If you've been feeling like your city skyline is a little too "boring planet Earth," Morocco has just entered the chat in the most dramatic way possible.
The Mohammed VI Tower, standing at a very serious 250 metres tall, has officially become Morocco's tallest building - and the architectural world is absolutely buzzing about it. The tower was designed by studios Rafael de La-Hoz and Hakim Benjelloun, and judging by the public reaction reported by Dezeen, nobody was prepared for just how otherworldly this thing looks.
"Proper sci-fi" - and yes, that's a compliment
When readers got their first proper look at the tower, the responses were... enthusiastic. One commenter reportedly described it as looking "proper sci-fi," which in architecture circles might as well be a five-star Michelin rating. This isn't your standard glass-box-with-a-logo-on-top situation. This is the kind of building that makes you squint at photos wondering if someone ran them through an AI image generator.
And yet - it's real. It's standing. It's in Morocco. Welcome to the future, apparently.
Why this actually matters
Beyond the obvious "wow, pretty building" reaction, the Mohammed VI Tower is a significant architectural statement for the African continent. Africa has historically been underrepresented in the global conversation about ambitious, futuristic architecture - and a 250-metre landmark designed with this level of visual drama changes that narrative in a pretty meaningful way.
The collaboration between Spanish firm Rafael de La-Hoz and Moroccan architect Hakim Benjelloun is also worth noting. It's a pairing that roots the project in both international architectural ambition and local context - which is exactly the kind of thing that separates genuinely great buildings from expensive eyesores that age badly.
So what does it actually look like?
Dezeen's coverage describes a tower that's earned its sci-fi comparisons fair and square. Without veering into fabricated detail, let's just say the public reaction says everything - when regular people on the internet voluntarily start referencing science fiction to describe a piece of architecture, you know the designers did something right.
Whether you're an architecture nerd, a travel wishlist hoarder, or just someone who appreciates when humans build something genuinely jaw-dropping, the Mohammed VI Tower just gave you a very good reason to start googling flights to Morocco.
Dezeen Debate, where the story was highlighted, is their weekly newsletter rounding up the most talked-about architecture and design stories. Clearly, this one earned its spot at the top.
