Since mid-November, a multicolored structure, open to all winds, all curves and verticals, has accompanied the gaze of walkers along the Telfair amphitheatre in the new town of Moka. Between heaven and earth is the name of this pavilion of wood, metal and concrete, designed by Kheshav Neenooth, winner of the first Max Boullé Prize. Dominique Bellier
While the Max Boullé Prize raises public awareness of the importance of architecture and urban planning, it also takes a continuity-based approach to Mauritian architectural creation, building a bridge between an architect who left his mark on the Mauritian landscape in the 20the century landscape, and today’s designers who are imagining tomorrow’s buildings and urban developments. Launched by the Association des Amis de Max Boullé in partnership with the town of Moka, this prize encourages innovation, stimulates creativity and celebrates one of the fathers of modern Mauritian architecture.
Trained at the Académie Ranson in Paris in the early 1920s, Max Boullé was influenced both by Art Nouveau, by Auguste Perret, the first technician of reinforced concrete and apostle of a pure style close to Brutalism, and by the latter’s sworn enemy, Le Corbusier, of whom he was a contemporary. He was part of the modernist movement, without breaking with tradition and classicism… We owe him, for example, the CEB in Curepipe, the Collège Saint-Joseph and the chapel in Cap Malheureux.
Kheshav Neenooth’s architectural gesture is inspired by the colors of Max Boullé’s paintings, while the concept, associated with circulation, openness and sociability, is inspired by his humanism and the geometric forms he retained from Art Nouveau. The work of this young designer, a student at ENSA, adds a playful touch to Telfair’s strict, rather dark architectural context.