hide
(n.) the strong, thick skin of an animal, used for making leather.
tannery
(n.) the place where leather is made.
vessel
(n.) a curved container that is used to hold liquid.
Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved Feburary 10, 2022, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/
The project is a dialogue with the traditional tannery. It is a typology study of industrial space in urban context. The spatial quality relies on the definition of a tanning vessel where the interior is clear and the exterior structure and connection are in organic formation. It includes a filtering system which aims to allow visitors to witness the tanning effluent filtered as new resources.
Tannery visits and studies are one of the most challenging but rewarding part of the project. They are the foundation of the project.
The site study focuses on the area surrounding the Chouara Tannery. The outdoor tanning space is surrounded by indoor workspace, retail shops of leather products and then residential housings. Although the tannery is a super popular tourist spot in Fes, there are not many hostels or café found which surprised me. The chosen site is an existing car park. It allows a lot of possibility and creation in between the tannery and the neighborhood. It is a meeting point for all sorts of visitors now and it is connected from the tannery to the community on the east.
The prototyping phase studied the possibility of reusing tanning effluent in sememster 1. In the interview with my collaborator, Professor Ouazzani, she shared that researchers are currently experimenting with different ways to filter out chemical pollutants, reuse the chemicals and filter the water. It is hoped to include this idea as a supporting system for the existing tannery and also create a new tannery that allows visitors to witness this process of dirty water going through the building, and coming out to the river.
From the site visit, it is found that the composition of the existing tannery is not only about the operation of leather production. It is more about the side business of tourism and retail supporting the performance of the tannery. Hence, it is aimed to design a new tannery which maximizes the pros and minimizes the cons of the existing. The programmes are the tannery with touristic function, a training school for local and visitors, and a recycling system for handling the effluent from the old and new tannery.
Tanning for is as a form of art and tangible heritage. A set of vessel vocubulary is aimed to be formed through the studies in traditional tannery. My main inspiration comes from the fascination of tanning vessels. I want to create an experience of being in vessels. Definitions of the vessels were given based on the material, structure, form, sizes and ratio of the tanning vessels. But no matter what form and material they use, the interior is clear definition while the outside connection is organic and form. The definition of a tanning vessel- which has clear definition inside and a more organic growth of connection and structure on the exterior.
In this exercise, sectional drawing is the driving tool to explore the spatial quality and connection of vessels.
Prototype study - tanning effluent filtration
