For 27 years, the architecture and design firm ARPIO has been developing an innovative and sustainable approach to delivering large-scale projects in Morocco and beyond.
ARPIO ARCHITECTS, in partnership with the consulting firm Coco Architecture, winners of the international competition organized by the French Embassy and AEFE, are reimagining the Lycée Descartes in Rabat. Their concept draws inspiration from the traditional house organized around a central courtyard—sometimes planted—to manage light, wind, and sunlight. The aim is to achieve exemplary energy efficiency and sustainability, while providing optimal thermal and acoustic comfort for both students and teachers.
The project is composed of three discontinuous and distinct parallelepiped-shaped volumes, housing the three main functions of the Lycée Descartes extension. Architecturally, the fragmentation of the teaching building through courtyards, terraces, and gaps lightens the perceived mass, both from the courtyard and the street. This defining element of the building’s image is preserved and made permanent. Removing the third floor aligns the volumes on both the street and courtyard sides, so that the parapets remain at the same height across the entire façade, from the headmaster’s villa to the teaching block. The administrative section is positioned at the forefront of the courtyard, offering a panoramic view of the school’s entrance and yard.
The walkways, conceived as wellness spaces for students in both summer and winter, surround the courtyard and connect the double-oriented classrooms. All walkways are covered, with a drainage system integrated into their edges to manage residual rainwater, protected by a metallic cladding that ensures the long-term aesthetic durability of the whole.
To better respond to Rabat’s sun exposure, the east and west façades of the three new buildings are equipped with vertical sunshades made of white prefabricated fiber-reinforced concrete, acting as a second skin. In the exterior patio, openings are planned to allow trees to grow through this system.
Horizontal sunshades, forming wide overhangs, extend across the rooftop for structural reasons (supporting cantilevers) and to shape the rooftop garden. These overhangs also function as a 60 cm-high filter along the roof’s perimeter, doubling as a guardrail. The rooftop is designed with simplicity, alternating green strips with gravel paths. A wide gravel band extends the guest terrace and allows occasional events for up to 99 people (ESC 2UP).
The rooftop garden is organized along the axes defined by protruding beams, alternating between extensive greenery and protective gravel areas. A trellis, climbing over the concrete shading structure, shields the guest terrace from direct sunlight.
A consistent façade treatment unifies the entire project, creating coherence while enhancing the value of the existing building, which dates back to 1963.
Finally, to achieve smooth slab undersides, as illustrated in the 3D renderings, the teaching block is designed with inverted beams and/or solid slabs incorporating structural bands.
