Ecochard’s housing grid, the rebirth of modern architecture in Casablanca
Alaoui, Nezha
Centre d’Etudes Doctorales en Architecture, Ecole Nationale d’Architecture de Rabat, Morocco.
Abstract:
The establishment of modernist urban and architectural principles in Casablanca during the French protectorat constituted an event of international resonance. Foreign urban planners and architects elaborated several influential ideas. The popularity of the main concept valorised by the modern movement universality was declining. The Moroccan experience was a turning point of the recent history of architecture.
This paper aims to analyse the genesis of one of the most symbolic modernist tool used to implement mass-housing building in order to accommodate the numerous shantytown dwellers during the French colonial period. From the point of view of Michel Ecochard’s team, the eponymous 8*8 Grid was the crux of the Mediterranean architectural revolution. Echochard’s grid is still the underlayer structuring the Moroccan contemporary city. This article builds a cause-effect relationship between the relevance of the widespread grid and its diversion from its original purpose.
By discussing the validity of modernist principles developed in Casablanca, this article analyses the impact of colonial heritage on current urban and architectural practices in Morocco and internationally. Bringing out this idea to the new generation of architects in formerly colonized countries should encourage them to adopt a daring perspective to broaden their perception of contemporary architecture.
Keywords:Mass-housing Building; planning tool; colonial heritage, modern architecture, Muslim spatiality.