Nowadays, it is necessary to have town planners, as well as architects, in Mauritius with the chaos that reigns in urbanism (Port-Louis is a good example) and the project of Smart Cities.
What is a town planner?
Unlike architects who design buildings with the aim to arrange its volume and space to meet customers’ needs, the town planner arrange human activities on the territories to achieve development and sustainable urban management, with the emphasis placed on ecology, including waste management, among others. The town planner seeks to maximize geographic potential to harmonize wellness of the inhabitants. His profession is exercised in a wide variety of public institutions, semi-public and private.
The Smart Cities
As said above, planners and architects have an important role to play with the future implementation of Smart Cities. These are places with a good management of infrastructures: water, energy, telecommunications, transportation, emergency services, educational centres, tourist attractions, disposal of waste, public facilities, etc. to improve the quality of life of citizens in the respect of the environment.
ENSA brings hope
Versatile, creative and artistic students will fit to the job of town planner. In the past, they had to go abroad to study or follow the courses of Architectural Technology proposed by some local institutions. However, the programs were not complete.
Things are changing positively with the arrival of Ensa (École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Nantes). This institution, located on the Medine Education Village campus in Pierrefonds, will open its first school in Mauritius. It will be operational in October 2016 and will accommodate Mauritian students and those of the Indian Ocean region.
The lauching of this first school of architecture took place on the 9 February 2016 at the Maison Eureka, Moka. Christian Dautel, director of ENSA Nantes, made the trip to Mauritius for this event. He considers that ENSA meets the needs in the field of architecture and urban planning on the African continent. According to him, ENSA will give a new impulse to the sector, based on economic dynamism expressed by the national ambition to set up Smart Cities across the island and make Mauritius a geographic junction between India, Oceania and Africa. Thierry Sauzier, Deputy Chief Executive of Medine, is really proud that Médine forms part of this big project with ENSA of Nantes. Young Mauritians and Africans will benefit from the experience and excellence of this prestigious institution.
Bachelor of Architecture and Urbanism
Students will be supervised by teachers and experienced international researchers and experts in the field. Courses will be offered in English and French. After the first academic circle, which last three years, students will obtain a Bachelor of Architecture and Urbanism. The diploma includes different subjects including geography, sociology and urban representation and creation.
In the near future, Mauritius will be able to count on urban planners and architects trained locally to transform the island in a better place to live.
