The Wilaya Building ( Hall of the Wilaya (Province) of Grand Casablanca, locally known as or just ) is the building that houses the administration of

Grand Casablanca Grand Casablanca or Greater Casablanca (Arabic: الدار البيضاء الكبرى; Amazigh: ''Tamnaḍt Tameqqṛant n Anfa'') was one of the sixteen former regions of Morocco that existed from 1997 to 2015. Located in coastal northwestern Mo ...

. It was designed by

Marius Boyer Marius Germinal Boyer (22 September 1885, Marseille24 December 1947, Casablanca) was a French architect active in Casablanca, Morocco. Biography Marius Boyer was admitted to the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1904. He ...

and built from 1928-1937 during the

French Protectorate in Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

. The building is located at Muhammad V Square in central

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, and it remains an emblematic building of the city's architecture.

History

At the request of

Hubert Lyautey Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey (17 November 1854 – 27 July 1934) was a French Army general and colonial administrator. After serving in Indochina and Madagascar, he became the first French Resident-General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925. Early in ...

, plans for an ''Hôtel de Ville'' were first drafted by

Henri Prost Henri Prost (February 25, 1874 – July 16, 1959) was a French architect and urban planner. He was noted in particularly for his work in Morocco and Turkey, where he created a number of comprehensive city plans for Casablanca, Fes, Marrakesh ...

in 1914, early on in the

, and then further developed in 1920. It was

, however, who ultimately won the administrative building's design competition in 1927. Construction started in 1928 and finished in 1937.

Architecture

The facade of the building is composed of a series of austere stone columns that surround the entrance. Above these, there is a long balcony with 3 large arched openings. It includes traditional features of Moroccan Makhzen architecture: stone,

whitewash Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used ...

ed lime plaster,

zellige ''Zellij'' ( ar, الزليج, translit=zillīj; also spelled zillij or zellige) is a style of mosaic tilework made from individually hand-chiseled tile pieces. The pieces were typically of different colours and fitted together to form various pa ...

tile work, and green

roof tiles Roof tiles are designed mainly to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as terracotta or slate. Modern materials such as concrete, metal and plastic are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof g ...

. The building has three Mauro-Andalusi riad-style ''ṣuḥoon'', or internal courtyards with fountains and plants, enveloped by ''riwaq'' (arcades) on the first and second floors. There is Venetian inspiration in the clock tower that rises high above the building, as well as in the exposed galleries on the exterior of the building, reminiscent of the

Doge's Palace The Doge's Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale; vec, Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme auth ...

.{{Cite book, last=Blondeau, Mathilde, title=Casablanca courts-circuits, publisher=, others=Joundy Ouazzani, Kenza, year=2016, isbn=978-9954-37-750-5, location=Casablanca, pages=101, oclc=1135744090 Following directives from the ''résidence général'', or colonial administration, Boyer blended styles, with some elements of French

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

, particularly visible in the clock tower and the grand staircase, and elements of traditional Mauro-Andalusi architecture: courtyards, columns, arches, and tiles. Traditional materials such as tiles were reinterpreted with Art Deco sensibilities. The grand staircase was decorated with two panels painted by

Jacques Majorelle Jacques Majorelle (7 March 1886 – 14 October 1962), son of the celebrated Art Nouveau furniture designer Louis Majorelle, was a French painter. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy in 1901 and later at the Académie Julian in Paris ...

, though they have since been relocated. File:مقر الولاية.jpg, Marble and copper used in the grand staircase. File:مقر الولاية الدار البيضاء 4.jpg, The internal courtyards as seen from the entrance hall. File:مقر الولاية 5.jpg, Traditional zellige reinterpreted. File:مقر الولاية 6.jpg, Zellige-covered columns in the arcade surrounding the ''ṣuḥoon''.

Access

The Wilaya Building is accessible from the Muhammad V Square Station on Line 1 of the

Casablanca Tramway , color = , logo = Logo-casatramway.png , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image = Casablance tram Citadis placedesnatio ...

References

Buildings and structures in Casablanca Art Deco architecture Moorish Revival architecture