Résumés
Cet article retrace l’histoire de la construction de l’École Mohammadia d’ingénieurs (EMI), ouverte en 1959 à Rabat peu après l’indépendance. Première grande école d’ingénieurs du pays, l’EMI a été le creuset de la nouvelle élite technique marocaine. Le projet est confié à l’architecte Claude Verdugo, qui a conçu son noyau initial et ses extensions ultérieures au cours des années 1960 et 1980. Cependant, cette histoire se déroule également à la croisée de plusieurs programmes d’aide étrangère : le soutien du Fonds spécial des Nations Unies, sous l’égide de l’UNESCO, qui a permis l’envoi d’équipements et d’experts, et la coopération bilatérale, principalement française et belge, chargée du recrutement du corps enseignant.
S’appuyant sur des archives diplomatiques, des rapports de l’UNESCO et des études de plans architecturaux, cette recherche vise à dépasser une perspective historique centrée uniquement sur la figure et le rôle des architectes étrangers (en l’occurrence Claude Verdugo) dans la construction de grands bâtiments après l’indépendance du Maroc. L’histoire de l’EMI, à la fois dépendante de modèles techniques et académiques extérieurs, tout en étant revendiquée comme symbole de la souveraineté postcoloniale en devenir, révèle les relations qui unissent l’histoire architecturale d’après l’indépendance, la « marocanisation » de l’expertise technique, et les négociations entre acteurs marocains et étrangers dans le cadre de la politique d’aide au développement.
Notes
Abdelkader Baina, Le système de l’enseignement au Maroc. 2. L’encadrement humain et matériel, Casablanca: Éditions maghrébines, 1981.
Damiano Matasci, Internationaliser l’éducation: la France, l’UNESCO et la fin des empires coloniaux en Afrique (1945-1961), Lille: Presses universitaires du Septentrion, 2023 (Histoire et civilisations). DOI :
https://doi.org/10.4000/books.septentrion.142373
.
Antonio Bravo Nieto, Claudio Verdugo (1928-2017). Un arquitecto de origen español en Marruecos, Melilla: UNED, 2018.
Ibid.
More specifically, this research draws upon the archives (1957-1979) of the Missions de coopération et d’action culturelle (MCAC) at the Centre des archives diplomatiques de Nantes (CADN), as well as the archives of Moroccan-Tunisian Affairs (1956-1968) at the Centre des archives diplomatiques du ministère des Affaires étrangères in Paris-La Courneuve. Regarding UNESCO’s involvement in the implementation of EMI, I relied on the organization database. URL:
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/
. Accessed 10 July 2025. For the architectural dimension, I consulted Claude Verdugo archives, preserved in Melilla (Spain), as well as the collections of the ENA Rabat photo library. It is worth mentioning that access to the local archives of EMI was denied due to the school’s paramilitary status.
Antonio Bravo Nieto, Claudio Verdugo (1928-2017), op. cit. (note 3).
Hannah le Roux et Viviana d’Auria, “Appropriating Aid and Its Multiple Histories,” ABE Journal, no. 22, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/abe.15369.
Abdelkhalek Berramdane, Le Maroc et l’Occident, Paris: Karthala, 1987.
Frederike Lausch and Andreas Kalpakci (eds.), Exploring UNESCO and UIA: Histories of Architecture and Bureaucracy in Development Contexts, Proceedings of the International Workshop (Zurich, gta Institute, ETH Zurich, 21-22 November 2024), Zurich: ETH Zurich, 2024.
Islamic fiqh is the science of Islamic jurisprudence that governs the understanding and application of legal rules derived from the Qur’an and the Sunna. It regulates the religious, social, and legal acts of Muslims through interpretations developed by various schools of Islamic law.
A close associate of Hubert Lyautey (Resident General in Morocco from 1912 to 1925), Georges Hardy became Director of Public Instruction, Fine Arts, and Antiquities in Morocco, a position he held from 1919 to 1925.
Spencer D. Segalla, “Georges Hardy and Educational Ethnology in French Morocco, 1920-26,” French Colonial History, vol. 4, 2003, p. 171-190.
Damiano Matasci, Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo and Hugo Gonçalves Dores, “Historical Trajectories of Education and Development in (Post)Colonial Africa,” in Idem (eds.), Education and Development in Colonial and Postcolonial Africa, Cham: Springer, 2020, p. 1-28 (Global Histories of Education).
Éric Gobe, “Introduction,” in L’ingénieur moderne au Maghreb (XIXe-XXe siècles), Tunis: Institut de recherche sur le Maghreb contemporain, 2004 (Connaissance du Maghreb), p. 13-36.
Abderrahim Bouabid (1922-1992) was a Moroccan lawyer and politician. In 1944, he became one of the youngest signatories of the Independence Manifesto. After Morocco’s independence in 1956, Bouabid held several government positions, notably as Minister of National Economy and Finance.
