Intermediate spaces as sites of spatial inclusion and exclusion: an ethno-architectural study of dwelling-together in Moroccan collective housing

Abstract

Intermediate spaces in Moroccan collective housing residences constitute a privileged site for observing the dynamic and complex relationship between social bonds and spatial configurations. This article examines how these interface spaces between private and public shape dwelling-together in a context marked by tension between community heritage and the individualization of practices. By adopting an ethno-architectural approach to three residences in Rabat, the research demonstrates that these spaces are sites where this identity tension is negotiated daily, with forms of dwelling-together oscillating between communal conviviality and individualistic withdrawal. The results reveal how the tradition-modernity dialectic translates into the appropriation of intermediate spaces, bringing to light inequalities of access and use differentiated by age, gender, and residential status. Comparative analysis of three distinct spatial configurations demonstrates the mediating role of architecture in the production of spatial inclusion and exclusion. The article highlights conceptual orientations to rethink intermediate spaces as supports for dwelling-together respectful of the plurality of dwelling modes as well as supports for spatial justice.