Rabat, Morocco

The new 250-metre-tall Mohammed VI Tower designed by architecture studios Rafael de La‑Hoz and Hakim Benjelloun for the Bank of Africa has opened in Morocco as the country’s tallest building and the third tallest tower in Africa.

Named after Mohammed VI, who has reigned as King of Morocco since 1999, the skyscraper is situated along the Bou Regreg River between the Moroccan capital Rabat and the historic city of Salé. 

“The elegant, aerodynamic skyscraper,” states architecture critic Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, “has a lustrous rocket-like shape that magnificently climbs upward to 55 stories from its base.” 

“The tower’s summit is elegantly clad in curved glass panels and aluminum, forming a crown with lateral louvers and slim ventilation openings that also enhance its design and environmental performance.”

“The sheer presence of this tower overwhelms and dominates the landscape to become an instantaneous landmark,” Mr. Narkiewicz-Laine summarizes.

The tower’s gently curved form contains offices, apartments, exhibition space, an observatory, and a Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Mohammed VI Tower rises on the right bank of the Bouregreg River, in a district undergoing major transformation that already hosts the Grand Theatre of Rabat designed by Zaha Hadid and the Royal Mansour Academy. 

It is part of the capital’s transformation program, “Rabat City of Light, Moroccan Capital of Culture,” launched under the leadership of the King.

The skytower stands atop a ground-floor base that houses a reception lobby and hall, restaurants, an additional exhibition space and a bank branch.

The tower was launched by Moroccan billionaire Othman Benjelloun who serves as the CEO of Bank of Africa. The building was developed by O Tower, an offshoot firm of Benjelloun’s O Capital Group. Construction began in 2017.

Madrid-based Rafael de La-Hoz and Moroccan studio Hakim Benjelloun designed Mohammed VI Tower to have a rocket-like shape sitting on a launch pad, as a reference to a visit Benjelloun once made to a NASA flight simulation in 1969.

The skyscraper’s south-facing facade is made up of a photovoltaic double skin, designed to generate solar energy and provide thermal protection.

Interiors were designed by French designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, who aimed to create elegant and timeless spaces using a material palette of white marble, bronze, brushed brass, Cordoba leather, ceramic zellige tiles, and wood paneling.

“The Mohammed VI Tower interior volumes follow and amplify the tower’s organic silhouette. There are no angular breaks: partitions trace curves, thresholds soften, and doorways are shaped as arches,” states Mr. Narkiewicz-Laine.

“This systematic absence of right angles— both radical and highly demanding in execution—generates a sense of continuous movement and ease throughout the building. Curvature is not decorative; it is a discipline of precision, expressed in every junction, alignment, and spatial perception.”

“For this project, Moroccan craftsmanship is not referenced— it is reimagined by Mr. Rochon.”

Traditional techniques such as zellij, carved plaster, mashrabiya, metalwork, caftan-inspired embroidery, and Cordovan leather are applied with restraint and precision within contemporary palettes. 

Each crafted element was developed in collaboration with local artisans: Moresque workshops in Fez for contemporary zellij, Mokary in Salé for carpets, Henry Cat in Marrakech for chiselled brass lighting and frames, and Marocain Bazar for brass, wood, and nickel silver pieces. 

Embroidered drapery, inspired by caftan detailing, runs throughout the project as a continuous textile thread from hospitality to residential spaces.

The flooring pattern originates from a geometric motif provided by Othman Benjelloun: a diamond-flower form reinterpreted into an arabesque composition, deployed across the ground floor and echoed throughout the tower. 

The color palette—raspberry pink, sky blue, celadon, and golden white—departs from traditional Moroccan tones, introducing innovation while maintaining exceptional material craftsmanship.

At 250 metres tall, Mohammed VI Tower surpassed the 210-metre-tall Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca to become Morocco’s tallest building.

The building is the third tallest completed skyscraper in Africa, after Algeria’s Great Mosque of Algiers Tower and Egypt’s Iconic Tower.

The Alamein Iconic Tower in Egypt, which is scheduled for completion this year, will also overtake Mohammed VI Tower when it is completed.

Rafael de la Hoz Arderius (1924-2000) was a renowned Spanish architect whose legacy is shaped by an eponymous architectural practice run by his son Rafael de la Hoz Castanys. 

In addition, the firm is currently working on other equally important urban planning projects in Spain, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Hungary, and the United Arab Emirates. 

Project: Mohammed VI Tower
Architects: Rafael de la-Hoz Arquitectos S.L. and CHB Architects
Lead Architects: Rafael de La Hoz and Hakim Benjelloun
Interior Architects: Pierre-Yves Rochon
Client: O Tower, a subsidiary of O Capital Group