Traditional Building Skills Series: Exploring the keys to sustainable construction in Marseille
13-14 March 2025, Marseille, France. Can the ancient building techniques of the Mediterranean help tackle today’s climate challenges? The UfM Field Visits: Traditional Building Skills event, held in Marseille on 13-14 March 2025, explored how heritage-based construction methods can provide sustainable solutions for the future.
The two-day event brought together experts, educators, and policymakers from Morocco and Tunisia to examine successful programmes that integrate traditional building skills into certified training schemes. These efforts aim to enhance sustainable construction, create skilled employment opportunities, and reinforce heritage protection.
Traditional building methods offer valuable lessons for climate adaptation and mitigation. Many Euro-Mediterranean countries have long relied on techniques that naturally regulate temperature and reduce energy consumption. For instance, in Tunisia, earthen construction methods, such as those seen in the Ksour of Tataouine, provide natural insulation. Similarly, Morocco’s rammed earth (pisé) architecture, widely used in historic kasbahs, demonstrates resilience to extreme temperatures while maintaining indoor comfort. In Spain, the use of whitewashed walls in Andalusian villages reflects sunlight, keeping buildings cool in the summer. These techniques align with modern sustainability goals, offering practical, low-carbon solutions for contemporary urban planning.
Key objectives of the initiative:
- Raise awareness and preserve vernacular architecture.
- Explore ways to integrate traditional construction techniques into modern training programmes.
- Promote solutions adaptable to current climate challenges.
- Encourage the establishment of certified programmes for traditional building skills in participating countries.
As the Mediterranean region faces mounting climate pressures, learning from the past can help build a more resilient future. The next UfM Field Visit in Berlin (8-10 April 2025) will further these vital discussions, fostering innovation and collaboration across borders.
More information on the UfM action for Urban Development
- 2nd UfM Workshop on Traditional Building Skills for an Earthquake Resistant Reconstruction held in Ouarzazate, Morocco
- 3rd UfM Workshop on Urban Heritage and Traditional Building Skills held in Timimoun, Algeria.
- 4th UfM Workshop on Urban Heritage and Traditional Building Skills, held in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
- UfM Strategic Urban Development Action Plan 2040
- Webinar series– Towards more liveable and healthy cities in the Euro-Mediterranean region
- UfM Student Competition on Urban Design 2023: Urban Solutions to Climate Change in the Mediterranean
