Constant dialogue with nature is the cultural foundation of the Alula civilisations.
Here, the landscape is sublimated by the encounter between architecture and the layers of mineral materials, the ochre of the sand, the yellow and red of the sandstone rocks, and the black of the volcanic plateau.
In the Hegra plain, the rocky outcrops represent the iconic architectural figures of the Nabataeans of Alula. Polymorphous sandstone masses, protectors of Nabataean spirits, emerge like petrified mythological figures.
The way of life of the Nabataeans at the height of their glory (the importance of the clan, its pride and honour) led to a specific architectural ensemble reflecting in part their social structure. For example, the Majlis, the space that contemporary archaeologists now call the 'Triclinium', allowed the gathering of large brotherhoods for both religious and socio-political purposes. Its location and orientation are precisely defined by the view and the climatic elements.
Among the Nabataeans, life and death coexisted in the same complex of the same clan: the tomb, the sanctuary, the triclinium, and the baths.
Cutting into the rock, especially on high, was a challenge, and therefore a luxury. Bringing water to these heights was even more so.
An exceptional plot of land
The plot of land on which we are working is located to the north-east of the village of Qaraqir, to the south of Hegra, in an area where the master plan envisages the creation of a troglodyte village.
Our site consists of two rocks separated by a fault in the direction of Hegra to the north and overlooking the oasis of Qaraqir to the south.
The rocky masses of the site form the totems of Qaraqir. They are visible from the whole village and from the road that goes around them.
Our plot is not on ground but a rocky ensemble. It is an extreme and singular situation. It calls on the imagination to reinvent modes of living, while borrowing the spirit of the Nabataean challenge.
Inhabiting the mass
To preserve the emptiness of the plot and the skyline of the rocks as much as possible, a real landmark for the inhabitants of Qaraqir, we decided to conceal the house in the rock, digging out the mass to generate inhabited cavities. The troglodyte habitat is a powerful archetype. As Gaston Bachelard says, "The cave is a refuge of which one dreams without end. It gives immediate meaning to the dream of a protected rest, a quiet rest."
Excavation scenario: A house that grows like its inhabitants
The excavation of the house borrows the poetry and the characteristics of stone quarries, especially its temporality: the extraction of a quarry is slow and spreads over several years. It seemed obvious to us to integrate the question of time and the evolutivity of the habitat into the concept of the house.
Thus, the interior void, the true body of the house, grows from year to year. The house grows in the image of its occupants. As the family grows, so does the house.
An aesthetic of excavation
The aesthetics of a stone quarry differ according to the excavation process used.
Here, the excavation of the rock is done in two phases, taking into account the nature and morphology of the rock.
Phase 1 corresponds to a vertical and horizontal levelling for each cavity, to align them on the same base height.
Phase 2 is the excavation of the cavity, burrowing into the rock.
If we look closely at the rock, we can see that it is made up of sedimentation strata in a slow, multi-millennial process. Some of these strata have a strangely geometric shape, consisting of a succession of folds in the hollow of a horizontal gap. This angular and faceted relief, formed in the hollow of a horizontal stratum, draws a strong contrast with the curves and organic microcavities of the rock. Our excavation is inspired by these geometric forms and draws another horizontal stratum in the complex and organic architecture of the rock.
A bridge as an approach system
The rock housing the habitat is at the bow of the rock formation, separated by a fault from the main body. We sought to stage the access route from the ground by creating an approach system.
The ascent is positioned on the rock opposite, inside the fault. At the top, the visitor takes a bridge to the rock containing the habitat. The crossing of the rift is a real orchestration. It offers a slow and kinetic approach to the house.
The bridge is inclined, representing the final sequence of the ascent. It also offers an open view to the south, to the oasis of Qaraqir and a framing to the north, to the horizon of the Hegra plain.
On the other side of the bridge, the house offers a large opening as a sign of welcome. Here the door is always open.
"The cave is the dwelling without a door... The dialectic of refuge needs the opening.
We want to be protected, but we don't want to be locked in.” (G. Bachelard)
Bioclimatic design
The morphological study following the process described above allowed us to design a bioclimatic project by considering the air flows generated by the winds and the through cavities dug in the rock. In addition, the inertia of the mineral thicknesses allows the temperature inside the rock to be kept constant.
"In these caverns, like a lung, the mountain breathes. The inner breaths evoke the breathing of the great terrestrial being". (G. Bachelard)
Evolving and nomadic interior design
Inside, the void grows from year to year. The layout must be adaptable and flexible. The first year, you live in one large room. The next year, a room is dug out. The year after that, a kitchen, etc.
That's why the furniture must be light and able to be moved from space to space every year.
Stage 1: Tame the rocks
In the manner of the Nabateans, we tried above all to tame our rocks, to understand their orientation in relation to the air flows and the sun, to analyse their morphology. To note the views generated from the heights.
To do this we needed to understand the relief perfectly, to examine it like an archaeological object. The documents annexed to the competition programme were not sufficient to make a precise survey of the rock. It is difficult to design an integrated project without first seeing the rock, without understanding its relief and morphology.
So, we decided to go to the site and photograph the rock from all sides.
Stage 2: Reconstruction of the rocks
Thanks to the photographs, we tried to reconstruct the rock as close as possible to reality. The model obtained is not perfectly in line with the real rock. It is an interpretation based on a photographic set. But as we are in a case study, we assume at this stage that the model is an interpretation of the rock, without being perfectly consistent with reality.
This model was the starting point for the morphology of the project. We then scanned it in 3D. This document allowed us to understand the complexity of the rock's shapes, to study the air flows and the aerodynamics of the wall, to understand the shadows generated by the sun's path in order to astutely dig the cavities, oriented according to the privileged points of view on the surrounding territory.
Stage 3: 3D printing
Once all the cavities were created by the digital tool, we printed them in 3D and introduced them into the model. The rock with the integrated project was scanned again to obtain the final 3D file.
