Spaces of Hope: Life on the Margins of Casablanca
Lahbib El Moumni
We are Samir Alaoui and Lahbib El Moumni, architects based in Lausanne and Casablanca, working at the intersection of architecture, research, and curatorial practice.
Samir Alaoui is a Swiss architect and founder of Samir Alaoui Architectes in Lausanne. His practice combines architectural design, photography, and scenography to explore the cultural dimensions of space. His projects have been recognized nationally and internationally, including the Best Architects 23 award for the transformation of a 1940s workers’ house and Best Architects 26 for a mixed-use building in Forel (Lavaux). In parallel with his built work, he engages in research-led projects and visual documentation, using photography as both a design tool and a medium of storytelling. He has participated in various juries, exhibitions, and publications, and regularly contributes to public debates on architecture.
Lahbib El Moumni is a Moroccan architect, researcher, and doctoral candidate at ETH Zurich. He is co-founder of MAMMA (Mémoire des Architectes Modernes Marocains) and teaches at the École d’Architecture de Casablanca. His academic and curatorial work focuses on post-independence planning in Morocco, with exhibitions presented in Agadir, Rabat, Casablanca, and Zurich.
Together, we share a commitment to documenting and interpreting spaces on the margins, with a particular interest in hybrid habitats, everyday practices, and participatory methodologies. Our collaboration gives form to research through exhibitions, public programs, and publications that connect different audiences across geographies.
Spaces of Hope: Life on the Margins of Casablanca is a research and curatorial project that explores the peri-urban territory of Deroua, on the southern edge of Casablanca. It engages with the spatial, social, and environmental complexities of this transitional area where self-built housing, agricultural land, and industrial zones coexist. Through a combination of analytical methods and participatory practices, the project seeks to document, represent, and question everyday life in spaces typically excluded from dominant urban narratives.
The project was initiated as a collaboration between Swiss architect Samir Alaoui and Moroccan architect and researcher Lahbib El Moumni, grounded in shared interests in spatial justice, dynamics of urbanization, and cross-cultural dialogue. It responds to the urgent need to reframe how we see urban margins, not as zones of relegation but as spaces of resilience, invention, and quiet solidarity.
The research unfolds in phases: contextual investigation through mapping, interviews, and photography; collaborative workshops with residents; and finally, public exhibitions and a trilingual publication. Working closely with local institutions such as the youth center of Deroua and the association MAMMA, the project foregrounds lived experiences and locally grounded knowledge. These perspectives are central to the workshops and will shape the narrative of the exhibitions and book.
The most successful aspect of the project lies in its hybrid methodology, bridging academic research, fieldwork, and artistic production. It facilitates both critical reflection and public engagement, producing content that is rigorous yet accessible. The exhibitions and publication aim to circulate these insights across audiences and geographies.
Looking ahead, Spaces of Hope will continue to evolve through new iterations, formats, and collaborations, with the ambition to contribute to wider conversations on peri-urban futures in the Global South and beyond.