Jardin d'Afrique

Zarzis, Tunisia

On Tunisia’s southern coast, the project is a memorial to and graveyard for migrants who drowned whilst crossing the Mediterranean. A small residence for a caretaker, a morgue and a doctor’s office, public sanitary facilities, and an ecumenical prayer room form the architectural components in the walled complex. Due to the coastal location, the 600 graves are waterproofed; the morgue contains state-of-the-art facilities to help identify the badly-decomposed bodies washed ashore and previously left to decay. All of the walls, the domed-and-vaulted buildings, gravestones, and tile paving were crafted entirely by hand, and much of the work was undertaken by migrants who survived the perilous crossing.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture