Collective ingeniosity in the construction of the popular home: The challenge of the know-how in Sahara

As everywhere in the world, every traditional masterpiece emanates from a system in which the natural and cultural environment intersect, and are super-imposed on a set of local know-how. It is these ancestral techniques and practices transmitted from generation to generation which, Achieving harmony between habitat and the environment, even a symbiosis between techniques, us, customs, and socio-cultural values, allow building architectures and landscapes with obvi-ous universal value. However, traditional know-how including innovative solutions appropriate to each environment, are at risk of lapse or total disappearance leading to the disap-pearance of an entire culture.Typically, the popular house in Bechar (city located at the gates of the Algerian Sahara), this collective production has proved its worth for centuries, in a severe environment with arid climate. The objective of this work is to show the ingenuity of this construction deflecting the cold, the wind and the sun with passive means able to face undeniable challenges in the face of current production with artificial means (without any adaptation to climate and local context).

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