How Zellige Is Made, and How Architects Use It Today

Few surfaces show the maker’s hand as clearly as zellige. In and around Fez, each tile is still shaped, glazed and cut by craftspeople, so no two pieces catch the light in quite the same way. In July, Le360 reported that the craft involves more than 14 stages, and that mechanisation and a clay shortage are putting workshops under pressure, at a time when architects are asking for it more than ever.

From quarry to kiln

• Clay: the process starts with clay dug in the Benjellik area near Fez. It is soaked and rested before it is worked.

• Shaping and drying: the clay is pressed into moulds, levelled by hand and left to dry in the sun.

• Firing and glazing: the tiles are fired, dipped in glazes coloured with mineral oxides such as copper, cobalt and iron, then fired again. Small differences in glaze thickness and kiln heat give zellige its rippled, slightly uneven surface.

Cut by hand

Next, artisans use a sharpened tool called the menqach to chip each glazed tile into stars, lozenges and other small shapes. They bevel the back of each piece so the pieces sit tightly together. According to Le360, this stage alone supports nearly 2,000 artisans. For geometric panels, the pieces are laid face-down on a drawn pattern and backed with mortar. The maker sees the finished design only when the panel is turned over.

How architects are using it

• Large panels in heritage regeneration: at Place Lalla Yeddouna in the Fez medina (completed 2019), Mossessian Architecture and Yassir Khalil Studio clad the courtyards in Fez zellige. They used large panels that move away from strict geometry and gave each patio its own palette.

• New patterns, old methods: designers Damián López and Carlos Jiménez worked with Aït Manos on Mediterránea for the Spanish firm todobarro. The collection has six designs inspired by natural fibres and the Alboran Sea, all made by the traditional method.

• The single-colour square: beyond landmark projects, plain zellige squares laid with tight joints have become a favourite for kitchen splashbacks, showers and bar fronts. The uneven glaze gives depth to a simple grid.

A heritage under watch

In November 2025, Morocco launched a bid to add Fez and Tetouan zellige to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list.

Progetti stocks authentic handmade zellige. Visit our Beirut showroom to see the glazes in person and find the right palette for your project.

Sources: Le360 · Metalocus · designboom · Morocco World News

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