Mohammed VI Football Academy

Sale, Morocco

Providing intensive football training and a school education to around fifty 13-to-18-year-olds, the Academy is designed to encourage both focus and a sense of community. It is arranged like a traditional douar (hamlet), with a central ‘village square’ around which stand five buildings respectively accommodating administrative, sports, teaching, lodging and catering functions. Each has a central landscaped patio for relaxation. The patio walls are each painted a colour that reflects an aspect of Morocco, while the buildings’ massive exteriors are sober white. Local ochre earth ties the complex to its environment, and is textured with gravel, river stones, concrete paving and timber decking.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture