The decorative treatment of the façades of the ksar of Aït Benhaddou in southern Morocco: material, relief, and light-and-shadow articulation

Abstract

The article examines the decorative organisation of three façades in the ksar of Aït Benhaddou in the Ounila Valley in southern Morocco: the northern and western sides of a tower incorporated into the perimeter wall and the façade of a residential building. The aim of the study is to identify the principles governing the decorative organization of the selected façades through an analysis of the relationship between ornament, wall material, architectural mass, and natural light. The analysis focuses on the division of the façades into registers, the recurrence of geometric modules, and the relationship between ornamentally active zones and undecorated wall surfaces. Additionally, the study traces how the direction of natural light affects the legibility of niches, recesses, stepped profiles, triangular friezes, and rhombic lattice patterns. The study’s novelty lies in the first comparison of the three selected façade surfaces in terms of their register divisions, the functions of recurring modules, and changes in the legibility of relief under natural light. The comparison revealed differences: the northern façade is based on a tripartite division, the western one on the contrast between the smooth wall surface and relief, and the residential façade – on a horizontal rhythm. The recurring elements, however, change function, while the relationship between ornament and material is evident in the continuity of colour between wall and relief and in the use of slight variations in depth. Deep niches and openings remain legible under varying conditions, whereas shallow relief is most expressive in oblique light. The conclusions are limited to the selected façades and are not intended as an exhaustive account of the decorative system of the entire ksar.

Research materials

1. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/444/

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: July 21, 2026.
• Published: August 25, 2026.

Keywords

• орнамент фасадов Айт-Бен-Хадду
• декоративное искусство Марокко
• регистровое членение фасадов
• геометрические модули орнамента
• светотеневая артикуляция рельефа
• Aït Benhaddou façade ornament
• Moroccan decorative art
• register division of façades
• geometric modules in ornament
• light-and-shadow articulation of relief

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