Place Lalla Yeddouna Fez architecture, Moroccan urban design contest, Morocco building

Place Lalla Yeddouna, Fez

Moroccan Design Contest design by mossessian & partners architects

post updated 5 June 2025

Aga Khan Architecture Award 2025 Shortlist announcement

Location: Fez, Morocco

Prestigious heritage win in Fez, Morocco for architects mossessian & partners

Design: mossessian partners yassir khalil studio

photo © MA-YKS

Place Lalla Yeddouna in Fez

Place Lalla Yeddouna: Regeneration of a Historic Urban Heart

Fez’s medina, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the world’s largest and most intricate historic urban areas. In 2011, an international design competition to revitalize this core attracted over 800 entries. The winning proposal—by Mossessian Architecture in association with Yassir Khalil— was enthusiastically received by the local community. It aimed to reconnect Lalla Yeddouna Square with the riverfront through a pedestrian-friendly route, weaving through the medina’s dense fabric and integrating artisan workshops, shops, eateries, educational programs, a nursery, and a women’s centre.

photo © MA-YKS

The project combined restoration with innovation. A historic bridge and 11 existing buildings were rehabilitated, while nine new structures were constructed. A key aspect of the design was the restitching of both riverbanks through new pedestrian bridges and enhanced visual and physical access to the river, previously blocked and used for waste dumping. The riverbed was also recalibrated to manage flooding during the rainy season, improving both safety and ecological performance.

The architecture respected historical references while employing contemporary techniques and sustainable strategies. Passive climate control—via natural shading, airflow, and thermal mass— ensured year-round comfort with minimal energy consumption. Building massing and courtyard placement promoted cross-ventilation and comfortable microclimates throughout the site.

photos © MA-YKS

A striking feature of the project is its ceramic tilework. Artist Michael Pinsky collaborated with Michel Mossessian and the local craftsmen to develop a cohesive visual identity rooted in Fez’s 1,500-yearold zellige tradition. The tiles transition from classical Moroccan motifs to Spanish mutations and finally to modern abstract patterns. These colourful surfaces not only add to the cooling of the courtyard but also function as intuitive signage marking each type of artisan workshop.

photo © MA-YKS

Envisioned as both a civic and intimate space, the project was designed as a coherent “urban room” where daily life, craft, and visitors intersect. Repetition of local geometric forms established continuity, while subtle variations added richness and diversity. The result is a legible, welcoming environment that feels simultaneously rooted and renewed.

photo © Alfonso-paciello

Sustainability and community engagement guided the entire process. Local materials and traditional building techniques reduced environmental impact and bolstered cultural continuity. The involvement of local artisans extended beyond construction—ensuring the site’s authenticity and long-term community ownership.

photos © MA-YKS

Conservation of existing structures was approached with sensitivity. Repairs followed key heritage principles: minimal intervention, reversible methods, and exclusive use of traditional materials.

photos © MA-YKS

The project’s fusion of historical respect, local engagement, environmental performance, and modern design makes Place Lalla Yeddouna a model for heritage-led urban renewal. It has reanimated a vital part of Fez’s medina, fostering both community use and cultural continuity in a globally significant context.

Place Lalla Yeddouna information from Mossessian Architecture Ltd received 050625

Previously on e-architect:

22 Mar 2011

Place Lalla Yeddouna, Fez, Morocco

Prestigious heritage win in Fez, Morocco for architects mossessian & partners

Winning design by: mossessian partners yassir khalil studio

Place Lalla Yeddouna Fez

pictures from organisers

British practice mossessian & partners has won an open international competition to regenerate Place Lalla Yeddouna, a strategic location at the heart of Fez, Morocco.

Winning design by:

mossessian partners yassir khalil studio

pictures from organisers

A long list of 176 design proposals was made from 1400 expressions of interest in an open international competition, part of the MCA-Morocco Program, a $697.5m Compact to reduce poverty in Morocco through economic growth, financed by the USA’s Millennium Challenge Corporation. The international jury (see editors notes) short-listed eight schemes before selecting mossessian & partners with Yassir Khalil Studio, Casablanca/Morocco as the winning team. Ferretti-Marcelloni, of Rome (partnering with Bahia Nouh of Fez) and Moxon Architects of London (partnering with Aime Kakon of Casablanca) were awarded second and third prizes.

Entries by:

arquivio arquitectura taoufik el oufir architectes
bureau east atelier3am hashim sarkis studio
ferretti marcelloni bahia nouh
giorgio ciarallo emiliano bugatti cabinet hadmi

pictures from organisers

The competition site of approx. 7,400 sqm is located in the Medina of Fez, designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1981 and one of the world’s oldest and largest Medina. The competition brief was for the urban design of Place Lalla Yeddouna at the heart of the Medina, the preservation of historic buildings as well as the design of new buildings that would sit comfortably in the traditional urban fabric, yet speak of the vibrancy and functionally diverse nature of the contemporary site.

Entries by:

hanse unit zine el abidine lasouini
kolb hader architekten kubik studio
moxon architects aime kokon

pictures from organisers

The Medina is a mosaic of small-scale, modest, sand-coloured houses and its endless labyrinth of narrow streets are crammed with history. The area of Place Lalla Yeddouna, where the city was founded on the two banks of the main river in Fez (“Oued Al Jawahir”), used to be one of the key links between the two sides of the old city. Latterly the city has turned its back on the riverfront, creating a series of disconnected urban spaces. The key to mossessian’s strategy was to re-connect Place Lalla Yeddouna to the riverfront and create a pedestrian route across the river and through the Medina, a series of continuous spaces in the rich urban pattern of the Medina’s passageways.

