Three EMADU students win the “People’s Choice Award” in an international competition
Miscellaneous announcements
Lina Sefrioui Benzarou, Manale Adnane and Zaineb Baddouri, students in 5th, 4th and 3rd year of Architecture, won the public prize in September 2021 of the international competition “The Oasis Cultural Center of Marrakech”, organized by UNI, one of the largest architecture and design competition platforms, aiming to respond to the challenges of a constantly changing world.
The objective of the competition was to design a cultural center in Lalla Takerkoust that would combine the concept of an oasis and the cultural identity of Marrakech.
“Staying true to our identity by representing our culture as humbly as possible was our guiding principle. The hydraulic network of the DAM.MEDINA project is inspired by the local oasis water system, and ancestral systems (Khettarat and Seguia) existing in the region. Thus, in reference to the border dam, a veil, a single reinforced concrete element, serves as a major water pump to irrigate the project's green spaces.
The phenomenology of space and the genius of place are two concepts strongly present in DAM.MEDINA. To allow the visitor to experience the atmosphere of the medina of Marrakech; many sequences were designed. Inspired by the Jemaa El Fna square, several platforms dedicated to the spectacle have been set up, thus generating a “multi-level medina” which combines architecture, water and vegetation. The five senses are stimulated there. These were the approach and intentions of the three students.
