Prototype Anti-seismic House
by Aziza Chaouni Projects
Talat N'Yaaqoub, Morocco
Project details
Year
2025
project year
2024
building area
140 m²
project website
Location
Team credits
architects
-Aziza Chaouni Projects-
Aziza Chaouni,
Dana Salama,
Hasan Hirji,
Aahd Benchaouch,
Saavi Natekar.
engineers
Amal El Abdi Alaoui,
Amine Maachi Addou,
Zouhir Farah,
Soufiane El Khazouli.
volunteers
Ines Smouni,
Faycal Tabbara,
Isha Sharma,
Aya Karabaki,
Michaela Tsvetkova,
Yasaman Pazoki Touroudi,
Shirin Al Asmi.
contributing partners
Holcim Lafargue Morocco
commissioned by
Village of Talaat N'yacoub,
Moroccan Ministry of Interior.
The Anti-Seismic Prototype House is a community-led housing model that integrates seismic resilience with ecological design, cultural continuity and local empowerment. Developed after the devastating 2023 earthquake in Morocco’s Haouz region, the project tests compressed earth bricks (CEBs) for their structural strength, affordability and environmental performance, while offering hands-on training and co-design workshops with residents.
The village of Talat N’Yaaqoub was among the areas most affected by the 6.7 magnitude earthquake that struck the Haouz region, destroying thousands of traditional homes made of earth and stone. These houses, often built on steep slopes and without seismic reinforcement, left many families displaced. In this fragile context, rebuilding required a sensitive balance between safety, sustainability and respect for local identity.
The prototype reinterprets the traditional courtyard house of the Haouz region, characterized by its deep connection to the landscape and its social and climatic intelligence. The new design retains this typology while introducing seismic innovation through engineered CEBs. The plan includes three courtyards – one for hosting and leisure, one for cooking and one for services such as laundry, small livestock and planting. This spatial organization reinforces privacy, social cohesion and microclimatic comfort, providing shade and ventilation throughout the day.
Architecturally, the project combines material innovation with craft. Its aesthetic quality arises from the dialogue between light, air and earth, achieving beauty through honesty of structure and material. Locally sourced materials form the backbone of the design. The walls are made from CEBs composed of 95% earth and 5% cement, a mix that ensures both stability and sustainability. The interlocking ‘lego’ brick system eliminates the need for mortar, minimizing waste and allowing easy disassembly and reuse.
Cedar beams span the vaulted CEB ceilings, while woven bamboo fixtures filter light softly into the interior spaces. Passive cooling is achieved through thick earthen walls, shaded courtyards and natural ventilation. Solar panels provide renewable energy, while ecological septic tanks and gravel filtration systems recycle greywater for irrigation – crucial in a region where water scarcity is an ongoing challenge.
The project is founded on community participation and education. Residents were involved throughout the process – from co-designing the prototype to receiving training in sustainable construction. This hands-on approach strengthened local skills, social cohesion and pride in self-built solutions. By grounding reconstruction in local knowledge and materials, the project stimulates the rural economy and reduces dependence on imported technologies. Its courtyard-based typology reinforces family and community ties while reflecting vernacular wisdom adapted to climate and lifestyle.
Environmentally, the house represents a regenerative approach to post-disaster recovery. It minimizes embodied carbon, reuses natural resources and demonstrates how climate-adaptive, low-tech strategies can provide durable housing for vulnerable communities. The Anti-Seismic Prototype House stands as a replicable, scalable model for resilient, affordable and context-sensitive reconstruction. It merges traditional craft with scientific research, creating a blueprint for rebuilding that values cultural heritage as much as safety and performance.
By proving that local materials and techniques can meet seismic standards, the project challenges perceptions of earth construction as outdated or unsafe. It offers policymakers and practitioners a new vision for sustainable post-disaster housing – one where innovation arises from the knowledge already embedded in the land and its people.
Aziza Chaouni Projects (ACP) is a multidisciplinary design practice based in Fez, Morocco, led by architect Aziza Chaouni. The studio brings together architects, landscape designers, engineers and craftspeople to create socially inclusive and environmentally responsive architecture deeply rooted in place. ACP’s practice bridges scales – from infrastructure to housing – and integrates water, landscape, and energy systems into every project. Their work consistently aims to combine design innovation with ecological resilience and long-term social impact. The team’s collaborative approach ensures that each project responds to its community’s needs while empowering local labour and fostering self-sufficiency.
Past projects include the restoration of the Fez River and the design of public buildings across Morocco and the MENA region, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability, adaptive reuse and environmental justice. Through design-build experiments like the Anti-Seismic Prototype House, ACP advocates for architecture as a catalyst for dignity, regeneration and shared prosperity – especially in regions affected by climate change and natural disasters.
The prize money will fund community-driven post-disaster recovery and training programmes in the Haouz region. Building on the prototype, ACP will organize workshops for local youth and builders to expand skills in compressed earth construction, seismic resilience and ecological design. The initiative combines traditional materials with technical innovation to create dignified, low-carbon homes that can be built collectively and adapted across rural Morocco. The plan also includes developing open-source manuals and training modules to ensure the approach can be replicated by other communities. By merging cultural heritage, environmental responsibility and practical education, the project aims to strengthen resilience and autonomy – helping affected regions rebuild not just structures, but confidence and belonging.
- Information for the project text was provided by Aziza Chaouni Projects -
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Advisory Committee Statement
‘Prototype Anti-Seismic House’ receives the award for Social Engagement for its humble yet powerful architectural response to crisis. It demonstrates how architects can address disaster with both humility and strength. The project tackles the pressing issue of housing in a seismic area using the simplest and most effective means of architecture: local knowledge, materials and craft. Rather than importing external models, it reactivates vernacular wisdom, combining it with technical innovation to create safe, sustainable and culturally resonant housing. The result is architecture as empowerment – where resilience grows literally from the ground up, transforming recovery into a shared act of rebuilding and belonging.