“In the future, Place Lalla Yeddouna will become a dynamic, mixed use, urban space that will benefit both residents of and visitors to the Medina. It will offer educational programmes, residencies, artisan workshops, boutiques, cafes and other recreational facilities, attracting young and old alike”, explained the project initiators.

mossessian & partners recognised that Place Lalla would have to become a space that felt attractive to visitors and residents alike, that would function equally well as a public and a private place. “This cellular network of spaces is the foundation for the unity of a neighbourhood. We think of the development as a single building with Place Lalla Yeddouna as an ‘urban room’ at its heart,” says Michel Mossessian, Principal of mossessian & partners. He continues: “the key thing is to respect the spaces between buildings, since these are where the action happens. So Place Lalla is the perfect starting point for regenerating the life of Fez’s Medina.”

pictures from organisers

A principal requirement of the scheme is to preserve the historical references whilst using contemporary thinking and building techniques to unite the fragmented spaces. mossessian & partners have taken cues from the pattern, geometry and repetition that characterise Islamic design and introduced variation and accents on the traditional forms of Moroccan vernacular architecture.

Outdoor galleries and public spaces will be clad with colourful tiles, produced by local artisans, giving each space a specific identity, cooling the passageways and acting as an intuitive navigational aid. Traditional environmental strategies will be used, such as using wind, shade and mass, to create natural ventilation in the streets and buildings.

“With its unique architectural character representing the regional building tradition and with its surrounding urban fabric, excellent accessibility and functionality, Place Lalla Yeddouna is expected to be a cultural site exemplary of our time and the region, and a stimulator and generator for the development of other projects in Fez, its region and Morocco,” says organising body, the Agency for the Development and Rehabilitation of the city of Fez.

Entries by:

hanse unit zine el abidine lasouini
kolb hader architekten kubik studio
moxon architects aime kokon

pictures from organisers

For further information on the project, please see http://www.projectcompetition-fez.com

The competition was issued by the Agency of Partnership for Progress (APP), with its implementing partner, the Agency for the Development and Rehabilitation of the city of Fez (ADER-Fès). The competition was conducted in the context of an international development program funded by the United States of America, acting through the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), in accordance with the Millennium Challenge Compact (the “Compact”) signed on August 31, 2007, between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Morocco with the goal of reducing poverty through economic growth. To learn more about the project please visit: http://www.mcc.gov/pages/countries/program/morocco-compact

Expert Jurors
– Mr. Abbas El Fassi, Prime Minister, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Bensalem Himmich, Minister of Culture, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Anis Birrou, State Secretary of Artisanat, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Samuel L. Kaplan, U.S. Ambassador to The Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Mohammed Rharrabi, Wali of Fez,Governor of Fez, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Hamid Chabat, Mayor of Fez, Kingdom of Morocco

Deputy Expert Jurors
– Mr. Youssef El Mrabet, Advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Mohammed Ameziane Hassani, Architecte, Minister of Culture, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Mohammed Msellek, Director of Strategic Development and Cooperation, Secretary of State for Artisanat (SECA), Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Richard Gaynor, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Washington D.C./USA
– Mr. Abdelkader Nadri, President of the Regional Council of Architects of Fez, Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Fouad Serrhini, Director General of ADER-Fès, Fez, Kingdom of Morocco

Architectural Jurors
– Mr. Prof. Marc Angélil, Architect, Los Angeles/USA and Zurich/Switzerland
– Mr. Dr. Stefano Bianca, Architect, Geneva/Switzerland
– Ms.Meisa Batayneh Maani, Architect, Amman/Jordan
– Mr. David Chipperfield, Architect, London/United Kingdom
– Mr. Omar Farkhani, Architect, Rabat/Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Prof. Rodolfo Machado, Architect, Boston/USA and Buenos Aires/Argentina
– Mr. Prof. Matthias Sauerbruch, Architect, Berlin/Germany and Boston/USA

Deputy Architectural Jurors
– Mr. Mohamed Habib Begdouri Achkari, Architect, Rabat/Kingdom of Morocco
– Mr. Prof. Bruno Sauer, Architect, Valencia/Spain
The jury was supported by a number of local and international technical, environmental, and social experts.

Finalists

First Prize 55 000 USD
Mossessian & partners, London, England with Yassir Khalil Studio, Casablanca, Morocco

Second Prize 40 000 USD
Ferretti-Marcelloni, Rome, Italy with Bahia Nouh, Fez, Morocco

Third Prize 25 000 USD
Moxon Architects, London, England with Aime Kakon, Casablanca, Morocco

Commended

– Bureau E.A.S.T., Los Angeles/USA and Fez/Morocco with Atelier3AM, Toronto/Canada and Hashim Sarkis Studios, Beirut

– kolb hader architekten, Vienna/Austria with Kubik Studio, Meknes/Morocco

– hanse unit, Hamburg/Germany with Zine El Abidine Lasouini, Fez/Morocco

– Giorgio Ciarallo, Rho/Italy with Emiliano Bugatti, Istanbul/Turkey and Cabinet Hadmi, Safi/Morocco

– Arquivio Arquitectura, Madrid/Spain with Taoufik El Oufir Architectes, Rabat/Morocco

Exhibition
An exhibition of all design proposals of both phases opens free of charge at the Palais des Congrès in Fez on March 20, 2011 at 8 p.m.. The exhibition will run until Wednesday, March 30, 2011 and is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The public is invited and encouraged to attend.

Information
Information on the results of the competition can also be found on the competition website under http://www.projectcompetition-fez.com/projects_projectcompetition-fez_results_e

Place Lalla Yeddouna information from mossessian & partners received 140611

Place Lalla Yeddouna Competition winning architect : mossessian & partners

Location: Place Lalla Yeddouna, Fez, Morocco, North Africa