Based in Casablanca and Tangier since 1996, the TRACES agency, founded by Jamila EL HEMAM and Saâd BENKIRANE, has been built on three decades of experience. We are currently piloting major projects in Morocco as well as in West Africa (Ivory Coast, Cameroon).
TRACES: Architecture as a Sustainable Footprint
The Agency has been built around projects from a wide variety of programs, locations and scales. Each project is an exploration and investigation aimed at bringing to life spaces that are in harmony with the territory, the climate, the local economy, and the daily lives of residents and users.
Our Philosophy: A Reasoned Architecture
From the beginning, we have oriented our thinking towards an architecture that prioritizes logic, functionality, and adaptation to context. This commitment gives the achievements of our agency a depth that marks the desire to sustainably inscribe elements in the territory.
For us, each project is a deep investigation aimed at creating spaces in perfect symbiosis with their environment. Our reflection revolves around five fundamental pillars:
- Territorial anchoring : A precise response to climate and topography.
- The local economy : A valorization of regional resources and know-how.
- Everyday use : A design focused on the well-being of residents.
- Sustainability : Inscribe every architectural gesture in the long term.
- Respect for heritage: Careful listening to history to create a lasting architectural legacy.
TRACES means “Footprint or series of footprints, marks, left by the passage of a being or an object.”
The Strength of Collective and Cultural Miscegenation
An architectural project is the result of multidisciplinary skills, and we strongly believe in the strength of collaboration.
TRACES relies on an international network of privileged partners, developed over the years and collaborations on different projects. We share our experiences and desires and blend our project cultures with high-level experts, and we elevate each achievement to a higher standard of excellence.
This openness to the world allows us to respond with agility to the most complex programs while maintaining an artisanal approach to detail.
Associate Architects
Jamila El Hemam
D.P.L.G ARCHITECT
Native of Tangier, city of light and land of exchanges with others, Jamila EL HEMAM has drawn from this heritage the essence of her practice: an architecture of dialogue, clarity and respect for place.
Graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Grenoble in 1993, Jamila EL HEMAM began her career with a strategic immersion within the Urban Planning Inspectorate in Casablanca. This passage gave her a sharp expertise in regulatory issues, the foundation on which she co-founded the TRACES agency in 1996. Within this team, she carries the conceptual approach, orchestrating with agility multidisciplinary teams.
Committed to opening architecture to the world, she has forged strategic ties through the International Union of Architects (UIA), from Chicago to Beijing, and led the historic twinning between the Colleges of Architects of Shanghai and Casablanca.
Specialist in lighting engineering and certified in High Environmental Quality (Green Building, University of Louvain-la-Neuve, 2012), she integrates sustainable innovation as a lever for performance and resilience. This bioclimatic expertise enables it to respond precisely to the energy and construction challenges of major projects, particularly in West Africa. Her mastery of light, between technique and emotion, led her to exhibit her emblematic work designed for the tourist resort of Essaouira Mogador “Totem de Lumière” during the event “100 years, 100 artists, 100 works” of the SGMB.
To meet the requirements of investors, she has consolidated her profile with a Master in Strategic Management at ISCAE (2016). This dual skill now allows him to manage major projects.
From the rehabilitation of the heritage of the Medina of Tangier to the realization of the Mall du Carrousel in Rabat, Jamila EL HEMAM offers the strength of recognized expertise, capable of transforming complex programs into sustainable and lasting successes.
Saâd Benkirane
D.E.S.A ARCHITECT
Graduated from the École Spéciale d’Architecture de Paris (DESA) in 1993, he has forged his skills within leading international firms, from the operational rigor of a multinational engineering firm in Montreal to the design of housing in Switzerland, until immersion in luxury hotels in Paris.
A post-graduate experience with the Regional Inspection of Urban Planning and Territory Development of Casablanca (IRUAT) is a key step that allowed them to acquire a thorough understanding of the regulations and issues of the territory.
Within the TRACES agency, he brings a rigorous methodological mastery from his project management background. He ensures the technical direction and monitoring of projects, ensuring the perfect execution of the concepts developed.
He accurately orchestrates multidisciplinary teams and expert consultants to meet the requirements of complex programs in the commercial, hotel and hospital sectors.
At the same time, he handles the construction of high-end villas with the same requirement for finish and performance – certified by his Green Building & HQE track record in Louvain-la-Neuve – as health or service equipment.
By taking charge of the technical implementation of works on behalf of renowned international signatures, he was able to surround himself with qualified partners to ensure absolute control of the budget and deadlines, placing each project in a relationship of total trust.
Jamila El Hemam
D.P.L.G ARCHITECT
Native of Tangier, city of light and land of exchanges with others, Jamila EL HEMAM has drawn from this heritage the essence of her practice: an architecture of dialogue, clarity and respect for place.
Graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Grenoble in 1993, Jamila EL HEMAM began her career with a strategic immersion within the Urban Planning Inspectorate in Casablanca. This passage gave her a sharp expertise in regulatory issues, the foundation on which she co-founded the TRACES agency in 1996. Within this team, she carries the conceptual approach, orchestrating with agility multidisciplinary teams.
Committed to opening architecture to the world, she has forged strategic ties through the International Union of Architects (UIA), from Chicago to Beijing, and led the historic twinning between the Colleges of Architects of Shanghai and Casablanca.
Specialist in lighting engineering and certified in High Environmental Quality (Green Building, University of Louvain-la-Neuve, 2012), she integrates sustainable innovation as a lever for performance and resilience. This bioclimatic expertise enables it to respond precisely to the energy and construction challenges of major projects, particularly in West Africa. Her mastery of light, between technique and emotion, led her to exhibit her emblematic work designed for the tourist resort of Essaouira Mogador “Totem de Lumière” during the event “100 years, 100 artists, 100 works” of the SGMB.
To meet the requirements of investors, she has consolidated her profile with a Master in Strategic Management at ISCAE (2016). This dual skill now allows him to manage major projects.
From the rehabilitation of the heritage of the Medina of Tangier to the realization of the Mall du Carrousel in Rabat, Jamila EL HEMAM offers the strength of recognized expertise, capable of transforming complex programs into sustainable and lasting successes.
Saâd Benkirane
D.E.S.A ARCHITECT
Graduated from the École Spéciale d’Architecture de Paris (DESA) in 1993, he has forged his skills within leading international firms, from the operational rigor of a multinational engineering firm in Montreal to the design of housing in Switzerland, until immersion in luxury hotels in Paris.
A post-graduate experience with the Regional Inspection of Urban Planning and Territory Development of Casablanca (IRUAT) is a key step that allowed them to acquire a thorough understanding of the regulations and issues of the territory.
Within the TRACES agency, he brings a rigorous methodological mastery from his project management background. He ensures the technical direction and monitoring of projects, ensuring the perfect execution of the concepts developed.
He accurately orchestrates multidisciplinary teams and expert consultants to meet the requirements of complex programs in the commercial, hotel and hospital sectors.
At the same time, he handles the construction of high-end villas with the same requirement for finish and performance – certified by his Green Building & HQE track record in Louvain-la-Neuve – as health or service equipment.
By taking charge of the technical implementation of works on behalf of renowned international signatures, he was able to surround himself with qualified partners to ensure absolute control of the budget and deadlines, placing each project in a relationship of total trust.