Structural works: definition, stages and how they differ from fit-out and finishes

In brief

• Structural works are the structure of the building and what makes it watertight: earthworks, foundations, reinforced concrete, masonry, roof structure, waterproofing.
• They are carried out in this order: site set-up and setting-out, earthworks, foundations, substructure, superstructure, masonry, then roof structure and waterproofing.
• Fit-out and finishes come next: joinery, floor and wall finishes, painting, suspended ceilings and building services. An all-trades contract brings the two together.
• In Morocco, the structure follows RPS 2000, version 2011: mandatory ground investigation, concrete with a strength above 22 MPa, high-bond reinforcement.
• In French, structural works are called gros œuvre, and in Arabic الأشغال الكبرى. Their price per m² is not fixed: it is worked out from the drawings, project by project.

What are structural works?

Structural works (gros œuvre) are all the works that give a building its stability and strength: foundations, columns, beams, concrete walls, floor slabs, loadbearing walls and the roof structure. They are the part of the building that takes the loads and carries them down to the ground.

On site, they also take in what makes the building watertight: the roof covering and the waterproofing of flat roofs. Moroccan contracts therefore often refer to a "gros œuvre et étanchéité" package, structural works and waterproofing. Structure, frame and weathertight shell (clos couvert) are neighbouring terms.

This is the first of our seven trades: structural works at AHMA cover foundations and earthworks, the reinforced concrete structure, masonry and waterproofing.

What do structural works include?

Structural works include six families of work: earthworks, foundations, the reinforced concrete structure, masonry, the roof structure and basic waterproofing.

• Earthworks: topsoil stripping, excavation, cut and fill, which prepare the ground.
• Foundations: footings, a raft, ground beams or piles, which carry the loads down to the ground.
• The reinforced concrete structure: columns, beams, walls and floor slabs. The concrete takes the compression, the steel reinforcement takes the tension.
• Masonry: external walls, internal loadbearing walls and heavy partitions, in concrete blocks or bricks.
• The roof structure: in concrete, timber or steel, it covers the long spans of sports halls and market halls.
• Basic waterproofing: flat roofs and below-ground parts, to make the building watertight.

What are the stages of structural works, in order?

Structural works run through seven stages, from setting up the site to making the building watertight.

1. Site set-up and setting-out: fencing, access, crane, then the land surveyor marks out the grid lines and levels.
2. Earthworks: topsoil stripping, bulk or trench excavation, removal of the excavated material.
3. Foundations: blinding concrete, fixing of the reinforcement, pouring of the footings or the raft, connecting ground beams.
4. Substructure: below-ground walls, services under the slab, compacted fill, ground-bearing slab or lowest floor slab.
5. Superstructure: columns, concrete walls, beams, floor slabs and stairs, storey after storey.
6. Masonry: external walls and internal loadbearing walls, with their ring beams and tie columns.
7. Roof structure, roof covering and waterproofing: the building is watertight, and fit-out can begin.

What are the types of foundations?

There are two families of foundations, shallow and deep. The choice lies with the engineering consultancy (bureau d'études), on the basis of the ground investigation.

• Pad footings: a block of concrete under each column.
• Strip footings: a continuous strip under a wall or a row of columns.
• Raft foundation: a thick slab under the whole building, when the ground has a low bearing capacity or the loads are heavy.
• Deep foundations (piers, piles): they reach down to good ground at depth.

Formwork, reinforcement, concreting: the reinforced concrete cycle

Formwork is the mould, in timber or metal, that gives fresh concrete its shape. Steel fixing puts in place the reinforcement shown on the construction drawings. Concreting pours the concrete and then vibrates it, and the formwork is struck once the concrete has reached the required strength. Test specimens are crushed in a laboratory, at the frequency set by the special conditions of contract (cahier des prescriptions spéciales).

Structural works or fit-out and finishes: what is the difference?

Structural works hold the building up; fit-out and finishes make it usable.

Fit-out and finishes (second œuvre) bring together the works that play no part in stability: joinery, lightweight partitions, renders, floor and wall finishes, suspended ceilings, painting. The building services go with them: electrical installation, plumbing, ventilation, fire safety. This is the field of our finishes and fit-out trade.

• Timing: structural works come first; fit-out starts once the building is watertight.
• Reversibility: a floor finish or a partition can be replaced; a foundation or a column can only be redone at the cost of heavy works.

An all-trades contract (tous corps d'état, TCE) entrusts everything to a single contractor: structural works, fit-out and building services. Moroccan public procurement then often speaks of a single package (lot unique). Alternatively, the client can split the works into packages: one contract for structural works and waterproofing, others for the packages that follow.

How do structural works relate to the seismic design code?

In Morocco, the structure of a building is designed and built to the seismic design code "RPS 2000, version 2011" (Règlement de construction parasismique). Most of its requirements therefore fall on the structural works.

The code was approved by Decree n° 2-02-177 of 22 February 2002. Its 2011 version results from Decree n° 2-12-682 of 28 May 2013, published in the official gazette, Bulletin officiel n° 6206 of 21 November 2013. The latest amendment we have identified, in November 2026, is Decree n° 2-24-766 of 22 October 2024 (Bulletin officiel n° 7351, Arabic edition), which amended the catalogue of velocities and zones by municipality.

