Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Deco Villas
When Morocco came under colonial control, villes nouvelles (new towns) were built out-
side the walls of the medinas, with street grids and modern architecture imposing strict or-
der. Neoclassical facades, mansard roofs and high-rises must have come as quite a shock
when they were introduced by the French and Spanish.
But one style that seemed to bridge local Islamic geometry and streamlined European
modernism was art deco. Painter Jacques Major- elle brought a Moroccan colour sensibility
to deco in 1924, adding bursts of blue, green and acid yellow to his deco villa and Jardin
Majorelle.
Author Tahir Shah's relocation to Casablanca and restoration of a historic home inspired
The Caliph's House,
including this observation: 'There can be no country on earth better
suited to buying decorations than Morocco. Every corner of the kingdom has its own
unique styles, each one perfected through centuries of craftsmanship.'
In its 1930s heyday, Casablanca cleverly grafted Moroccan geometric detail onto white-
washed European edifices, adding a signature Casablanca Mauresque deco look to villas,
movie palaces and hotels, notably Marius Boyer's 1930 Cinéma Rialto and the 1922 Hôtel
Transatlantique. Tangier rivalled Casablanca for Mauresque deco decadence, with its 1940s
Cinematheque and 1930s El-Minzah Hotel - the architectural model for Rick's Cafe
Américain in the 1942 classic film
Casablanca
. Mauresque elements can be seen in cities
all over Morocco.
