Understanding Home Cultures through Syntactic Analysis: the Case of Berber Housing

摘要

In his famous study of the Berber house the late Pierre Bourdieu underlined the symbolic significance of domestic spatial patterns. A simple rectangular form on a plan, the Berber house is divided into two parts, a division that becomes the basis for an elaborate system of binary oppositions of male versus female. The aim of this paper is to test this hypothesis coupled with the space syntax method on a Berber house sample from the M'zab in Algeria and to set the discussion within the social logic of built space. Space syntax analysis seeks to identify the structuring of space and the apparent correlation between spatial patterns and the system of social relations within houses. The preliminary findings identify two genotypes centred on key domestic female spaces. The results also show that the spaces that are defined as such are well integrated and not segregated as expected. The preliminary findings show that the M'zabite house is trans-spatially organized and space is structured in the image of the relations between male and female solidarities, which appears to be the dominant force shaping space. These results suggest that the idea, which many researchers adopt when describing the spatial sphere of the female inhabitants of the Muslim/Berber house, as secluded and segregated, needs to be re-defined. The results also show that the exterior zone is always segregated from the domestic life, which confirms the social code in such a culture. With regard to zone gender, and space; the study suggests that the spatial pattern of house expresses the cultural and social events of the users, regardless of house form and size of the space. Concerning the spatial interface between visitors and inhabitants the study provides further understanding of the M'zabite domestic environment in terms of the interface between visitors and inhabitants. In actual terms, the interface is between male visitors and family domains.