In this interview, Yacine shares his experiences as an architect, reflecting on how a childhood surrounded by historic architecture in Morocco and a career shaped by international experience have fuelled his interdisciplinary curiosity, commitment to sustainability, and current hands-on role delivering a retail-led regeneration project in Catalonia.

I’m from Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, where I grew up in a neighbourhood called Quartier Des Orangers, which translates to Orange Trees. My childhood home was a colonial-era house from the 1930s, situated just a few metres outside the Andalusian fortification walls, which date back to the 12th century. It was a rich, inspiring and natural environment in which to grow up, as I was surrounded by historically and culturally significant buildings filled with stories that have spanned generations.

My parents are also architects, and watching them take projects from concept to realisation showed me just how rewarding the process can be. Whenever we were travelling, they would measure the sidewalks or take photos of details in a building, so it was a unique way of experiencing the built environment. They practise architecture in a very different way from I do, and I think my journey in architecture has made me realise how personal yet diverse practising the profession can be.

I joined Broadway Malyan’s Madrid studio in October 2023, drawn by the opportunity to learn from a practice with international experience and a strong, global portfolio spanning a range of scales and sectors.

Since then, I’ve worked on a variety of projects, ranging from individual retail schemes to large-scale developments, including the Rhein Ruhr Zentrum in Germany and several Primark stores across Spain and Portugal. More recently, I’ve been involved in a retail project in Lleida, Catalonia, which has challenged me to navigate complex technical constraints while exploring how retail experience can also foster social interaction.

I moved to Spain to study architecture, and during my studies, I had the opportunity to complete internships in Rabat, Paris and Hong Kong. These experiences sparked a strong interest in vernacular architecture and allowed me to explore it within diverse cultural and environmental contexts. Being immersed in such varied cultural and environmental contexts taught me that architecture can, and should, respond meaningfully to local needs, climates and materials.

My international experience has shaped a design approach that is context-driven and responsive. I aim to work with locally available and appropriate materials, designing with sensitivity to the surroundings rather than applying a one-size-fits-all solution.

I’ll soon be relocating to Lleida, Catalonia, to oversee the delivery of a new open-air retail centre – a project that will span the next two years. I’m grateful to Broadway Malyan for trusting me to lead the project onsite. It’s a rare opportunity to be involved from start to finish and to work closely with the construction process. I’m excited to see how our design decisions translate into real-world outcomes and to gain the kind of hands-on experience that’s difficult to replicate from a distance.

The project is in the heart of Lleida and includes restaurants, a cinema, leisure spaces and flagship playgrounds. Our aim is to create a socially cohesive place where families can spend meaningful time together. Unlike the enclosed shopping malls common across much of Spain, this concept is open-air, something more typical of Catalonia. This gives us the opportunity to integrate generous vegetation and green spaces, blurring the boundaries between inside and out, and creating a more fluid, community-focused environment.

Although I love living in Madrid, I see this move as a valuable step. It reflects my desire to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible. I know I’ll come away with greater confidence, deeper practical knowledge, and continued guidance from the senior architects who will be visiting the site regularly. More than anything, it’s a chance to grow and contribute meaningfully to a project I truly believe in.

I view sustainability not merely as a technical objective, but as our responsibility to the environment, to communities and future generations. My final degree project explored this idea through a proposal for a power plant that would supply energy to the surrounding neighbourhood, demonstrating how architecture can have a positive and lasting impact on people’s lives.

We often think of buildings as inventions of the modern era, but architecture has existed for millennia. Much of the discipline is about rethinking how we create and how we can do it better. While staying informed about the latest materials and technologies is vital, there’s just as much to learn from the past. Ancient architecture teaches us timeless lessons in sustainability, simplicity and sensitivity to context.