Archinect - News

Shigeru Ban responds to the humanitarian disaster in Morocco

2023-09-28T16:53:00-04:00

Shigeru Ban and the Voluntary Architects’ Network have shared news of their delivery of several Paper Log House prototypes in Morocco in response to the devastating 6.8 magnitude earthquake that displaced over 30,000 people recently, according to disaster response statistics assembled by the UN.

This is the third such deployment in the past four months and follows Ban’s contribution to the Turkish response effort after the February earthquake that destroyed more than 160,000 structures there and in Syria. The National Architecture School of Marrakech is helping Ban coordinate the delivery of the shelters, which were first used following the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan.

Photo: Voluntary Architects' Network via Facebook

The structures used this year in Turkey offer slightly more permanent accommodations than past prototypes and can be constructed in just three days, with another ten or so days required for pre-installation preparation.

Photo: Voluntary Architects' Network via Face...

Conservation expert cautions: Narratives about traditional earthen architecture and the Moroccan earthquake are flawed

2023-09-18T14:37:00-04:00

The rush to blame the destruction that ensued in the wake of this month’s devastating 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Morocco on rammed earth and the region's other traditional earthen construction methods is a flawed conjecture, according to an explanation penned recently by University of York lecturer Louise Cooke.

In an article featured in The Conversation over the weekend, Cooke refuted some of what she calls inaccuracies latent in the popular media narrative about the country’s traditional architectures, namely that their structural designs make them susceptible to collapses during seismic events. She says the popular consensus about traditional architecture is a mischaracterization, adding that the disaster’s true culprit lies in a hastened shift away from age-old building and maintenance methods caused by outside influence from modern Western design.

“In the immediate aftermath of an earthquake, it is common for local building cultures to be blamed for their own destruction,” the...

Moroccan heritage sites severely impacted by recent earthquake

2023-09-12T17:28:00-04:00

Several Unesco World Heritage sites have been severely damaged by the recent earthquake in Morocco. [...] As the death toll climbs, so too will revelations of damaged heritage sites, as Morocco’s fragile patrimony—especially in less accessible rural areas—bears the brunt of the earthquake alongside the nation.

Following the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Morocco's Marrakesh–Safi region on September 8, the assessment of devastation — both human and cultural — continues.

As The Art Newspaper reports, several significant heritage sites have been severely damaged or almost entirely destroyed, including the 12th-century Great Mosque of Tinmal as well as Marrakesh's historic Kharbouch and Kutubiyya mosques.

Authorities have confirmed over 2,900 deaths, with thousands more injured and without shelter.

Africa's tallest skyscraper set to start construction in Morocco

2018-10-15T13:57:00-04:00

Construction will start November 1 and the tower is expected be delivered on May 30, 2022, the Moroccan BMCE Bank of Africa announced [...] The Bank of Africa Tower will have 55 floors with a luxury hotel, offices, and apartments. An observatory will crown the tower. [...] The O Tower company has started developing the 250-meter tower which could be titled the tallest building in Morocco and in Africa.

Once structurally topped out, the 820-ft Bank of Africa Tower will not only be Morocco's tallest building but also take the crown from Carlton Centre in Johannesburg, at 732 feet currently the tallest tower in Africa.

Image: BESIX

Designed by Spanish architects Rafael de la-Hoz Arquitectos and Moroccan firm CHB Cabinet Hakim Benjelloun, the building aims for the highest international environmental standards to earn a certified LEED Gold and HQE rating.

Image: BESIX

The developer just contracted Belgian construction firms BESIX and Travaux Generaux de Construction de Casablanca (TGCC) for the project. BESIX has completed buildings in Morocco before as well as in the Middle East, including the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (in collaboration with Samsung C&T and Arabtec).

Image: BESIX

It’s essential YSL

2017-09-12T11:58:00-04:00

No less expressive is the building itself, with both modern and traditional Moroccan influences (locally-sourced terrazzo, red brick latticework, bush hammered concrete) and a curved facade that mimics the folds of fabric...

Jeanine Celeste Pang traveled to Marrakesh, for a preview of a new museum honoring Yves Saint Laurent. The new, 43,000-square-foot building, is designed by the Paris-based firm Studio KO. The project will open in October.

Check out this eye-candy architecture from Africa

2017-08-31T12:45:00-04:00

In this round-up of notable architecture in Africa, Wired takes a closer look at projects from Morocco to South Africa, including the Lideta Mercato in Ethiopia by Xavier Vilalta and the Bosjes Chapel by Steyn Studio. As the piece notes, "Contemporary African architecture is extremely varied: it ranges from sustainable rural developments to luxury apartments and offices; from schools and hospitals to swanky safari lodges; and from huge infrastructure projects to makeshift improvisations. In all of these styles is a sensitivity to local traditions combined with on-the-ground ingenuity." It's also quite visually arresting.

Lideta Mercato by Xavier Vilalta. Image: Gonzalo Guajardo