• Island on the Plateau

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Photography: Rory Gardiner 
16 / 01 / 2025
We are in the province of Al Haouz, and here, inside the house, a silence lingers, clinging to the wisps of clouds that drift through the openings above our heads. In this part of Africa, the interior communicates with the inner courtyards and gardens, which open up to the sky to mark the rhythm of the earth.
 
From where I stand, I can see the flat landscape swallowing up the rectangular structure. The arid skin of the desert seems to envelop it like an embryo that refuses to be born. It’s a life that screams inwards, that implodes in a vibrant language, yet is silent in its extreme seclusion. Despite its apparent neutrality, the project designed by the architect Leopold Banchini (Geneva, Switzerland) in collaboration with the Moroccan architect Sana Nabaha could not be more visceral. Designed as a private residence for Leopold and his family, its foundations are rooted in the survival instinct that arises from the ancestral need for defence in response to the extreme climate, as well as Leopold’s fascination with traditional and neo vernacular architecture and Moroccan craft techniques. A tribute that is more contemporary than nostalgic. 
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
All this apparent introversion harbours a mystery that is revealed only to the guests at Dar Al Farina. 
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
  • Island on the Plateau
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