Tunisian Architects Call for a Return to the Roots of Their Profession
A symbolic gathering was held on May 22, 2026, in front of the Tunisian Order of Architects (OAT) in Mutuelleville, Tunis, to reaffirm that architecture is a project of civilization. The event, organized by the collective "Architectes Citoyens" (Citizen Architects), marked a turning point in the profession's history, as it sought to break free from bureaucratic indifference and reconnect with the public, cultural, and philosophical debates of the nation.
According to Illyes Bellagha, an architect and founder of the collective, the gathering was a call to action for two fundamental demands: the dignity and equity of young architects, who should have transparent and fair access to public commissions, and the reconquest of meaning in the face of the continuous degradation of public spaces.
"The disorder is a direct symptom of a doctrinal void: the absence of a contemporary Tunisian school that can link universal teachings to the depth of our own history, from Ibn Khaldoun to the present day," Bellagha said. "Our public spaces are dehumanized because they have lost their philosophical anchor. Young graduates are precarious, forced into exile, while our cities have never needed their gaze more to heal from their informal development."
The collective's initiative is not just a sectoral manifestation, but a call to reflection and a form of intellectual resistance. "We advocate for a new ethical focus, a 'dictatorship of form,' which is this modern tendency to conceive of empty envelopes, objects of pure aesthetic or administrative speculation, disconnected from the human and the pleasure of existing," Bellagha explained. "Our philosophy is encapsulated in our motto: 'Joining the pleasant to the useful: the architecture of meaning begins with the pleasure of existing.'"
The event was attended by Pr. Naceur Ben Cheikh, a painter, journalist, and professor at the University of Tunis, who shared the collective's concerns about the marginalization of the architect's role and the absence of urban planning strategies with a civic vision. "When this space is poorly organized, it has a ripple effect on social conditions, mental health, and can lead to imbalances," he said. "Posing the problem of architecture from a sociological, political, and philosophical perspective... this de-administrates, removes the administrative aspect of building, and prevents architects from becoming mere vendors of stamps."
The collective is not afraid to express its indignation in the face of the chaos reigning in the architecture and urban planning sector, pointing to several challenges to be overcome. "The major challenge is that of refounding and convergence," Bellagha said. "The OAT and the collective of Citizen Architects must work hand in hand to draw a 'third way.' For the Order, the challenge is to democratize, break the logic of closed circles, and become the protector of the corporation, particularly of the youth. For our association, the challenge is to maintain the civic consciousness of the profession."
The collective's movement brings together prominent figures from sociology, the university, and philosophy to reconcile the technical act of the architect with critical thinking. "The challenge is to make the decision-makers and society understand that architecture is a matter of state and civilization, not just a formal permit to build... The architecture of meaning is not negotiated in closed offices, but conquered in the sharing of public space," Bellagha concluded.
