Project Description and responsibilities Ejdabia National Park, occupying a site of 115 hectares, is laid out in the context of its desert location – with the provision of shelterbelts and enclosing elements to provide shelter, shade and reduce sand deposition with the introduction of water to create an oasis.

The city’s renown for poetry and song in eastern Libya is celebrated and creates a theme for the design of the Park. At the heart of the Park is the Local Centre, a cluster of buildings around a formal Arabic garden that forms the focus for the restaurant, shops and library.

At the entrance is a prayer hall and at the end of the route through the formal gardens is the aviary, located on the edge of a gazelle park to provide distinction and focus for the long views of the parkland. This sheltered gazelle park, surrounded by shady routes and trails, occupies about 25% of the site area with the rest being a more open desert park with clusters of existing and new native trees for camping, picnic and barbeque areas. A multipurpose hall is located on the access road to the local centre and has a formal garden surrounded by hedging for privacy to be used in association with the internal areas.

The poetry centre, for which Richard was responsible, is located in the north east of the site and is established as an oasis of shelter and shade trees within the natural landscape. Richard was also responsible for the park identity strategy and visual communications strategy, as well as several aspects of project-wide graphic design and presentation.

The masterplan was undertaken in collaboration with HED.

Park Masterplan

Park Centre Detail Masterplan

Bird’s Eye view of park entrance
Still image taken from digital animation fly-through

Poetry Centre
Still image taken from digital animation fly-through

Poetry Centre explanatory diagram

Building Entrance
Still image taken from digital animation fly-through