Building an ecolodge in Morocco: the steps, from idea to opening

An ecolodge almost always starts with a place: an olive grove near Marrakech, a valley in the High Atlas, a windy stretch of coast towards Essaouira. The project then means welcoming travellers there while keeping intact what will bring them. Here are the steps as we go through them with our clients, and how long each one takes.

1. Read the land

Before drawing, we look. Access: can a truck reach the site, or does a track need to be laid? Water: mains, well or tank? Electricity: grid connection, or solar autonomy? Then the slope, the soil, the wind, the views, the trees to keep.

We also look at the land's administrative situation: land title, boundaries, distance to roads, to the coast and to the nearest town. These distances largely decide which permits you will need.

2. Define the programme

How many units, for how many guests, and what life around them: a shared space, a kitchen, a vegetable garden? The programme sets the size of the project and the order in which to build it.

Many projects start with a few units, then grow once the first ones are welcoming guests. Modular construction suits this well: homes are added on the same land, at the pace of the project.

3. Permits

This is the step to start earliest. Two subjects overlap.

• Planning. Law 12-90 (article 40) makes a building permit compulsory in urban municipalities, their surrounding zones and certain perimeters. Outside these zones, it applies in particular within one kilometre of main roads and within five kilometres of the coast. Depending on the nature of the installation, lighter procedures exist. The municipality sets the procedure based on where the land sits.
• Tourism operation. Law 80-14 recognises alternative accommodation, set in the mountains, in the desert or on any site of tourist interest. The application goes to the local authority, which answers within thirty days; the authorisation is valid for five years and renewable (decree 2-23-441, articles 60 to 65). It comes on top of planning permits.

We recommend an early meeting with the municipality's planning department, with a site plan in hand. For each home, the studio supplies the technical documents for the file: plans, sections and elevations, structural calculations, engineer's certificate.

4. Design

First comes the site layout: orientation to sun and wind, views, privacy between units, paths, terraces. Then the home itself: an Essential model adapted to the place, or a Signature project designed for it.

This phase, quote included, takes one to four weeks. Price and schedule are fixed at the end of it.

5. Manufacture and prepare the land

The homes are built in our Marrakech workshop, over 12 to 20 weeks depending on the number of units and the finishes. Meanwhile the land is prepared: supports on precast footings or screw piles, utilities, wastewater, access. Both move forward in parallel.

6. Deliver and install

Each home travels whole, on a truck. It is craned onto its supports, then connected. On site, installation takes one to seven days depending on the number of units, and the ground stays permeable between the supports.

7. Open

Handover, then twelve months of support: adjustments, maintenance, first seasons.

In short

• Allow about three to five months from order to handover, excluding administrative time.
• Start the permit process as soon as the land is identified.
• Start with a few units if the budget calls for it: the project then grows unit by unit.

To talk about your land, book a 20-minute call with the studio.