Place Lalla Yeddouna, Fez Architecture, Moroccan Urban Design, Design Contest Morocco
Place Lalla Yeddouna, Fez
Moroccan Design Contest design by mossessian & partners architects
22 Mar 2011
Place Lalla Yeddouna Fez
Place Lalla Yeddouna, Fez, Morocco
Prestigious heritage win in Fez, Morocco for architects mossessian & partners
Winning design by:
mossessian partners yassir khalil studio
pictures from organisers
British practice mossessian & partners has won an open international competition to regenerate Place Lalla Yeddouna, a strategic location at the heart of Fez, Morocco.
Winning design by:
mossessian partners yassir khalil studio
pictures from organisers
A long list of 176 design proposals was made from 1400 expressions of interest in an open international competition, part of the MCA-Morocco Program, a $697.5m Compact to reduce poverty in Morocco through economic growth, financed by the USA’s Millennium Challenge Corporation. The international jury (see editors notes) short-listed eight schemes before selecting mossessian & partners with Yassir Khalil Studio, Casablanca/Morocco as the winning team. Ferretti-Marcelloni, of Rome (partnering with Bahia Nouh of Fez) and Moxon Architects of London (partnering with Aime Kakon of Casablanca) were awarded second and third prizes.
Entries by:
arquivio arquitectura taoufik el oufir architectes
bureau east atelier3am hashim sarkis studio
ferretti marcelloni bahia nouh
giorgio ciarallo emiliano bugatti cabinet hadmi
pictures from organisers
The competition site of approx. 7,400 sqm is located in the Medina of Fez, designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1981 and one of the world’s oldest and largest Medina. The competition brief was for the urban design of Place Lalla Yeddouna at the heart of the Medina, the preservation of historic buildings as well as the design of new buildings that would sit comfortably in the traditional urban fabric, yet speak of the vibrancy and functionally diverse nature of the contemporary site.
Entries by:
hanse unit zine el abidine lasouini
kolb hader architekten kubik studio
moxon architects aime kokon
pictures from organisers
The Medina is a mosaic of small-scale, modest, sand-coloured houses and its endless labyrinth of narrow streets are crammed with history. The area of Place Lalla Yeddouna, where the city was founded on the two banks of the main river in Fez (“Oued Al Jawahir”), used to be one of the key links between the two sides of the old city. Latterly the city has turned its back on the riverfront, creating a series of disconnected urban spaces. The key to mossessian’s strategy was to re-connect Place Lalla Yeddouna to the riverfront and create a pedestrian route across the river and through the Medina, a series of continuous spaces in the rich urban pattern of the Medina’s passageways.
“In the future, Place Lalla Yeddouna will become a dynamic, mixed use, urban space that will benefit both residents of and visitors to the Medina. It will offer educational programmes, residencies, artisan workshops, boutiques, cafes and other recreational facilities, attracting young and old alike”, explained the project initiators.
mossessian & partners recognised that Place Lalla would have to become a space that felt attractive to visitors and residents alike, that would function equally well as a public and a private place. “This cellular network of spaces is the foundation for the unity of a neighbourhood. We think of the development as a single building with Place Lalla Yeddouna as an ‘urban room’ at its heart,” says Michel Mossessian, Principal of mossessian & partners. He continues: “the key thing is to respect the spaces between buildings, since these are where the action happens. So Place Lalla is the perfect starting point for regenerating the life of Fez’s Medina.”
pictures from organisers
A principal requirement of the scheme is to preserve the historical references whilst using contemporary thinking and building techniques to unite the fragmented spaces. mossessian & partners have taken cues from the pattern, geometry and repetition that characterise Islamic design and introduced variation and accents on the traditional forms of Moroccan vernacular architecture.
Outdoor galleries and public spaces will be clad with colourful tiles, produced by local artisans, giving each space a specific identity, cooling the passageways and acting as an intuitive navigational aid. Traditional environmental strategies will be used, such as using wind, shade and mass, to create natural ventilation in the streets and buildings.
“With its unique architectural character representing the regional building tradition and with its surrounding urban fabric, excellent accessibility and functionality, Place Lalla Yeddouna is expected to be a cultural site exemplary of our time and the region, and a stimulator and generator for the development of other projects in Fez, its region and Morocco,” says organising body, the Agency for the Development and Rehabilitation of the city of Fez.
