Aziza Chaouni: How I brought a river, and my city, back to life

Main ideas, concepts, and lessons

• A personal/architectural turning point

  • The speaker describes a specific project that changed how they practice architecture: the Fez River Rehabilitation Project in Fez, Morocco.

• Why the Fez River mattered

  • The medina of Fez (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) sits in a river valley.
  • The Fez River bisects the medina and is described as the city’s “soul.”
  • Historically, the river’s water system was visible across the city (e.g., private and public fountains).

• How urban growth and infrastructure stress caused harm

  • Since the 1950s, growth and inadequate infrastructure put pressure on:
    • green/open spaces
    • sewage systems
  • Major impacts on the river:
    • Pollution from untreated sewage and chemical dumping (e.g., tanning crafts)
    • The river was covered with concrete slabs starting in 1952
    • Riverbank houses were destroyed to allow machinery access in narrow areas
    • Resulting “urban voids” became illegal parking and trash yards

• Trigger for action

  • After hearing the city received a grant to divert sewage and treat it, the speaker felt it made “uncovering the river” suddenly feasible and decided to act.

• A broader proposal than just “uncovering”

  • With support/commissioning from the city, the speaker and a partner worked with engineers, but they advocated for an expanded strategy:
    • not only uncover the river
    • but also reshape river-adjacent spaces into useful public amenities

• Two concrete interventions

  1. Rcif Plaza

     • Location: sits on top of the river.
     • Past condition: a chaotic transportation hub harming urban integrity; nearby river looked like a “river of trash.”
     • Proposal:
       • make the plaza entirely pedestrian
       • cover it with recycled leather canopies
       • connect it to the river banks

  2. An urban void turned playground

     • Past condition: illegal parking along the riverbanks.
     • Proposal:
       • convert it into the first playground in the medina
       • build it using recycled tires
       • add a constructed wetland that:
         • cleans river water
         • retains water during floods

• How the project survived changing stakeholders

  • As the project gained design awards, new stakeholders changed goals and design.
  • The speaker argues the way to keep the core mission moving was unusually architectural:
    • architects had to step back from ego/authorship
    • act more like activists
    • coalesce stakeholder agendas around core project goals

• Core goals and intended long-term outcome

  • Central aims:
    • uncover the river
    • treat its water
    • provide public spaces for all
  • Long-term lesson/vision:
    • the city should remain alive, not become a “mummified heritage”
  • The project is described as still evolving/adapting as the city’s sociopolitical context changes.

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Detailed “methodology” / implied approach (as presented)

• 1) Identify the harm and its causes

  • Link river deterioration to:
    • untreated sewage
    • chemical dumping
    • infrastructure decisions that physically erased the river (concrete slabs, destruction of nearby houses for machinery access)
    • negative reuse outcomes (trash yards, illegal parking)

• 2) Use environmental/utility improvements as an opening

  • Leverage a newly available sewage-diversion and treatment grant to make restoration technically possible.

• 3) Convert “restoration” into “public life design”

  • Expand beyond the river itself to include:
    • pedestrian pathways along riverbanks
    • pathways connected back into the existing urban fabric
    • conversion of degraded riverbank “voids” into civic/public spaces

• 4) Implement interventions with sustainability + reuse

  • Example materials and systems:
    • recycled leather canopies (for plaza shade/comfort)
    • recycled tires (for playground construction)
    • constructed wetland (water treatment + flood retention)

• 5) Reframe the architect’s role

  • Reduce “design ego” and “authorship” to:
    • prioritize activism
    • align/coalesce stakeholder objectives
    • protect the core goals despite shifting design conditions

• 6) Allow adaptation over time

  • Accept that the project’s form will keep changing with:
    • stakeholder involvement
    • sociopolitical landscape
  • Keep the mission anchored even when specifics evolve.

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Sources / speakers featured (as identifiable from subtitles)

• Aziza Chaouni (main speaker)
• Takako Tajima (speaker’s partner; collaborator on the project)
• Unspecified city officials / city commission (the city commissioned them; no individual named)
• Engineers (unnamed) (worked with the team)
• Audience (applause is indicated, but no individual speakers are named)