Elie Azagury was an influential Moroccan architect and director of the after Moroccan independence in 1956.
20 Facts About Elie Azagury
2.
Elie Azagury is considered the first Moroccan modernist architect, with works in cities such as Casablanca, Tangier, and Agadir.
3.
Elie Azagury was born in Casablanca in 1918 to a Jewish family from the north of Morocco.
4.
Elie Azagury's father, Judah-Haim Azagury, was a businessman, the manager of a mercantile house in Casablanca.
5.
The surname Elie Azagury is probably related to Zagora, the historical capital of the Draa Valley region.
6.
Elie Azagury grew up with his close friend and eventual colleague Jean-Francois Zevaco.
7.
Elie Azagury worked briefly as an apprentice for Marius Boyer, a major figure in the architecture of Casablanca in the period from the 1920s through the 1940s.
8.
Elie Azagury left Casablanca for Paris in 1937, as there was no architecture school in Morocco.
9.
Elie Azagury worked as an apprentice at the Atelier of Herault, Boutrin in Paris for two years while studying for the entrance exams of the Ecole des Beaux Arts, which he finally passed on his 4th attempt in 1939, placing 17th out of 1,000.
10.
On his way, an architect in Pau offered him food, a place to stay, and a job, which Elie Azagury held for a month and a half.
11.
Elie Azagury then took a job in Megeve, where he worked for an architect named Michel Aime for two years during World War II.
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Elie Azagury took what possessions he could carry and returned to Paris on foot, taking backroads so as to avoid checkpoints.
13.
Elie Azagury finished his degree at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris in the Studio of Auguste Perret in 1944, at the time of the Liberation of Paris.
14.
On his way back to Morocco, Elie Azagury returned to Paris to assist Paul Nelson with the opening of his office, and stayed in Paris for 2 years.
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Elie Azagury then continued his journey south and met with Le Corbusier for a day in Marseille, where they toured the construction site of Maison du Fada.
16.
Elie Azagury was inspired by Le Corbusier's thinking on "vertical living" and use of concrete, and since always employed the golden ratio in his architectural designs.
17.
Elie Azagury won a competition to design the science building for Lycee Lyautey on Blvd.
18.
Elie Azagury feared throughout the following decade that independence would come with a return to vernacular architecture instead of modernism, but was relieved that this wasn't the case.
19.
Elie Azagury often worked with his close friend Jean-Francois Zevaco, including in the reconstruction of Agadir after the earthquake that destroyed it in 1960.
20.
Elie Azagury led the Cabo Negro Mediterranean resort project from 1970 to 1980.