OUALALOU+CHOI has won the international competition to design Casa Sud, a new major train station on Casablanca’s southern edge that is designed as both a transport hub and an urban catalyst. The announcement and project visuals were published following the firm’s winning entry, which frames the station as an infrastructural and civic space to reconnect neighborhoods divided by the existing rail corridor.
The site sits at a strategic urban junction between Casablanca’s historic center and expanding modern districts. The station’s role is as a bridge across the rail lines, a place intended to connect adjacent neighborhoods and stimulate mixed-use development around the new hub. This positioning aligns with recent national investment in Casablanca’s rail infrastructure, a wider program that includes multiple new-generation stations and network upgrades announced by Moroccan authorities.
Vaulted Design Unites Train Station and Public Space in Casablanca
Casa Sud is organized under a single, monumental vaulted roof that unifies all station functions within one continuous volume. The design uses a large, domed canopy to create an open, permeable interior where daylight, wayfinding, and passenger flows are coordinated under a clear formal motion. The proposal highlights transparency at the building edges and multiple access points to encourage permeability between the station and its surrounding public realm.
At ground level, the project extends public space through a substantial urban park and a broad link to tram and street networks. The park is presented as a direct response to Casablanca’s need for accessible green space; it also functions tactically, buffering the station from busy streets while providing civic amenity and programmed outdoor use. The design team positions this landscape as an integral part of the station’s program rather than an afterthought.
One of the proposal’s most visible moves is a 360-degree gazebo crowning the roof. This elevated viewing platform is intended to provide panoramic views of the metropolis and to establish the building as a destination in its own right, a civic landmark that reads on the skyline, as well as serving daily commuters. Internally, multiple levels of circulation, retail, and waiting areas are stacked beneath the canopy to create an active, mixed-use station concourse.
OUALALOU+CHOI’s winning entry is consistent with their portfolio, which includes large public projects in Morocco and abroad. The practice has experience with complex, infrastructure-scale briefs from stadiums to cultural centers, and the Casa Sud commission follows earlier high-profile work in the region. Casa Sud is the competition brief, and the winning design anticipates a mixed-use urban area around the station footprint.
The project also arrives during an active phase of Moroccan rail modernization that the government has highlighted as a priority for Casablanca’s urban mobility. Recent national initiatives include new lines, station upgrades, and metropolitan expansions intended to reduce road congestion and promote public transit use in a context that strengthens the strategic importance of Casa Sud within broader transport planning.
OUALALOU+CHOI’s Casa Sud positions itself as a contemporary urban station model, a large-scale transport facility deliberately created to reconnect and regenerate its context, combining a strong singular architectural design with a program that extends into public landscape and mixed-use urban development.
Image credit: OUALALOU+CHOI
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