Architectural Research in Finland, vol.3, no.

1 (2019)

When  a  patio  becomes  a  city  

 (In)volution  of  Carrières  Centrales,  Casablanca  (1953-­‐2018)    
 
 
Luis Palacios Labrador
Associate Professor UPM (Universidad Politecnica de Madrid).
Research group: ‘Cultura del hábitat’. DPA-ETSAM.
luispalacioslabrador@gmail.com

Beatriz Alonso Romero

alonsoromerobeatriz@gmail.com

Abstract
In the 1950s, the city of Casablanca experienced enormous demographic
growth. Having become a strategic port during the French protectorate, it soon
had to accommodate more than 140,000 new arrivals from the countryside.

The most extensive urban development in the city was Carrierès Centrales,
introduced as a relevant case study in the CIAM IX by the GAMMA team.
Michel Ècochard, Candilis and Woods reinterpreted the traditional Moroccan
house in a compact horizontal fabric as well as in singular buildings, thereby
making it the typology not only for the pattern of a house, but of the whole city.

A revisit to Carrières Centrales 65 years after its construction leads to an

understanding of the metamorphosis that the urban fabric has undergone over
time. The main architectural and social parameters that have influenced its
transformation is what motivates the critical analysis of the research.

To achieve this goal, fieldwork was carried out based on a research trip in
October 2018, which involved contact with local professors, access to the
archives of the University of Casablanca, interviews with the inhabitants, and
the rigorous exercise of redrawing and graphing all the architectural elements
since their construction and subsequent modification.

The evolution of the urban fabric supports the following hypothesis: the
application of an imported urban model to a developing country is considered a
failure by not taking into account the adaptation to changes in the life of its
inhabitants.

Time defines, modifies and adapts architecture to the needs of society. Culture,
politics and the economy influence the transformation of the city as a reflection
of its population. Learning from Carrières Centrales, we understand the need to
include time as a parameter in the design process to address the increasingly
complex response to the contemporary city.

Keywords: Carrières Centrales, Casablanca, Time, Change, Society, Patio

House, Modern Heritage.

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1. Historical Introduction

1.1. Casablanca during the French Protectorate (1912-1956)

Casablanca is a city that underwent rapid growth in a short period of time. In

less than a century its population and economy increased exponentially, leading
to intense social problems.
It was not until the 19th century that European merchants began to settle in the
city. Its port went from exporting only 3% of Morocco's goods in 1836, to
becoming the country's main port by 1906. During this period, the high demand
for workers led tthe population to swell from seven hundred to twenty thousand
inhabitants.
The population and economic growth of the city brought about an increase in
port activity, resulting in the need to extend and improve the port's facilities. Due
to the poor economic situation of the Moroccan government, Spain and France
decided to expand the port of Dar el Beida, strengthening their influence in
Morocco. Thus, the French protectorate began in Casablanca in 1912 and
1
lasted until 1956.
During the protectorate, Casablanca experienced uncontrolled growth. The
presence of the port turned the city from a semi-rural settlement to the country's
international business center. As the industrial sector developed, the demand
for labor increased, but the city was unable to absorb the large number of
immigrants.

Figure 1. Casablanca’s extension plan: Development for 140,000 inhabitants. Michel Écochard,
1953

Between 1900 and 1926, more than forty thousand people arrived in
Casablanca from the countryside. In 1929 most of Morocco's industries were in
Casablanca, but they only created employment for twenty-five thousand
workers, most of them European. This complicated social situation proved
unwieldy for a city with such intensive development. Despite the scarcity of
work, the rural exodus towards the cities kept on growing, with newcomers
settling in five large development areas around Casablanca.

1
Puschmann, P. 2011. Casablanca. A Demographic Miracle on Moroccan Soil? Leuven: Acco
Academic, pp. 47-49.

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1.2. Carrières Centrales’ Bidonville

In 1953 there were approximately a hundred and forty thousand people living in
slums in Casablanca. The most crowded one was Carrières Centrales, with
fifty-six thousand inhabitants. Due to its location, close to the port and well
connected to the rest of the city, it became the first bidonville of immigrants from
2
rural areas.
The literal translation of Bidonville is 'city of cans'. The term refers to a slum that
grew spontaneously and haphazardly, with no regard to city ordnances. These
settlements were the answer to the population’s need for affordable housing. Its
structure was similar to the one found in Morocco's traditional rural settlements.
However, high population density coupled with a lack of resources resulted in
these neighborhoods becoming unhealthy, unsafe and overcrowded.

