Les Cotes Des Anges, Tunisia

Halcrow's master plan concept for Tunisian project, Les Cotes des Anges has won the Waterfront Future Projects category at the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Awards.

The awards highlight developments in the Middle East and Africa that represent the pinnacle of design, functionality and innovation in the region.

Les Cotes des Anges covers an area of 219ha with some 2.5km of coastline, with a marina at the heart of the project. Located on the North shore of Africa, the development is targeted to become the hub for luxury boating in the Mediterranean. In keeping with the undertaken tourism market study, other tourism components proposed include a golf- course, wellness resorts and beachfront eco-lodges. The mix was conceived in order to ensure year-round tourism trade, not just tourism concentrated during the peak summer months.

The vision was conceived so as to accentuate the advantages of the site and maximise the site potential. It was a priority to evolve a built form that represented a contemporary interpretation of traditional building styles, while respecting the natural features of the site.

The concept structure is based on establishing a strong 'core area' on each site that will generate an 'activity hub' to support each site. The two core areas are then linked by a strong linear axis and well-defined curvilinear forms in the road structure. The road structure has been defined respecting the lines of the existing contours and the space constraints of the various developments proposed.

All relevant environmental issues have been considered in the proposed site and marina layouts. All construction (except the Marina Hotel) is to be low-rise and the retention of existing vegetation and proposed planting of native species of trees was a priority. From previous experience in the Mediterranean a buffer zone of a minimum 100m wide has been allowed along the shore to allow for ongoing climate change and sea level rise. This measure addresses likely future coastal erosion, reduces the risk of coastal squeeze and enables interaction between the beach and the dunes inshore.