Casablanca's Hidden Architects — Decode the City's Secret Blueprint

Your quest begins at Bab Marrakech, the main entrance to Casablanca's old medina. This monumental gate, erected in 1915 by architect Adrien Laforgue under the French Protectorate, stands 20 meters high and is adorned with green zellige and Arab-Andalusian motifs. Restored in 1930 to reinforce fortifications, it reflects the ambitions of urban architect Henri Prost, who planned Casablanca's expansion as early as 1913. Here, Prost's initial directives are carved in stone, inviting you to decipher the city's nascent urbanism. It's the ideal starting point to explore the Casablanca-Settat heritage.

Continue to Place Mohammed V, the beating heart of the new Casablanca. Designed in 1920 by French architect Jacques Le Cercq, this 3-hectare central square is an example of the Moorish Art Deco style. It is surrounded by administrative buildings constructed between 1922 and 1937, and was the nerve center of the European residential district, planned by the Office des Habitations à Bon Marché (OHBM) in 1918. Abundant in fountains and palm trees, it houses the Palace of Justice, inaugurated in 1926 by architect René Porte. This square embodies the vision of the modern city, a historical monument in its own right.

The Central Market of Casablanca, built in 1920 by French architect Alexandre Denoix, is your next stop. This 4,500 m² covered building, housing 1,200 stalls, is inspired by the Halles de Paris while incorporating local zellij motifs. Inaugurated on March 28, 1920, during the Colonial Exhibition of Casablanca, it illustrates the integration of European and Moroccan influences. Its metal structure, imported from France, was reinforced after the Agadir earthquake in 1960. This site represents the economic vitality and architectural ingenuity of the era, a key point in your Casablanca visit.

Your journey then takes you to the Villa des Arts de Casablanca, a modernist building erected in 1932 by Parisian architect Edmond Larrivé for the Bessonneau family. This 2,000 m² villa, transformed into a cultural center in 1995 by the ONA Foundation, features an asymmetrical facade typical of the Moroccan modern movement, influenced by Le Corbusier. Classified as architectural heritage in 2005, it is renowned for its Art Deco stained glass by Auguste Labouret. This site reveals another facet of Morocco's 1920s colonial architecture and subsequent decades, far from the neo-Moorish splendors.

Conclude your exploration at the Parc de la Ligue Arabe, a 12-hectare public garden created in 1926 by landscape architect Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier. Designed as a green lung for the European quarter, it saw the planting of 5,000 trees between 1927 and 1930, and the development of a 2-hectare artificial lake and a Moorish kiosk in 1928. This park was also the site of the first anti-colonial demonstrations in 1936 against the regime of Sultan Mohammed V. By traversing these places of memory in Casablanca, you will have decoded the layers of a complex history, between colonial urbanism and the emergence of a national identity, a deep exploration of the Casablanca-Settat heritage.