Casablanca is situated on the Atlantic Coast of northern Morocco. The city is the country’s economic capital and has one of the largest man-made ports in the world. The confluence informs its culture of sub-Saharan African, Mediterranean, and European as well as its native Berber and Arabic influences with its rich heritage of craft, including wood carving, metal work, ceramic tiling, plaster art, and carpet weaving.
The site is a 6.9-acre parcel in the Cite de la Air neighborhood of Casa Anfa, surrounded primarily by mid-rise residential housing developments. A light rail tram line borders the northeast edge of the site, with two stations providing convenient access to the site. The new Consulate General campus will incorporate a 7,800 square-meter office building, entry pavilions, support facilities, and extensive gardens for staff, consular, and American Center visitors. This new Consulate General is the only location within the country to provide Moroccans with Non-Immigrant Visas and Americans Citizen Services to the growing number of Americans traveling for business and tourism.
The design of the new Consulate General campus and building draws on the traditions of the Moroccan urban form of a medina and its rich history of craft. The buildings are organized within the campus around outdoor gardens that embrace traditional ideas of Moorish and Islamic garden design.
Strategies to advance sustainability and resiliency are integrated throughout the project’s design. The design prioritized potable water use reduction by selecting native plants to reduce landscape irrigation.
