The Geometry of the Hammam

Every traditional hammam follows the same spatial logic: three rooms in sequence, each hotter than the last. The cold room (al-barrani) is the entrance and changing area. The warm room (al-woustani) is the transitional space. The hot room (al-dakhli) — closest to the furnace — is where the actual bathing happens. The progression from cold to hot mirrors the Roman thermae, and the connection is not coincidental — Morocco inherited the tradition through centuries of cross-Mediterranean exchange.

The furnace sits behind the hot room wall. Traditionally fuelled by wood or olive pits, it heats both the water and the air. The floor of the hot room is heated from below — a hypocaust system, again echoing Roman engineering. The heat radiates upward through stone or marble. Bathers sit or lie directly on the warm floor.

The domes are perforated. Star-shaped openings in the ceiling of each room serve three functions: they allow steam to escape (controlling humidity), they admit daylight (reducing the need for candles or electricity), and they create atmospheric light patterns that shift through the day as the sun moves. The size and number of perforations increase from the hot room to the cold room — more ventilation where less steam is needed.

The walls are thick — typically 60 to 80 centimetres of stone or brick, plastered with tadelakt (polished lime plaster made waterproof with olive oil soap). Tadelakt is not decorative — it is functional waterproofing that prevents moisture penetration and mould growth. The technique has been used in hammams for centuries.

Water flows by gravity where possible. The neighbourhood hammam was traditionally positioned near a mosque — both share a water source and a social function. The hammam's waste water irrigated nearby gardens, completing a closed loop. The architecture is not aesthetic — it is engineering disguised as tradition.

Explore the full interactive module — with floor plans, heat flow diagrams, and dome optics visualised — at Dancing with Lions: https://www.dancingwiththelions.com/data/hammam-geometry