On March 29, SDL Agadir Souss-Massa Aménagement awarded the construction contract for the Timitar Museum in the city of Agadir. Awarded for MAD 14.7 million, this project is being carried out in the green space adjoining Boulevard Oued Souss and Chemin des Dunes, opposite the Iberostar hotel. Preparation and installation work for this site, which will take 18 months to complete, has already started.
Work to upgrade the bay corniche and the tourist area of Agadir, under the urban development program (PDU), continues. They consist of an operation to redevelop car parks and their surroundings, especially near the municipal swimming pool of Agadir, for a budget of 20.9 million dirhams.
At the same time, on March 29, SDL Agadir Souss-Massa Aménagement awarded the construction contract for the Timitar Museum in Agadir. Awarded for MAD 14.7 million, this project will be carried out in the green space adjoining Boulevard Oued Souss and Chemin des Dunes, opposite the Iberostar hotel.
Requiring an execution period of 18 months of work, including the time for site preparation and installation, the land to house this project has just been closed in preparation for the actual launch of the work. Second museum location allowing the valorization and promotion of Amazigh heritage – after the launch of work on the new Amazigh museum located behind the wall of remembrance of Agadir, the Timitar Museum means “signs” in Amazigh.
A boost to the southern tourist area of Agadir
This cultural infrastructure, with its distinguished and modern architecture, will be located in the heart of the tourist area of the Agadir destination. Inviting its visitors to discover the traditions, symbols and specificities of Amazigh culture, the Timitar Museum will give an impetus to the southern tourist area of Agadir and its cultural offer, in particular to its location.
It will strengthen the destination’s tourism offering, particularly the seaside segment, and will contribute to the promotion of Amazigh heritage through the creation of a new specific space accessible to the public. Offering a new museum experience next to the Timitar Museum, that of the Amazigh heritage of Agadir is carried out, for its part, on an area of around 3,000 m2, near Avenue Moulay Abdellah, on the northern facade of the town hall square of Agadir.
As a reminder, this destination already has the municipal museum of Amazigh heritage which is built near the area housing the future Al Inbiâat urban park. As for the Grand Théâtre d’Agadir, it is under construction and the green theater has been
rehabilitated.
Agadir: the reinforced museum offer
In addition to the physical program encompassing several cultural components, this project will, through the development of the Place du Souvenir, promote the Wall of Remembrance where the declaration of King Mohammed V is inscribed following the earthquake that struck Agadir on Monday February 29, 1960: “If destiny has decided on the destruction of Agadir, its reconstruction will depend on our faith and our will…”.
This declaration, decorated with Arabic calligraphy, appears in the form of an engraving embedded in the rough concrete wall. Built in 1968, it is the work of the architect Verdugo. In addition to the development of the Place du Souvenir and the construction of the Amazigh heritage museum, the PDU of Agadir has planned other cultural projects as part of the protection and promotion of this aspect. This involves the creation of the Museum of Reconstruction and Memory which will also preserve the collective memory of the city.
The choice of the location for this museum fell on the former headquarters of Bank Al-Maghrib, a 1950 building built by the architect François Louis Lemarié (1902-1996). This building was almost spared by the 1960 earthquake thanks to foundations resembling seismic structures. After having housed the services of the Central Bank in the past, it is currently being renovated according to its initial typology, while giving it a new museum vocation.
Yassine Saber / ECO Inspirations
