Restitution of the Sensory Urban Ambiences of a French Colonial Urban Fabric in Algeria: A Case Study of Didouche Mourad Street, Skikda

The ambiance-based approach to old urban fabrics has emerged as a response to the evolution of heritage, focusing on the spirit of place and the relationship between people and their environment. It aims to preserve the identity of architectural and urban spaces, incorporating intangible elements beyond their physical character. In Algeria, colonial-era urban fabrics continue to structure cities. Skikda, a city in eastern Algeria was created ex-nihilo during this era. In this context, Didouche Mourad Street—the main thoroughfare and structuring element of the city—constitutes the core of the analysis. This study focuses on the French colonial period (1838–1962), considered a foundational phase in the spatial and sensory formation of the street. It aims to restitute the sensory urban ambiences of this period and to analyse their evolution in order to identify sensory permanences contributing to the heritage identity of the place. A thematic content analysis was used to identify sensory ambiences, supported by NVivo software to quantify their recurrences and analyse their spatio-temporal dynamics. The findings show that some ambiences have persisted, others have disappeared, and new ones have emerged through successive transformations. By documenting the sensory history of the street, this research proposes a conceptual and methodological framework for the interpretation of heritage urban ambiences and for informing contemporary rehabilitation approaches, considering permanent ambiences as interpretative tools and reference points for understanding heritage dynamics.