Book Description:
Casablanca shows to those willing to look an extraordinary collection of places, buildings, streets and gardens. It is the very symbol of the vitality of Morocco and the melting pot of its modern destiny. A recent addition to the network of Moroccan cities, it offers, in opposition to the historical legitimacy of the country's imperial capitals, the dynamism of its economy and culture.
A population of four or six million people according to contradictory estimates live in a thousand and one distinct cities whose faces are all different. This book meets with the inhabitants of Casablanca, and looks at their homes and their neighborhoods. To discover their urban experiences, and the daily habits, the authors traveled throughout the city, observing individuals and crowds, and knocking on the doors of homes to best understand the precious relationships that unite these people so firmly with their city.
Each generation of homes in Casablanca, from the 18th century to the present, is represented in its streets by breathtaking examples. Architectural inventions are condensed in large apartment buildings that punctuate the city with their porticos and towers; in houses often hidden behind trees, whose interior splendor is only vaguely apparent; and in public buildings that bear witness to the political intentions of the successive authorities who attempted to control this turbulent, rebellious city. The objects in the collection of Casablanca's buildings represent an overview of the architectural trends of the 20th century, from the decorative festoons of the Art Nouveau period to the geometry of Art Deco.
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