Figure 2. Carrières Centrales’ Bidonville: Bird´s eye view, Casablanca South, 1953

Within a few years, the bidonvilles urgently needed a renovation based on the
rehousing of thousands of people crammed into precarious dwellings. To
address this objective, the architect Michel Écochard (1905-1985) was
appointed by the French protectorate as the director of the Servicio de
l’Urbanisme and leader of the GAMMA group (Groupe d'Architectes Modernes
Marocains), which also included the architects Georges Candilis (1913-1995),
Shadrach Woods (1923-1973) and Vladimir Bodiansky (1894-1966), among
other professionals dedicated to the study and improvement of Morocco's urban
3
planning.

2
See García Dorce, C. 2017. Un tiempo dilatado. Carrières-Centrales (Casablanca). Antecedentes,
concepto y evolución. Valencia: Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Escuela Técnica Superior de
Arquitectura.
3
See Écochard, M. 1955. Casablanca. Le roman d’une ville. Paris: Ed. de Paris.

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1.3. ‘L’habitat pour le plus grand nombre’

In 1953, at CIAM IX in Aix-en-Provence (Congres Internationale d'Architecture

Moderne) Michel Écochard presented a detailed research study on Morocco’s
urban situation and ideas for rationalization and growth carried out in
Casablanca. As leader of the GAMMA group, he wrote 'Habitat pour le plus
grand nombre', a compilation of guidelines to give affordable housing to the
inhabitants of the bidonville of Carriéres Centrales.

Figure 3. ‘Habitat pour le plus grand nombre’: Guidelines for the development of Carrières
Centrales. Grupo GAMMA. CIAM IX, Aix-en-Provence, 1953

To provide shelter for the masses, Écochard redefined the neighborhood

structure: the most basic level was defined as a 'neighborhood unit': a group of
one thousand eight hundred inhabitants, with basic services such as an oven, a
mill, a playground and commerce. Five 'neighborhood units' formed a
neighborhood quarter for nine thousand inhabitants with public resources: a
mosque, a market, schools and other collective services.
Each quarter was articulated through its public spaces, which maintained a
hierarchy. On a smaller scale, small-sized pedestrian streets gave access to
dwellings and small squares to promote the social relations of the immediate
neighborhood. On a larger scale were avenues and squares of greater entity,
reserved for traffic and public services that provided assistance to the quarter.
Thus, the quarters had a condition of autonomous and independent
management.
Ècochard also noted the consequences of these neighborhoods changing over
time: an increase in the purchasing power of their inhabitants could trigger a
formal growth and evolution of the habitat. In his urban vision, Écochard
differentiated between the permanent part of the city (urban planning) and the
transient part (construction). He saw buildings as a changing element that
depended on economic conditions, on the pursuit of modernization and on the
change in the forms and needs of housing. However, the urban fabric remained
immutable:

He qualified the inhabitants of his projects as evolués, which means

that they were at an intermediate point between the rural and urban
4
way of life.

4
Avermaete, Tom. “Farming the Afropolis. Michel Ecochard and the African City for the Greatest
Number”. L’Afrique, c’est chic. Architecture and Planning in Africa 1950– 1970, OASE, 2010 (82),
77–89, pp. 91.

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1.4. Re-interpretation of the traditional patio-house

The rehousing plan was modelled after the bidonville inhabitants’ way of life as
well as on their home habitat in the countryside, their customs and Muslim
culture in general.
In the traditions of the Moroccan population, several families could coexist in
the same house: when a son became an adult and started his own family, he
would continue to live in the same house along with his parents. The traditional
houses had at least two rooms, as men and women lived in different spaces.
The intense need for intimacy of this culture influenced the openings of the
house: the windows were few and minimal, just enough to allow natural
ventilation and lighting. Openings were placed high up to keep out of view from
5
the street, thereby ensuring the privacy of its inhabitants.
These influences were integrated into a prototype of housing: the patio-house,
recognizable in historical medinas but also as pattern of the bidonvilles. The
reinterpretation of the patio-house emerged to preserve the elements of
vernacular architecture while defining a modern architectural proposal, granting
health, flexibility and spatial richness.

