Fez — Moroccan architect and anthropologist Salima Naji has been awarded the 2025 International Women Architects Prize, a distinction granted by the Association pour la recherche sur la ville et l’habitat (ARVHA) as part of the 13th edition of the “Women Architects Prize.”
The award recognizes women architects whose work has had a significant architectural, social, and cultural impact. According to ARVHA, the prize aims to highlight inspiring professional paths and encourage gender parity in a field that remains largely male-dominated at the global level.
A career bridging architecture and anthropology
Trained at the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-La Villette (National Higher Architecture School of Paris-La Villette) , Naji later deepened her interdisciplinary approach by earning a doctorate in anthropology from the School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences. This dual background has shaped a practice that moves fluidly between architectural design, social research, and cultural preservation.
Naji is widely known for advocating an architecture rooted in local ecosystems, materials, and knowledge systems. Her work consistently challenges standardized development models, favoring instead approaches that respect both environmental balance and cultural continuity.
Preserving Morocco’s architectural heritage
Over the years, Naji has played a key role in the restoration and rehabilitation of numerous historical sites across Morocco, particularly collective granaries and ksours. These structures, often built of earth and stone, stand as architectural records of communal organization, shared resources, and adaptive responses to climate and geography.
Her restoration projects emphasize the transmission of traditional building techniques and the involvement of local communities, positioning heritage not as a static past but as a living resource. This philosophy has made her work influential in debates on sustainable architecture and heritage conservation in North Africa.
Contemporary spaces with local roots
Alongside her heritage work, Naji has also designed contemporary cultural facilities that reflect the same values of contextual sensitivity and social engagement. Among them are the Aït Ouabelli cultural center and a heritage interpretation center, projects that blend modern needs with vernacular references.
Rather than imposing architectural forms, Naji’s designs are shaped by use, landscape, and collective memory, reinforcing architecture’s role as a social practice rather than a purely aesthetic one.
International recognition and broader impact
The International Women Architects Prize places Naji among a select group of globally recognized women whose work extends beyond buildings to address social equity, cultural identity, and environmental responsibility. For Moroccan architecture, the recognition highlights an approach that values depth, continuity, and local agency over spectacle.
Beyond professional circles, Naji is also an author and researcher whose writings contribute to rethinking development, heritage, and rural space in Morocco.
As Morocco continues to navigate questions of modernization, sustainability, and cultural preservation, Salima Naji’s distinction carries significance beyond individual achievement. It underscores the global relevance of architectural practices grounded in respect for place, people, and history — and affirms that local knowledge can shape international conversations on how we build, preserve, and live.
