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Rafael de La-Hoz and Hakim Benjelloun's Mohammed VI Tower in Rabat. Glass, steel, and a silhouette that reads future.
May 12. Morocco's tallest building opened in Rabat. The Mohammed VI Tower stands at 250 meters, designed by Rafael de La-Hoz and Hakim Benjelloun. Glass curtain wall, steel frame, a profile that leans forward slightly at the crown. Dezeen called it "proper sci-fi." That reads right.
The tower holds offices, a hotel, and observation decks. The ground-level plaza connects to the adjacent Hassan Tower, a twelfth-century minaret that never finished. Old stone, new glass. The pairing is deliberate. The architects positioned the modern tower as a continuation rather than a replacement. One reads history, the other reads now.
The facade system is worth noting. Vertical fins run the full height, breaking the glass into narrow bands. At certain angles the building disappears into the sky. At others it catches light and holds it. The effect shifts depending on time of day and weather. That's the detail that separates this from the dozen other tall towers that opened this year.
Morocco's previous tallest was the Twin Center in Casablanca, 115 meters. This more than doubles it. The new tower places Rabat on the list of cities with a defining vertical marker. Casablanca had one. Now the capital does too.
The Mohammed VI Tower sits in the Bouregreg Valley development zone, a district designed to anchor Rabat's financial sector. Three more towers are planned for the same corridor. This one sets the tone. Whether the next three match it or dilute it depends on how the zoning plays out. For now, the first one landed clean.
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