According to preliminary estimates, in the near future about 25 million passengers a year will use the services of Casa-Port station. To make these theoretical calculations a reality, a large-scale reorganization was started, which will soon affect the embankment and the entire port area of Morocco's largest city: more than 3 million people live there. And therefore, the basis for further development was immediately laid in the pilot project, in particular, the possibility of creating a high-speed railway for internal communication.
The station pavilion with an area of 2500 m2 includes a spacious waiting room with all the necessary services, an area of small shops and cafes below it, and a 2-level underground parking for 380 cars. The technical services are located in a small separate building located next door. The entire infrastructure is designed to withstand even daily peaks. A flexible, free organization of space will allow, if necessary, to easily integrate the pavilion into new conditions. For example, independent glass and metal retail structures (their total area is about 1000 m2) can be easily dismantled or replaced.
The rectangular space created by the architects represents a modern interpretation of the hypostyle hall: thin and tall metal columns on concrete bases support an openwork flat roof that also covers a small public area in front of the building. Their rectangular "capitals", of which only the aluminum "frame" remained, actively contrasts with the wooden interior trim of the canopy roof. The space of the hall flooded with light is as open as possible and at the same time rather compact, so that its structure can be easily seen from many points. This solution made it possible to significantly simplify navigation and the organization of passenger flows.
The transparent glass walls of the building protect from the harsh sun the carved patterned panels - mashrabiya, traditional for the Arab East. Only here they are made not of wood, but of modern fiber-reinforced concrete. They also act as a screen that hides the inner "kitchen". The general idea of updating traditional motives is supported by another important detail: the single paving in the square in front of the building and inside the main pavilion is made of local limestone, mined in the town of Ben Slimane, just 80 kilometers from Casablanca.
