HIGH SPEED RAILWAY STATION IN CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
ABDR Architetti + Yassir Khalil Studio
The volume of the Casa Voyageurs station, suspended above the tracks, concedes centre stage to the pre-existing building of the old colonial station, by defining a lateral backdrop that dialogues with the historical façade and exalts its geometric structure. The new project is expressed through the volume of its roof. This element identifies the station and synthesises the heterogeneity of what lies below it. This raised element hovers above the longitudinal deck of the gallery suspended across the tracks to define two points of access at the opposite ends of the station: to the north the cantilever extends over the existing building to define an entry canopy; to the south it extends to cover a space before bending down to touch the ground at a single point. The roof is treated as a plastic element whose thickness and weight are expressed in its faceted surfaces. It appears to refer to the theme of the green tetrahedron of the historical roofs of Morocco.