Imaneo - Creative Europe project

a film by Nicholas F.Callaway, will be screened at the Sarajevo Film Festival. We are honored that Imaneo project' results are reaching more audience.

Atelier #4
Publication&Mediation
9-10/12/2022

facade by artist

Vijećnica Teaser 4 Preview from upcoming animation project for Imaneo, based around the Moorish Revival style Vijećnica building in Sarajevo, build under the Austro-Hungarian E...

messages in
Ongoing work of artist' duo Edouard Taufenbach and Bastien Pourtout

“…photograph circulating line messages from one to the another….”
📸 ➡️ 📷 ➡️ 📸 ➡️ 📷 ➡️ 📨

Sidi Soufi Mosque is probably the most famous one in the city of . Yet its history is still difficult to trace.

Opened in 1️⃣9️⃣0️⃣2️⃣

"According to the chronicle of Al-Warthilani, a trave- ler who visited the tomb of Sidi Soufi in the mid-18th century, the holy man was one of the most prominent celebrities of the city. When he died, a monument may have been erected at his grave site, to honor his remains and welcome visitors. According to another theory, an edifice founded on an unknown date was the mystic’s favorite praying place, and allegedly took on his name in memory of his frequent visits. Whichever is true, in 1833, when an initial map of the city was established by the French military staff, it showed a mosque called Sidi Safi (or Sidi Souffour) in the neighborhood of the current mosque, between the Fouka gate and the square then named for Louis-Philippe."

and text available ⬇️
https://invisu.cnrs.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Notice_Sidi_Soufi-fr-en-es.pdf

The Bey’s Palace is one of the rare Ottoman-era monuments to have been preserved in
📍 Oran, Algeria.

🏗️ late and

"...In 1855, the grand reception hall, behind the peristyle, underwent renovation aimed at “redecorating the whole complex [...] in Moorish style to match the rest of the buildings.” As a result, the following elements were added: “eight new columns, [...], carved stucco including a frieze panel, carved plaster door frame, plaster moldings and cornices, carved la﬙icework [...],” as well as new windows filled with “finely craſted” oak trim, with “windows framed on the exterior with white marble with bronzed wrought iron bars.” The room was also provided with a new ceiling.

In 1865, for Emperor Napoleon III’s official visit to Oran, Orientalist Edmond Combarel put the finishing touches on the reception hall renovation by introducing Arabic inscriptions honoring the French sovereign into the reinvented ceiling decor..."

More info in and available on the following link:
https://invisu.cnrs.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/imaneo-palais-du-bey.pdf

The in is our next research building.
Designed by the , city’s chief architect and , one of the designers of the Grand Mosque in .
🏗️ 1931-1935

"..Three elements give the structure a neo-Moorish character. These are the portal, the main façade of the central building, and the morgue.

The portal was inspired by the monumental gate at Meknès, the Bâb Mansûr al-‘Ilj, founded in the 18th century. The entrance to the building is located under a large pointed arch, flanked by two square bulwarks opening on three sides by a horseshoe arch supported by beveled pillars. The three-part façade is ornamented with a geometric mosaic design bearing a gold inscription on a blue background, giving the name of the hospital in French and Arabic. On the central building, a flight of stairs (demolished in 2005) led to the building whose façade covers two levels with a gallery of pointed arches. Lastly, the public part of the morgue presents a centered plan opening to the exterior with a second gallery of pointed arches, and covered by a dome suggesting medieval-area bathhouses in North Africa..."

https://invisu.cnrs.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/imaneo-avicenne.pdf


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Did you know that Gare d'Oran in Algeria and Gare de Lyon in Paris, France was designed by the same architect?

Our next reserch building is

“Parisian , the staff architect for the Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM), designed both railway stations.

🚉 Oran station was “the first station to be designed in the purest Oriental style” in Algeria. By choosing this style, the private company and its architect undoubtedly hoped to gain the good graces of Algeria’s governor-general Charles Jonnart, a promoter of the Neo-Moorish style. At the time, the colony’s rail system was being extended. Construction of the station, which began in 1908, was completed in 1910…”

French, English and Spanish short texts are available on the following link:

https://invisu.cnrs.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/imaneo-gare-oran.pdf

Synagogue of Châlons-en-Champagne is one of the research buildings.
Designed by the architect and opened in 1875.

“…At the time, religious architecture, particularly that of synagogues, was the subject of intense reflection. What forms would best represent the solemnity and sobriety required by Jewish tradition? Would it be best to rely on neo-Classical style, inspired by ancient Greek and Roman temples, which was then fashionable for religious architecture in general? Or would it be more appropriate to adopt an Oriental style, thereby suggesting the sources of the Jewish religion in the Near East?
At Châlons-en-Champagne, the latter option was chosen.”

Check out the short text in language!

https://invisu.cnrs.fr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/imaneo-synagogue.pdf

invisu.cnrs.fr