The research and exhibition project In the Desert of Modernity. Colonial Planning and After took place at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin in 2008 and the cultural center Les Abbattoirs Casablanca 2009, accompanied by film screenings, performances, talks, an international conference and the publication Colonial Modern. Aesthetics of the Past. Rebellions for the Future, co-edited with Tom Avermaete and Serhat Karakayali. The project “In The Desert of Modernity” and the publication “Colonial Modern”  dealt with both the production of aesthetical knowledge in the realm of urban planning and architecture and its entanglement with the political and social conditions in colonial North Africa.