Casablanca – The Young Moroccan Architecture Award (YMAA) officially launched its third edition today at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Casablanca, bringing together architects, institutional partners, and media representatives to present the upcoming cycle of the competition.
Organized by Archimedia Group and sponsored by Roca Maroc, the biennial competition continues its mission of putting emerging architectural production in the spotlight while widening its scope this year.
Across 19 categories, architects aged 45 and under are invited to submit their projects until September 2026. From hotels and leisure spaces to offices, healthcare, interior design, and housing, the competition covers a wide range of architectural fields, with one winner per category.
Alongside category prizes, the YMAA also features four major distinctions that cut across all entries.
The “Building of the Year” rewards the most remarkable project overall, selected by the jury for its architectural quality, innovation, use, and cultural impact. Then the “Public Favorite” is decided through an online vote.
On the jury’s side, the “Jury Prize” is awarded to a project distinguished by a bold architectural approach, creative risk-taking, or outstanding execution, while the “Fouad Akalay Prize” pays tribute to the founder of the YMAA by honoring works that reflect a strong vision and a commitment to architectural knowledge and transmission.
‘An opening to the world’
Students are also part of the journey, with dedicated awards for end-of-studies projects. One male and one female winner will be selected for the best PFE submissions.
“The YMAA is an extraordinary event for young architects. It allows them to shine, to promote them, and this will have extraordinary consequences for them in the future. Some masters of the craft, some donors could eventually contact them and make beautiful projects,” Moroccan architect Abdou Lahlou told Morocco World News (MWN) on the sidelines of the event.
This year, the YMAA is clearly thinking bigger. Organizers describe it as an “opening to the world,” and the changes reflect exactly that.
Beyond its traditional scope, the competition is expanding its reach to include new categories and broader geographies, reflecting a more international outlook for Moroccan architecture.
One of the key additions is the introduction of the “Young African Architects,” opening the competition to practitioners across the continent. This move is presented as a way to integrate African architectural production into the platform and create a more connected regional dialogue within the field.
Another major development is the “Moroccan architects abroad” category. This responds to what organizers described as a gap in previous editions, where Moroccan architects working on international projects were not sufficiently represented despite their global presence and recognition.
And a new “Landscape Architecture” category finally joins the lineup. Often working quietly behind larger projects, landscape architects are now stepping into their own spotlight
A boost for emerging talent
Beyond awards and trophies, organizers insist the YMAA is also about experience. For young architects, participation itself is part of the learning curve.
It is a space where projects are compared, questioned, and discussed, sometimes for the first time in a public setting. It also means exposure to a professional ecosystem where not every submission can win, but every participation counts.
In that sense, the competition is more of a checkpoint in a longer professional journey within a Moroccan urban landscape that is constantly evolving.
Reflecting on this idea, Jordi Batlló, Managing Director of Roca Maroc Jordi, underscored in an interview with Morocco World News the role of the YMAA in giving visibility to emerging architects and architecture students.
The award is not only about recognition, but about participation itself, which can create access to networks, exchanges, and wider professional opportunities within the architectural field, he explained.
“Sometimes only participating gives this opportunity to show and to see, to get contacts, to get more information, to enrich the experience,” Batlló told MWN.
