ABSTRACT
In 1953, a loose affiliation of architects active in Algiers presented detailed studies of la Mahieddine, then The city’s largest bidonville (shantytown), at the ninth meeting of the Congrès internationaux de l’architecture moderne (CIAM, International Congress of Modern Architecture) in Aix-en-Provence (Figure 6.1). Animated by Swiss-born architect Pierre-André Emery, an early collaborator of Le Corbusier and vocal supporter of his urban plan for Algiers (1931–1942), the CIAM-Alger group included Louis Miquel, Jean de Maisonseul, Pierre Bourlier, and Roland Simounet. Together they documented la Mahieddine through architectural drawings, diagrams, photographs, and interviews with residents. These materials, together with visual materials culled from outside sources, were combined in over forty-seven presentation panels, each featuring descriptive captions in French and English. Following the standardized format of the CIAM grid, individual panels were organized into functional categories—including sleeping, eating, storage, and hygiene—to allow ready comparison with other studies prepared for CIAM 9. 1 While each panel highlighted discrete observations, the grid aimed to provide a synoptic view of how the bidonville had been shaped by culturally specific patterns of construction and inhabitation. Detail of CIAM-Alger grid, 1953. Fondation Le Corbusier; as reproduced in Max Risselada and Dirk van de Heuvel, eds., Team 10, 1953–81: In Search of a Utopia of the Present (Rotterdam: NAi, 2005). https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315884141/77456718-6894-490c-8628-c07d15df5de4/content/fig6_1_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
