Situated in the heart of
Morocco’s capital city of Rabat, the plaza creates a dynamic new public
gathering space which encourages both planned and spontaneous urban and
cultural events.Previously, the plaza
consisted of the residual space between four vehicular roads. By sinking the core of the plaza and
re-attaching two sides of the plaza to pedestrian thoroughfares, we created an
urban ‘living room’ which shelters public activity from the busy streets. The primary entry to the plaza consists of an
integrated ramp structure which gives the plaza the quality of an outdoor
auditorium. The materiality and tectonics of the plaza are intentionally mute,
and the use of local granite reinforces the illusion that the project is carved
out of the landscape; the building is not ‘added,’ but rather ‘subtracted’ from
its site.
