Dans les bras de la terre (In the Arms of the Earth), architect and anthropologist Salima Naji’s installation is a hybrid architectural object, filled with the skill and symbolism associated with Mother Earth, land of origin, the earth from which we all came and to which we all return. A “house” that welcomes us into her arms before entering the other rooms of the museum.

Thanks to her many years of experience on construction sites, particularly those committed to the preservation and transmission of earthen architecture, Salima Naji has developed a network of collaborators and craftsmen with whom she has also created this architecture in situ in MACAAL’s central nave. A true work of collective intelligence orchestrated with care and method, this architecture respects the various standards of construction, but first and foremost those that create the possibility of community-building in a non-toxic environment, free of the abusive use of concrete and rushed reconstructions.

As an active participant in the reconstruction of several villages and a school in the Marrakech region in the aftermath of the deadly 2023 earthquake, Salima Naji has developed theoretical as well as practical knowledge that surpasses architectural construction/reconstruction to preserve ecosystems, oases and palm groves, in Morocco and beyond.

In 2024, Salima Naji was awarded the Grande Médaille d'Or by the French Academy of Architecture for her work in safeguarding and promoting Morocco's architectural and cultural heritage.