How to choose an architect in Morocco: criteria and pitfalls
Choosing an architect in Morocco often commits several years of your life and a significant share of your assets. Yet the decision is frequently made on a vague recommendation or a price quoted over the phone. Here I share the criteria I consider objective, the questions to ask at your first meeting, the minimum content of a contract and the warning signs that should make you walk away.
What the law requires before you even start comparing
In Morocco, the practice of architecture is governed by Law 016-89. Using an architect is mandatory for most new builds, additional storeys and changes of use, and the building permit application is filed through the Rokhas platform, which requires the signature of an architect registered with the National Order of Architects.
First practical consequence: before discussing aesthetics or budget, check that the person who will handle your administrative file is genuinely authorised to do so and that their registration is up to date. This is a simple verification, one you can ask for without embarrassment and have confirmed in writing. A serious professional will provide it without argument.
Second consequence: not everyone does the same job. An architect designs the building, files the regulatory application and supervises the site. An interior architect works with existing volumes, materials, light and furniture, but cannot sign a permit. A structural engineering firm, a quantity surveyor or a contractor operate in yet other areas. If you are unsure which profile you need, I have set out the differences in the guide architect or interior architect.
Finally, understand what your project involves administratively before receiving proposals: site plan, planning information note, topographic survey, compliance with the development plan. The guide building permit in Morocco lists the required documents and the logical order of the steps.
Six objective criteria for a serious comparison
A useful comparison is not about who has the most attractive images. Here are the criteria I would use myself if I had to choose a fellow professional.
1. How well the portfolio matches your brief
Check whether the professional has already handled a brief close to yours: family villa, rental apartment building, clinic, office floor, retail unit. A fine riad project proves nothing about the ability to deliver a medical centre. In my projects, you will see that I have a clear focus: contemporary villas, health and wellness spaces, and buildings open to the public. The My Laser centres in Casablanca and Tangier, designed by the practice, belong to this last category.
2. Clarity of the proposed scope of work
Ask for a written list of the phases: concept design, preliminary design, permit application, construction documents, tendering, site supervision, handover. A proposal that does not detail these phases leaves the door open to every kind of interpretation.
3. Working method and deliverables
How many rounds of revisions on the concept design? Will you receive dimensioned plans, sections, 3D views, a detail book? How often will site visits take place? These elements have a cost, so they can be compared.
4. Genuine availability
A practice running fifteen sites at once will not give you the same time as one following five. Ask how many projects are currently in progress and who will actually come to the site.
5. Knowledge of the local context
Regulations, review times and contractors' habits are not the same everywhere. Someone who deals regularly with the relevant urban planning agency will save you weeks. I work mainly as an architect in Casablanca and as an architect in Rabat, two areas whose constraints I know well.
6. Consistency between fees and services
A low fee is not a gift: it usually signals a scope stripped of site supervision, precisely the phase where savings and build quality are won or lost.
Questions to ask before signing anything
The first meeting serves as much to assess the professional as to frame your project. Prepare for it. Here are the questions my clients ask me and that I consider entirely legitimate.
- Who will actually handle my file and who will attend site meetings?
- Does your scope include site supervision or does it stop once the permit is obtained?
- How do you handle changes requested after the preliminary design is approved, and at what cost?
- Which other consultants must I contract separately: structural engineer, technical control office, surveyor, testing laboratory? Are they within your budget or outside your scope?
- How do you estimate construction costs and when will you give me a reliable figure?
- What happens if contractors' bids exceed the stated budget?
- How are fee instalments distributed across the phases?
- May I speak with a past client on a comparable project?
An honest answer is worth more than a reassuring one. If I believe a budget is insufficient for the brief requested, I say so at the first meeting rather than at tender stage. To calibrate your expectations before we even meet, the guide house construction costs in Morocco gives orders of magnitude by finish level, and the guide villa plans in Morocco helps you draw up a realistic brief in terms of floor areas.
One point of method: consult three professionals at most, using the same written brief. Comparing three proposals built on three different briefs makes no sense.
What an architect's contract must contain
The contract protects both parties. Its absence is in itself a warning sign. Here are the sections I consider essential, whatever the size of the project.
- Identification of the parties and the professional's status, including their registration with the Order when the scope involves a regulatory filing.
- Description of the project: address, land registry reference, plot area, brief, known planning constraints.
- Details of the phases entrusted, with the expected deliverables and indicative timescales for each.
- What is explicitly excluded: structural, MEP and waterproofing studies, decoration, furniture, specific applications.
- The fee amount, the basis of calculation (fixed fee or percentage of construction cost) and the payment schedule by phase.
- The reference construction budget, since this is the framework that governs the design.
- How changes to the brief during the design stage are handled and their financial impact.
- Termination conditions on both sides, and what becomes of the documents already produced.
- Intellectual property in the drawings and whether or not they may be reused.
- Insurance and each party's liability during and after construction.
- The dispute resolution procedure.
Read the clause defining the end of the assignment particularly carefully. Many disputes arise from a misunderstanding: the client believes they have bought support through to handover, while the contract ends when the permit application is submitted. On my architect's fees page, I set out what each option actually covers.
Reading a fee proposal correctly
Three fee structures coexist in Morocco, and they cannot be compared directly.
The fixed diagnostic or advisory fee covers a visit, a feasibility analysis and a written report. Expect an order of magnitude of 1,500 to 2,500 MAD (Moroccan dirhams) in 2026, to be confirmed by quotation. This is the useful option when you are still hesitating between buying, renovating or demolishing.