Figure 4. Re-interpretation of the traditional patio-house: Historical Morocco kasbah (left) and
new urban fabric based on the Écochard Grid (right)

To this end, he established the Trame Écochard, an 8x8 m grid that

geometrically organized the space. It was the basic structure and represented
6
the minimum unit of single-family housing with a patio.
Access to each house was through a 5x5m patio where all the openings that
illuminated and ventilated the interior of the house looked onto, thereby
avoiding the need for exterior windows. The new dwellings had two or three
rooms, addressing the need for separation between men and women.

5
See García Dorce, C. 2017. Un tiempo dilatado. Carrières-Centrales (Casablanca). Antecedentes,
concepto y evolución. Valencia: Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Escuela Técnica Superior de
Arquitectura, vol. B, pp. 48.
6
Écochard defined the modulation of the 8x8 m grid according to similar measurements of the
bidonville´s informal patio houses.

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The Trame Écochard not only delimited the measurements of the patio-house,
but also served to create the urban configuration from its first cluster to the
entire fabric.
High-rise buildings were also given a place within this habitat, such as Nid
d'Abeille, Semiramis and the Tower introduced by architects George Candilis
and Shadrach Woods as a vertically configured reinterpretation of the patio-
7
house.

Figure 5. Vertical Patio-House Study: Candilis & Woods, 1952

The stacking of the patio-house unit was intended to be a model for the future
growth and evolution of a denser city. It would be an example of the
coexistence between Islamic and European culture while meeting the needs of
the Moroccan population through modern architectural design.

Figure 6. The Carrières Centrales neighborhood: ATBAT + GAMMA group, Casablanca, 1953

7
In 1951, Georges Candilis and Shadrach Woods traveled to Africa to lead, along with Henry Piot,
the ATBAT office (Atelier de B'tisseurs): a research center on architecture, engineering, and urban
planning founded in 1947 by Le Corbusier.

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2. Physical Description

2.1. ‘Écochard´s Grid’

The original model designed by M. Écochard for the horizontal fabric was
8
organized into 8x8 meter patio houses grouped into clusters of four dwellings.
The position of a 2.40 m access street caused the variation in size of the four
grouped units, differentiating their courtyards, the number of rooms (2-3) and
the relative position of the entrance and services.

Figure 7. Écochard Grid: 8x8 m Four-patio-house cluster

Through repetition, rotation and symmetry, the clusters formed a compact,

continuous and complex horizontal fabric, which was dotted with small
community squares.
These patio-houses were built as a prototype in 1952. They were sold mostly to
railroad workers, manufacturers, and individuals; only a minority the inhabitants
were actually rehoused from the bidonville. At the following stage, however, the
urgent need of rehousing prevailed, so the housing type was unified as a way to
9
speed mass production up.
Construction process efficiency led to the solution of a single housing type: two
2
rooms around a 12 m courtyard plus an outdoor shed for the kitchen and toilet.
The 8x8 fabric was interwoven with narrow streets (2 m wide) that gave access
to the dwellings. In addition, the uneven terrain and the relationship with the
avenues in the surrounding areas fragmented the original grid, which thus lost
its condition of comprising a continuous fabric.
10
The single-module repetition resulted in the production of mass housing, but
also in a monotonous grouping, offering the image of a horizontal honeycomb of
a beehive.

8
Cluster was the word used by Team X to define the recognizable grouping of urban elements.
9
See Cohen, J., Eleb, M. 2004. Casablanca. Mythes et figures d’une aventure urbaine. Nanterre:
Ed. Haza, pp. 319.
10
See Smithson, A. & P. “Criteria for Mass Housing”. Forum, nº 1, 1960, pp.16-17.

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Figure 8. Écochard’s Grid: Theoretical design (left) and as-built urban fabric (right)

2.2. Nid d’Abeille

The ATBAT group, led by Candilis and Woods, reinterpreted the patio-house as
a vertical housing development. Its first approach, still low rise, investigated the
overlapping of patio-houses by means of using a three-dimensional
configuration.
Arranged on two floors, the upper houses moved a module from the lower level.
Two types of ground floor patio-house completed a 'zippered' system, where
infill and void had the same value.

