From Marrakech southward the combination of deep blue skies, earth walls, and date palms is omni-present. Adobe (earth) building dates back centuries and building practices in traditional settlements have hardly changed in that time. Walls such as the one pictured opposite are made of raw earth, straw, sand and water, then baked in the sun to dry and harden. There are different ways to make an adobe house or wall; either by using a framework to make earth bricks (like large house bricks) then leaving them to dry in the sun before laying then using a mortar made of similar constituents, or by building using a construction technique known as 'rammed earth building'. This procedure involves packing the wet mix into a wooden shuttering (to make the form of the wall) in one metre square blocks then leaving to dry before removing the shuttering. The process is then repeated along the length of the wall. The result is what's called 'pisé' and walls made in this way are widespread throughout the south of Morocco. Adobe houses make a great deal of sense on every level and it's easy to see why this building method has been responsible for so many settlements in the past and to this day. Adobe suits Morocco's climate very well. Its thermic properties as a material are superb, keeping dwellings warm in winter whilst staving off the worst of the heat in summer, the building materials required are readily and cheaply available, and the kind of simple dwellings that adobe produces sit in glorious harmony with their environment. But in spite of the practicalities of adobe, the material is regarded as a 'poor man's concrete' and the majority of Moroccans dream of living in a cement house, and as the relative wealth of Morocco increases then more and more turn to modern construction methods. It is an interesting paradox that whilst the developed world turns to traditional and ecological building methods for solutions, Morocco turns to breeze block construction. But it is of course easily understandable given the cultural backdrop. However, whilst the man on the street may favour concrete construction, there are more and more guest houses, small hotels and villas that are being built of adobe. One project, Villa Janna, in the Marrakech Palmeraie is an ecological hotel complex built of nearly 2 million handmade adobe bricks (made on site) and the construction takes its inspiration from earh brick architecture in Egypt; a wondrous combination of vaulted ceilings and domes. The hotel is still under construction but is due to open soon.
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