Mikou Design Studio recently designed ‘Place Florence’ in Fez, Morroco. The outdoor space consists of eight lattice structures positioned in a circular form around a garden. At night the structures are illuminated with LED lights reflecting the shadows of lace.
‘Florence Square’ is situated in a strategic area in the new town of Fez. The square is structured by a main urban axis, a broad boulevard with a central island generating an important pedestrian flow. The remodeling of ‘Florence Square’ in Fez aims to create a space for encounters and meetings at a pedestrian scale and the scale of the neighborhood, but also a place clearly identifiable as a representative part of the modern Fez.
This symbolic place evokes Florence to the people of Fez, inspires and moves them. It is a vehicle for dialogue between cultures and recalls the journey of architectural forms. In designing the square, we were inspired by a strong and symbolic figure in the Florentine urban landscape, the octagonal form of the Baptistery of San Giovanni. We felt it essential to bring strong architectural elements to ‘Florence Square’ to give it an urban presence and limit it spatially.’
Architect : Mikou Design Studio
Salwa Mikou, Selma Mikou, Cécile Jalby, Iskra Pencheva, Gwenaël Jerrett, Ludivine Specht
Client : City of Florence
Program : Urban piazza
Budget : 5 M €
Surface: 10 000 m2
Location : Fez
Date : competition 2008
