Mutations of a modern habitat. The district of Derb Jdid in Casablanca

The debate on the habitat in the period of the CIAM IX of 1953 proposes a paradigm shift in relation to the recent past: overcoming “critically” the universalising approach in the conception of mass housing to focus on the analysis of the relationships and hybridisation between European modernity and the local specificities in North African countries. This contribution proposes a study on the district of Derb Jdid in Casablanca, designed by the architect Elie Azagury. The continuous mutation of the habitat developed from local community settlements enriches Derb Jdid with a paradigmatic value in relation to the question concerning the transformation dynamics of residential areas in the contemporary city.