Marockansk Arkitektur, traditionell och modern

This thesis is about traditional and modern architecture in Casablanca, Morocco. Morocco is located in north-western Africa and Casablanca is the country's largest city with a population of 3.3 million (2011). Morocco has a long history with many different rulers which have left its mark on the country's architecture. The old, traditional architecture of Casablanca is in the old medina, Medina Qdima, which was built in the late 18th and early 19th century. The medina and the traditional Arabic houses that it is composed of are very similar to those in other Arab countries, and the structure of the medina and the houses follow the Islamic laws on private and public areas. The public areas are commercial streets and squares and the private are residential blocks, all the streets in the medina are narrow and winding and the size of the streets varies with how private or public they are. The buildings in the Medina stand very dense and the residential areas are built around a street from where dead-end alleyways go out, along these alleyways are clusters of dwellings. The traditional Arabic houses are perhaps better known as houses with courtyards, but they are also called dar. The courtyard is very important and all the rooms are surrounding the courtyard, all openings in the house is towards the courtyard and there is usually no windows facing the street, in order to keep it as private as possible and to minimize the risk of people looking in. Usually, the courtyard has a large opening in the roof that let in air and sunlight, and the opening modifies the indoor climate in the rooms. Between 1912 and 1956 Morocco was a French protectorate, which has affected the modern architecture to a large extent. A new city was built around the old medina during the French rule, called Ville Nouvelle, which resulted in strong European influences in the modern areas and buildings. Much of the French culture persisted even after Morocco gained independence and the neighbourhoods and buildings built after the protectorate period, also have south European influences. In the modern areas there are wide avenues and high rise buildings, and the modern houses often have large windows or entire glass facades, many of the buildings have not only European design, but sometimes also some Moroccan details. The purpose of this thesis was to study the differences between traditional and modern architecture in Casablanca, Morocco. The study aims to find out how traditional and modern houses and the neighbourhoods are different, are they adapted to Casablanca's climate and can differences be distinguished between the residents’ comfort and wellbeing? To answer these questions, we did a literature study and a field study in Casablanca. The literature study treated Morocco, the country's history and climate, as well as the traditional Arabic house, the modern villa, modern and traditional neighbourhoods in Morocco but also in the rest of North Africa. In the field study modern areas and the old, traditional medina as well as traditional and modern homes was studied. During the field study observations were made of the neighbourhoods, interviews with residents in the old traditional houses and apartments and residents in modern homes, as well as studies of the houses/apartments. Much of the architecture involves climate considerations in buildings and urban environments, therefore, this has great importance in our report. We concluded that the main differences between modern and traditional buildings are the design of windows and openings. The traditional houses follow the Islamic laws on private and public areas and thus separate the houses from the street by having little or no windows facing the street, while the modern houses are much more European-influenced. Between the traditional medina and the modern neighbourhoods there are many significant differences, the planning of streets, width of the streets and height of the buildings. The traditional Arabic houses have been shaped according to Islamic law but over the years, they have also been climate adapted, however, they work best in a climate that is hot, dry and arid, which Casablanca’s climate is not all year round. In Casablanca, one can conclude that the modern houses, although their climate-adaption is not especially good, yet they are better than the traditional ones. Most of those interviewed thrived where they were regardless of the area they lived in, but the humidity was one of the most common complaints in the old houses. Some of the traditional houses in the medina that were visited had been converted, resulting in very poor indoor climate and no openings out. In the medina solar radiation into the streets are minimized because of how narrow and winding they are this also minimizes the ventilation, while in the modern areas the streets are wide and straight, maximizing both solar radiation and ventilation. The urban design in the medina is primarily suited for hot, dry climates. In the humid climate of Casablanca the moisture does not dry out because of the narrow streets and the poor ventilation