On Morocco’s Atlantic coast, the middle school for children of employees of a major phosphate company serves 760 students and contains classrooms, teaching labs, an auditorium, a sports hall, a library, and a prayer area, as well as outdoor sports facilities. The spatial organisation of the irregularly-shaped site is in three zones with open courtyards between them: a central area for teaching, a northern area for sports facilities, and the southern area for a high school (now under construction). Inspired by a nearby Portuguese fort, two monumental reinforced-concrete building shells are set back from the road to provide secure, shaded social areas; façades are clad in local limestone and feature a metal screen adorned with a universal alphabet symbolising tolerance.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture