’s nark section BB, 1:100 at A2

111

copper’s nark masked elevation, 1:100 at A2

112

copper’s nark southwest axonometric, isolated

113

copper’s nark axonometric detailing how access to the Interzone is gained

114

liberty permutation poem [freedom]

115

catalyst no. 4 initial prompt using the genius loci of the British legation

116

copper’s nark operational plan of the telecommunications hub

117

[3]

[2]

[5]

[1]

[4]

1 2 3 4 5

mashrabiyah - operation room core parabolic dish retracting screen cooling basins transmission veil

copper’s nark material axonometric of telecommunications hub

118

past the shadow

119

tone and line internal view showing the cabinet and beyond

120

copper’s nark model, 1:100

121

crow’s nest perspective view across tangier towards Hotel Continental

122

a moment’s rest over the night drift the heartbeats of an eternal memory. through a cross over under worlds and within one, blanket the earth tempered to be finite. come forth the murmur the cry, the look. pale white it is encircled in her arms.

permutations metamorphosis of language and terms

124

celestial canopy

125

cypher x4 metamorphosis of architecture and release

126

patterns Brion Gysin’s technique of cut ups

127

VII extraterritorial horizons darkness fills the void the ascent has left right down below, pearls bleed over the iris grasping visions now and for the being it is no more. spectres flicker pass shudder they weep, sailing through endless skies, the crimson has kissed clouds, vapour mists around ankles chained no longer

extraterritorial horizons Having provided liberty for the occupants of the Interzone, the architectures take flight in a nod to their parasitic past. They infiltrate architectures beyond the horizons they used to occupy, taking root in the consciousness of a movement that inhabits the skies.

dreams composite drawing across scales

130

war cabinet

131

surfaces transcend

134

dream plateau 1 experiencing architecture through plurality

135

dream plateau 2 experiencing architecture through plurality

136

dream plateau 3 experiencing architecture through plurality

137

atmosphere clouds over Tangier

138

collision 1 projection onto the Interzone

139

collision 2 projection onto the Interzone

140

collision 3 projection onto the Interzone

141

collision 4 projection onto the Interzone

142

VIII shapes beyond form ink-black trails across the landscape, the rover takes his shelter in its nooks, wells sustain blood thickens coagulates seeps upon land and sea flickering back to the forth master over worlds and men, the meddling hand wreaks carnage upon that beneath, that other eternal in its form

shapes beyond form The traversal of the crossing between Edinburgh and Tangier has not been a linear one. Various currents, swells, and tides have been encountered, bringing orientation towards a multitude of horizons. These transformations are held within the process and its architecture.

underworld

145

trace this exploration into the permutational possibilities of the Petit Socco

147

foreshadowing

148

drop the awning

149

crossing thresholds exploration into the mashrabiya, an architectural device common in Tangier

150

reveal yourself exploration into masks, through a reading of William Burroughs’ literature

151

“Cut up this page you are reading and see what happens. See what I say as well as hear it.”

the book I read give it a try

152

stitched up

153

the space between crossing the strait from Tangier to Tarifa [shortened]

154

surface tension final review layout

157

spectres

158

dream machine perspective view of studio

159

on the face of it Chambers Street Statues, 1:10 at A2

160

reflected back elevation of Minto House, 1:100 at A2

161

shared jurisdiction

162

IX dream: I am in the Interzone Descending from the skies, the architectures of the Interzone take root across the field of their conception, Edinburgh. Accelerated by their proliferation across the urban fabric of Chambers Street, they lodge themselves in facades, eaves and nooks.

dream: I am in the Interzone in dreams of mercury the star glints an eye, the rope slips a grasp tears stream from the stars falling upon us, falling down never to reclaim it is gone, bound and loosed, not of one but of all, the haze drifts lazily on, for all.

material dreams midterm review layout

165

the skies projection onto Chambers Street

166

the streets projection onto Chambers Street

167

a wake the gathering of architectures above the site of their conception

168