By its location within the medina of Marrakech, it was obvious that contextualization is the key word of this design exercise of the Kasbah proximity library As a result, we visited the site of our intervention area several times to understand its complexity and draw inspiration from the spirit of the place.
Studio Name: Mohamed Bennani Architects
Design Team : Mohamed Bennani, Ismail Elmajidi, Mehdi Ahra
Area: 240 m²
Year: 2019
Location: Marrakech, Morocco
Consultants: Mehdi Ahra, Ismail Elmajidi
Photography Credits :Mohamed Bennani Architects
Other Credits : no other credits
Indeed, no one can ignore the surprises that one expects at the bend of each alley of the medina, sometimes a contraction sometimes an expansion, all the senses are on the lookout for what the medina offers to discover while strolling through its streets.
Our conceptual approach therefore focused on the following question: how to contextualize the project, in such a rich site, without bordering on cliché and pastiche?
In response, we considered and reinterpreted two typical elements: the patio on one side, and the moucharabieh characteristic of the houses of the medina on the other.
Faced with the heritage weight bordering on our area of intervention, we have chosen to opt for a humble and modest architecture in its architectonic language.
A language that will promote dialogue with the heritage architectural elements that face our project. It is a question of projecting an entire volume, regular and uncluttered, without redents or artifacts like heritage buildings. We even tried to integrate it in terms of heights, volumes and proportions, to look for alignments with the alleys so that our project fits perfectly into this dense and cramped fabric.
its enhancement lies in its levitation and its floating on a glazed base. we thought that this equipment is inviting and inciting, thus, the activities are exposed through glass walls that we allowed ourselves since they do not receive any sun
Also; as all architecture should reflect its time, we opted to give our project a contemporary setting and this by providing it with an envelope in mastered materials but with a new aspect, thus modernizing not only the image of the cultural facility, but also of the commissioning contracting authority. These are terracotta claustra, available on the local market and inexpensive, it nevertheless allows a qualitative treatment which creates surprise at the bend of the tributary alleys without shocking or being at odds with its immediate surroundings.
We have taken care to keep the existing palm trees by transplanting them to the level of the residual clearance at the level of the South facade. Also, in terms of outdoor facilities, we have recommended a buffer space laid out as a planter around the perimeter of the building, in order to keep nuisances away and give users a certain privacy and distance them from the outside.
abstract about your practice written in the third person : A 2009 graduate of the National School of Architecture in Rabat, Morocco, Mohamed Bennani created the Mohamed Bennani Architects studio in 2012, aspiring to position himself as a player on the regional and national architectural scene. Believing in a desire for openness and a philosophy of the group, he participates in several national and international competitions, dealing with town planning, architecture and design, among multidisciplinary teams, for the benefit of dialogue and confrontation, transforming the addition of individual knowledge into a multiplied creative potential.
