THE HISTORIC CITY OF SFAX-TUNISIA: VALORISATION OF THE TRADITIONAL BUILDING STONE

This paper presents a research approach regarding the valorisation of the traditional building stone of Sfax. The purpose is to contribute to the reconstruction of the material identity and the specific spatial design of the city. To carry out this research, we adopted an analytical approach aimed at diagnosing the stone deterioration in built heritage and its level of use in contemporary architecture.
In this research path, we have opted to provide suggestions, concerning, in the first place, the restoration of the stone for the curative and preventive conservation of this material in order to preserve the local built heritage. In the second place, these suggestions regard the growth of its use in contemporary design through the proposal of a variety of application modes and new techniques of production and implementation such as reconstituted stone and imitation coating.
It is through these suggestions and local actors and through the continuation of research on the valorisation of this stone and other traditional materials, that material identity of the city of Sfax can be re-established and reconstituted.