The reclaimed “el-Rcif Plaza” (main image) melds the transportation hub and the river bank circulation system and is planned to become a major public plaza and critical threshold for the new pedestrian river axis (inset).
Project summary:
River remediation and urban development scheme (Fez, Morocco) is a multi-sited, multi-functional project that is centered upon the recovery of a river. Work on restoring it triggers a range of interventions in the Medina. Core components are the rehabilitation of the old city’s architecture, revitalizing public spaces and traditional tanneries, and creating new pedestrian zones.
 Prize hand-over to the winners of the Global Holcim Awards Gold prize 2009 (l-r): Dominique Drouet, CEO of Holcim Morocco; Javier de Benito, Area Manager of Holcim, Switzerland; members of the winning team Nicko Elliott, Aziza Chaouni and Takako Tajima, Bureau EAST, Morocco/Canada/USA; Markus Akermann, Chairman of the Management Board of the Holcim Foundation and CEO of Holcim, Switzerland; Hans-Rudolf Schalcher, member of the Management Board of the Holcim Foundation, Switzerland; Joe Addo, head of the jury for Africa Middle East 2008, Ghana; and Enrique Norten, member of the global Awards jury 2009, Mexico/USA. read update - prize hand-over in Fez, Morocco, July 16, 2009pour en savoir plus (français)
مزيد من المعلومات في العربية
 | Jury appraisal
Download an excerpt of the Global Holcim Awards jury report
 read jury appraisal (PDF, 19 KB)Global Holcim Awards jury (from right):
Charles Correa (Head, India), Hans-Rudolf Schalcher (Switzerland), Saskia Sassen (USA), Peter Head (UK), Rolf Soiron (Switzerland); not pictured: Enrique Norten (Mexico/USA). |
 Winners of the Global Holcim Awards Gold 2009 – here answering questions after receiving their prize at the Global Holcim Awards 2009 hand-over event in Fez, Morocco.
Full list of project team membersProject Coordinators
- Aziza Chaouni, Architect, Bureau E.A.S.T., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Takako Tajima, Urban Designer, Bureau E.A.S.T., Los Angeles, California, USA
Team Members
- Reem Alissa, Landscape Architect, Ph.D candidate, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
- Dan Brunn, Architect, DBA, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Marco Cenzatti, Industrial Districts Expert, Lecturer in Urban Planning at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Nicko Elliott, Designer, Bureau E.A.S.T., Fez, Morocco
- Hester Ezra, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Butterfly Works, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- John Ferri, Architect and Builder, RADCORP, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Vesna Kann, Designer, Bureau E.A.S.T., Fez, Morocco
- Bonnie Kaplan, Restoration Specialist and Engineer, Medina Solutions, Fez, Morocco
- Dennis Rijkhoff, Designer, Bureau E.A.S.T., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Alex Toshkov, Historian, Ph.D candidate, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
- Marieke van den Heuvel, Design Researcher and Project Manager, Butterfly Works, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Faiza Zemmouri, Economist, Faiza Zemmouri Consulting, Fez, Morocco
 | Image gallery
River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco |
Image gallery
River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco
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 River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco The new Andalusian playground will transform the image of the medina.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco A comprehensive approach for the river Fez to run free and clean again.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco The Chouarra tanneries of today will be the botanic gardens of tomorrow.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Chouarra tanneries. Colorful but not environmentally sound.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Andalous playground.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Rcif public transit hub.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Floating ‘restorer’ technology. Ocean arks facilitate the introduction of natural water filtration and inoculation to urban waterways.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Bank stabilization is critical for reducing erosion.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Upland erosion control. Reducing slope through grading and planting groundcover over exposed soils are but two strategies for protecting landscapes from erosion.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Constructed wetlands duplicate the ecosystem services that natural wetlands provide.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Storm water management.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Rainwater harvesting.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Soil phytoremediation.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Desecration of Fez River. In 1952 the river ran freely through the medina. Today one barely noticed where it was crossed.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Resuscitating the Fez River – chouarra tanneries existing condition.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Resuscitating the Fez River – chouarra tanneries pits restoration + path remediation with Indian mustard + buildings rehabilitation and extension.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Resuscitating the Fez River – chouarra tanneries boardwalk over paths + planting of pits + placement of seating system in side pits.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco City of Fez: watershed + medina outline.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Resuscitating the Fez River – plaza view towards Rcif mosque.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Resuscitating the Fez River – Chouarra Tanneries.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Rehabilitation typology 1.  River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco Rehabilitation typology 2.
