The Bioclimatic Ribat | 2023, Anas Koubaiti, France

Architects: KAPT Studio
Lead Architect: Anas Koubaiti
Associate Architects: Théo Pagnon
General Contractor: Exibat group
Client: Basma & Yassine Marhoum
Photographer: Amine Houari

This family house strives to create both openness and intimacy in the heart of the Moroccan capital, Rabat. At first glance, it displays a monolithic and silent appearance whose protruding edges are shaped by the path of the sun. Once inside, the architecture reveals itself with sensuality and generosity.

Organized on three levels, with an inside out logic, the Ribat offers open living spaces where boundaries are erased. The bioclimatic principles developed around a spatial system in which the atrium plays a key role have enabled a compromise to be found between natural light and thermal comfort throughout the seasons.

The project organization and construction methods give a particular clarity and legibility. With its sober and uncluttered materiality, it borrows from the unadorned aesthetic of the ribats, the medieval fortresses in the urban landscape that gave their name to the town. Its simplicity reinforces the identity of its staging: introverted and deceptively hermetic, it intrigues by revealing only the essentials.