I always thought that architecture competitions were among the best ways to evolve our profession, we can express ideas more freely and also have the opportunity to confront our skills and creativity to solve problems with other participants, but the most important is a human adventure where teamwork is a major key to a successfull journey.
Casablanca Bombing Rooms is an international competition whose purpose was to design a learning place as a mean to evolve education and consciousness in our country, Morocco. The competition was also linked to the isssue of a series of suicide bombings that took place in 2003 in Casablanca, which resulted in the deaths of 45 people.
Libraries and cultural spaces have been a central focus on architecture and culture for centuries, historically they have been sites of great feats of architecture where both nobles and commoners could gather to gain knowledge and understanding.
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| A "urban reading area" at the ground level is used as a public space |
On the night of May 16th, 2003, Casablanca was hit by several terrorist bombings. Families torn apart forever, friends that we will never see again, balance: 45 dead !! 45 lives lost in a barbaric act. Yes barbaric, as terrorism has no other source than ignorance and obscurantism. Light, knowledge, sharing are the values we wanted to convey through our building. The 45 white cubes is above all a social project that promotes the values of sharing and sociability.
Through its symbolic 45 apellation, this building is a tribute to the deceased victims, not to mourn the dead, but to remember this incident and use these values to build generations who will fight terrorism. It is essential to instill in them knowledge and openness, the sole weapons that can annihilate terrorism.
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| The urban reading room is dominated by a central patio that brings the light and connects the spaces between them |
The project takes the entire site area in the shape of a huge white cube. A cube that has been hollowed out in the lower part where we carved stairs to access the building, and where 45 boxes of knowledge will mark this route. This space is not reduced to its sole function of access to the building; it is a public place where interactions, confrontations and social frictions take shape at different scales.
A patio has been carved out of the upper part of this space, like a wall of light, that not only illuminates the inside of the building but also allows the different parts to connect physically and visually.
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| The urban level is connected with cultural spaces through the ramp and the patio |
At urban level, the building is therefore completely open to the city, it invites, gives a sense of security. A dialogue between the building and its environment can then be created. On the other hand, socially, the space will favor contact, build relationships, and promote diversity and exchange.
The upper part of the cube will house the library. The cantilever soars over the site taking an ambulatory shape, in an urban stroll, which overlooks the city through a glass wall, punctuated with bookcase spaces.
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| The library marks the end of the ambulatory ramp and view the city through a glass wall |
The exhibition space on the ground floor is an invitation to be moved and recreate the city through displays of works of art. A return to origins and Moroccan core values is equally important, a reminder is made in that sense by a Mashrabiya that covers the building like a sheet.
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| Team / Right to Left : Elmoumni Lahbib - Benhamza Fatimzahra - Dahmani Imad |
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