News

Gare de Marrakech

Press  Release

Prat Structures Avancées (Toulouse) signature fabric architecture for the new Marrakech Station (le Gare de Marrakech).

The new Marrakech rail station, designed by Youssef Méléhi (Rabat), is already regarded for the beauty of its architecture. The fine construction of fabric architecture protects the large square and the train platforms; this product is a signature of Prat Structures Avancées, Toulouse engineering office, in collaboration with the architect and affiliated enterprise Jet-Alu et Ametema (Rabat).

In the shape of an impluvium, the octagonal covers measure 15mx15m and are raised 12m high. The resilient and elastic MagicSpring (system patented by Prat SA) gives the textile membrane Ferrai Précontraint 1202 a remarkable tension, perfect folds and guaranteed to last. The brown covers selected for the low impluvium and the arcs by the architect Méléhi are an allegory clearly dedicated to the palm groves of Marrekech.

The 12mx6m platform covers, fruits of long work on the design, protect the travellers from the heat of the Marrekech sun and produce a quality light, day or night; they also shut out the sound of loudspeakers, in this way producing clear and intelligible announcements.

Jet-Alu is a Moroccan business leader in the carpentry of aluminum, curtain walls, glass and other components of building exteriors; henceforth it is a participant recognized for its special steel structures.

Ametema, the only Moroccan enterprise with the capacity for "fabric architecture", has already produced several works in Morocco (the welcome center of Tamesna), in Maghreb (Marché Central of Tunis) and also others in France, where several textile membranes were fashioned by the staff of Atemema, as they continue to contribute to the advancement of fabric architecture.

The team of Jet-Alu, Ametema and Prat SA is now on its way to create a new project, le Stade d'Agadir (Agadir Stadium) with architect Saad Benkirane (Rabat).

New business has been recently brought in by Prat SA in Maroc, particularly the engineering of a new DHL hub on the Casablanca airport in partnership with Diwan Ingénierie (Diwan Engineering), signed by the architect Rachid Andaloussi (Casablanca).

Closer to home, Prat SA has recently secured the engineering of the Arts Center Circus (Centre du Artes du Cirque "Le Lido"), from which the main poles have been visible since last year within the green zone, from Argoulets to Toulouse, and they are presently working on the platform covers of the Perpignan TGV (high speed rail) station that will be running in 2009.