The Carre Eden, a village in the city in Marrakech Marrakech Hotels Marrakech riads Marrakech Restaurants

 “1 million roses for Gueliz”, is the name of the event and offered beds of roses to the people, to celebrate the rebirth of the neighborhood and in honor of all marrakchis and their daily lives.  

A fan of Morocco for many years, Xavier Guerrand Hermes, took up this amazing challenge to, as he says, “transform the world of Gueliz with an innovative project that would be the centre of daily life with entertainment.” Armed with a team of Moroccan architects and designers, they imagined the Carre Eden without restriction of ambitions, talents, innovations and dreams. These men dreamed up an ambitious project in a time when perhaps the economic downturn would deter others. The operations director, Mehdi Jennane explained, “Carre Eden Gueliz, will really revitalize the economy with commercial benefits for shopkeepers.”

First there is Karim El Achak, urban architect behind the contemporary latticework, which gives a little impression of what’s to come. This local was a strong advocate for the preservation of Gueliz, so when the project was presented to him, he couldn’t refuse.

Beside him, two designers, whose past accomplishments and the ones still in progress, are some of the best in the industry, Imaad Rahmouni alongside Philipe Starck. Dividing his time between Paris and Marrakech, Imaad Rahmouni also participated the Palais Namaskar and designed the simple and chic spaces in the hotel of Carre Eden. The design of the rooms and suites of the future 5-star Carre Eden is owed to Lotfi Sidi Rahal, his vision was to design an institution that differed from the accommodation of the Medina and the Hivernage district.

Carre Eden is primarily dedicated to the people of Gueliz and designed to become a new meeting place. 10 floors, including 4 basement floors, on 100,000 square meters that will contain 110 residences, a 200-room hotel, a mall, a food court, a Carrefour supermarket, a fresh fruit and vegetable market, a large fitness club, meeting rooms and 700 parking spaces.

 Marrakech is fast becoming a shopping destination for the rest of the country and abroad. The Carre Eden has it all, luxury hotel; green spaces, cultural events and in the near future 600 jobs will be generated by the project.

With much work and effort put into this project, the scheduled opening date for Carre Eden is in autumn 2013. Over 85% of the structural works has been completed, over the next 12 months; a variety of marketing campaigns will be seen in and around Marrakech, marking this as a city of opportunity not to be missed.

Text Stephanie Jacob

Translation Karen Athwal