PROGRAM

The Medina Workshop of Marrakech, dedicated to El Badi Palace, represents a unique opportunity to address the theme of the redevelopment and enhancement of an extraordinary historical site. Built in the 16th century as a royal palace and subsequently destroyed in the 17th century, El Badi Palace today presents itself as a set of imposing ruins, full of charm and memory. The aim of the workshop is to design interventions aimed at reinterpreting the spatiality and architectural language of the place, in harmony with the peculiar qualities of the local architecture, characterized by the use of traditional techniques and materials, the importance of water and the design of the gardens.

The city of Marrakech, with its rich historical and artisanal stratification, together with its lively international contemporaneity, will constitute the inspiring context for the project proposal. The central idea is to imagine El Badi Palace as a new cultural hub for the city, capable of hosting significant seasonal events and performances. The workshop participants will work on reversible but permanent spatial arrangement interventions, which dialogue with the ruins and enhance their value, as well as on the temporary exhibition of an artistic and fashion event that interprets the cultural vitality of the Medina.

The workshop will take place over nine days, including arrivals and departures, and includes full-time activities. The program will include guided tours of the symbolic places of Marrakech, seminar lessons and moments of intensive group work. The design documents will be subjected to intermediate reviews and presented publicly in a final review. The workshop offers a design experience that combines the academic and cultural dimensions, in an extraordinarily stimulating and vibrant context such as that of the Medina of Marrakech.