Marius Boyer, a French architect born in 1885, played a crucial part in the transformation of Casablanca into a modern metropolis. His singular gift made it possible to fuse Moroccan traditions harmoniously with Western aesthetics, and so to shape the city’s urban landscape. To him we owe the Immeuble Assayag, whose three Art Deco towers are among the most recognisable silhouettes of Casablanca.
From the École des Beaux-Arts to Casablanca
Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts
Marius Germinal Boyer was born in Marseille on 12 September 1885, the son of Antide Jean-Baptiste Boyer, a city councillor in Marseille, and of Pauline Jacqueline Blain. Admitted to the École nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1904 under registration number 5621, he distinguished himself there with a 3rd Medal in the history of architecture, and in 1910 became the first Grand Massier in the history of the École — the students’ elected head of the École. His diploma, awarded on 13 November 1929 in the 143rd graduating class, carried a title that announced his career: “L’habitation d’un colon aisé” (the dwelling of a well-to-do settler). His student file is today held at the Archives nationales (AJ/52/416); its documents can be consulted on AGORHA.
A clarification: several biographical notices give Aubagne as his birthplace. It was in fact his father’s — Antide Boyer (1850-1918), born in Aubagne and mayor of that town from 1888 to 1892. The student register of the École des Beaux-Arts and the INHA biographical notice place Marius’s birth in Marseille, where his father was then sitting on the city council.
The student file
The birth certificate kept in the file gives the time and the address: Marius Germinal Boyer was born on 12 September 1885 at half past twelve, at 9 rue Farjon in Marseille. His father, Antide Jean-Baptiste Boyer, aged thirty-five, was a city councillor; his mother, Pauline Jacqueline Blain, was thirty-two. One of the witnesses was Félix Cohen, deputy mayor of Marseille.
His information sheet bears number 5621 in the register. A pupil of Gabriel Héraud, Boyer sat the entrance examinations in 1904, entered the second class on 9 May 1904 and the first class on 5 May 1908.
The second-class grades sheet shows the rhythm of the École: a mention in each scientific subject — mathematics, descriptive geometry, stereotomy, perspective, construction — between 1905 and 1907, then “values” earned in architecture, project after project, until his move up to the first class. In 1925 the École would count 21 values in architecture to his name.
Mobilised in the Great War, a second lieutenant in the 363rd Infantry Regiment and then in the 3rd Engineers, he was mentioned in brigade orders in August 1916, then in the orders of the 51st Division in August 1917 for the works to cross the Yser canal. These documents, with his letters from the front, are reproduced in Marius Boyer, a Casablanca itinerary.
A fresh start in 1919
Settled in Casablanca from 1919, Boyer took an active part in the rise of the young metropolis. In partnership with Jean Balois from 1925 to 1929, he produced buildings that still give the city its structure — the Hôtel de ville, the villa El Mokri, the El Glaoui building.
Boyer’s architectural jewels
- The Hôtel Volubilis (1920) — rue Abdelkrim-Diouri, then rue de l’Aviateur-Védrines: one of his very first projects in Casablanca.
- The Hôtel Atlas (1922–1923) — boulevard Houphouët-Boigny.
- The Comptoir des Mines building (1923) — rue Guynemer.
- The building of La Vigie marocaine — boulevard de la Gare, now boulevard Mohammed V: the offices of the Casablanca daily, with neo-Moorish motifs.
- The Hôtel de ville of Casablanca (1927–1937) — a marriage of elegance and functionality on the place Mohammed V, then the place Administrative; today the seat of the wilaya.
- The El Glaoui building (1928, with Jean Balois) — boulevard Mohammed V, then boulevard de la Gare, commissioned by Thami El Glaoui, pasha of Marrakesh; its arcade roofed with glass blocks is the first of the city’s great shopping passages.
- The Lévy-Bendayan building (1928) — composed “à redans”, a white façade with clean verticals.
- The villa El Mokri — a masterpiece designed for the vizier El Mokri, a subtle dialogue between Moroccan tradition and modern touches.
- The Banque commerciale du Maroc (1930).
- The Immeuble Assayag (1930–1932) — three Art Deco towers, great verrières (the tall glazed screens that light and ventilate the stairwells) and terraces open to the city: a striking example of modern architecture and a testament to the creative daring of its author.
- The Shell building (1934).
- The Le Vox cinema (1935, demolished) — in its day the largest cinema in Africa, an avant-garde manifesto in pared-down lines.
- Les Studios (1935) — avenue Hassan II: Boyer was himself the owner, and with it brought the duplex flat to Casablanca.
- The Hôtel Anfa (1938, demolished) — where the Anfa Conference, better known as the Casablanca Conference, met in January 1943.
- The Cercle militaire, the officers’ club, with Albert Laprade.
Their story, in the order in which they were built, is told in “Marius Boyer, a Casablanca itinerary”.
“Between the lines of my plans and the curves of my buildings, I have sought to weave a harmonious dialogue between Moroccan tradition and Western modernity, embodying in this way the cultural bridge that Casablanca represents, a city of history and of the future.”
— Marius Boyer
The importance of innovation
For Boyer, every project was an opportunity to innovate. He brought in resolutely modern elements while respecting local cultural roots — a requirement that gives his Casablanca work its coherence and its singularity.
A legacy that inspires
Founder of the first Moroccan architecture atelier
In the 1920s Boyer founded the first Moroccan architecture atelier at the École des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca. A revolutionary initiative for its time, carried by a deep respect for local culture.
International recognition
In 1910 his project for a “Porte nautique et aéronautique” (a nautical and aeronautical gateway) won him the American Architects’ Recognition Prize — an early sign of a talent destined to reach beyond borders.
The final years
Marius Boyer died in Casablanca on 25 December 1947, in the city he had done so much to design. An officer of the Légion d'honneur and a commander of the Ouissam Alaouite, he had presided over the Council of the Order of Architects; Le Petit Marocain published an obituary. He left behind a rich and varied legacy, of which the Immeuble Assayag remains one of the most eloquent testimonies.
A lasting legacy
The fusion of modernity and tradition that characterises Boyer’s work continues to inspire generations of architects. His mark on Casablanca is indelible: his lines and his curves still accompany the everyday life of the city, and each of his buildings tells a chapter of that urban adventure.
To find out more: explore our gallery and dive into our themed articles on the modern architecture of Casablanca.