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By Mohamed Amine Rhaz
Rabat – The Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech (MYSLM) won the “Best New Public Building” design award from the British magazine Wallpaper*, tying for first place with the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art in Cape Town, South Africa.
Wallpaper* annually awards young designers, new designs, and new architecture and released the list of Design Awards 2018 on Thursday, January 11.
“The Moroccan heritage of Yves Saint Laurent is now complete thanks to the opening of this elegant new museum dedicated to his life and his work,” writes the Wallpaper *.
The museum opened in October 2017, and is in the same neighborhood as existing commemorations of Yves Saint Laurent in Marrakech. “Located next to the Majorelle Garden, a historic garden saved from redevelopment by the French couturier in 1980, the 4000 square meter museum houses exhibition spaces, a research library, and an auditorium,” the magazine recalls.
The architects behind the design, Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty of Paris Studio KO, “opted for a simplified approach, using as much as possible local techniques of brick construction, and placed a circular courtyard in the heart of the building,” details the Wallpaper*.
In addition to the South African Museum, MYSLM competed against CoFuFun Station Plaza in Japan, the Australian Islamic Center, and Centro Botín in Spain.
This year’s jury included British architect Farshid Moussavi; Danish chefs René and Nadine Redzepi; British designer Jasper Morrison; Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde; and Ethiopian model Liya Kebede.
On Instagram, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum thanked the magazine and acknowledged “it is an even greater honor to be placed in such distinguished ranks next to the other nominees.”