Figure 9. Row Patio-houses: Two-floor prototype. Candilis & Woods

The image of this facade was later developed in the five-storey building Nid
d’Abeille. It was the maximum height allowed to develop an economical vertical
structure according to the means of construction available. The regular
arrangement of pillars allowed the alternation of infills and voids, as well as their
11
displaced overlap, creating a ‘checkerboard’ facade of white volumes.
In contrast, the north facade featured a horizontal composition marked by the
corridors. Inside, two-room houses had access to the courtyard, open at a
double height but fenced by 1.80 m walls. The position of the toilet and kitchen
within the courtyard, matching on all floors, was covered by the upper level,
which offered protection against the weather and ensured privacy while still
affording ventilation and natural lighting.

11
Multiple versions of this facade were developed, from similar compositions to those developed in
France, to more abstract approaches that negated the window voids, as a reinterpretation of the
indoor nature of the traditional Moroccan house.

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Figure 10. ‘Nid d’Abeille’: ’Checkerboard’ south facade (left) and enclosed north facade (right)

The proposal was published in the French magazine l’architecture

12
d’aujourd’hui but was not the one that was finally built. Indeed, a great many
variations were considered in search of a more efficient and economical
construction. The most significant, the position of the vertical core, originally
had a stairway at each end; in the end, however, only one in the middle of the
floor was built, inducing a symmetry in the building and a disturbance of the
facade´s composition.

Figure 11. ‘Nid d’Abeille’: Second floor (above) and third floor (below)

As a result, the basic housing type was modified, with three-room homes now at
the ends and a one-room house in the middle to absorb the alteration of the
vertical core in the facade. While these decisions distorted the formal purity of
layout and volume composition, they also created a richer typology, open to
multiple users with different needs and budgets.

2.3. Semiramis

The Semiramis, another five-storey building, was a linear block with an East-
West orientation, grouping two-room houses around patios through corridors in
height.
Unlike the Nid d'Abeille, which showed a clear distinction of its North and South
facades, the Semiramis developed its East and West facades in an equivalent
way, because of the counterbalanced position of the linear corridors giving
access to the dwellings.
However, the built shape also underwent changes regarding its original design.
Initially, the rooms of the houses were arranged in a row, leaving a band of
patios to the front and concluding the series with stairways at each end of the
building. In this model, the kitchen and bathroom, placed in the open
courtyards, were unduly small and exposed to the weather.

12
The 1954 cover of the French magazine 'l'architecture d'aujourd'hui' collected the primary
coloured volumetry of Nid d'Abeille, as a symbol of modern developments in North Africa.

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Figure 12. ‘Semiramis’: Second floor (above) and third floor (below)

In order to save resources and promote functionality, the built project featured a
single centered communication core, which resolved accessibility on a terrain
with a marked slope. The corridors absorbed the height difference by
incorporating stairs that determined the compositional character of the facades.
In the built design, the rooms of the houses were grouped into fours and
alternated with patios in their symmetry, which configured two blocks of four
rooms per floor, easily recognizable from the outside. Kitchen and toilets were
on the same vertical and always covered by the counterbalance of the patios in
height, making the system of facilities more efficient.
Through the contrast between infill and void, the Semiramis building sought an
abstract volumetric composition, as did the Nid d'Abeille. But unlike Nid
d'Abeille, it did not shun the appearance of window openings on the front,
although it placed them high up to allow lighting and ventilation of the rooms
while ensuring privacy indoors.

Figure 13. ‘Semiramis’ east facade: Candilis & Woods, 1954

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2.4. The Tower

The third high-rise building was called the Tower, more for its centralized floor
design than for its height, which was never more than five floors.
The ATBAT group's study proposed having six dwellings arranged around a
vertical core. Each house had two rooms with access to an outdoor courtyard
that alternated its position in height, recreating the composition of infill and void
along the perimeter of the building. In this proposal, the toilets were located
inside the dwellings rather than along with the kitchen in the outdoor courtyard,
as in the Nid d'Abeille and Semiramis buildings.

Figure 14. The ‘Tower’: ATBAT Group theoretical design (left) Bodiansky built project (right)

However, the engineer Bodiansky was in charge of the design that was finally
built. His proposal was more compact, with identical layouts configured by four
equal houses, which kept the toilets inside and the kitchens outside. But, unlike
the proposal by Candilis and Woods, the position of the courtyards did not vary
in height, nor was their volumetry explicitly reflected on the outside, thus losing
the characteristic ‘checkerboard’ composition of the facade.
In both the studio and built block, the communications core was located on the
north facade, facing the square with the Nid d'Abeille and the Semiramis. The
position of the three buildings and the public space between them also varied
from their original design; from a more organic composition with a decidedly
pedestrian character to a more conventional planning based on road traffic
access.

