Villa Agava is a contemporary house, Yes, but not in the conventional sense. It explores the tenets of traditional Moroccan space planning, manouvering the modern building codes and council requirements to achieve elements of privacy, solidarity in forma and the good old courtyard expereince. It is easy to see how Driss Kettani, in this instance apart from the dynamic duo of Amine Siana and Saad El Kabbaj explores this, because we have seen this before in his works on combining architectural rigor and research of the sensitive and poetic dimension of architecture. He famously says "Architecture is the reading framework of our time, which it can help to raise by offering users a framework of life expression of a culture and high aspirations," and the Agava Villa does just that.
From the Architect:
This semi-detached villa is projected on a ground, oriented north-south and plays on a facade on blind street by opening totally on the side and the garden to the south. The obligation to stay on the existing neighboring house and the rules of setbacks preset the silhouette in plan.
The disadvantageous north orientation on the street and the presence of high walls enclosures are here an opportunity to revisit some of the codes of the traditional house while maintaining transparency and spatial fluidity.
A chicane entrance, emphasized by a set of black walls and gray-blue zellige accentuates this duality and reinforces the effect of contrast between privacy and discretion on the street and the opening and transparency on the pool and the garden. This principle is outlined through the 3 plant sequences, the mineral garden at the entrance, the aquatic sequence on the lateral side and the vegetable garden to the south.
Inside, a wooden panel / chimney acts as a patella and accentuates the service area while maintaining a fluidity of use. This panel incorporates a screen of wooden slats whose opacity varies according to the angle of view.
The project tries to play on the notions of intimacy and transparency, fluidity and functional considerations and uses a palette of materials both raw and rich in textures and colors that combined with vegetation offer an abstract composition on the street.
If you want your own avatar and keep track of your discussions with the community, sign up to archiDATUM >>