Ouafa Messous

Ouafa Messous is an architect, urban planner, and Accredited Associate Professor (Maître de conférences habilitée) at the National School of Architecture in Rabat, Morocco. She holds a PhD in Urban Planning and Governance as well as an advanced diploma in Heritage Architecture from the École de Chaillot (Paris). Her academic career bridges research, teaching, and professional practice, with expertise in urban planning, territorial governance, and heritage architecture.

Her current research investigates the intersections between urban governance, heritage policies, and collective memory, with a focus on port cities as cultural and political interfaces. Building on her doctoral thesis on Essaouira, she is preparing a book manuscript entitled Essaouira: The Making of a Port City. From Local Memory to Global Imaginaries. During her fellowship, she plans to expand this work comparatively, exploring how urban identities emerge at the crossroads of local histories, global infrastructures, and contemporary urban transformations.