The fixed fee for design and the permit application works well for projects of defined size. For a villa of 150 to 200 m², the order of magnitude is between 15,000 and 40,000 MAD depending on the complexity of the plot, the level of detail of the drawings and the number of options studied.
A percentage of the construction cost becomes the norm as soon as the scope includes tendering and site supervision: 8 to 12 % for a full construction assignment, and 10 to 20 % for an interior architecture assignment, where the time spent per square metre is far higher. These 2026 ranges remain indicative and are refined after a site visit.
Two reading habits. First, always relate the fee to the scope: a fixed fee of 20,000 MAD without site supervision ends up costing more than a percentage that includes negotiating contracts and monitoring execution. Second, check the basis on which the percentage is calculated: estimated cost, value of the signed contracts, or final construction cost. The difference can amount to tens of thousands of dirhams.
For a commercial project, the logic is the same: value is created in the brief and in the execution, as I explain on my page office fit-out in Casablanca.
Warning signs: the signature-only deal and other pitfalls
Certain behaviours should make you end the conversation.
The signature-only deal
This is the most widespread trap. You are offered plans drawn by a draughtsman or by the contractor, then signed off by an architect for a reduced fee, purely to clear the administrative hurdle. The result: nobody has actually designed the project, nobody supervises the site, and liability in the event of defects becomes impossible to establish. This practice weakens your file, exposes the signing architect professionally, and deprives you of the one person meant to defend your interests against the contractors. A file signed without a real assignment is no substitute for genuine support.
Other warning signs
- A price quoted over the phone, without having seen the plot, the titre foncier (land title) or the brief.
- No written contract, or a one-page contract with no phases or deliverables.
- A professional recommended by the contractor and paid indirectly by them: quality control loses all independence.
- A promise of guaranteed approval or of a certain processing time: the review depends on the committee, not on the architect.
- Refusal to show a site in progress or to provide a verifiable reference.
- Drawings delivered without sections, dimensions or specifications: that is a sketch, not a construction document.
- Full fees demanded on signature, before any deliverable.
One last point that is often overlooked: project governance. If the contractor, the engineering office and the architect all come from the same organisation, you lose the checks and balances that protect your budget.
How I start a collaboration
My way of working comes down to a few simple principles. I begin with a site visit and a conversation about uses: who lives or works in this place, how, and with what constraints of time and money. I then provide a written note restating the brief, flagging sensitive regulatory points and proposing a costed scope of work, phase by phase.
I do not design against a budget. If the funds available do not allow the brief, I propose trade-offs: reducing the floor area, phasing the works, prioritising finishes. This initial frankness avoids projects being abandoned at tender stage.
Depending on the nature of your request, the starting point may be a new build, the renovation of an existing apartment through interior architecture in Casablanca, or a commercial project. You can also browse the other practical guides to prepare your questions, and read my profile to know who you are dealing with.
To start the conversation, describe your project to me in a few lines: location, approximate area, current condition of the property or plot, budget in mind and what is holding you back today. The more precise your message, the more precise my first reply will be. Write to me via the contact page or call +212 661 25 78 84.
What clients ask me most
Am I required to use an architect to build in Morocco?
Yes, in the vast majority of cases. Law 016-89 requires the use of an architect for new builds and many works subject to authorisation. The application is filed through the Rokhas platform and requires the signature of an architect registered with the National Order of Architects. Only certain interior maintenance works that do not alter the structure or the façade are exempt from this requirement.
How much does an architect cost in Morocco in 2026?
As orders of magnitude, to be confirmed by quotation: 1,500 to 2,500 MAD for a diagnostic or advisory visit, 15,000 to 40,000 MAD for the design and permit application for a villa of 150 to 200 m², 8 to 12 % of the construction cost for a full assignment including site supervision, and 10 to 20 % for an interior architecture assignment. The exact scope of work explains most price differences.
Can I have my plans drawn by my contractor and signed by an architect?
This is a practice to avoid. It leaves you with no identified designer, no independent site supervision and no accountable contact in the event of defects. It also places the signing architect in a professionally precarious position. Paying for a signature is not paying for a service: an architect's value lies in the design, in putting contractors into competition and in monitoring execution.
How many architects should I consult before choosing?
Three at most, giving each the same written brief. Beyond that, comparison becomes confusing and discussions drag on. Compare the scopes of work, the deliverables and the payment schedule, not just the final figure. A cheaper quote that excludes site supervision is not cheaper: it simply shifts the cost to the contractor.
What should I do if contractors' quotes far exceed the planned budget?
This situation should be anticipated in the contract. With me, the construction budget is set out in the appointment document and serves as the framework for the design. If the bids come in higher, we make trade-offs: adjusting the brief, changing certain finishes, phasing the work packages or re-tendering. A written clause covering this scenario avoids tension at the most sensitive moment of the project.
Can an interior architect file my permit application?
No. Filing a building permit application is the responsibility of an architect registered with the Order. An interior architect works on existing volumes, materials, light and furniture. For a project affecting the structure, the façades or the built area, both skills must be brought together from the outset to avoid having to redo the studies.
Let's talk about your project
Describe your plot or property in a few lines: location, area, current condition, budget in mind and the outcome you are aiming for. I will reply with an honest view on feasibility and a proposed scope of work suited to your needs. Write to me via the contact page or call +212 661 25 78 84.
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