Slideshow: following our earlier story about a university in the Moroccan desert with a sandy red exterior, here's a school of technology in the nearby town of Guelmim with walls covered in the same grainy render.
Also designed by architects Saad El Kabbaj, Driss Kettani and Mohamed Amine Siana, the Guelmim Technology School comprises a series of concrete buildings that feature projecting windows, louvres and narrow openings.
A series of canopies create sheltered walkways and seating areas along the north to south axis that divides the campus into two.
Most of the classrooms are located in buildings on the western side of the site, while laboratories and workshops occupy a row of blocks on the eastern side.
You can read about the university building by the same architects in our earlier story.
See all our stories about Morocco »
Photography is by Fernando Guerra.
Here's some more information from the architects:
Technology School of Guelmim Morocco
The project of the Technology School of Guelmim is part of the development policy of academic institutions in the southern regions of Morocco.
The project consists of an amphitheater, classrooms, workshops, laboratories, administration, library, teacher’s offices and office staff housing.
The starting point was to provide a strong architecture, contemporary but inspired by the context in which it occurs.
The challenge was to recreate a certain mood, a certain scale with modern tools and architectural vocabulary.
Thus, the architecture is voluntarily massive, powerful and plays with the contrast between interior and exterior.
The various buildings are organized along a north-south axis through a partly covered path, and are organized on L-forms or indoor gardens.
This organization helps readability and clarity of the various entities of the project while maintaining a set of scales adapted to the diversity of the program.
Similarly, a reflection on the thermal quality results a work orientation, protection of openings and vegetation cover, thus conditioning part of the architecture vocabulary and principles.
At last, the project Research finally assumes a certain theatricality, a certain gravitas that meets the solemnity inherent to educational institutions.
Architects: SAAD EL KABBAJ / DRISS KETTANI / MOHAMED AMINE SIANA
Team: YASSINE EL AOUNI / RACHID EL MAATAOUI
Client: UNIVERSITE IBN ZOHR D’AGADIR
Engineering: BEPOL SARL
Contractor: ZERKDI & FILS
Built area: 6883 M²
Design - Construction : 2008-2011
Very beautiful! The shadows cast by the apparently repetitive architecture become a cinematic feast once the sun gets into play…
now that is beautiful architecture …
at last – getting away from the madness of glass boxes in the desert. This is beautiful.
overhangs, pergolas, light, shadow, color ….. superb architecture
well thought architecture! Indeed this is what dubai would have really needed..
Totally disagree! This project is an out of scale “cartoonization” of the work of the world famous and awarded Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta who passed away this year. I really think that as architects we can have some influences on our work, but this project has a lack of respect for an architect who has amazing projects all over the world, even in Morocco. If you like this project, I think you should see the lifetime work and concepts of Legorreta to see what I’m talking about. I really hope Dezeen publishes my opinion.
Ricardo Legorreta and Luis Barragan influence?
Exactly!!
Personally I feel very angry for having the gall to be exploiting unscrupulous style and concepts of the deceased masters of Mexican architecture: Ricardo Legorreta and Luis Barragan. What’s worse, it’s not perceived as an influence or a tribute, but rather a caricature of the work of the masters and therefore are getting all kinds of awards and accolades worldwide. Sincerely I don’t think they deserve to be called ARCHITECTS, but plagiarists and scoundrels.
It seems that Mexican architecture is an important influence in another countries.
This is Mexican architecture! Ricardo Legorreta, Luis Barragán.
Clara influencia de la Arquitectura Mexicana en este trabajo, los arquitectos Luis Barragan y Ricardo Legorreta tener el credito correspondiente.
Clear influence of Mexican Architecture in this work, the architects Luis Barragan and Ricardo Legorreta have the corresponding credit.
Concuerdo con que este edificio tiene influencia mexicana y debería darse crédito a Ricardo Legorreta y a Luis Barragán por los diseños.
This builiding has Mexican influence and it should add credit to Ricardo Legorreta and Luis Barragan for the designs.
Hasta donde se el diseño no tiene patentes mientras sea funcional y cumpla con los requerimientos.
This is mexican architecture. Ricardo Legorreta and Luis Barragan: Mexican architects. Saad, Driss & Mohamed your architecture is a copy and paste.
Barragan influenced by Morrocco, Ricardo influenced by Barragan, Saad, Driss and Mohamed influenced by Ricardo…. and the university mentioned here is built in Morroco, so what started with Morroco has come back to it.