Work is way underway on the MAD architects designed Fake Hills. The Hills sitting on the coastline of the city of Belhaj is a residential development combining high-rise and low-rise towers forming a hilly outline. This outline makes reference also to the Hills of the main land, an important landscape element. The unique shape of the building and its narrow form make for maximizing possible views by residents. The hollows cut through the main block allow for air penetration and circulation around it.
Pictures from the construction site show the main form beginning to take shape, with the hollow edifices already cut through the scaffolding still in place and the major structural elements almost complete.
courtesy of MAD architects
By Hassan Mohammed Yakubu
Hassan Yakubu is an editor at Arch2O with a deep academic and professional background in architecture, planning, and urban infrastructure. Currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Cornell University, his editorial focus spans climate urbanism, sustainability transitions, and the intersection of infrastructure and STS. Hassan brings a sharp critical lens shaped by fieldwork in Accra and policy research across Africa. With prior experience leading pedagogical initiatives and contributing to architectural practices in Rabat and Accra, his writing brings clarity, academic depth, and a global perspective to contemporary urban issues and design thinking.