Art Deco staircase in Casablanca, Hotel de Doge, Morocco, North Africa
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Art Deco staircase in Casablanca

Art Deco (/ˌɑːrt ˈdɛk/), or Deco, is an influential visual arts design style that first appeared in France just before World War I [1] and began flourishing internationally in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s before its popularity waned after World War II.[2] It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exposition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) held in Paris in 1925.[3] Art Deco is an eclectic style that combines traditional craft motifs with Machine Age imagery and materials. The style is often characterized by rich colours, bold geometric shapes and lavish ornamentation.

Art Deco emerged from the interwar period when rapid industrialisation was transforming culture. One of its major attributes is an embrace of technology. This distinguishes Deco from the organic motifs favoured by its predecessor Art Nouveau.

Historian Bevis Hillier defined Art Deco as “an assertively modern style [that] ran to symmetry rather than asymmetry, and to the rectilinear rather than the curvilinear; it responded to the demands of the machine and of new material [and] the requirements of mass production”.[2]

During its heyday, Art Deco represented luxury, glamour, exuberance and faith in social and technological progress.

 

Casablanca (in Arabicالدار البيضاءAddaar Albayḍaa; in BerberAnfa, ⴰⵏⴼⴰ; local informal name: Kaẓa) is the largest city of Morocco, located in the northwestern part of the country on the Atlantic Ocean. It is also the largest city in the Maghreb, as well as one of the largest and most important cities in Africa, both economically and demographically.

Casablanca is Morocco’s chief port and one of the largest financial centers on the African continent. The 2012 census, adjusted with recent numbers, recorded a population of about 4 million in the prefecture of Casablanca. Casablanca is considered the economic and business center of Morocco, while the national political capital is Rabat.

The leading Moroccan companies and international corporations doing business there have their headquarters and main industrial facilities in Casablanca. Recent industrial statistics show Casablanca retains its historical position as the main industrial zone of the country. The Port of Casablanca is one of the largest artificial ports in the world,[1] and the largest port of North Africa.[2] It is also the primary naval base for the Royal Moroccan Navy.