Marrakech, Morocco

The Past | Architecture | Historical Renovation

Studio Lara completed a historical renovation of a 450 year old Riad in the Medina of Marrakech. Overhauling all spaces, replacing electrical, plumbing, original plaster surfaces and major renovations of the bathroom and courtyard. Studio Lara prioritized preservation of historical elements and employed only local craftsman whose skills are being lost to time.

Built Work

Client
Dar Lara

Year
2023

Qamea Island, Fiji

The Present | Architecture | Master Planning & Concept Design

This ongoing work on Qamea Island, Fiji, is currently in the masterplanning and concept design phases. Anticipated to be fully completed over the next 8 years, the architectural work focuses on slowly demolishing and replacing the existing Qamea Resort with an experimental and nature-oriented style of architecture.

Client
Soulness Retreats

Year
2021 - Present

Proposal & Built Work

Mexico City, Mexico

The Future | Utopian Speculation | Thick Ground

This utopian speculative study aimed to rethink the sectional quality of the urban ground plane in Mexico City. Through the analysis of experimental and utopian precedents in which the relationship to the ground was reconceptualized, new ways of considering the ground were identified and categorized. These grounds were categorized into Multi Ground, New Ground, Porous Ground and Elevated ground. These explorations were realized within the context of a metropolis with a rapidly shifting ground plane. Mexico City is fundamentally reactant to its deep section and in a constant battle with its relationship to the ground. This study reconsidered the urban ground plane of Mexico City through its sectional systems. A series of three interventions explores the insertion of new sectional logics that can cause the urban fabric to aggregate over time and engage larger systems in a new way. The new intervention layer adds to a palimpsest of histories, which - in turn - created a layer that can begin to help heal a broken hydrological system.

Research

Client
Studio Lara Research

Year
2020