[2][3] Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau under the guidance of King Hassan II and built by Moroccan artisans from all over the kingdom.

The ten-lane boulevard with shopping avenues is at the southern facade of the mosque and extends to the gates of the Palace Oued el Makhazine in the middle of the city.

This siting was accomplished by creating a platform linking a natural rock outcrop reclaimed from the sea,[7][8] where the Orthlieb Pool had previously been located.

Two large breakwaters were also built, to protect the mosque from the erosive action of the ocean waves, which can be up to 10 metres (33 ft) in height.

[9] A temporary pier 800 metres (2,600 ft) in length had to be erected to protect the foundations of the pillars from the sea during the construction period.

Therefore, the faithful who go there to pray, to praise the creator on firm soil, can contemplate God's sky and ocean.The building was commissioned by King Hassan II to be the most ambitious structure ever built in Morocco.

[9] It was designed by the French architect Michel Pinseau who had lived in Morocco, and was constructed by the civil engineering group Bouygues.

The formal inauguration was subsequently chosen to be the 11th Rabi' al-Awwal of the year 1414 of the Hijra, corresponding to 30 August 1993, which also marked the eve of the anniversary of Prophet Muhammad’s birth.

[9] Construction costs, estimated to be about 585 million euro, were an issue of debate in Morocco, a lower mid-income country.

[4] In the words of the authors of the book Morocco Country Study Guide, the Hassan II Mosque "undeniably marks the continuity of a modernized ancestral art and bears the sign of innovations that are due not only to technical reasons but also to a fertile exploration of new aesthetic possibilities.

[11] Six thousand traditional Moroccan artisans worked for five years to create the abundant and beautiful mosaics, stone and marble floors and columns, sculpted plaster moldings, and carved and painted wood ceilings.

Notable architectural features include the conspicuous columns, the horseshoe arches, and the innumerable muqarnas embellishing the ceilings.

[19]The building blends Islamic architecture and Moroccan elements, and reflects Moorish influences, while featuring an urban design.

The qibla wall is perpendicular to the naves which is said to be an unconventional layout, given that it is customary for the rows of worshipers facing Mecca to be as wide as possible rather than extend farther back (Halod and Khan 1997, 61).

The woodcarvings, the zellij work and the stucco mouldings are of elaborate and highly impressive design; the wood used for carving is cedar from the middle Atlas Mountains, the marble is from Agadir and granite is brought from Tafraoute.

The central hall is undulating with a succession of numerous domes from which glass chandeliers, imported from Murano, are hung.

[18] The roof is retractable, illuminating the hall with daytime sunlight and allowing worshippers to pray under the stars on clear nights.

[26] The concrete used for the minaret was a special high-grade type, which could perform well under severe conditions of a combined action of strong wind and seismicity.

Cranes were also designed to suit the height of the minaret for concreting.The museum opened its doors to the public after the construction of the mosque.

[21] This was explained as being due to exposure to the salt water of the Atlantic Ocean, into which nearly half of the mosque's foundation projects.

[21] This involved use of moly-grade stainless steel combined with high-grade concrete to make the structure resistant to chloride attack, a process that evolved during 3 years of research.

In the third phase, the structural slabs and pillars on the exterior part of mosque exposed to the sea were demolished; 6,000 cubic metres (210,000 cu ft) of concrete was removed.

In the fourth phase, new exterior protection works were built using high-strength concrete with 2205 (conforming to UNS S 32205 EN 1.442 standards) stainless steel rods as reinforcements for effective erosion control.