Comment « devenir traditionnel » ? Premiers projets et espoirs de l’architecte Jean Hensens (1929–2006) au Maroc

Abstract

Transferred in 2016 to the Archives and Library of Architecture of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), the archives of Jean Hensens (1929Hensens ( -2006 bring together a large collection of unpublished documents on the work and career of the Belgian architect and urban planner. This collection consists mainly of study reports, preparation documents and articles that J. Hensens wrote during his career in Morocco between 1962 and 1989. Based on these archives and those of the Centre d'expérimentation, de recherche et de formation (CERF), this article traces the beginning of his career, which led him and his wife Stacia Hensens (1931-) to work in Morocco for various research agencies and ministries. Through the analysis of J. Hensens's early projects and research and his involvement in the CERF, we identify how his principle of "devenir traditionnel" (becoming traditional) was developed and concretized in three main forms of research: a) the experimentation and improvement of raw earth techniques; b) the promotion of new forms of "collective self-construction" housing; c) and finally, the attempt to model and redesign the foundation and composition processes of the so-called vernacular habitat.