The Group of Moroccan Modern Architects () or GAMMA was a collective of
modernist architects working in
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
. It began under the direction of
Michel Écochard, director of urban planning in Morocco during the later years of the
French protectorate, and was led by
Elie Azagury after
Morocco's independence.
History
GAMMA initially included the architects
George Candillis,
Alexis Josic and
Shadrach Woods.
In the early 1950s, Écochard commissioned GAMMA to design housing that provided a "culturally specific living tissue" for laborers and migrants from the countryside.
, (Honeycomb), and
Carrières Centrales were some of the first examples of this style that came to be called
vernacular modernism.
Ecochard's 8x8 meter model, designed to address Casablanca's issues with overpopulation and
rural exodus
Rural flight (also known as rural-to-urban migration, rural depopulation, or rural exodus) is the Human migration, migratory pattern of people from rural areas into urban areas. It is urbanization seen from the rural perspective.
In Industriali ...
, was pioneering in the architecture of
collective housing.
It was the first time the French Protectorate built housing for the colonized rather than the colonizers, and it did so to suppress the
Moroccan Nationalist Movement
The Moroccan Nationalist Movement () was an Arab nationalist and Pan-Arabist political movement in Morocco that opposed the French protectorate. It was nominally led by the Moroccan sultan Mohammed bin Youssef. Most of its leaders were from th ...
, particularly after the 1952 protests following the assassination of the labor unionist
Farhat Hached
Farhat Hached (; 2 February 1914 – 5 December 1952) was a Tunisians, Tunisian labor unionist and activist who was assassinated by ''La Main Rouge'', a France, French terrorist organization operated by French foreign intelligence. He was one of ...
, which were centered in the
bidonville of
Carrières Centrales (now
Hay Mohammadi).
At this time,
Elie Azagury was the only "native" Moroccan architect in GAMMA.
He and
Candilis pushed Écochard for higher density development at
Carrières Centrales.
Azagury considered
verticalization "an economic and social necessity," and was critical of Écochard and his idea that Moroccans could live in high-rises, considering him "an active instrument of the French colonial power."
Azagury led GAMMA after Morocco's independence in 1956.
[{{Cite journal , last=Chaouni , first=Aziza , date=2014-07-03 , title=Interview with Elie Azagury , journal=Journal of Architectural Education , volume=68 , issue=2 , pages=210–216 , doi=10.1080/10464883.2014.943632 , issn=1046-4883 , s2cid=112234517] He feared throughout the following decade that independence would come with a return to
vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range a ...
instead of
modernism
Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
, but was relieved that this wasn't the case.
Other architects associated with GAMMA include
Jean-François Zevaco,
Abdeslam Faraoui,
Patrice de Mazières Patrice is a given name meaning '' noble'' or '' patrician'', related to the names Patrick and Patricia.
In English, Patrice is often a feminine first name. In French, it is used as a masculine first name.
Popularity
In the United States, the po ...
, and
Mourad Ben Embarek.
References
Modernist architecture
Culture of Morocco
French colonisation in Africa
Nationalism and the arts