The London-based RSHP – working with ALA Concept and EGIS – has won the international design competition for the $1.2bn new terminal at Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport, according to UK’s Architecture Journal.
RSHP (Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners), in collaboration with Moroccan firm ALA Concept and French engineering firm Egis, had been selected as the winning design team for the new H-shaped terminal in Casablanca which will help the airport to respond to growing air traffic volumes and will support the development plans of Royal Air Maroc.
The new terminal is expected to be operational by 2029, ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Featuring sweeping undulations of the roof, evoking the waves and movement of the Atlantic, the winning concept harnesses a modular system intended to facilitate rapid, component-based construction.
The terminal will feature three main levels and will be served by Morocco’s high-speed rail (LGV) network, linking Kenitra to Marrakech. Key elements will include retail zones, large ‘green oases’ and an airport hotel.
Ivan Harbour, senior design director at RSHP, said the team was “delighted and excited’ to be involved in the project, adding: ‘This will be a building of global importance, its design inspired by the Atlantic’s waves upon the land, embodying the spirit and culture of this famous coastal city.”
He also said that “the airport will be a celebration of light, warmth and human scale, undulating from grand central spaces to intimate and calming oases, a memorable experience for all travelling through it. It will be a state of the art, responsible, building that interprets and celebrates the landscape of its place to create a graceful threshold between Casablanca and the world beyond.”
A joint venture led by Morocco’s two largest contractors, SGTM and TGCC, was awarded the contract to deliver the Terminal in January this year.
RSHP was founded in 1977 and previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership which became Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in 2007.
