In close and engaging co-creation with our clients, a creative Moroccan-Dutch couple from Amsterdam, architect Daan ter Avest and myself developed this gorgeous family home near Tangier, Maroc.
We created Villa Amber like a camera obscura: letting the light in where we want it to be at its best, providing shutters and screens for a versitale use of space and light, and framing the stunning views on the surrounding hills and sea from the inside out by placing narrow windows strategically.
We aimed for a private, personal and modest atmosphere with a warm welcome to family, friends, artists, thinkers and writers. The spacious writer’s den in the basement of the house, facing north, is a secluded dwelling on its own. However, it can also be part of the family dynamics, using the elephant path short cut to the kitchen: the absolute center of Villa Amber.
We use indigenous materials inside and out which blend into the landscape in a natural and relaxed way. We wanted Villa Amber to be utterly comfortable without being boastful or visually loud in any way.
The architectural construction is currently being developed by a broader Moroccan-Dutch specialists team, lead by architect Hicham Khattabi, and Villa Amber is scheduled to be established mid 2022.
Images by Dorian Koelemans
