Hassan II Mosque Casablanca, Morocco

Casablanca's Atlantic seafront landmark, reduced to something that fits on a shelf. The model follows the building's distinctive massing: the enormous square minaret rising over a long, low prayer hall, tiered roofs stepping down towards the water, and rank after rank of horseshoe arches along the flanks. The carved geometric panelling that covers the real stonework is worked into the surfaces as relief, so the facades read as patterned rather than blank. Completed in the early 1990s and built out over the shoreline itself, the mosque is among the largest in the world and one of the most photographed buildings in North Africa. That makes it a natural subject for architectural modelmakers, and a far better souvenir of Morocco than a fridge magnet. Supplied as a multi-part set, it suits collectors assembling a shelf of world landmarks as much as diorama builders after a centrepiece with real character.