At the will of His Majesty Mohammed VI King of Morocco, the Project “Park l’Oliveraie de Bab Jdid” in Marrakech was born in 2001. An avant-garde project with the ambition of becoming the largest landscaped park in the world (180 Hectares) and the coveted quality of the work inspired by Islamic architecture.
LAOSEE had the great privilege of designing an identity concept of the olive grove in the heart of the city of Marrakesh, drawing inspiration from the cultural heritage of an architectural and functional landscape.
Brief History of the Park
Since its inception, the Olive Grove of Bab J’did has been able to live to the rhythm of the daily dynamics of the city, this outdoor space is most imposing due to its strategic position in Marrakech. It is, therefore, normal for it to host daily activities of walkers and joggers on the North-West flank, where a cross country circuit is placed. Additionally various sporting events regularly take place there also. Additionally, “fantasias” are organized on its eastern flank on national holidays.
By dividing the whole of the existing olive grove into four quarters and starting on the North-South axis perpendicular to the avenue de la Ménara, the outline of a roadway with a width of about thirty meters took place. It will later be Avenue Mohammed VI and will stretch over a length of nearly 8 kilometers.
Birth of the Concept
The entire Park was designed according to the classical geometry of an Islamic garden, it is defined by the characteristic shape of the Tchahar Bagh (in Persian: four gardens) which is at the origin of the architectural identity of the Islamic gardens worldwide.
This project tried to rally authentic concepts to Arab-Muslim architecture, enriched by the cultural history of Morocco and taking into account the contemporary constraints resulting from the expansion needs of the modern city of Marrakech.
The Thematic Zones of the Bab Jdid Olive Grove Landscape Park
1-The Peripheral Promenade
It consists of a 20 m wide belt around the entire periphery of the park, and of four 5 meters wide parallel tracks distributed as follows:
– Two pedestrian lanes.
– A lane intended for the circulation of 2 wheels.
– A lane intended for the circulation of horse-drawn carriages.
Three rows of trees line the axis of these promenades and frame the two central circulation corridors reserved for horse-drawn carriages and two-wheelers.
The central alignment planting is made up of Washingtonia Filifera, while the two strips of planting that accompany it are planted with Ficus Retusa.
The central corridors are paved with passable bitumen, the side walkways are paved with intermittent cold-applied bitumen strips with river pebbles fixed in a bed of mortar.
2-The Crossed Axes for walking
They cross the Park from North to South along the main axis of the promenades on both sides, as well as from East to West and intersect with the axis of the N-S promenades, at the level of the central labyrinth;
They are made up of four parallel tracks, each 10 meters wide, which are distributed as follows:
– Two pedestrian lanes.
– A lane intended for the circulation of 2 wheels.
– A lane intended for the circulation of horse-drawn carriages.
The crossed axes allow access to the Park and the intervention of service and security vehicles.
Three rows of trees line the axis of these promenades and frame the two central circulation corridors reserved for horse-drawn carriages and two-wheelers.
The central alignment planting is made up of Washingtonia Filifera while the two strips of planting that accompany it are planted with Ficus Retusa.
The central corridors are paved with passable bitumen, the side walkways are paved with intermittent cold-applied bitumen strips with river pebbles fixed in a bed of mortar.
3-The Main Axis of the Walks
It constitutes a strip located at the level of the central North-South axis of the Park. It is made up of a string of Tea Houses and Art Workshops, which are in turn framed by two garden strips which, by the nature and type of their vegetation, will pace the walk.
The axis of this promenade is embellished with a series of basins and fountains inspired by the Arab-Muslim style.
The garden strips are periodically dotted with trios of Cupressus pyramidalys, the beds of which are planted with different varietal choices and colors of pelargoniums.
4-The Central Labyrinth
Point from which the whole concept of the project took its start, the planting corridors of the plant part of the Labyrinth are located 230 cm below the central esplanade with 140 meters on each side. The center of the lab