AGADIR CONVENTION CENTRE
MOROCCO, AGADIR, 1990
A beachfront convention centre
Our project can be read as a single building 'split' in two parts, a roof and a sockle, to create a major urban 'room', a covered plaza on the beach, facing the sea. The two axes culminate on the plaza. Floating above the verandah; the hotel: a single layer of rooms, each its own view. The conference centre forms the lower part, the sockle.
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It was our challenge in this competition to find an original architectural expression for this enormous program which is compatible with the beauty of the site.
The curvilinear landscape of the dunes continues as the 'hills’ and 'valleys’ of the sockle, which accommodate the major components of the program: auditorium, etc.
As in a mirror image, the same kind of relief appears on the roof where it accommodates the royal chamber.
In this way the experience of the plaza will be determined by the similarity between above and below.
The landscape which is generated with its concave and convex domes, with the 'forest’ of columns, its shafts of light, is a modern interpretation of Islamic space - Islam after Einstein relativity - which will also be expressed by the materials: polished concrete, mosaic, tiles etc.
The parking is arranged on several levels in a U-shape around the building. The sand-filled moat offers the complex a relative degree of autonomy and privacy.
The main axis extends into the garage, gives access to the lobbies of the mayor components, then turns to emerge on the plaza to serve the royal rooms.
The floor and the ceiling of the veranda are formed by concrete 'shells’, which have been cast upon the dunes, using the sand as a natural formwork. Ribs strengthen the shells and form patterns on the interior surfaces.
The uppershell is supported by columns, which are different in height, thickness, and spacing. The lower shell and the roof are supported by vierendeel beams.
Stability is achieved by means of the connection between the two shells combined with steel bracing. 'Soft’ joints have been integrated between the columns and upper beams because of seismic considerations.
The elevation and the roof, clad with polished and unpolished local stones, give the building its rock-like appearance.