The RPS places every municipality (commune) in two zones numbered from 0 to 4, one for velocity and one for acceleration, and sorts buildings into three classes: vital importance (hospitals), buildings open to the public (school and university buildings, large places of worship, sports halls) and ordinary buildings. On site, it comes down to precise rules:

• Ground investigation of the foundation site is mandatory.
• The foundations of each block must be uniform and rigid: a raft, crossed strip footings, or pad footings tied by ground beams in both directions.
• The concrete must have a compressive strength above 22 MPa, and the reinforcement must be high-bond.
• The smallest dimension of a column is at least 25 cm, and 30 cm for the highest ductility level (ND3).
• Loadbearing masonry walls are given horizontal ring beams, at foundation level and at each floor, and vertical tie columns at the corners.

Zones, classes and ductility levels are set out in our guide to RPS 2000 version 2011.

Who carries out structural works, and which jobs are involved?

Structural works are carried out by a building contractor, either holding that package alone or acting as main contractor on an all-trades contract. It builds from the drawings of the structural engineering consultancy, under the eye of the project supervisor (maître d'œuvre), the technical inspection body (bureau de contrôle) and the testing laboratory.

• Site manager: runs the programme, the resources and the relationship with the project supervisor.
• Structural works site supervisor: organises setting-out, formwork, steel fixing and concreting day to day.
• Formwork carpenter, steel fixer, bricklayer: they build the structure, element by element.
• Crane operator and plant operators: they handle lifting and earthmoving.

For the works contracts of the ministry in charge of Equipment, and of the ministries that have extended the scheme to their own, Decree n° 2-94-223 of 16 June 1994 set up a qualification and classification system: the contractor is qualified by activity, then placed in a class according to its resources and the volume of work it can carry out.

What is the price of structural works per m² in Morocco?

The price of structural works per m² in Morocco is not fixed: it is worked out project by project, from the drawings, item by item, in a bill of quantities.

What makes the cost vary:

• The ground and the foundations: good ground at shallow depth costs less than a raft or piles.
• The seismic zone and the class of the building: they govern the concrete sections and the quantities of steel.
• The structure: number of storeys, basements, spans, type of floor slab, proportion of concrete walls.
• The materials: the prices of steel, cement, aggregates and diesel.
• The site: access, distance from quarries and batching plants, work on an occupied site.

To give an order of magnitude for the market, which is in no way an AHMA price: the online newspaper Hespress reported on 19 October 2026 (article read in November 2026) that, in low-cost housing, the cost of works carried out by subcontractors rose from MAD 2,400 to 2,500 per m² to a range of MAD 3,000 to 3,200, according to trade data. The article does not separate out the share of structural works.

The same article, read in November 2026, quotes a source at the Fédération nationale des promoteurs immobiliers (the national federation of property developers) for whom the prices of sand, steel, cement, concrete and bricks have risen by 25% to 30% overall: again a market observation, not AHMA data.

On our sites

At AHMA, the structure is built in-house: every footing, every column and every slab is poured, checked and delivered by our own teams. Our equipment includes 22 tower cranes, 14 batching plants and 19 concrete mixer trucks.

Two hospitals show where the line runs between structural works and fit-out. At the Centre Hospitalier Provincial de Tinghir (Tinghir Provincial Hospital), we work under two successive contracts: the first for structural works and waterproofing, the second for floor and wall finishes, suspended ceilings, joinery, painting and external works. At the Centre Hospitalier Régional de Guelmim (Guelmim Regional Hospital), we are carrying out package n° 2, structural works and waterproofing.

This guide gives general pointers. For a given building, the official text of the code and the contract specification prevail.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between structural works and fit-out?

Structural works bring together the works that keep the building stable: foundations, the reinforced concrete structure, loadbearing masonry and the roof structure, with the waterproofing that makes it watertight. Fit-out and finishes cover what makes it usable: joinery, partitions, floor and wall finishes, painting, suspended ceilings and building services. Structural works are done first, fit-out second.

Which jobs are involved in structural works?

The structural works jobs are the site manager, the site supervisor, the land surveyor, the formwork carpenter, the steel fixer, the bricklayer, the crane operator and the earthmoving plant operators. Upstream, the engineer at the structural engineering consultancy draws up the formwork and reinforcement drawings. The laboratory and the technical inspection body check the materials and the workmanship.

What is the price of structural works per m2 in Morocco?

There is no single price per m² for structural works in Morocco. The cost depends on the ground and the foundations, the seismic zone, the number of storeys, the type of floor slab, the prices of steel and cement, and access to the site. Only an estimate built item by item, from the drawings and the ground investigation, gives a reliable price.

Is there another word for structural works?

Structure, frame or loadbearing structure are used for structural works, gros œuvre in French. The expression "clos couvert", the weathertight shell, is close: it adds to the structure whatever encloses and roofs the building. In Moroccan contracts, the package is often titled "gros œuvre et étanchéité".

What is gros œuvre in English and in Arabic?

Gros œuvre is structural works in English and الأشغال الكبرى in Arabic, literally "the major works". That is the term used in the Arabic version of our site. Second œuvre, fit-out and finishes in English, is أشغال التجهيز والتشطيب in Arabic.

What does "tous corps d'état" mean?

"Tous corps d'état", or TCE, refers to an all-trades contract, which entrusts a single contractor with all the works of a building: structural works, fit-out and building services. The client then deals with a single contractor, for the programme and for quality alike. Moroccan public contracts often speak of a single package (lot unique).