Figure 15. Free space: Theoretical design (left) and built project (right)

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3. (E/In)volution Analysis.
The changes that the urban fabric has undergone over the years are numerous
and complex. Today, it is difficult to recognize the neighborhood that was
Carrières Centrales in 1953. Even its name has changed. It is now called 'Hay
Mohammadi' regarding King Mohammed V, who returned from exile after
13
Morocco's independence.
Carrières Centrales (e/in)volution should not be analyzed only in physical and
quantitative terms. The complexity of its transformation requires a broader look
that goes beyond the scope of architecture. Therefore, the method used is
based on three analytical tools:
1. Fieldwork: data collection obtained on site during a trip to Casablanca
between October 31 and November 2, 2018. Relevant data for the research
were provided through interviews with the inhabitants of Carrières Centrales
and meetings with Lahbib El moumni, professor at the Casablanca School of
Architecture.

Figure 16. ‘Inside Semiramis building’. Comparation between photos of 1951 and 2018

2. References in the literature: the relationship between vernacular architecture

and the local way of living has social implications that go beyond the
architectural discipline. The research is based on a recognized bibliography in
order to understand these relationships and not fall into social stereotypes.
3. Relation with other case studies: Carrières Centrales is just one example of
the transformation of the Modern Movement heritage in developing countries.
For this reason, it is linked to other interventions in North Africa, South America
14
and India.
The different areas addressed in the analysis are presented below: two of them
carry out a physical study (construction and free space) and the other two
(social and economic) look beyond the realm of architecture, although they are
closely linked to it.

13
See Culley, B. 2011. Claiming Space in Casablanca: Modernist Experiments and User-initiated
Dwelling Transformations in Hay Mohammadi. Utretch: Utretch University, pp. 52.
14
Similarities can be recognized in the evolution of the EWS Housing Colony, Sector 24.
Gandhinagar, Gujarat (India. 1979-1999-2019) See Kalsariya, S. (2001). Appropriating one’s space:
process and result in Indian context. Ahmedabad: CEPT University.

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3.1. Social

The metamorphosis of the neighborhood has been closely linked to the social
evolution of its inhabitants. Moroccan culture is based on a strong family base,
where grandparents, parents and children live together in the same house. The
house is the core of the family, and evolves according to its needs. As the
family grows, the house grows.
It should be noted that in the Arab house, rooms do not have a specific function
as in European homes, so their transformation capacity is greater, changing
15
their use over time according to the needs of the family.
Aware of this cultural context, when young couples moved to the new quarter
and had children, they needed more space within their homes. During their first
years of life, the children slept in their parents' room, but as they grew up they
demanded their own bedrooms. The most recurrent way of expanding the
house was by closing in the courtyards, both in the horizontal fabric and in the
high-rise buildings.
When the children became adults and formed their own family, they did not
leave the home. Some families adapted to the arrangement of the house, with
parents sleeping in one room, and the children in another. But most of them
expanded the house by height, building an upper floor where the children lived
with their families, reserving the ground floor for their parents and so on, turning
the original patio-houses into three or four high block that represent the growth
16
of the family.

Figure 17. Écochard Patio House (In)volution: Layout in 1953 (left), 1965, 1990 and 2014 (right)

However, this social evolution became an architectural involution of the Nid

d'Abeille and Semiramis buildings. Their original volumetries were altered and
their facades were degraded by closing the courtyards, losing their climatic
status, blocking cross-ventilation and nullifying the sun control in favor of
17
expanding the dwellings´ private space.

15
See García Dorce, C. 2017. Un tiempo dilatado. Carrières-Centrales (Casablanca).
Antecedentes, concepto y evolución. Valencia: Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Escuela
Técnica Superior de Arquitectura.
16
The concept of ’growing-house’, which arises spontaneously in Carrières Centrales, was planned
and pre-designed in settlements such as PREVI in Lima (Perú, 1978) where the architects foresaw
the possible floor and height extension from a ’seed-house’. See García-Huidobro, F., Torres Torriti,
D., & Tugas, N. (2008). ¡El tiempo construye! Time builds! Barcelona: Gustavo Gili.
17
Data collected through fieldwork on October 31, 2018.

