Terra Janna

Walk the little guy Google in this region east of Marrakech, from the feet of the High Atlas in South Haouz to the valley of Oued Tensift, and you will only see land as far as the eye can see. A carmine-red, almost crayfish soil that turns ochre and rusty as the sun breaks through. Here, ancient detrites deposited in the primary era were formed and then sedimented. From these folds, faults, and crystallizations of an ancient mountain range, Nubian vaults and pointed arcades were born, the result of the know-how of locally trained workers and a desire to create bioclimatic houses of a new type signed by the French architect Denis Coquard.

“In a context without water and knowing the sources of greenhouse gas emissions linked to the building sector, we thought about another path starting from the land available everywhere around us. We made it our setting” testified the inventor, who built 5000 m2 of raw earth in six years, 5000 m2 of raw earth that can accommodate a hundred guests in rooms, but also two dining rooms, an amphitheater dedicated to workshops and a wooded park. According to the International Earth Center, a Moroccan eco-responsible institute located in the palm grove of Marrakech: “earthen housing is solid, phonic and healthy and it allows real thermal and water regulation, ideal for responding to the vagaries of the climate in this region.” To this, Denis Coquard adds: “we wanted to think in harmony with the constraints of this very unique geography. From the start of the project, we therefore integrated renewable energies, wastewater treatment, waste recycling and, of course, permaculture, which makes Terra Janna a true bioclimatic design.”