On February 29, 1960, the Moroccan city of Agadir was struck by one of the most devastating earthquakes in North African history. Within seconds, thousands of lives were lost, and the city was left in ruins. Rather than attempt to recreate what was lost, Morocco made a bold decision: to rebuild Agadir entirely, as a modern city, symbolising the country’s resilience and its ambitions in the wake of independence.
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The reconstruction wasn’t just a technical challenge; it was a cultural and political one, bringing together local and international architects to reimagine urban life from the ground up. Among the most influential figures in this endeavour were Patrice de Mazières and Abdeslem Faraoui, whose partnership helped shape the city’s new identity.
Architects of Renewal
Patrice de Mazières
Born in Rabat in 1930, Patrice de Mazières came from a family of architects; his grandfather, Adrien Laforgue, had shaped much of colonial Rabat. He studied at the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris, graduating in 1956, and returned to Morocco shortly after the Agadir earthquake.
In 1962, he partnered with Faraoui and established a practice that would leave a profound impact on Morocco’s architectural landscape. Over the next five decades, de Mazières was involved in over 360 major projects, including schools, hospitals, hotels, public buildings, and urban master plans. He is widely recognised for his modernist approach, often using brutalist concrete forms softened by climate-responsive design and local materials.
De Mazières also championed collaborations with Moroccan artists such as Farid Belkahia, Mohamed Melehi, and Mohamed Chabâa, incorporating their work directly into architectural spaces, as seen in projects like Hôtel Les Almoravides.
Before he died in 2020, he donated a vast collection of architectural archives to Morocco’s national institutions, ensuring that future generations could learn from the innovative period he helped lead.
Abdeslem Faraoui
A graduate of the same architectural school in Paris in 1956, Abdeslem Faraoui was among the first Moroccan architects to take on large-scale public commissions after independence. He returned to Morocco determined to integrate international modernist ideas with the country’s unique cultural and environmental context.
Faraoui began his career with the Ministry of Construction before co-founding the Faraoui & de Mazières office in Rabat and later Casablanca. He was a founding member of GAMMA (Group of Modern Moroccan Architects), a collective that advocated for vernacular modernism, blending modern techniques with traditional Moroccan elements.
His architectural style often fused brutalist structures with patios, decorative screens (moucharabieh), earth-colored materials, and regional design principles. In Agadir, Faraoui helped reimagine residential and public spaces that responded not just to urban needs but to the local climate, culture, and identity.
Rebuilding Agadir: A Vision Rooted in Context
De Mazières and Faraoui played central roles in designing many of the key buildings in the new Agadir, including:
- Immeuble D
- Residential blocks O1 and O2
- The municipal market
- The fire station and post office
- The commemorative earthquake wall
Their designs introduced key modernist principles, raised ground floors (pilotis), ribbon windows, flat roofs, and independent facades, but always adapted to Moroccan conditions. Faraoui’s influence ensured that these principles were applied with cultural and environmental sensitivity.
Together, they created a city that was structurally safe, socially functional, and architecturally expressive, a far cry from the colonial grid of the past. Agadir became a new model of post-disaster planning, attracting attention from urbanists and architects worldwide.
Beyond Agadir
The partnership between de Mazières and Faraoui continued long after Agadir’s initial reconstruction. They designed a wide range of public buildings across Morocco, including:
- The Casablanca Postal Sorting Centre (1979), an iconic brutalist structure adorned with ceramics.
- Hotels in the south of Morocco (like Gorges du Dadès and Les Roses du Dadès), where they experimented with bioclimatic architecture suited to desert and mountain environments
- Government buildings, markets, and health facilities across Rabat and Casablanca
Architecture should emerge from its place, not just be imposed on it.
Legacy and Influence
The work of de Mazières and Faraoui stands as a major chapter in the story of Moroccan modernism. Their thoughtful integration of modern architecture with local culture, materials, and climate challenges helped define an era of post-independence confidence and creativity.
Agadir, once devastated, is now a living museum of that vision. Its clean lines, open spaces, and artistic details tell the story of a city rebuilt with care, and of two architects who understood that rebuilding meant more than construction; it meant imagination, identity, and belonging.
If you’re inspired to explore further, consider:
- Visiting Agadir, where many of these buildings still stand.
- Learning more about the GAMMA movement and Morocco’s architectural evolution post-1956
Buildings plans: Faraoui De Mazieres ARCHIVE — MAMMA.
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