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Morocco Mall is a shopping and entertainment destination, designed by Davide Padoa of Design International for owner Al Amine d'Investissement. The mall is located at the outer end of the Casablanca beachfront promenade between a stretch of entertainment facilities on the city side and new residential developments on the other.
A key element of the planning strategy was to design the mall as an integral part of the regenerated Casablanca Beach Promenade. Strong emphasis was put on the external landscape, with the aim of creating a focal point for the area, thereby connecting the two sides of the promenade and bringing life to it. The landscape was designed as a park that is publicly accessible, containing a number of attractions and recreational facilities, which also draw visitors into the mall.
Taking inspiration from the mall's surroundings, in particular the beach and the sea, the architecture of the development is organic and dynamic overall, which is balanced in the detail design by incorporating traditional Moroccan concepts and themes. At the core of the shopping mall is the main court, with an event area and a huge aquarium holding over 1 million litres of seawater. It stretches across all 3 levels of the mall and has a panoramic lift inside that connects to the foodcourt on the top floor.
On the ground floor, the court extends to the two entrances on either side of the development, thereby creating connectivity between the residential developments and the beachfront. This emphasis on permeability and openness makes the project not only the commercial, but also the communal heart of this new part of the city.
The architecture reflects this transparent character, with its large skylights and open spaces, creating an 'exterior' atmosphere inside. On one side of the project is the Luxury Mall with double height shopfronts, on the other the Galeries Lafayette store, designed as a building within a building, which earned Morocco Mall a Guinness World Record in 2011 for having the 'largest in-store facade in the world'. Outside, the musical fountain, the 3rd largest in the world, completes Morocco Mall as a landmark building and a new tourist attraction of the city.