Photos of the Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009
 Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 (l-r): Dominique Drouet, Holcim Morocco; Javier de Benito, Holcim; members of the winning team Nicko Elliott, Aziza Chaouni and Takako Tajima; Markus Akermann, Holcim Foundation and Holcim Ltd; Hans-Rudolf Schalcher, ETH Zurich; Joe Addo, head, jury for Africa Middle East 2008; and Enrique Norten, member, global Awards jury 2009.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Congratulating the winners of the Global Holcim Awards Gold prize 2009 (l-r): Haruko Hirose, Special and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Japan to Rabat; prize-winner Aziza Chaouni, architect and co-founder, Bureau EAST, Morocco/Canada/USA; Mohammed Gharrabi, Wali of Fez-Bouleman, Morocco; and prize-winner Takako Tajima, urban planner and co-founder, Bureau EAST, Morocco/Canada/USA.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Winners of the Global Holcim Awards Gold 2009 prize (l-r), Takako Tajima, urban planner and co-founder, and Aziza Chaouni, architect and co-founder, Bureau EAST, Morocco/Canada/USA congratulated by Markus Akermann, Chairman of the Management Board of the Holcim Foundation and CEO of Holcim Ltd, Switzerland.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Winners of the Global Holcim Awards Gold 2009 prize for project River remediation and urban development scheme, Fez, Morocco (l-r), Takako Tajima and Aziza Chaouni, co-founders, Bureau EAST, Morocco/Canada/USA.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Members of the winning team (l-r): Nicko Elliott, Takako Tajima and Aziza Chaouni, Bureau EAST, Morocco/Canada/USA holding the Global Holcim Awards Gold trophy and prize certificate.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Mohammed Gharrabi, Wali of Fez-Bouleman, Morocco welcomed guests to the hand-over ceremony on behalf of the provincial government and commented that the winning project is part of a number of larger ongoing projects by the region and the city of Fez to improve living conditions and opportunities for the inhabitants of one of Morocco’s iconic cities.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Mohammed Gharrabi (right), Wali of Fez-Bouleman, Morocco presented a commemorative book on the current 1200th Anniversary of the founding of the city of Fez to Markus Akermann (left), Chairman of the Management Board of the Holcim Foundation and CEO of Holcim Ltd, Switzerland.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Mohammed Gharrabi (right), Wali of Fez-Bouleman, Morocco presented a commemorative book on the current 1200th Anniversary of the founding of the city of Fez to Markus Akermann (left), Chairman of the Management Board of the Holcim Foundation and CEO of Holcim Ltd, Switzerland.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Markus Akermann, Chairman of the Management Board of the Holcim Foundation and CEO of Holcim Ltd, Switzerland applauded the global gold award-winning project.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Switzerland applauded the Holcim Awards competition for promoting critical interdisciplinary and long-range perspectives by demonstrating the link between sustainable construction and environmental performance.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Enrique Norten, Principal and Founder, TEN Arquitectos, Mexico/USA, member of the Advisory Board of the Holcim Foundation, and member of the global Awards jury 2009 presented the top-prize-winning projects.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Joe Addo, principal and founder of Constructs LLC, Ghana and head of the regional Holcim Awards jury for Africa Middle East in 2008 presented the top prize winning projects from the region that had advanced to the global phase of the Holcim Awards competition in 2009.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Saïd Mouline, former general architect for the Moroccan Ministry of Housing and member of several Holcim Awards juries, Morocco, provided conclusions after the second cycle of the global Holcim Awards competition.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Hans-Rudolf Schalcher, Chair of Planning and Management in Construction, ETH Zurich, Switzerland and representative of the Management Board of the Holcim Foundation in all juries of the Awards competition introduced the “target issues” for sustainable construction which serve as the basis for the adjudication process of the Holcim Awards.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Dominique Drouet, CEO of Holcim Morocco highlighted the history of the city of Fez and expressed the pride of the country to be receiving global recognition for a construction project.  Global Holcim Awards Gold prize hand-over, Fez, Morocco - July 16, 2009 Edward Schwarz, General Manager, Holcim Foundation, Switzerland provided an overview of the activities of the Holcim Foundation and an update on the construction status of top winning projects from the first Holcim Awards cycle.
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