Page 43 - MOKAZINE 2 ENG

What is your role within the Moka Smart City project?
I am the urban architect- adviser for ENL Group, in charge of ensuring the urban coherence of the smart city. My role is to make sure that each project does not have an isolated architecture and does not upset the urban setting but improves it instead. I am also involved in the design and setting up of public spaces. Streets are the main concern but the park is also a key component. The aim is to create lively places.
What came first, the park or the smart city?
If anything came first, it was the urban project. The city takes its origin in an urban project that existed even before the term “smart city” was coined. The ENL Group has always had a long-term vision and master plan for the Moka region. It started with Les Allées d'Helvétia in 2009, and the smart city gave form and substance to the development in 2017.
Unlike an architectural project, an urban project is spread over a long period of time. It is therefore inherently subject to continuous development. Only the vision, the objective remains the same. Without knowing the final form, we knew from
the outset that we wanted to incorporate public spaces, including green areas like
the park.
How is the development progressing?
We are finalising the programming stage, during
bigger picture
Green spaces
which we define what
the park will contain. We
will soon move on to the design, with the support
of a multidisciplinary team
of urban architects and landscape designers, among others. A park is not just a drawing; the design stage consists in developing a 3D model. Where will the trees go? How high will they be? Where will the main paths be? What will be placed on the ground? Work will begin in 2021, once all these questions have been answered.
" The park Martial Noël will become
the green heart of the city of Moka by 2022! "
How can a harmonious relationship between man and nature be fostered?
By ensuring a sustainable development vision, in keeping with our natural environment. We therefore impose architectural guidelines that limit the potential conflicts between the environment and construction. Here are a few examples.
On the residential front, we can significantly reduce our use of air conditioning through proper positioning of our large window openings and promoting natural ventilation by creating airflows.
With regard to the park, there is the important issue
of rainwater for harmonious development. This green space is strategically located in an area where much of the rainwater in Moka converges. Instead of letting the water run off to streams and rivers, we will create a water body to retain it at the source.
At the level of a city, we
must provide a significant proportion of green spaces
to make an energy-efficient use of trees, i.e. using them to regulate the amount of CO2 and thus serve human life.
Gabrielle, can you give us
a foretaste of what we can expect from the future park?
We are taking our inspiration from the Mauritian gardens of large properties in Moka, which are very wooded with lots of different species to create this park. These spaces will be planted progressively in a deliberately scattered manner for a natural result.
The park will certainly have a botanical theme to showcase our endemic trees, which
are somewhat overlooked or little considered. Depending on the species selected, some bird species will call the park home. Imagine a palm tree, or a banyan. Can you hear the birds chirping? The result is clearly not the same!
There will also be large lakes with eco-friendly rainwater harvesting, jogging tracks, shaded resting areas, and why not a bandstand for small performances. The park will be the place for the people of Moka to get some fresh air and reconnect with nature. It will be a meeting place, a quiet place of discovery.
2020 / NO. 2 / MOKAZINE 41