Royal Mansour Art Deco Chimney Doors
Marrakech, Morocco (2011)
Created as part of Yahya’s wider contribution to the Royal Mansour Marrakech, these monumental chimney doors were designed for one of the hotel’s intimate lounge and bar spaces surrounding a highly unusual architectural fireplace installation. Positioned before a fully glazed chimney structure, the fireplace was conceived so that the flames could remain visible through specialised heat-resistant glass from both sides, framing uninterrupted views towards the gardens and palm trees beyond. Within this setting, Yahya was invited to develop a pair of monumental doors capable of simultaneously concealing and revealing the fireplace, while enriching the surrounding atmosphere with sculptural presence and material depth.
The doors were conceived in a distinctly floral Art Deco language, composed of flowing branches, leaves, and layered blossoms of varying scales. Each structure measures approximately five centimetres in depth and was entirely hand constructed using a deeply laborious process. Thick wooden cores were first sawn entirely by hand to establish the openwork composition, creating a sculptural lattice through which the fireplace, flames, reflections, and landscape remain partially visible when the doors are closed. The front surfaces, reverse sides, and internal depths were then clad entirely in hand-engraved nickel silver sheets, each individually worked with intricate floral motifs that continue seamlessly across the entire structure.
Although monumental in scale, the doors retain an extraordinary sense of delicacy and permeability. Light, reflections, and movement continually animate the engraved surfaces, while the transparency of the sawn structure allows the work to shift constantly between screen, sculpture, and architectural element. Most often left open, the doors frame the fireplace as ceremonial objects within the space; when closed, they transform into luminous sculptural partitions through which fire and landscape remain subtly perceptible. The work exemplifies Yahya’s approach to integrating craftsmanship, sculpture, and architecture into singular site-specific interventions that exist not as decorative additions, but as integral components of the spatial experience.
Photography Credit: Warren Wesley Patterson
Royal Mansour Art Deco Chimney Doors
Marrakech, Morocco (2011)
Created as part of Yahya’s wider contribution to the Royal Mansour Marrakech, these monumental chimney doors were designed for one of the hotel’s intimate lounge and bar spaces surrounding a highly unusual architectural fireplace installation. Positioned before a fully glazed chimney structure, the fireplace was conceived so that the flames could remain visible through specialised heat-resistant glass from both sides, framing uninterrupted views towards the gardens and palm trees beyond. Within this setting, Yahya was invited to develop a pair of monumental doors capable of simultaneously concealing and revealing the fireplace, while enriching the surrounding atmosphere with sculptural presence and material depth.
The doors were conceived in a distinctly floral Art Deco language, composed of flowing branches, leaves, and layered blossoms of varying scales. Each structure measures approximately five centimetres in depth and was entirely hand constructed using a deeply laborious process. Thick wooden cores were first sawn entirely by hand to establish the openwork composition, creating a sculptural lattice through which the fireplace, flames, reflections, and landscape remain partially visible when the doors are closed. The front surfaces, reverse sides, and internal depths were then clad entirely in hand-engraved nickel silver sheets, each individually worked with intricate floral motifs that continue seamlessly across the entire structure.
Although monumental in scale, the doors retain an extraordinary sense of delicacy and permeability. Light, reflections, and movement continually animate the engraved surfaces, while the transparency of the sawn structure allows the work to shift constantly between screen, sculpture, and architectural element. Most often left open, the doors frame the fireplace as ceremonial objects within the space; when closed, they transform into luminous sculptural partitions through which fire and landscape remain subtly perceptible. The work exemplifies Yahya’s approach to integrating craftsmanship, sculpture, and architecture into singular site-specific interventions that exist not as decorative additions, but as integral components of the spatial experience.