MARSEILLE

REFERENCES

Masterplanning / Reuse of Industrial Sites / Urban Acupuncture

Client - Euroméditerranée Urban Development Agency

Architect- Various. (Foster & Partners, Zaha Hadid, Stefano Boeri, Rudy Riciotti, Kengo Kuma.)

Program- 480 hectare with 1 million m2 of office space, 24,000 new homes and 200,000sqm of public facilities and 60 hectares of new or renovated parks. 40,000 new residents and 35,000 new jobs

Cost- €4 billion of public and private investment

Largest urban regeneration project in Europe
European Capital of Culture 2013

The largest urban renewal project in Europe is all about planning for a sustainable future. A future built on the completion of various urban schemes undertaken by Euroméditerranée today. A future where Marseille ranks among the most dynamic and influential cities in Europe. At the very heart of this world-class economy, Euroméditerranée will combine economic, social and cultural development to design a green called EcoCité,based upon the principles of protecting the environment and cultivating the Southern French lifestyle.

One of the greatest Mediterranean Ports is about to be transformed. Work has begun on the Old Port of Marseille as part of a series of regeneration projects to be completed in time for the city’s inauguration as European Capital of Culture in 2013.

Based on French landscape architect Michel Desvigne’s and London-based architects Foster + Partners’ competition-winning master plan, the project will reclaim the quaysides as a civic space, creating new informal venues for performances and events, while traffic is relocating traffic to a safe, semi-pedestrianised public realm.

In order to enlarge the space for pedestrians, the technical installations and boat houses on the quays will be replaced with new platforms and clubhouses over the water. The harbor will be landscaped with a pale-colored granite, which echoes the shade of the original limestone cobbles.

Materials used are hard-wearing with a rough texture, appropriate for the port setting. Furthermore, the design eliminates curbs and changes in level to improve accessibility, as well as using removable cast iron bollards to maximize flexibility.

At Quai des Belges, the prominent eastern edge of the harbor, a dramatic blade of reflective stainless steel will shelter a flexible new events pavilion.

Open on all sides, its 46 by 22 meter canopy is supported by slender pillars. The canopy’s polished, mirrored surface reflects the surrounding port and tapers towards the edges, minimizing its profile and reducing the structure’s visual impact.