Courtyards

In a traditional arab house, a riad, daily life centres around the central courtyard. Here you will find fruit trees and a fountain, the gentle sound of which washes away the stresses of the day. By day or night, you will find the courtyard a comfortable place to read or enjoy a drink.

The courtyard is like another room. Most often, it is open to the sky. If the terraces are roof gardens, exposed to the sky, the courtyards are almost like indoor gardens, with their fruit and palm trees.

Protected as it is by the thick outer walls of the building, a riad courtyard is always warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, than it is outside.

At Dar Les Cigognes, in one courtyard four massive columns soar all the way to the roof. In the other, there are six columns each with carved stucco lintels. Dark stained cedar wood balustrades and beams line the corridors and opening to the sky, setting off the cream colour of the tadelakt courtyard walls, and the many carved stucco arches. The public rooms are arranged around the courtyards on both ground and first floors.