Modern heritage, planning failure, and urban transformation
The demolition of the Hôtel du Lac in Tunis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17587279 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bilel Chebbi (0009-0009-6223-9125, ICESCO, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-23 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Planning Perspectives (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0266-5433 • E-ISSN: 1466-4518 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02665433.2026.2647866 |
| OpenAlex | W7147015190 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 28 |
This article examines the demolition of the Hôtel du Lac (1973–2025) in Tunis as a critical case of planning failure, highlighting the vulnerability of modern architectural heritage within postcolonial and neoliberal planning regimes. While the building has long been recognized by architects and historians as a landmark of Tunisian modernism, its erasure reveals structural gaps in planning law, governance, and heritage policy. Drawing on archival documents, policy analysis, and media discourse, the paper situates the hotel within Tunisia’s post-independence planning trajectory, shaped by high-modernist state-building, institutional fragmentation, and the growing influence of market-driven redevelopment. Comparative insights from France, the United Kingdom, and Lebanon demonstrate that the Tunisian case is part of a wider global debate on the governance of twentieth-century urban landscapes. By reframing demolition as a planning outcome rather than a purely cultural loss, the article argues for the need to incorporate modern heritage into planning frameworks, regulatory instruments, and urban policy. The case of Hôtel du Lac ultimately underscores how planning institutions negotiate (or fail to negotiate) the balance between market imperatives, collective memory, and the urban futures of rapidly transforming cities
Demolition · Redevelopment · Town planning · Urban planning · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Cultural Identity and Heritage · North African History and Literature
Memorylands
The Conservation Movement
Heritage
Protection and Active Utilisation of Cultural Heritage of Tunisia
Cities and Urbanity in the Maghreb
National Spatial Planning and the Constraints pertaining to the New Territorial Governance in Post-Revolutionary Tunisia
Applying Icomos-Ifla Principles for the Conservation, Management and Reuse of a Historical Hydraulic System
What Is Modern Heritage? A Methodology to Bridge the Research Gap in This Emerging Category of the Built Environment
Preserving Modern Heritage in the Emirate of Dubai
Reflections on conducting research in North Africa
Preservation and tourism in Tunisia
Rebuilding for modern living
Robin Hood Gardens and the Brutalist Image
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |