Diachronic urban morphology: The formation process of ait ben haddou, morocco

This study focuses on the Ksar (Ighrem) Ait Ben Haddou as an outstanding example of a well-preserved earth settlement in southern Morocco. The fortified town is located in a semi-desert basin within the Draa region and stands on the side of a hill constructed primarily of rammed earth. The site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987, indicating that the oldest constructions do not date before the 17th century. However, the fortified town conveys ancient construction materials and techniques. Interestingly, Al-Wazzan [1, p. 194], mentions the existence of fortified castles along the Drâa valley in the 15th century. In this respect, the research explores the formation process of Ait Benhaddou by comparing available fragmentary historical data through geographers' and travelers' records and oral history with the results of the typo-morphological analysis based on the Caniggian school of thought. The application of the Caniggian theoretical framework demonstrates the role of urban attractors in forging the urban tissue and the urban grid, and the results reveal that the village originated from the hilltop and gradually expanded downhill from east to west (valley). The typo-morphological study explains a transformation of the urban pattern assisted by the development of building types following the growth direction while maintaining the notion of enclosure. Furthermore, the inspection of social, religious, economic, and commercial local attributes offered valuable insights into the logic of urban growth and the building form as an outcome of local contextual factors that characterize the village in its territory.