«André Ravéreau, lessons of Architecture»
André Ravéreau (1919–2017) is a French architect whose work is deeply marked by the discovery in 1949 of the M'Zab valley in Algeria. A former student of Auguste Perret, he moved to Ghardaïa in 1959 to study and draw inspiration from the Saharan vernacular architecture, which he considers a model for adaptation to the climate and local culture. Refusing any formal imitation, he seeks to understand the deep logics of these constructions to nourish a contextual, sober and fair architecture. Architect of the Historical Monuments of Algeria, then advisor to the CAUE in Lozère, he works to safeguard heritage as well as contemporary creation, notably through the dispensary of Mopti in Mali, awarded the Aga Khan Prize. Humanist and tireless researcher, Ravéreau defended an architecture attentive to uses, the environment and the engineering of places, between constructive rigor and poetry. His work today provides a particularly enlightening teaching in the context of climate change and architectural and environmental issues.
This exhibition was created in 2019 in honor of the centenary of the birth of André Ravéreau (1919 2017) at the initiative of his daughter Maya Ravéreau, who worked alongside him and continues to publish and promote his work as part of the ALADAR association.
Inspired by the plot of the book The M'zab, a lesson in architecture, the exhibition unfolds according to 6 themes: Latitudes, Detail, Decor, Facade, Gesture, Transmission. Each thesis is available in various media: drawings, excerpts of texts and quotes by André Ravéreau, photographs by Manuelle Roche, audio recordings and videos of interviews with André Ravéreau, as well as some models of his projects. Along the way, explanatory texts printed on plain paper are made available to the public (and can be taken away).
Opening on October 6 at 4:30 PM
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Around the exhibition: conference, round table, projection
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CONFERENCE: "Constructive lessons from the vernacular"
Monday, October 6, 2025 at 6 PM
André Ravéreau allows us to speak like no other of the "vernacular approach", even more than elements of vernacular architecture, an expression used since only the third third of the 20th century which refers to a type of architecture specific to a country, to a terroir, to a given area and to its inhabitants. To begin with, the characteristics of living in different latitudes will be presented in a global way; then his latest project, «the house of Greece», which highlights how Ravéreau has singularly practiced this vernacular approach.
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ROUND TABLE: «Transmission and heritage of André Ravéreau»
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at 4:30 PM
This round table will seek to bring together the people who have approached the architect as closely as possible, to measure the impact of André Ravèreau’s desire to pass on his knowledge and relevance in view of the current challenges of the professions of architect and builder.
An exchange of several voices to highlight the way in which André Ravéreau would apprehend our built environment. The cross-narratives will be the opportunity to tell what 'architecture lessons' each has received, and how they impact their practice of architecture and construction today.
This approach will be enlightened and debated in the presence of Maya Ravéreau architect, Jean Jacques Horem and Pascal Baeteman masons, Jeanne Marie Gentilleau ethno architect, Manon Bublot architect, and Stéphan Gruet, architect and editor of the magazine Poïesis (in which appeared several articles by André Ravéreau).
With Manon Dublo, Maya Ravéreau, Stéphane Gruet, Mériem Bekkoucha, (and other participants to come), animation by the LRA
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Followed by a SCREENING: "André Ravéreau - And the site created the City" A film written and directed by Jean Asselmeyer (2016).
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at 6 PM
His daughter Maya, herself an architect, accompanies André Ravéreau on the site of his creations and research. In M'zab (valley at the heart of the Saharan desert with five ksour, fortified villages - forming a homogeneous whole), where he lived, created and trained other architects in his "workshop of the desert" and where he managed to have the oases classified as world heritage by UNESCO. Then in Algiers, where he worked to preserve the ancestral heritage of the Casbah, faithfully describing the principles of its construction in line with current concerns, such as the choice of materials and devices avoiding energy waste.
Its basic principle is the observation that it is 'the site that creates the city'; what Ravéreau explains to a young architect, shortly before his death in 2017, illustrating it with a work from the 1950s in Algiers, « the Aero-habitat", where he lived and worked.
Free and free admission
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ACCOMPANIED VISITS
Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 2:30 PM, 3:30 PM and 4:30 PM
On the occasion of the National Days of Architecture, Meriem Bekkoucha, architect, lecturer at ENSA and members of the association ALADAR, accompany you in discovering the exhibition.
Visit followed by a discovery of the ENSA "Light, concrete and utopias". Upon registration to: jep-ensa@toulouse.archi.fr
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An exhibition created by the association ALADAR, Association Les Amis d'André Ravéreau, as part of the conference organized by the Partnership Chair "Resources / Transition / Innovations" (LRA-ENSA Toulouse) and the workshop TOCA TIERRA, with the support of the Regional Council of the Order of Architects Occitania
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Toca Tierra 2025 is organized by ENSA Toulouse, in partnership with amàco, materiaux.archi (archimaterial), the Caue de Haute-Garonne, with the support of Toulouse Métropole, Areso and Envirobat
