Algiers – The Minister of Culture and Arts, Ms. Soraya Mouloudji, honored the winners of the national competition for the best project integrating modern life requirements into traditional construction under the theme “Modernity in the Embrace of Tradition” on Wednesday in Algiers. She praised the “Algerian expertise in urban design and the preservation of Algeria’s civilizational, historical, and cultural identity.”
This inaugural national competition, organized by the Ministry of Culture and Arts in collaboration with the Heritage, City, and Architecture Foundation at the Palace of Culture Moufdi Zakaria on World Environment Day, was dedicated to the late engineer Abdel Rahman Bouchama (1906-1985). Bouchama was the first Algerian to earn a degree in architecture and was an early advocate for the national cause. He authored several books and designed numerous buildings that embodied Algeria’s diverse cultural identity.
In her opening speech, Minister Mouloudji stated, “We celebrate national expertise in urban design, which reflects our civilizational, historical, and cultural identity,” emphasizing the important role of architecture as “a means for nations and peoples to build their civilizations and preserve their existence and authenticity.”
The ceremony, attended by members of both houses of parliament, senior officials from security and military sectors, cultural institutions, as well as engineers and architectural experts, saw Ms. Mouloudji presenting an honorary award to Ms. Assia Bouchama in honor of her father. She then awarded the first prize, “The Minister of Culture and Arts Prize, Soraya Mouloudji,” to young Rayan Qubi from Dar al-Qur’an for her project “Craft Center.”
The second prize from the “Heritage, City, and Architecture Foundation” was awarded to the trio Zaki Akli, Sofiane Kasrawi, and Abdel Rahman Hamdini from the University of Algiers 1 for their project “Nedroma: Modern Techniques and Ancient Heritage.” The third prize, “The Sponsors’ Prize,” went to the duo Maria Hammoudi and Malak Mashan from the Polytechnic School of Architectural and Urban Engineering for their project “Garden Wall.”
Mr. Farid Ben Salem, head of the Heritage, City, and Architecture Foundation, presented an honorary gift to the Minister of Culture and Arts in recognition of her interest in this project. The ceremony concluded with the honoring of the sponsors of this project.
It is worth noting that after the official announcement of the competition by Ms. Soraya Mouloudji during the opening of Heritage Month on April 18 in Bejaia, 22 projects from 11 universities were accepted from a total of 104 proposals submitted during the initial registration phase, with the three winning projects emerging from this pool.
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Modernity in the Embrace of Tradition
