Casablanca's Architects

The area that we know today to be Casablanca was long ago founded and settled by the Berbers in roughly 10th century B.C. This ancient port city was also used by the Phoenicians and later by the Romans. Today, what was once an important commercial port is referred to as Anfa. In 1755, the reminisce of what had remained of the city was destroyed in an earthquake, and then promptly rebuilt by Sultan Muhammad III of Morocco, who employed European architects such as Théodore Cornut and Ahmed el Inglizi.

After the earthquake in 1755, Sultan Muhammad III rebuilt much of Casablanca. In fact, some of the most famous and historical sites that still stand today were built in this period under his rule. This includes the Sqala Bastion and the Mosque of the Makhzen.

The French invaded Casablanca in 1907. During the years between this invasion and re-gaining independence in 1956, the French hired a series of Urban Planners to organize Casablanca in a way that aligned with French interests. The first, and arguably most formative for the city, was Henri Prost who served as the head of urban planning from 1912 to 1946. Prost was followed by Michel Écochard, who held the position from 1946-1953. Écochard also founded a group of Modernist architects called Groupe des Architectes Modernes Marocains (GAMMA) which aided Écochard in designing and executing his vision. Once Morocco regained its independence in 1956, Elie Azagury took over as the head of GAMMA, and was the first Moroccan to do so. Since the most large-scale construction and urban planning in Casablanca took place during this era, this study outlines each of these three architects, and their impact on Casablanca, in-depth.

The following video gives an idea of Casablanca's beauty and unique atmosphere. It also briefly discusses some architectural history, which will be covered in more detail throughout this study. (Note: the video is in French but English subtitles can be turned on)

Henri Prost was a French architect and urban planner. He is mostly known for his work in Morocco and Turkey (specifically Casablanca and Istanbul). Born in Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris, he studied architecture at the École Spéciale d'Architecture and at the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1902, he was awarded the prestigious Prix de Rome scholarship. In 1912, Prost was invited to work on the development of major Moroccan cities, including Casablanca. After staying for over a decade, Prost's work in Casablanca was labeled a major success, and a used as proof of concept for the principles of urbanism.

Prost's plan for Casablanca was radio-concentric, like Paris. Originally, his task was only to design a Ville Nouvelle for Casablanca's European citizens. The idea was to completely separate the Ville Nouvelle from the Medina, which was home to most Moroccans in Casablanca. However, Prost quickly realized that the native Moroccan population needed space in the city to expand. So, in 1917, he proposed a new Medina to allow for this expansion, which was then designed by Albert Laprade.

Laprade extensively studied the architectural language of the traditional Medina.

"His goal was to create a space that was distinctly and deliberately Moroccan while simultaneously providing the locals with new architectural forms and healthful technologies under a façade of Neo-Moorish architecture" (Braga).

Neo-Moorish architecture draws largely from Moorish architecture, and therefore from the wider Islamic architecture. As an example, this style is seen in the Former Abattoirs or the Former Slaughterhouses of Casablanca, which was renovated by Prost in 1922.

Other examples include: the Muhammad V Square (1916), a public gathering area; the Cinema Rialto (1929), one of the oldest cinemas in all of Morocco; and Mahkmat al-Pasha (1942), an administrative building that served as a courthouse.

In the postwar period, Michel Écochard came to head Casablanca's urban planning division between 1946 and 1953. Although Écochard spoke out against Prost’s principles of spatial segregation by ‘race’, in his own plan, French zones were surrounded by wooded areas, and Moroccan quarters had twice the density of the villes nouvelles (although they came to more than septuple this intended density). In the long run, this form of development and segregation created a setting of extreme social and economic inequality and disparity.

Écochard's plan for Casablanca also involved expanding beyond the city and into the greater region. In 1946, he proposed a national plan to decentralize industry into cities’ surrounding countrysides. This ended up encouraging rural migration along a coastal pattern.

Écochard had three objectives with his regional plans. First, he wanted to direct industrial development to other nearby towns and, as he wrote, “create opportunities for other cities.” Second, he wanted Casablanca, which was already experiencing crowded inner-city slums, to decentralize into boroughs and satellite towns. Third, he planned vast landscapes of public housing units to address the housing crisis.

Elie Azagury took over as the head of Groupe des Architectes Modernes Marocains (GAMMA) in 1956, after Morocco gained independence from France. He is considered the first Moroccan modern architect. Azagury was also controversial and outspoken communist, which influenced his vision for social housing in Casablanca.

Contrary to Écochard, Azagury believed that the future of public housing was vertical expansion. Therefore, his most famous housing project consisted of building high-rises. The housing combined modern and vernacular architecture and was built in Hay Hassani, a district in southwestern Casablanca.

Azagury continued to be the most prominent architect in Casablanca through the late 20th century. At the turn of the 21st century, Casablanca's architecture and city planning became heavily influenced by Neoliberalism.

“Architectural Heritage Weekend in Casablanca.” Eric Ross, Academic, 28 Mar. 2017, ericrossacademic.wordpress.com/2012/04/11/architectural-heritage-weekend-in-casablanca/.

Babas, Latifa. “The Ancient City of Anfa, a Forgotten Chapter of Casablanca's History .” English, Yabiladi.com, 18 Oct. 2017, en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/58509/ancient-city-anfa-forgotten-chapter.html.

Braga, Patrick Calmon de Carvalho. “Main Menu.” Modernity and Planning in the Developing World, 19 Nov. 2013, blogs.cornell.edu/crp2000-modernity/2013/11/19/the-history-and-legacies-of-urbanism-in-casablanca/.

by:, Written. “Casablanca Architecture.” Mohamed Dekkak, 17 Nov. 2019, dekkak.com/casablanca-architecture/.

“Moroccan Architecture: In-Depth Review of Styles in Morocco.” Journey Beyond Travel, 13 Mar. 2016, www.journeybeyondtravel.com/morocco/architecture.

ShaunCKilgore. “Things To Do In Casablanca.” Journey Beyond Travel, 11 July 2017, www.journeybeyondtravel.com/blog/things-to-do-casablanca-morocco.html.

Williams, Sarah. “A Brief History of Casablanca's Old Medina.” Culture Trip, The Culture Trip, 13 May 2017, theculturetrip.com/africa/morocco/articles/a-brief-history-of-casablancas-old-medina/. 

Wikipedia contributors. "Carrières Centrales." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 Dec. 2020. Web. 10 Jun. 2021.

Wikipedia contributors. "Henri Prost." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 6 Apr. 2021. Web. 10 Jun. 2021.

Wikipedia contributors. "Michel Écochard." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 26 Feb. 2021. Web. 10 Jun. 2021.