Ahmed Benkirane, born on July 12, 1927, in Marrakesh. After studying at the École supérieure de commerce de Paris, he became actively involved in the struggle for Morocco’s independence. Following independence, he served as Chief of Staff and Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Tourism, and Merchant Marine. His diverse career included roles in diplomacy, business, and journalism, significantly contributing to the construction of modern Morocco.
Pierre Vermeren, La Formation des élites marocaines et tunisiennes, Tunis: Institut de recherche sur le Maghreb contemporain, 2022. DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/books.irmc.2682.
Grazia Scarfò Ghellab, “La voie de l’ingénierie: de la hiérarchisation à la segmentation,” in Être ingénieur au Maroc: diplômes et pouvoir, Paris: Karthala, 2023, p. 121. URL: https://shs.cairn.info/etre-ingenieur-au-maroc–9782384090716-page-83. Accessed 18 July 2025.
André Boulloche (1915-1978) was a high-ranking French civil servant and politician. In the context of decolonization, he was seconded to Morocco in the early 1950s as Director of Technical Cooperation within the Moroccan Ministry of Public Works, which was still under French control at the time. In this strategic position, he contributed to the structuring of Morocco’s technical services and worked closely with young Moroccan engineers, notably Mohamed Douiri, to support the professional development of a local administration transitioning toward independence.
Grazia Scarfò Ghellab, “La voie de l’ingénierie: de la hiérarchisation à la segmentation,” op. cit. (note 18).
Ibid.
École Mohammadia d’ingénieurs, Rabat, Maroc. Rapport provisoire, UNESCO, WS/1265.64/BMS, December 1965. URL: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000185659. Accessed 18 July 2025.
École Mohammadia d’ingénieurs, Rabat, Maroc. Rapport (pour la période 1961-1965), UNESCO/PNUD, BMS.67/II.1F, FR/PNUD/SF/MOR.1, 1967. URL: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000132626. Accessed 18 July 2025.
In the spring of 1963, at the initiative of the King Hassan II, the so-called “Camp-des-Chênes” colloquium was held in the Maamora Forest near Rabat. This colloquium on education was chaired by the King and supported by the Minister of Education, Youssef Ben Abbès.
Mekki El Merrouni, Le problème de la réforme dans le système éducatif marocain, Rabat: Éditions Okad, 1993.
Since then, other institutions have been established: the National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics (INSEA) in 1961, the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine (IAV) in 1966, the National School of Forestry Engineering (ENFI) in 1968, the National Institute of Posts and Telecommunications (INPT) in 1969, the Hassania School of Public Works (EHTP) in 1971, among others.
Hassan Aourid (born 1962) is a Moroccan writer and historian. He served as the first spokesperson of the Royal Palace from 1999 to 2005 before being appointed Official Historian of the Kingdom in 2005, a position he held until 2009.
Hassan Aourid, Pouvoir et religion au Maroc, Casablanca: La Croisée des chemins, 2021, p. 34.
Abdallah Ibrahim (1918-2005) was a Moroccan politician, intellectual, and activist. A co-founder of the leftist political party National Union of Popular Forces (UNFP), he played a key role in the struggle for Morocco’s independence. Abdallah Ibrahim served as Prime Minister of Morocco from 1958 to 1960.
Zakya Daoud, Abdallah Ibrahim: l’histoire des rendez-vous manqués, Casablanca: La Croisée des chemins, 2018.
Frederike Lausch and Andreas Kalpakci (eds.), Exploring UNESCO and UIA, op. cit. (note 9).
Adom Getachew, Worldmaking after Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2019.
École Mohammadia d’ingénieurs, Rabat, Maroc. Rapport provisoire, op. cit. (note 22).
Johan Lagae and Kim De Raedt, “Campus universitaires en Afrique (subsaharienne): vers une historiographie critique d’un patrimoine architectural méconnu,” in Catherine Compain-Gajac (ed.), Les Campus universitaires, Perpignan: Presses universitaires de Perpignan, 2014, p. 381-404. DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/books.pupvd.7486.
Christian Hottin, “Les Délices du campus ou le douloureux exil : trois Grandes Écoles parisiennes face à leur transfert (1950-1980),” Histoire de l’éducation, no. 102, 2004, p. 267-293. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/histoire-education.721.
Mohamed El Fassi (1908-1991) was a Moroccan statesman. After studying at the University of Al Quaraouiyine, he earned a degree in literature from the Sorbonne and a diploma from the School of Oriental Languages (now INALCO) in Paris. He served as the first Minister of Education and Fine Arts of independent Morocco, from 1955 to 1958.
Kim De Raedt, Policies, People, Projects. School Building as Development Aid in Postcolonial Sub-Saharan Africa, PhD thesis, Ghent University, 2017.
Pierre Bussat (1921-1996) was a Swiss architect and a pioneer in modular construction. He authored La coordination modulaire, the first publication of the CRB (Centre for Building Rationalization), which promoted standardized building design. He played a key role within the CICS (International Center for School Construction), where he contributed to the development of the CROCS system—a flexible, modular school construction method successfully used across all Swiss cantons. Later, he served as an expert for UNESCO to promote contextual architecture in developing countries and was a laureate of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, for a training center in Senegal.
