The Riad

There are two of us who wanted this house. One of us was born and raised in Marrakech, and always dreamed of building a riad in his city. We found the plot in 2024: open to the sky, wedged between the neighbouring houses. Rather than imitate the classic riads, we started from a blank page and designed, with studio TRABDESIGN, a riad of today: the patio, the light wells, the proportions of the Medina.

Straight lines, squares, rectangles. The only arches in the house are the two patio bedroom doors — metal and glass, unadorned. And along one whole side, a great metal screen whose central window pivots on its axis. It's the one that inspired our logo. Moroccan craftsmanship is here, in the material rather than the motif.

Less show, more care.

In the patio, an olive tree — set off-centre, deliberately. At its feet, a fountain reduced to a thread of water, laid on a zellige floor patterned like an Amazigh rug.

Ozan means “little olive trees” in Amazigh. Ours grow in Ouzoud, near the waterfalls, where we also keep our beehives. The olive oil served at the riad comes from our trees; the honey, from our bees. You won't find any other at our table.