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Figure 18. Semiramis (In)volution: Section in 1953 (left) and in 2018 (right)
3.2. Economic

The urban fabric was also altered when the neighborhood's economy grew,
shifting the initial residential character to a mixed use.
Originally, the horizontal fabric lacked commerce, except in places reserved for
market space or equipment. However, the demand for more services caused
the inhabitants to introduce commerce inside their homes. Therefore, the
ground floors of the dwellings were gradually colonized with shops. This led to a
change in the configuration of the houses, as the living rooms moved to the
upper floors, leaving the ground floor for business activities.
In contrast, the original ground floor of the Nid d'Abeille building was reserved
as a commercial area. Nevertheless, over the years, these premises did not
work, possibly as they were not linked to any housing.
Moreover, in terms of the economic profitability of their property, the owners of
18
the patio-houses built upper levels in order to rent out them to other families.
The most invasive factor was the privatization of communal spaces in the
Semiramis and Nid d'Abeille buildings. As a result of the economic growth of
families and their demand for more space in the homes, the owners not only
expanded and closed in the courtyards in height, but also privatized the
common access corridors.
When a family bought all the dwellings on a floor, they closed and covered the
entire corridor, modifying the overall volumetry of the building. On the ground
floor, houses with direct access from the street also illegally colonized the
19
sidewalk, thereby converting the original public space into private.

Figure 19. Nid d'Abeille (In)volution: Blocked ‘chessboard’ facade, 2018

18
Data collected through an interview with a neighbor of the Nid d’Abeille on November 2, 2018.
19
Data collected through fieldwork on October 31, 2018.

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3.3. Constructive

The social and economic changes were reflected in the metamorphoses of the
original architecture. Different construction processes were used in the
horizontal fabric and the high-rise buildings. Methods and techniques were
adapted to the needs and the resources of their inhabitants.
In the horizontal fabric, the need for growth was reflected in an evolution in
height of the patio-houses. In a first step, only the courtyards were covered with
a metal structure of beams resting directly on the walls, and a metalic slab on
20
top. These actions occurred in 1954, shortly after the sale to its first tenants.
The original walls of the patio houses were designed to support the loads of a
single-storied building, so a new structure was built for the growth of the house:
a series of pillars around the perimeter of the building on which to support the
new floor slabs. The staircase was located at the front of the entrance, within
the courtyard, respecting the original rooms.
This led the authorities to debate the height growth of patio-houses. Écochard
proposed to prevent it, as it affected the health of the neighbourhood, but
Bennani, a representative of the Moroccan Local Interests Commission,
21
managed to allow it, taking into account the preferences of the inhabitants.
Although the construction system was similar in all homes, each family adapted
it to their needs. For this reason, they varied the heights of the floors, creating
lines of discontinuous slabs and cornices. The situation and size of windows
and doors, the colors of the facades or the types of roofs were elements that
each owner customized to suit his interests. The result was a heterogeneous
urban fabric that reflected the character of its users.
If the horizontal fabric conditions allowed controlled heterogeneity, the high-rise
buildings underwent an inverse homogenization process. In an early phase of
housing growth, users covered the courtyards in height similar to how they
covered up the horizontal patio-houses: with metal beams and a cover slab.
To keep growing, since the structure was already designed for buildings with
loads of various heights, the inhabitants did not have to supplant it; they just
22
had to embed the new slabs into the existing pillars. They placed their private
stairs inside the courtyards and closed in the double height, thereby collapsing
the ‘chessboard’ facade of the Nid d'Abeille, which is currently unrecognizable.

Figure 20. Écochard Grid (In)volution: Growing patio-houses. Construction system

20
See Cohen, J. & Eleb, M. 2004. Casablanca. Mythes et figures d’une aventure urbaine. Nanterre:
Ed. Haza, pp. 319.
21
Ibíd, pp. 318.
22
The outer walls were made with the traditional building block in Morocco, measures of 20x40x18
cm.

