Stamp Day 1975
More than a thousand post offices are located throughout the national territory, from the big city to the most remote village.
The buildings housing postal establishments, although they all aim to fulfill essentially the same function, differ in their location, their dimensions and their architecture.
If the design of a postal building must respond above all to operational requirements and adapt to the needs of services, it in no way yields to the architectural expression of mass and general appearance in the interest of combining beauty and utility.
Some also believe that architectural forms are often characteristic of a cultural moment of historical conditions and climatic data.
It is in this context that we must be able to place the construction of the El Kantara post office, built in 1937 and renovated in 1950.
By its general shape – its columns stop at the astragals from which semi-circular vaults extend – this building recalls the particular style of the cities of Jebel Aurès located on the edge of the Saharan regions.
The dome and the columned galleries are inspired by Muslim art. They are designed according to the environment and harsh climatic conditions to protect against cold and extreme heat.
This building thus presents, in many respects, a certain originality which made it the theme of the postage stamp issued on the occasion of Stamp Day.
The buildings housing postal establishments, although they all aim to fulfill essentially the same function, differ in their location, their dimensions and their architecture.
If the design of a postal building must respond above all to operational requirements and adapt to the needs of services, it in no way yields to the architectural expression of mass and general appearance in the interest of combining beauty and utility.
Some also believe that architectural forms are often characteristic of a cultural moment of historical conditions and climatic data.
It is in this context that we must be able to place the construction of the El Kantara post office, built in 1937 and renovated in 1950.
By its general shape – its columns stop at the astragals from which semi-circular vaults extend – this building recalls the particular style of the cities of Jebel Aurès located on the edge of the Saharan regions.
The dome and the columned galleries are inspired by Muslim art. They are designed according to the environment and harsh climatic conditions to protect against cold and extreme heat.
This building thus presents, in many respects, a certain originality which made it the theme of the postage stamp issued on the occasion of Stamp Day.