• 
• Arles line
  • • A stroll through antiquity
• Aix en Provence line     
  • • Around the pavillon Noir
  • • Around the cités universitaires
  
  MARTIGUES line
  • • The modern provencal Venice
• Marseille line
  • • MUCEM / Vieux Port
  • • Villa Méditerranée / les Docks   
  • • FRAC / Silo
  • • Around the Friche
  • • Chateau Borely / MAC

This walk will take you through the highlights of the Ancient Roman city. You will see the vestiges of the Roman era, the post-war rehousing developments and the railway brownfields, with the city's history museum as our starting point.

Breathing New Life into the Old Railway Shops

What was the site where France's fleet of locomotives went to get repaired until the 1980s has been, since 2007, where culture comes alive. After years of renovations, these large volumes are now a home for large exhibitions, notably during the Rencontres d’Arles international photography festival. This project is but a prelude to the rehabilitation of an entire neighbourhood, including the LUMA Foundation's new main building, to which Frank Gehry is currently putting the finishing touches. The former boilermaking workshop (1890) is still standing at the end of an immense esplanade, framed by the workshop buildings, which are still in place. The gabled roof now houses a 3,000 m2 screen of luminescent diodes, which can project video artworks especially created for this format. The stone gable has been replaced by a steel lattice, a technical prowess paying homage to the site's former workers. The construction is bathed in a soft light, inviting the public in through the "mantilla" a 52-ton, 2.5-metre high by 40-metre wide passageway. Let's hear from the architects about this XXL renovation: "there is only heritage in relation to moving into the future. Heritage is a container - our role is to give it a contemporary face and a new identity."

Architect :
Agence Moatti et Rivière, Donjerkovic, Ange Leccia, groupe EXYZT

Year : 2007

Type :cultural heritage/ spectacle

Address :
parc des expositions, avenue Victor Hugo, Arles

Géolocalisation google 43.297292,5.361493