Page 38 - MOKAZINE_3-ENG

36 MOKAZINE / NO 3 / 2021
bigger picture
“ Creating a new way of living together”
What is the point of creating a city centre in Telfair? How and when will it become the vibrant heart of Moka? And above all, what will it look like? The smart city’s General Manager, Samuel de Gersigny and the architect and urban planner, Gabrielle Brun discuss these questions and share their vision of tomorrow’s city centre in this informative and instructive interview.
Mokazine –
Let’s start from the
beginning: how did the idea of creating a
city centre at Telfair emerge?
Samuel de Gersigny : The first document dates back to 2012, well before anyone was talking about developing a smart city. A broad outline was drawn up by the South African architect and urban planner, Nathan Iyer. Almost ten years have passed and we have taken the
time to mature the project and make it better. This was the first phase, which involved thorough thinking and design. The second phase since 2018 has consisted of infrastructure development including roads, bike and pedestrian paths as well as green spaces such as the Amphitheatre, where complimentary activities are offered every day. Since then, a residential development has been launched. PwC have moved into their new headquarters and the Moka Smart City showroom and bistro have been set up. Oficea has also completed
a new office building, The Dot, which houses companies such as the law firm, Bowmans. Other developments include a new road linking the A7 Road and Telfair Avenue, a new roundabout, a Shell filling station and a McDonald’s restaurant. We are currently working on implementing the downtown core vision. This is the project realisation phase.
What is your drive to create such a place?
Gabrielle Brun : The downtown area is the heart of a city, which pulses for and with its people. It’s about the comfort of urban life with everything required within close proximity: services, shops, places to relax, etc. The aim is to encourage well-being and living well together.
Samuel de Gersigny : This is what drives me too: the opportunity to create a
new way of living together. The history
of Mauritius has been shaped by waves of migration from Africa, Asia, Europe and China that led to the development
of cities with very different layouts.
Moka has all the ingredients to create qualitative and sustainable ways of living together in the future and maybe even a model that could be replicated across the country. That’s what I find exciting and stimulating in creating this city centre.
Gabrielle Brun : A city centre is a village within a city, the ideal place for living together. To create this “heart”, we must look for the things that can help develop bonds between people.
Samuel de Gersigny : Before I started working on designing a city, I used to see it as piling unconnected developments on top of one another. Nathan Iyer said something that marked me, “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”