Entries by:
hanse unit zine el abidine lasouini
kolb hader architekten kubik studio
moxon architects aime kokon
pictures from organisers
For further information on the project, please see http://www.projectcompetition-fez.com
The competition was issued by the Agency of Partnership for Progress (APP), with its implementing partner, the Agency for the Development and Rehabilitation of the city of Fez (ADER-Fès). The competition was conducted in the context of an international development program funded by the United States of America, acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), in accordance with the Millennium Challenge Compact (the “Compact”) signed on August 31, 2007, between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Morocco with the goal of reducing poverty through economic growth. To learn more about the project please visit: http://www.mcc.gov/pages/countries/program/morocco-compact
Expert Jurors
– Mr. Abbas El Fassi, Prime Minister, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Bensalem Himmich, Minister of Culture, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Anis Birrou, State Secretary of Artisanat, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Samuel L. Kaplan, U.S. Ambassador to The Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Mohammed Rharrabi, Wali of Fez,Governor of Fez, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Hamid Chabat, Mayor of Fez, Kingdom of Morocco
Deputy Expert Jurors
– Mr. Youssef El Mrabet, Advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Mohammed Ameziane Hassani, Architecte, Minister of Culture, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Mohammed Msellek, Director of Strategic Development and Cooperation, Secretary of State for Artisanat (SECA), Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Richard Gaynor, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Washington D.C./USA
– Mr. Abdelkader Nadri, President of the Regional Council of Architects of Fez, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Fouad Serrhini, Director General of ADER-Fès, Fez, Kingdom of Morocco
Architectural Jurors
– Mr. Prof. Marc Angélil, Architect, Los Angeles/USA and Zurich/Switzerland
– Mr. Dr. Stefano Bianca, Architect, Geneva/Switzerland
– Ms.Meisa Batayneh Maani, Architect, Amman/Jordan
– Mr. David Chipperfield, Architect, London/United Kingdom
– Mr. Omar Farkhani, Architect, Rabat/Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Prof. Rodolfo Machado, Architect, Boston/USA and Buenos Aires/Argentina
– Mr. Prof. Matthias Sauerbruch, Architect, Berlin/Germany and Boston/USA
Deputy Architectural Jurors
– Mr. Mohamed Habib Begdouri Achkari, Architect, Rabat/Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Prof. Bruno Sauer, Architect, Valencia/Spain
The jury was supported by a number of local and international technical, environmental, and social experts.
Finalists
First Prize 55 000 USD
Mossessian & partners, London, England with Yassir Khalil Studio, Casablanca, Morocco
Second Prize 40 000 USD
Ferretti-Marcelloni, Rome, Italy with Bahia Nouh, Fez, Morocco
Third Prize 25 000 USD
Moxon Architects, London, England with Aime Kakon, Casablanca, Morocco
Commended
– Bureau E.A.S.T., Los Angeles/USA and Fez/Morocco with Atelier3AM, Toronto/Canada and Hashim Sarkis Studios, Beirut
– kolb hader architekten, Vienna/Austria with Kubik Studio, Meknes/Morocco
– hanse unit, Hamburg/Germany with Zine El Abidine Lasouini, Fez/Morocco
– Giorgio Ciarallo, Rho/Italy with Emiliano Bugatti, Istanbul/Turkey and Cabinet Hadmi, Safi/Morocco
– Arquivio Arquitectura, Madrid/Spain with Taoufik El Oufir Architectes, Rabat/Morocco
Exhibition
An exhibition of all design proposals of both phases opens free of charge at the Palais des Congrès in Fez on March 20, 2011 at 8 p.m.. The exhibition will run until Wednesday, March 30, 2011 and is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.
Information
Information on the results of the competition can also be found on the competition website under http://www.projectcompetition-fez.com/projects_projectcompetition-fez_results_e
Place Lalla Yeddouna information from mossessian & partners received 140611
Place Lalla Yeddouna Competition winning architect : mossessian & partners
Location: Place Lalla Yeddouna, Fez, Morocco, North Africa
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Website: n/a
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