Interview with Sophia Sebti ARCHITECT
Sophia Sebti is an architect who graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and continued her studies at the Escola da Cidade in Sao Paulo. Her field of expertise is vast and varied, bringing together projects from small to large scale in a continuous alternation between urbanism, architecture, landscape, interior design, stand design and urban furniture design. She has been working in her studio "212/design" since 2009, and has been working on projects with a strong character, all with a remarkable originality.
With Sophia we go back to the renovation project of the Umayya restaurant.
- How would you describe Sophia Sebti's style?
What we are looking for at the agency is a kind of alchemy between the practical and the aesthetic. The beauty of architecture and its practicality go hand in hand.
This also comes from the expression of the American architect of the XX century Louis Sullivan: ''Form follows function'' to which I like to juxtapose ''Function follows form''. These two notions are intimately intertwined.
Another point that characterizes our style is the conception of spaces with lots of openings. The interior of a volume is connected to the exterior and vice versa.
The architecture is born from the interior of the project and it is by opening towards the sky that we connect to the exterior. Thus, we have created several windows in the restaurant that did not exist before. The roof becomes the fifth façade of a volume from which natural light penetrates.
Finally, we try as much as possible to opt for local materials such as zellige from Fez, stone from Taza, marble from Khenifra...
- What were your inspirations for the Umayya restaurant renovation?
Umayya initially had a lounge/cabaret atmosphere. We wanted to bring in light and a high ceiling from the very beginning of the project so that the place would be pleasant both day and night, with skylights in the roof that let in the zenithal light.
The owners wanted to revitalize the restaurant with a Levantine, Mediterranean cuisine. Umayya has a unique view of the Atlantic Ocean, near the Casablanca lighthouse. The multiple colors of the sea inspired us for the zellige, for the colors of the glass: the blue of the morning, of the evening, the one of the day when the weather is very nice or very gray... All these nuances give a result close to its context. We also used a lot of mirrors to duplicate the view of the ocean so that everyone can capture it.
The style of the restaurant is marked by a mixture of several atmospheres. There is the chic of a brasserie, a noble floor with white marble interrupted by strips of black & white zellige, parquet flooring, grooved plaster, Aït Manos zellige - made at home using a thousand year old process - on half the walls which contrasts with the industrial side of the ceiling with apparent lighting and air conditioning.
- Why did you choose to use Aït Manos zellige for this project?
Zellige has been a favorite of our clients and us since the very beginning. The use of Zellige in architecture brings together classical, design and essential values. Elaborated in its workshops by the greatest zellige master craftsmen, the creations of Maison Aït Manos sublimate our spaces and give our projects a local and contemporary touch. We particularly like the multiple choices of composition and colors offered to us by Aït Manos.
We have been collaborating with the co-founders of the brand, Ghalia Sebti and Tawfik Bennani, for over a decade. Tawfik brings a very rich and uncommon technical and creative know-how. Ghalia, with her professionalism and attention to detail, ensures a continuous presence from the initial proposal to the delivery of the site.
In the toilets, we chose to make full zellige Aït Manos but playing with the dimensions and colors to create a particular and warmer atmosphere in contrast with the ocean side of the large room.
For this more intimate area, we created four different toilets. Four cubes with specific ceiling heights, like a Lego construction.
Each cube carries a different color: Pink, Purple, Red and Peach. The Chocolate zellige floor leads and connects these 4 spaces.
Credits Photographers:
Alessio Mei
Lahcen Mellal
