By Nii B. Andrews.
Yves Saint Laurent was so thoroughly seduced by Marrakech when he first visited the city in 1966 that he immediately made the decision to purchase a house there.
He often returned to Marrakech and the charms of the mythic city and Morocco wielded a huge influence on his fashion style and sense.
Fifty years later, Marrakech- the Ochre City, is now the site of a magnificent purpose built museum dedicated to the vast fashion portfolio of YSL; it was officially opened in October 2017.
The museum in reality is a mammoth sized cultural space of 4 000 sqm that includes a 400 sqm permanent exhibition space, a temporary exhibition space, a research library containing over 6 000 volumes, a 150 seat auditorium, a bookstore and a terrace café.
Architectural Digest has listed the YSL museum as one of the 12 architecturally important buildings of 2017.
The buildings facade appears as an intersection of cubes and curved walls with a lace like covering of bricks that reference the weft and warp of cloth – an all important substrate for couture.
Furthermore, in perfect harmony with the lining of a couture item, the interior of the YSL museum is smooth, velvety, radiant and posh.
The building from its exterior harmonizes with the landscape and antecedent adobe based Berber architecture that remains preeminent in Marrakech and southern Morocco.
All of the museum’s bricks were made by Moroccan artisan cooperatives using ancient indigenous methods.
Since the museum’s opening, patronage has been terrific.
There is always a long line of patrons waiting to visit, thus providing a tremendous boost to carriage/coach/taxi drivers, bar/restaurant owners and souvenir sellers in the museum’s neighborhood.
Once again, we have an example of a transformational project that enhances the cultural and economic clout of an African city.
It does so by a synergistic harnessing of historical, artistic and cultural antecedents and presenting/showcasing them at the highest international standards; and a scrupulous commitment to maintaining those high standards.
We trust that we shall one day (!) see a comparable project in a Ghanaian city pursued with such commitment.
Nii, I Know this building … expressive and contextual; an architecture borne out of thought.
Somehow, we are unable to create, objects and spaces for people.
Love that your blog also comments on architecture.
Much needed discourse!
I pray for the fulfillment of your wishes in the last paragraph.
The National Theatre, of course a gift from the Chinese which was wilfully clad in tiles imported from China.
After 30 years, we had to call for help when we realized we had missed decades off the maintenance schedule and the building was falling into ruin.