Elie Azagury

Elie Azagury (; 1918-2009 ) was an influential Moroccan architect and director of the (GAMMA) after Moroccan independence in 1956. He is considered the first Moroccan modernist architect, with works in cities such as Casablanca, Tangier, and Agadir. These projects combined elements of modern and vernacular architecture, taking local culture and lifestyles into account.

Biography

He grew up with his close friend and eventual colleague Jean-François Zevaco. The following year, he escaped Paris as it was in the Nazi-occupied , heading south for Marseille alone on his bicycle.

On his way back to Morocco, Azagury returned to Paris to assist Paul Nelson with the opening of his office, and stayed in Paris for 2 years. There, he socialized with leftist intellectuals such as Jacques Prévert, Fernand Léger, Georges Braque, and Tristan Tzara. He and Georges Candilis pushed Michel Écochard, director of urban planning at the end of the French Protectorate, for higher density housing in the "Housing for the Greatest Number" project at Carrières Centrales, presented at the 1953 . including in the reconstruction of Agadir after the earthquake that destroyed it in 1960. Azagury arrived in Agadir on March 8, 1960–8 days after the earthquake—and was "traumatized" by the devastation.

Azagury led the Cabo Negro Mediterranean resort project from 1970 to 1980. This event included guided tours of the Ibrahim Roudani School and a lecture hosted at the Saudi Library.