Kit Kollmeyer

3/21/08
Arch 442

The Courtyard Houses of Agadir

Historically, Agadir is much like the other coastal villages of Morocco. The Portuguese
conquered Agadir in the early 15th century to allow for direct trade with Saharan
caravans. In the 16th century the Saadians, Moroccan tribesman, overthrew the
Portuguese colonialists, establishing the Saadian dynasty in Morocco. In 1912 Morocco
became a protectorate of France. After 44 years of French rule, riots and protests
Morocco gained it’s independence in 1956.

In 1960 Hassan II became King of Morocco. His rule was dubbed “the years of lead” in
reference to the ruthless government response to political unrest. He named a new
cabinet, wrote a new constitution, and at times would assume full legislative and
executive powers.

In February of 1960, just after midnight, there was an earthquake in Agadir. It was 6.7
on the Richter scale, and lasted 15 seconds. The city had no documented history of
seismic activity, and as a result, no building codes to ensure that structures could
withstand such an earthquake. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami, then due to
electrical damage the city caught fire. The final death toll was near 12,000 people, and
most of the city had been completely destroyed.

QuickTimeª and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Jean-Francois Zevaco was of French descent, but raised in Morocco under French
colonial rule. He was educated at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beax-Arts,
graduating in 1945. After his education Zevaco established a private practice in Morocco
where he designed educational facilities, government buildings, industrial buildings and
sports facilities.

QuickTimeª and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Vernacular architecture comes into existence through trial and error. They fit the exact
climactic, cultural, and environmental needs of their immediate surroundings. In living
in Morocco, Jean-Francois had a true understanding of the vernacular housing of
Morocco, specifically the courtyard house. He understood all of its implications, and in
designing something new, was able to learn from the vernacular to solve current needs.

In 1962 the need was to rebuild the city of Agadir. Zevaco was commissioned to design
two blocks of housing. He was asked to design and construct economical, easily
maintained housing, suitable to the life style of middle-income urbanites and to the
climate of Agadir. He used the courtyard house as a precedent to design the housing.

The traditional courtyard house holds many practical uses. It’s high walls provided an
area of protection from hostile invaders, as well as animals. They also block out the harsh
Saharan wind that sweeps Morocco. The courtyard is a place that, while outside, is
protected from direct sunlight and its consequential heat. Courtyard houses build urban
form, as streets can come right to exterior walls, without disturbing private yards. They
have the ability to create high density, while remaining low-rise, allowing social
interaction within a community while remaining at a scale that can still relate directly to
the earth. The inhabitants can interact directly with nature, even in dense neighborhoods
because in the courtyard, which is the core of the house. The earth is always below their
feet, and the sky is always visible.

The courtyard house plays an important role in Islamic culture. Women are not allowed
to reveal themselves when in public, and men must lower their gaze when seeing a
woman in public. The Qur’an says:” O’ Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and
the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons when
out of doors: that is most convenient, that they should be known as such and not
molested.” The courtyard house allows women to be outside, while not fearing strangers.
Even for men there is a clear separation between public and private life, and the home
becomes a sanctuary from the public. In section, setbacks are used to ensure privacy
between neighbors. The Qur’an says: ”It is not lawful for a Muslim person to peep into
the house of another person until he has asked permission.
Otherwise, if he peeps into the house before asking permission, verily it is as if he had
entered.”
While understanding the implications of traditional Moroccan housing, Zevaco was a
European, trained in Western architecture. There are distinct spatial differences between
the typical western house and a traditional courtyard house. A courtyard house
encompasses the space that it needs, coveting that space as a precious object, while a
western house is the central object that imposes it’s ownership on surrounding space.
Zevaco created a hybrid of the two.

Western houses expand outward over time to adapt to needs, while the courtyard house
expands over time to surround the courtyard.
The design was of 17 single story dwellings. Built to the new seismic standards, they are
comprised of two types, arranged in two blocks. Each house has five patios and a service
court, and surrounded by walls for privacy.

The type A unit has three bedrooms, a kitchen and bath. The type B is slightly larger
with four bedrooms. Each bedroom has at least one entrance to a patio, allowing for
airflow and different levels of privacy. The separate patios also allow for migration
throughout the day to escape heat depending on the sun angle. These separate courtyards
can also serve separate functions, from laundry to gardens.

The sequence of spaces is culturally sensitive. With a traditional courtyard house, the
center is the most private, so by reversing the courtyard to the exterior, Zevaco created a
sequence that moves from public to private, while maintaining the central area for guests.
First one moves from the entrance gate at the street, through the forecourt, which can be
seen from the street, and is still very much public.

From there, a vestibule leads to the salon. Which can be furnished either as a European
sitting room, or can be partitioned to create a Moroccan salon with low benches and
cushions. It is traditional that this first room is for guests, and any further would be an
intrusion into private life. And so the sequence for a guest is expedited from the street to
the salon.
To the right of the vestibule is the kitchen.

On the other side of the kitchen is the traditional Moroccan Family room.
This is where the occupants eat meals, watch TV, and the children play when indoors.
Finally the bedrooms are adjacent to the courtyards.

As in traditional courtyard housing, these patios maintain the ability to be adapted to

whatever need the occupants have. They can be hard-scaped for children, lush places to
escape the heat, a place to hang laundary, or grow vegetables, etc.

Zevaco was able to draw on his experiences of Moroccan architecture and culture to
create housing that satisfies the needs of its inhabitants. He used the vernacular housing
as a model for function, while experimenting with a non-traditional form. Although these
houses do not follow the traditional plan of a central court surrounded by interior space,
they solve the same problems that the traditional plan solved. They control sunlight, and
wind. They fulfill cultural roles. They provide density at a scale that relates to the earth,
and they allow for modification to meet changing needs.