Artist’s view of the Grand Théâtre de Rabat, designed by architect Zaha Hadid. ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS
It is an astonishing and dissonant building, whose futuristic design, represented by its white, rounded envelope, leaves no one indifferent. Tourists praise its “impressive structure” of 25,000 square meters, the work of Zaha Hadid, the first female winner of the Pritzker Prize, the “Nobel” for architects. Residents see it as a new emblem of their city. A contemporary response to an older landmark, the nearby Hassan Tower, the remnant of a now disappeared mosque built over 800 years ago.
Since the summer, Rabat’s grand theater on the banks of the Bouregreg, the river that separates Morocco’s capital from the neighboring city of Salé, has even been featured on a new 20 dirham bill. As a symbol of the country’s “rich socio-cultural development,” according to the kingdom’s central bank. That aside, despite completion in 2021, the building remains closed. No spectator has yet crossed the threshold of its 1,800-seat theater, “the biggest in Africa,” as the Moroccan press has described it.
An inauguration by King Mohammed VI, synonymous with an official opening, has been widely rumored but the King’s visit is slow to arrive. For several years, it has been the subject of endless speculation. “Late 2021, after the coronavirus pandemic,” “During 2022,” “In the last quarter of 2023.” Each time, newspaper predictions of its grand opening have been proved wrong.
Will 2024 be the year? “Nobody knows,” said a municipal source, who explained that the city’s elected representatives were being kept in the dark. When contacted, some refused to comment, while others requested anonymity, a reminder of the “sensitive” nature of the issue. This “royal initiative” is said to be very much overseen by the palace, with Mohammed VI personally choosing the project by Hadid, who died in 2016. This was the last building designed by the Anglo-Iraqi architect before her death.
Preferable to invest in existing venues
Delays and overspending on any other project, especially a cultural facility, might go unnoticed, but Rabat’s grand theater was supposed to open its doors to visitors in 2019, with a cost of €190 million.
Its constantly postponed opening raises questions behind the scenes, especially as another large theater in Casablanca, also designed by a renowned architect, the Frenchman Christian de Portzamparc, cost €130 million and is in the same situation: completed but still closed. Together, these buildings cost three times the entire budget allocated to the Ministry of Culture for 2024.
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“Here we have two white elephants that no elected official asked for,” noted a disappointed city councilor. He argued that it would have been better to invest in existing venues or open smaller ones. According to all the elected representatives and professionals interviewed by Le Monde, that is the heart of the issue. What should be done with these large new structures when the existing ones are already “under-utilized?”
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Source link : https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/10/10/morocco-built-africa-s-biggest-theater-but-it-remains-closed_6728861_4.html
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Publish date : 2024-10-10 01:01:37
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