Cultural Interlude in Morocco

Music school and ecotourism center

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    Joudour Sahara focuses on environmental and social sustainability through the programmatic overlapping of the music school, ecolodge and anti-desertification testing ground. Courtyards between buildings promote passive cooling and collaboration between users. Outdoor reed canopies allow for active use of the site during the hot summer. Multi-use spaces such as shared administrative facilities and an outdoor auditorium reduce the built footprint and promote shared resources.

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    Global Holcim Awards Bronze and Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize Middle East Africa

    Winner presentation Cultural Interlude - Music school and ecotourism center, M’Hamid El Ghizlane, Morocco (l-r): Stuart Smith, Member of the Board of the Holcim Foundation & Director of Arup, Germany/UK; Aziza Chaouni, Dana Salama and Thomas Duncan, Aziza Chaouni Projects, Morocco & Canada; and Meisa Batayneh Maani, Member of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2021, Member of the Board of the Holcim Foundation, and Founder and Principal Architect of Maisam Architects & Engineers, Amman, Jordan.

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    Global Holcim Awards Bronze and Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize Middle East Africa

    Winner presentation Cultural Interlude - Music school and ecotourism center, M’Hamid El Ghizlane, Morocco (l-r): Maria Atkinson, Chairperson of the Holcim Foundation (at podium); Wanda Hebly, Sahara Roots Foundation, the Netherlands; Hashim Sarkis, Head of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2021; Dana Salama, Aziza Chaouni, Aziza Chaouni Projects, Morocco & Canada; Jose Antonio Primo, CEO of LafargeHolcim Morocco; Thomas Duncan, Aziza Chaouni Projects; and Meisa Batayneh Maani, Member of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2021, Member of the Board of the Holcim Foundation, and Founder and Principal Architect of Maisam Architects & Engineers, Amman, Jordan.

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    Longitudinal building volumes are oriented along the southwest-northeast axis in accordance with prevailing wind directions to encourage natural ventilation, and to block open spaces from the encroachment of sand dunes. Various planting strategies such as spiral formations and using half-walls to protect vegetation will serve as anti-desertification case-studies. The seguia (seen in blue) connects the site to the Drâa River east of the road.

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    Global Holcim Awards Bronze and Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize Middle East Africa

    Winner presentation Cultural Interlude - Music school and ecotourism center, M’Hamid El Ghizlane, Morocco (l-r): Wanda Hebly, Sahara Roots Foundation, the Netherlands; Hashim Sarkis, Head of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2021; Dana Salama, Aziza Chaouni, Aziza Chaouni Projects, Morocco & Canada; Jose Antonio Primo, CEO of LafargeHolcim Morocco; Thomas Duncan, Aziza Chaouni Projects; and Meisa Batayneh Maani, Member of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2021, Member of the Board of the Holcim Foundation, and Founder and Principal Architect of Maisam Architects & Engineers, Amman, Jordan.

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    Global Holcim Awards Bronze and Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize Middle East Africa

    Aziza Chaouni of Aziza Chaouni Projects, Morocco & Canada responds to winning the Global Holcim Awards Bronze with Meisa Batayneh Maani, Member of the Global Holcim Awards jury 2021, Member of the Board of the Holcim Foundation, and Founder and Principal Architect of Maisam Architects & Engineers, Amman, Jordan.

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    Cultural Interlude in Morocco

    The water reservoir’s top half is occupiable, allowing occupants to enjoy the effects of evapotranspiration in the passively cooled space. Rain falls down the slowed roof of the reservoir into a wide copper basin, creating a space for spectacle on the site.

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    Joudour Sahara is the first off-grid music school and ecolodge of its kind in Southern Morocco.

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    The palm tree grid seen in the foreground reduces sand encroachment, and walls protect vegetation.

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    M’hammid El Ghizlane is home to twelve tribal musical styles which are taught at Joudour Sahara.

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    This map demonstrates energy usage, water distribution, and circulation by different users.

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    Cultural Interlude in Morocco

    Joudour Sahara’s shaded auditorium is its primary communal space, designed to accommodate outdoor learning and performances of various sizes. The auditorium connects to an underground recording studio (left) insulated with hay.

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    A passively cooled occupiable water reservoir and anti-desertification eco-lodge room strategy.

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    The compost toilet system streamlines waste produced on site and protects a tamarisk tree.

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    Exhibition spaces promote passive cooling with solar chimneys and a solar-powered Canadian well system.

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    Cultural Interlude in Morocco

    L-shaped half walls, tamarisk/ acacia trees, and grids of woven dried palm tree leaves protect the site from encroaching sand dunes.

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    Various landscaping strategies on site contribute to fighting erosion and sand dune advancement.

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    Aziza Chaouni Projects (ACP) is a multidisciplinary design firm with offices in Morocco and Canada.

  • Awards Bronze 2020–2021 Global
  • Awards Acknowledgement prize 2020–2021 Middle East Africa

By Aziza Chaouni - Aziza Chaouni Projects, Toronto, Canada and

Ideas: Inclusion, Economic & Social Empowerment

A self-sustaining music school and ecotourism center to preserve tribal cultural heritage.

