Ksar Tafilelt

Dr. Ahmed Nouh,

President of the Ammidoul Foundation.

In response to the housing crisis Algeria had to face at the end of the 90s, Ahmed Nouh, former Doctor in pharmacy, surrounds himself with intellectuals, architects and scientists and creates in 1997 the Amidoul Foundation. As both a promoter and a credit institution, the Foundation aims to make home ownership more accessible to young couples

At the edge of the desert, close to Beni Isguen and 600km south from Algiers, the Foundation acquired from the State a 22ha field on a rocky hill. Thanks to the first fundings from community leaders, the State’s support and the participation of future residents, the Foundation launched its first construction works. Twenty years later, Ksar Tafilelt includes no less that 1050 accommodations and close to 6000 inhabitants.

“If the Ksar Tafilelt project can upgrade the Network, it would be by creating manageable human ensembles”

The conception of this city, built from scratch, relies on a profound thinking aiming to associate, at every level, modernity and tradition.

One of the first goals of the project is to draw from traditional architecture the necessary skills to build a city offering its inhabitants affordable accommodation whilst respecting the local ecosystem. Founded upon principles of the ksourian architecture, the complex qualifies for the modern criteria of eco-construction and has therefore been awarded several national and international prizes.

Ksar Tafilelt’s founder, Ahmed Nouh, highlights his will for a smaller town: “we want to keep a human scale in mind.” Housing today close to 6000 souls, the complex must, according to him, remain intimate and keep a sense of community. Ksar Tafilelt thus intends to spread a citizen-oriented philosophy in accordance with ancient values of mutual aid and solidarity.