Oualalou + Choi

Volubilis Visitor Center

Volubilis Visitor Center
© Luc Boegly

VOLUBILIS VISITOR CENTER

OUALALOU+CHOI: Kilo Architectures

ARCHITECTS
OUALALOU+CHOI: Kilo Architectures

PHOTOGRAPHS
Luc Boegly, Elio Germani

YEAR
2011

AREA
4200.0 m2

LOCATION
Meknes, Morocco

Text description provided by architect.

Set within the most visited archaeological site in the Kingdom of Morocco, this project seeks to enhance the historical and symbolic significance of this unique UNESCO World Heritage site.

Volubilis Visitor Center
© Luc Boegly
Volubilis Visitor Center
© Luc Boegly

The site is an exceptionally well-preserved example of an ancient Roman colonial town and one of several antique sites in Morocco.

Due to the lack of urban development in the immediate surroundings, the site today closely resembles what the Romans saw in their time.

Volubilis Visitor Center
© Luc Boegly
Volubilis Visitor Center
© Luc Boegly

In order to highlight the dramatic visual impact of the antique ruins upon entry to the site, the volume of the museum is embedded into the hillside so that visitors do not initially perceive its presence.

The project is conceived as a narrow imprint on the perimeter of the ancient territory, eight meters wide by two hundred meters long.

Volubilis Visitor Center
© Elio Germani
Volubilis Visitor Center
© Elio Germani

The building consists of a succession of wooden volumes along an extended retaining wall, simultaneously buried and suspended in relationship to the rolling landscape.

The project behaves much like the ruins it houses, and the tectonics of its construction and the lifespan of its materials inherently propose a strategy for the building’s eventual disappearance.

Volubilis Visitor Center
© Elio Germani
Volubilis Visitor Center
© Elio Germani


Volubilis Visitor Center
© Elio Germani
Volubilis Visitor Center
© Elio Germani
Volubilis Visitor Center
© Luc Boegly


Volubilis Visitor Center
Plan
Volubilis Visitor Center
Plan


Volubilis Visitor Center
Sections
Volubilis Visitor Center
Situation


Volubilis Visitor Center
Wooden Lattice Detail

Oualalou + Choi
T +33 1 53100299 F +33 1 53108101
Oualalou + Choi
53 Bd de Strasbourg, 75010 Paris, France