Benchakroun Villa

There is a moment in the day in Morocco when the slanting light caresses architectural surfaces like a thin veil. It is then that Villa Benchakroun reveals its most authentic character: a measured balance between material strength and lightness, between rigorous geometries and soft lines. Designed by AND Studio Architects, the villa is the result of a profound dialogue with the Mediterranean landscape and local building traditions, reinterpreted through a radically contemporary lens.

The exterior is dominated by the monolithic nature of the opaque parts: a compact, earthy volume, almost carved out of the material. Its solid, silent, and essential surfaces evoke the vernacular architecture of the desert. Yet, interrupting this solidity, carved recesses and openings emerge, characterized by a poetic curve that softens every edge. The windows take on organic shapes, almost as if drawn by the wind, while the round arches recall an archaic lexicon, reinterpreted with contemporary sensitivity.

The ground floor, completely glazed, introduces the light counterpart of the project: transparency. The large continuous surfaces dissolve the boundary between inside and outside, allowing vegetation, the swimming pool, and the sky to enter the daily life of the house. The heaviness of the large upper volume thus seems suspended on a luminous base, creating a harmonious contrast between materiality and suspension.

Inside, curves recur as a recurring motif: in the arches that mark the passageways, in the soft profile of the sculptural staircase, in the modeling of the niches and recesses. It is a formal grammar that accompanies movement, inviting those who enter to follow fluid paths without abrupt interruptions.

Neutral tones, tactile surfaces, and the calibrated use of natural light create environments that breathe, while the soft, elegant, and minimalist furnishings accentuate the contemplative character of the spaces. The kitchen and living area open onto the garden with lightness, transforming living into a continuous experience with the landscape.

Villa Benchakroun is an exercise in balance: between full and empty, opaque and transparent, roots and modernity. A house that is not just lived in, but builds a sensory experience, where form becomes narrative and light rewrites the architecture every day.