He underscored this necessity in an article published in 1955 in L’Architecture d’aujourd’hui, stating: “In North African countries, where profound social transformations are underway, the construction of academic establishments is a necessity that must be addressed without delay.” Jacques Marozeau, “Maroc. Constructions scolaires,” L’Architecture d’aujourd’hui, no. 60, 1955, p. 60-73.
Antonio Bravo Nieto, Claudio Verdugo (1928-2017). op. cit. (note 3).
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
In October 1964, the administration admitted 75 candidates into the first year but was forced to reject 47 mathematics baccalaureate holders due to the lack of dormitory space.
École Mohammadia d’ingénieurs, Rabat, Maroc: rapport (pour la période 1961-1965), op. cit. (note 23).
The Spanish Salyt patent, which proved to be extremely fast and economical in practice, required only 3 kilograms of steel per square meter of vaulted surfaces.
Verdugo harnessed the structural capabilities of load-bearing reinforced concrete surfaces, adopting a roofing system made of thin, pleated, pyramid-shaped reinforced concrete shells functioning as beams.
Antonio Bravo Nieto, Claudio Verdugo (1928-2017). op. cit. (note 3).
Letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the French Ambassador in Rabat regarding the draft UNESCO program, 13 March 1962. Nantes (France), Centre des archives diplomatiques, MCAC (1957-1979), 560 PO/1/174.
Samir Saul, “Le Maroc: indépendance sans interdépendance,” in Intérêts économiques français et décolonisation de l’Afrique du Nord (1945-1962), Geneva: Librairie Droz, 2016, p. 675-694.
Abdelkhalek Berramdane, Le Maroc et l’Occident, op. cit. (note 7).
Le Maroc en marche: discours de Sa Majesté Hassan II depuis son avènement au trône, (Maroc). Ministère de l’information, 1966.
Mounia Bennani-Chraïbi, “Les luttes politiques de l’indépendance: des échanges de coups dans un espace de jeu non délimité (1956-1975),” in Partis politiques et protestations au Maroc (1934-2020), Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2021 (Res Publica), p. 81-115.
Memorandum from the International Technical Cooperation Service concerning the aid requested by Moroccan authorities for the creation of the engineering school in Rabat, La Courneuve (France), Centre des archives diplomatiques du ministère des Affaires étrangères, Maroc-Tunisie (1956-1968), 24QO/1258.
Ibid.
École d’ingénieurs d’exécution, Maroc. Plan d’opération signé le 8 octobre 1960, UNESCO, PNUD/FS, 1960. URL: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000184505. Accessed 18 July 2025.
Ibid.
École Mohammadia d’ingénieurs, Rabat, Maroc. Rapport provisoire, op. cit. (note 22).
Jean-Pierre Clavel, Mise en place d’un centre d’information scientifique et technique à l’École Mohammadia d’ingénieurs (EMI), UNESCO, FMR/PGI/OPS/87/130, PP/1986-1987/VII.3.1/Rapport technique, 1987. URL: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000077447. Accessed 18 July 2025.
Upon request from the Moroccan government, Mr. Maxe and Mr. Vincent (Inspector General of Ponts et Chaussées) were appointed as experts to draft the first establishment report for EMI.
Arrival Telegram No. 3329/3330 regarding Mr. Bekkari’s mission to France (Rabat, 27 June 1959). La Courneuve (France), Centre des archives diplomatiques du ministère des Affaires étrangères, Maroc-Tunisie (1956-1968), 24QO/1258.
Ibid.
Note regarding the Rabat School of Engineering, Nantes (France), Centre des archives diplomatiques, MCAC (1957-1979), 560 PO/1/174.
Driss Amor (chemical engineer, Minister of Industry), Mohamed Berrada (telecommunications engineer, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications), Mohamed Douiri (graduate of École polytechnique, mining engineer, Minister of Public Works), and Abraham Serfaty (mining engineer, Director of Mines and Geology).
Pierre Vermeren, La formation des élites marocaines et tunisiennes, op. cit. (note 17).
Letter from Mr. Roger Seydoux, French Ambassador to Morocco, to the Minister of Foreign Affairs concerning the UNESCO program and the Rabat School of Engineering. Nantes (France), Centre des archives diplomatiques, MCAC (1957-1979), 560 PO/1/174.
Ibid.
List of professors assigned to the École Mohammadia d’ingénieurs. Nantes (France), Centre des archives diplomatiques, MCAC (1957-1979), 560 PO/1/174.
Translation of the speech delivered by His Majesty the King during the award ceremony at the École Mohammadia d’ingénieurs on 29 June 1965. Nantes (France), Centre des archives diplomatiques, MCAC (1957-1979), 560 PO/1/174.
Ijlal Muzaffar, Modernism’s Magic Hat: Architecture and the Illusion of Development without Capital, Texas, TX: University of Texas Press, 2024.
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