Rabat’s Mohammed VI Tower Wins Top Engineering Award for Rocket-Inspired Design

The distinction was awarded to O Tower, a subsidiary of the O Capital group chaired by Othman Benjelloun, as well as to Bernabeu Ingenieros, the structural design company for the tower. Its unique design, inspired by the training of NASA astronauts at the time of the launch of the Apollo 12 rocket in 1969, evokes a rocket on its launch pad. This iconic shape symbolizes the spirit of adventure and progress that characterizes the project.

The Mohammed VI Tower, which is integrated into the urban landscape of the Moroccan capital, required the use of 13,000 tons of concrete for its foundations and 8,520 tons of metal framing for its structure. It houses a mixed real estate program composed of apartments, a hotel, offices and services, and has 55 floors.

The building’s architecture has been designed to concentrate the main activities on the north side, facing the Bouregreg River, the Hassan Tower and the Grand Théâtre de Rabat. In addition, its structural system, a tube within a tube, combining an interior concrete core and an exterior metal tube, was adopted after several studies. Its location in a seismic zone required deep foundations, adapted to the geotechnical conditions.

All the challenges and solutions adopted for the construction of the Mohammed VI Tower have been acclaimed by Spanish professionals. The construction site, led by O Tower and carried out by the BESIX-TGCC consortium, has called upon the best of international technology and the excellence of Moroccan artisanal know-how for the design of the interior spaces.