Cultural Interlude in Morocco

Project authors

  • Cultural Interlude in Morocco
    Aziza Chaouni

    Aziza Chaouni Projects

    Canada
  • BF
    Batoul Faour

  • AG
    Azucena Guererro

    Aziza Chaouni Projects

    Canada

  • AH
    Adriaan Hebly

    Sahara Roots Foundation

    Netherlands

  • LCW
    Li Cheryl Wei

    University of Toronto, John H Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape & Design

    Canada

  • Saba Besiso

    Aziza Chaouni Projects

    Canada

  • Jeremy Schipper

    Aziza Chaouni Projects

    Canada

  • AS
    Abdeljlil Saadani

    Abdeljlil Saadani BET

    Morocco

  • Global Holcim Awards Bronze and Holcim Awards Acknowledgement prize Middle East Africa
    Dana Salama

    Aziza Chaouni Projects

    Canada

  • VGS
    Veronica Gallego Sotello

    Aziza Chaouni Projects

    Canada

  • Cultural Interlude in Morocco
    Wanda Hebly

    Sahara Roots Foundation

    Netherlands

Project updates

November 13, 2021 | Media Release | Venice, Italy

Recognizing the many facets of sustainable construction

Global Holcim Awards Gold 2021

The winners of the global Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction showcase the cutting edge of approaches to sustainable design, green architecture, and materials innovation. In the 6th cycle of the world’s most significant competition for sustainable design, offering prize money totaling USD 2 million, most of the global prizewinning projects came from the Asia Pacific and Middle East Africa regions; one top prize each also went to Colombia and Switzerland. The prizes were presented at a handover ceremony at the International Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy.

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November 13, 2021 | Global & Regional Jury Report – Middle East Africa | Eclepens, Switzerland

“Going beyond preserving the local culture to act as community booster”

Project description by regional jury

Due to the increasing waves of urban migration, the Oasis Drâa Valley in southern Morocco is experiencing a loss of its tribal heritage in music as well as of its vernacular architecture and agricultural techniques. The project is the result of an interdisciplinary work to promote culture preservation through the creation of a self-sustaining music school in the town of M’hamid El Ghizlane. Beyond the pedagogical facilities, the project considers the construction of ecolodges to promote profitability and the center’s self-sufficiency by hosting visiting teachers, students and tourists.

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November 13, 2021 | Media Release | Venice, Italy

Awards Middle East Africa 2021

Growing Social Fabric in Palestine

The built environment has a significant role to play in addressing climate change and enabling the transition to a net-zero and more inclusive future. The Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction global winners showcase the cutting edge of approaches to sustainable design, green architecture, and materials innovation. The 6th cycle of the competition saw three entries in the Middle East Africa region win prizes at both the global and regional levels, including a project in Morocco that won a Global Holcim Awards Bronze and two projects that were recognized with a Global Commendation. The global prizes were presented at a handover ceremony at the International Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy. The regional Holcim Awards Main category winners for Middle East Africa were recognized at the same event.

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November 13, 2021 | Statements on the sustainability of the project by the authors | Toronto, Canada

Project entry 2020 for Middle East Africa

Innovation and Transferability: Vernacular Techniques with Innovative Sustainable Design

The project combines vernacular knowledge with innovative design approaches. The construction system is traditional, using rammed earth walls, palm reeds and trunks for roofs, yet it integrates easily replicable solar chimneys and Canadian wells systems to improve thermal comfort. The landscape design proposes anti-desertification and erosion strategies; such as palm leaf grids, the Growasis Waterboxx to safely grow tamarisk trees for 1-2 years with little water, and adult Tamarisk trees protected by walls of buildings to retain sand dunes in place. The combined effect of all three systems was never tested before. The orientation of all buildings and protective walls onsite considers prevailing wind patterns in an effort to protect the site from encroaching sand dunes.

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November 13, 2021 | CO2 Lifecycle Assessment by Project Authors | M'hammid El Ghizlane, Morocco

Measures taken to reduce CO2 emissions

Cultural Interlude in Morocco

The project’s only connection to area infrastructure is the seguia which operates on the seasonal flow of water from the Drâa River. Mechanical systems are kept to a minimum, with the building relying on solar panels for energy, and a solar-powered water pump for water distribution. Exhibition spaces employ a passive cooling system which consists of solar chimneys, solar panels, and a Canadian well system which supplements natural ventilation with cooled air. Water pumps for irrigation and distribution are also solar-powered, further eradicating operational carbon emissions. The use of natural building materials also eliminates CO2 emissions from material fabrication processes as well, except for glulam and concrete used in the water reservoir structure.

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pin M’hammid El Ghizlane, Morocco

M’hammid El Ghizlane, Morocco

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Cultural Interlude in Morocco – Project Overview

Cultural Interlude in Morocco – Project Overview

Cultural Interlude in Morocco – Author Comment

Cultural Interlude in Morocco – Author Comment