Oase Kassel - واحة كاسل : Oasian Ecologies and Vernacular Gardens

In the Sahara desert, oases are complex spaces built to face extreme weather conditions, they have been represented in so many diferent ways through culture (literature, cinema, fine arts...), but overall, oases are the result of an attitude that has led the population of desert regions to build, not just villages, but an entire ecosystem adapted to the geophysical environment in which to live self-sufciently using goods provided by the oasis, becoming an example of what sustainable development should be. Even today, and despite the many difficulties, oasis planning is still valid as an urban model or, better said, as a habitat model in which agriculture and architecture develop together, generating a whole series of specificities in matters such as the economy , sociology, water management, governance, culture.

For years, LE 18 through its diferent programs such as Qanat and its collaborations with cultural projects such as Marsad Drâa, Caravane Tighmert and Caravane Ouadane, has explored the complex codes of oasian territories from a contemporary perspective and in a transdisciplinarity way. During the month of August, LE 18 will propose a series of activities (workshops and talks) related to oases where we will focus on issues such as architecture, urban planning, energy efciency, agriculture, ecology, water, common.

What would an oasis in Kassel look like?

A five days workshop to imagine what a new self-sufcient district of Kassel could be based on the experience of Moroccan and Mauritanian oases, from multiple perspectives. We will work with 10 students (or young professionals) from the Faculty of Architecture, Urban Planning and Landscape Planning, the Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences and the School
of Art and Design.
 

If you are interested, send an email to oasekasseldocumenta15gmailcom (before August the 4th) briefly explaining why you want to participate!
 

Download the flyer of the event here!