Canadian architects Lemay have won an international competition to redesign the corniches of Morocco’s Casablanca coast and create a leisure-filled seaside promenade.

The contest was launched by real estate agency Casa Aménagement in June 2016, with the intention of prompting a design that can become “a landmark destination in Morocco.”

The project is intended to enhance a 5km stretch of Casablanca’s dramatic cliffside pathways and roads, creating “a layered sensory experience”. Lemay’s concept is based around three main functions – a festive event space, a seaside resort and a nature preserve – and includes rest areas, walkways, outdoor sports facilities and observation points.

Inspired by the classic and multi-tiered Islamic garden, a series of overlapping landscaped layers, irrigated using a grey-water waste system, will create a formal procession from the city to the sea. At street intersections, open public squares will act as gates to the sea and connect services such as restaurants, boutiques shops and underground parking.

Sustainable development strategies woven into the new urban design include provision for an electric tramway and the Casablanca coast’s first-ever bicycle path.

Work on the first phase of the project, a promenade along the Hassan II Mosque and the Ain Diab corniche, is set to begin imminently and could be completed this year. It will extend from the mosque, one of the capital’s best-known landmarks, as a walkway lined with attractions, water features and light elements.

The cost of the whole 5km project has been estimated at 200m Dirhams (US$19.4m, €18.4m, £15.8m). It is scheduled for completion by July 2018.

Lemay are collaborating with Moroccan firm Geodata, which specialises in topography and engineering.

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