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3.4. Free space

The evolution of the morphology of free space became especially noteworthy

when the population in Carrières Centrales tripled, increasing the original
density of the patio-houses low fabric to a three-four storey block fabric.
Originally, Écochard’s urban model reserved free space to be implemented with
neighborhood services, which have been built over time. The best example was
the informally managed football field, which in 2010 became a covered sports
23
center, giving a regulated service to the entire neighborhood.
However, public space has also been colonized with buildings outside the legal
framework. Attached to the Nid d'Abeille building, an irregularly shaped mosque
was erected with local materials and construction systems. The absence of this
facility within the urban fabric of Carrières Centrales forced the inhabitants to
build their own mosque.
In 1993 a new religious center was built within the established urban fabric. The
Mezquita Al Mostaqbal, financed by a benefactor, replaced a traditional
vegetable market. This fact did not lead to the demolition of the old mosque, but
24
both were preserved by the demand for a growing religious population.
The densification of the Nid d'Abeille and Semiramis buildings also meant the
colonization of free space on the ground floor. That growth, however, was not
for new neighborhood facilities, but privatization of public space for the
exclusive use of the neighbors.
Private car ownership has damaged the quality of free space as well. Écochard
intended the squares to be pedestrian spaces dedicated to coexistence and
neighborhood relations, but they have been relegated to paved spaces where
25
vehicles can be parked.
The main square, bounded by the buildings Nid d'Abeille, Semiramis and the
Tower, originally designed as the center of the new neighborhood, does not
currently afford quality public space, nor does it encourage social life, simply
relegated to being a wasteland for passing through or parking.

Figure 21. Freespace (In)volution: Blocked public space, 2018

23
Data collected through an interview with a neighbor of the Nid d’Abeille on November 2, 2018.
24
Data collected through interviews to Prof. Lahbib El moumni on the Casablanca School of
Architecture on November 1, 2018.
25
Data collected through fieldwork on October 31, 2018.

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Architectural Research in Finland, vol.3, no. 1 (2019)

4. Critical Review

The study of the Carrières Centrales in Casablanca allows us to understand the

changes that the urban fabric has undergone over time and the main social and
economic aspects that have led to the modification of its architecture and free
space.
From the information obtained through this work in 2018, it can be concluded
that the evolution and adaptation of architecture to meet the needs of the
population was inevitable. Therefore, the original planning, which did not
explicitly incorporate time as a design parameter, has resulted in an altered city
model, thus failing in many of its principles.
The conclusion is evidenced by comparing the original urban model and its
development over time into the current city. Analyzing the urban fabric, it is
clear how the original planning brought health and hygiene to the city and
significantly improved the living conditions of its inhabitants. However, time has
shown that it did not completely fulfill its needs and, as a result, there has been
a drastic change since its construction in 1953.
However, among the evidence revealed by the research, one difference is
recognized: Écochard’s urban fabric has had a more appropriate evolution than
the high-rise buildings designed by Candilis, Woods and Bodiansky.
Écochard planned its fabric as a base frame, where its original patio-houses
could be replaced by high-rise blocks through a future process of controlled
densification. Instead of doing so in a planned way, the lack of strict regulations
allowed changes to be made by users, filling the urban structure in terms of
density, complexity, and mixture of uses. The 8x8 frame was densified to fit the
needs of the inhabitants, but it has maintained the order of the neighborhood´s
morphology and is both unitary and diverse.

Figure 22. Growing-House. Example of block elevation in the 8x8 original patio-house. 1991.

On the other hand, the buildings Nid d'Abeille, Semiramis and the Tower have
undergone a process of filling their structures that has damaged their value and
initial qualities. The pre-design vertical configuration became a closed system
that has not adapted well to the changing needs of the Moroccan home. The
type of high-rise building has not been suitable for an ever-growing population,
as it did not foresee its densification over time.

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Architectural Research in Finland, vol.3, no. 1 (2019)

Figure 23. 'l'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui', 1954, magazine cover page: Nid d'Abeille as built,
1954 (left) Photomontage of the Nid d'Abeille today, 2018 (right)

