The Cloud
New South Collective
Othmane Bengebara
Sophia Bengebara
Pauline Charles
ENA
National School of Architecture
December 2018–January 2019
Rabat, Morocco
with the support of l’Institut français du Maroc, Cimelect Lighting, S2EL, ENA–National School of Architecture, Films Beldi Production and OnOrient.
Displayed on the forecourt of the National School of Architecture of Rabat, The Cloud is an immersive and interactive work that is built on the understanding and synthesis of the current process of metamorphosis of the Bouregreg Valley. A floating topography of wires suspended from a canopy of fishing nets intended to be touched, manipulated, traversed, and crossed. Imagining the future requires an inspection of the things around us, even the simplest and most fragile, to reveal them, probe them, understand them, and let emerge the fictions that everyday life hides.
Water, the estuary, and the river network form an integral part of urban heritage and serve as vital connections that fishermen and smugglers pass on through generations. They are the privileged witnesses to the complex interactions among people, the audience to folk tales, and the keepers of local memories. As workers of the sea, they provide essential mobility and act as crucial links in maintaining the balance of this shared space. The Cloud emerges from this complex interplay of materials. The lead, wires, and fishing nets that make up this scaffolding structure, along with striking lighting, create an experimental and contemporary space. This installation reflects the realities of the valley and addresses the issues surrounding it. With a meditative sensuality, it provokes us to reconsider our relationship with often-overlooked places and asserts the significance of bodies within architectural spaces. This is a call to action—a participatory commitment to restore architecture’s capacity to envision and foster community. The issues raised highlight the transformation of our urban environments and the expectations for the future. They focus on sustainable development, ecology, the social realities of urban life, and the identity of landscape and architecture. This topic is particularly relevant in the context of Rabat and Salé, two sister cities that are central to the urban future of Morocco.
New South Collective
Othmane Bengebara
Meriem Chabani
Sophia Bengebara
Pauline Charles
Kenza Benbouchaib
Lina Meskine
Coordination
Othmane Bengebara
Installation
Aicha-Malak Labib
Alaa Sassi
Amine Belmabkhout
Asmae Aannaque
Chadine Benomar
Chahrazad Abdeli
Chaymae Bassir
Cristalina Amaro
Dani Chaymae
Ghita Barkouch
Habiba El Hajji
Hamza El Khomri
Hiba Aissaoui
Hind Aboujiad
Houda Jaouzi
Imane Yousfi
Jawhara El Maskoune
Kenza Mokadader
Mahmoud Ramdane
Maria Hamada
Maryam Karibi
Mehdi Jamal Alaoui
Meriem Nejjar
Meryem Rhazouani
Films Beldi Production
Faiçal Ben Aghrou
Nizar Laajali
Mehdi Laajali
Carole Guilloux
Reda Zniber
Montacir Laouin
Mouna Naoui
Othmane LhorOuiam Assaydi
Ouisam Assyadi
Oumayma Naciri
Oussama Elouardassi
Rania Saddiqe
Rim Benkacem
Rim Lammat
Romaissa Nejmi
Safae Belhaous
Safae Gueldi
Salma Boujid
Samia Lamgamat
Samia Serhani
Sara Benkerroum
Sofia Belhadj
Viviana Sofia
Wafaa Benjarmoun
Wiam Chafai
Yasmine El Bouzaidi
Yousra Fahmaoui
Zineb Assas
Zineb Larhlid
Le Nuage, 2019, instalation views. © New South Collective/Pauline Charles.