Published in Rethinking the Future This essay explores the evolution of Casablanca’s architectural identity through the intersection of Néo-Mauresque, Art Deco, and emerging modernist architecture during the French Protectorate. The essay examines how architecture became a medium through which French colonial ambitions, Moroccan cultural references, and changing social aspirations were negotiated. Tracing the city’s transformation from the early Néo-Mauresque architecture…
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In the Maârif district of Casablanca, a small public garden occupies a plot of land with an unusually loud history. For nearly fifty years, the site held an arena hosting bullfights, boxing matches, and international concerts, before its demolition in 1971 that left the land vacant for decades. Today, following a 2024 renovation, it holds a quiet public garden. What…
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Published in Morocco World News An opinion piece examining how airport terminals communicate national identity through architecture, using Casablanca’s future terminal as a case study. Read the original publication →
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The case of Avenue Royale in Casablanca, Morocco. Urban development projects are often conceived from a strategic, institutional perspective. Planned by public authorities and urban professionals, they aim to improve the city through objectives such as modernization, mobility, or economic development, and are typically justified in the name of the public interest.Yet cities are not only planned, they are lived.…