This studio engaged Tangier's vital cultural history and actuality as a site of crossing.

It was framed around an enquiry into the everyday experience of free time in the city, its entanglements with colonial infrastructures of leisure and their media, and ultimately, the potential that architecture, itself a joyful practice, holds to challenge extractive economies, particularly those of the city's contemporary tourism. Some of the questions that guided our enquiry-by-design were: How has the experience of leisure shaped Tangier's urban space? Which contact zones emerge from everyday experiences of free time? What kinds of material assemblies might arise from crossings of architecture and enjoyment? We crafted delicate souvenirs that materialised our delightful encounter with Tangier before and during the field trip, and studied the environmental responses of Moroccan architectural precedents. These small projects anchored architectures of enjoyment for Tangier that inventively responded to local conditions and resources—climate, water, materials, energy, labour, knowledge—in complex, poetic, economical, and environmentally effective ways. Ultimately, being in touch with Tangier transformed our modes of architectural production. Taking part in this complex site of crossing involves being affected by its transformative energy.

Top image: Paul Bowles and Jellel Gasteli, Tangier: Vues Choises ©Jellel Gasteli