Despite the fact that none of the architects who designed Carrières Centrales
sought the changes that have developed over time, the Écochard frame has
been better adapted to the needs of the inhabitants than the high-rise blocks
planned by the ATBAT-Africa group.
Even so, the main problem is not one of the support itself, but of growth
management, or, in this case, it’s the lack thereof. Regulations on growth are
minimal in Carrières Centrales, and guidelines have been in place for only a
short time. The disinterest in controlling the evolution of the neighborhood led to
housing growing according to the interests of the inhabitants. This can also be
seen in different areas of North Africa, which require the review of the heritage
of the Modern Movement. This factor encourages the search for strategies for
26
its management in future research.
For this reason, the case study opens a debate on the future of cities, their
adaptability and evolution over time, especially in developing countries. In the
European model the changes that the architecture undergoes are largely
irrelevant, with only minimal changes visible from the outside. This is due to the
strict regulation of heritage and efficiency in construction methods and
technologies.
However, in emerging societies, the evolution of the city may be less
scheduled, including unhealthy and inefficient conditions, worsened by the
problems arising from pandemics, immigration, and climate change. It is
therefore the responsibility of architects-urban planners to propose open
systems that can adapt to the changing needs of society and define a controlled
growth management, with the view that it is time that builds the city, more than
architects.

26
Authors are involved in the content and teaching of the Seminar: Time Builds! (E/In)volución de
arquitecturas pasadas. MPAA 2020/2021 (Máster en Proyectos Arquitectóncios Avanzados),
ETSAM, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

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Architectural Research in Finland, vol.3, no. 1 (2019)

Acknowledgements & Credit for Illustrations

Figure 1. Drawing by: García Dorce, C. 2017. Un tiempo dilatado. Carrières-
Centrales (Casablanca). Antecedentes, concepto y evolución. Valencia: ETSAV
(UPV), vol. B, 36.
Figure 2. Carrières Centrales’ Bidonville. Casablanca South, 1950. Available
through: Archnet website.https://archnet.org/sites/10130/media_contents/93707
[Accessed 26 August 2020].
Figure 3. Image in: Risselada, M. & Van den Heuvel, D. 2005. Team 10, 1953-
81, in search of a Utopia of the present. Rotterdam: Ed. Nai Publishers, pp. 28.
Figure 4. In: Risselada, M. & Van den Heuvel, D. 2005. Team 10, 1953-81, in
search of a Utopia of the present. Rotterdam: Ed. Nai Publishers, pp. 298.
Figure 5. Image in: MNAM-CCI, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Jean-Claude
Planchet. Habitat musulman, Types: Cellules. París: Centre Pompidou, 1953,
https:// www.photo.rmn.fr.
Figure 6. Image in: García Dorce, C. 2017. Un tiempo dilatado. Carrières-
Centrales (Casablanca). Antecedentes, concepto y evolución. Valencia: ETSAV
(UPV), vol. B, 55.
Figure 7. Author´s drawing, 2018.
Figure 8. Author´s drawing, 2018.
Figure 9. Author´s drawing, 2018.
Figure 10. In: Risselada, M. & Van den Heuvel, D. 2005. Team 10, 1953-81, in
search of a Utopia of the present. Rotterdam: Ed. Nai Publishers, pp. 29.
Figure 11. Author´s drawing, 2018.
Figure 12. Author´s drawing, 2018.
Figure 13. ‘Semiramis’ East façade. Candilis & Woods, 1954.
Figure 14. Author´s drawing, 2018.
Figure 15. Free space. Author´s drawing, 2018.
Figure 16. ‘Inside Semiramis building’ Comparation between photos of 1951
(left) and 2018 (right. Photo by the author). Left image in: Avermaete, T. &
Casciato, M. 2014. Casablanca Chandigarh. Bilans d’Une Modernisation.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 291.
Figure 17. Drawing by: García Dorce, C. 2017. Un tiempo dilatado. Carrières-
Centrales (Casablanca). Antecedentes, concepto y evolución. Valencia: ETSAV
(UPV), vol. B, 90.
Figure 18. Drawing by: García Dorce, C. 2017. Un tiempo dilatado. Carrières-
Centrales (Casablanca). Antecedentes, concepto y evolución. Valencia: ETSAV
(UPV), vol. B,101.
Figure 19. Author’s drawing, 2018.
Figure 20. Author´s drawing, 2018.
Figure 21. Author´s drawing, 2018.
Figure 22. Growing-House. Example of block elevation in the 8x8 original patio-
house. 1991. Image in: Cohen, J. & Eleb, M. 2004. Casablanca. Mythes et
figures d’une aventure urbaine. Nanterre: Ed. Haza, pp. 346.
Figure 23. Image in: Candilis, G. 1954. ”L’esprit du plan de masse de l´habitat”,
'l'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui', no. 57, December, cover page. Author´s
photomontage, 2018.

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