Against a backdrop of major climate change, our urban-planning system — based essentially on the SDAU (master development plan) and the PA (zoning plan) — may in the long run prove ineffective. Thinking of…
Against a backdrop of major climate change, our urban-planning system — based essentially on the SDAU (master development plan) and the PA (zoning plan) — may in the long run prove ineffective. Thinking of territories together with the climate therefore becomes essential, for a better accounting of the challenges of the energy transition. Fortunately, our architectural know-how is an inexhaustible reservoir of ideas, and cases of good practice are emerging in Morocco. This is what Professor Majid Mansour explains to us — co-author of the book “Architecture and Energy Efficiency: 10 Cases of Good Practice in Morocco,” published in November 2016.
Cities are artificialised environments with high thermal inertia, linked to the materials used (asphalt, concrete, etc.). These materials absorb and release heat, with a phase-lag of their own, commonly known as “urban heat islands.” Temperature differences can be significant between the dense city and its periphery — made up mainly of open, productive spaces (8 to 10 °C). In the Moroccan context, our urban-planning system is incomplete: territories are planned on the basis of two essential documents, the SDAU and the PA, and for implementation we resort to subdivision — whereas today the eco-district is emerging as a project carried by local authorities, in a context of decentralisation and participatory local democracy. It is defined as the development of a sustainable neighbourhood encompassing considerations of mobility, density, urban forms, eco-construction, efficient cycles of matter and energy, but also social and functional diversity, economic resilience and civil-society participation. Thus, in a context of climate change, territories must be thought of together with the climate, through the introduction of territorial climate plans into planning. These climate plans aim to act on the sources of carbon and other greenhouse-gas emissions in order to reduce them — with regard to the configuration of streets, the road right-of-way, public space, the choice of materials and the design of the urban project. The principles of bioclimatic architecture must therefore be reinvented. Indeed, our cities long knew how to guard against heat and cold and, more broadly, to be designed with the climate. The modern city seems to have lost these bioclimatic reflexes, to the point that we are witnessing a true divorce between the urban and rural spheres — and it took the emergence of global warming and new ecological risks to call our model of territorial urbanisation into question.
Urbanisation of territories and energy efficiency: cases of good practice in Morocco. In Morocco, the building sector accounts for 25% of the country’s total energy consumption. Moreover, this sector’s energy consumption is growing strongly in relation to the urbanisation of territories. Construction sites are opening in every region of the country to meet the needs of a galloping demography and a sharp rise in the urbanisation rate, which has reached 60.3% (2014 census). The building sector therefore represents significant potential in terms of energy savings, the energy transition of territories and, consequently, the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions.
Through its climatic diversity, Morocco embodies a long experience of adapting its built environment to different natural settings. Vernacular architectures — such as ksour, kasbahs and traditional medina-type houses — have always addressed certain sustainability challenges. Recently, Morocco adopted thermal regulations aimed at progressively enrolling territories in the energy transition. These regulations adopt a climate-zoning map comprising six climate zones, delineated in keeping with administrative boundaries for better application.
In parallel, and within the framework of the GIZ (German Cooperation) “Deutsche Klima und Technologie Initiative” project, which supports institutions working in the energy sector through its DKTI programme, we studied several public and private initiatives that highlight, through innovative projects, good practices in integrating energy efficiency and renewable energy into buildings and urban development. The pilot cases studied showed that the building sector is an activity where the potential for energy savings is paramount. The relevance of passive systems to thermal comfort no longer needs demonstrating: siting, building architecture, a bioclimatic approach (optimal orientation, openings, solar gains and natural light, judicious choice of materials, high-performance insulation, use of renewable energy, etc.). Water and vegetation follow no new logic — they have always been a way to mitigate heat.
Rich in lessons, this study notes some feedback from experience. Certain processes do not seem suited to certain climate zones, owing to antagonistic summer/winter or day/night effects. The bioclimatic design of a building means building with the climate. It rests on an in-depth knowledge of the climatic context, the site’s natural setting and the human factor and its uses. As for the additional cost inherent in integrating energy efficiency and renewable energy — often a brake on the development of good practices — experience shows this is not the case. Indeed, social housing programmes have demonstrated, through the rigour of their approach, that this extra cost could be contained to 7% of the overall cost.
In terms of feedback, some projects — given their pioneering, innovative character — had to overcome several difficulties linked in particular to firms’ lack of technical know-how, weak consumer awareness and an unorganised market that must adapt to new products. These projects were carried by men and women who, each time, knew how to adapt solutions to specific needs. Coordination among several stakeholders is a sine qua non for the progress of the works — and here too, harmony had to be created among the various participants. This experience, supported by GIZ (German cooperation in Morocco), encouraged us to renew this work with a second publication (planned for early 2018), featuring ten new cases of good practice in energy efficiency and sustainability in building.
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