The villa Méditerranée < > the docks

From the J4, "Marseille's new cultural centre" to the Place de La Joliette, at the heart of the new Euroméditerranée business centre, this tour provides an understanding of the difficulties of opening the commercial port up to the city, and the solutions that were implemented.



villa Méditerranée < > les docks Villa méditerannéee la station sanitaire aménagement de la place de la Major l'évéché Villa d'Este siège de la SNCM le J1 Les docks de la Joliette
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The Station Sanitaire, Now the Regards de Provence Foundation

Pouillon's Function-First Building Gets a New Cultural Mission

This building is one of Fernand Pouillon's first "mature" realisations, preparing the landscape for his large-scale reconstruction of the Old Port. The facility, which opened in 1947, was meant to receive the mass exodus of population from the Orient in order to prevent epidemics, taking over from the by-then-obsolete installations of the Hôpital Caroline on the Frioul islands. The station sits on a pivotal location between the city and the port, on an exiguous triangular plot situated between two historical monuments (the Cathedral and the Fort Saint-Jean). With the J4 pier becoming the city's new cultural nexus, the building's connecting function becomes reinforced. The Station was, at the time of its inauguration, a sort of prototype, and its technical facilities were particularly of note. Long abandoned and fated for certain demolition, the building was acquired by the Regards de Provence Foundation, and has since 2013 housed a very active exhibition space. The interior renovations were conducted with great care, right down to the choice of materials: the polished stone and sandstone floors, the hard-stone walls of the Southern hall, the reception desk decorated with Pierre Sourdive ceramics, the elegant wooden check-out counter, and the sculptural Southern staircase are a few examples.
In 2000, the building was classified Patrimoine du XXème Siècle (the French “20th Century Heritage” designation).
Architect:
Champollion - Egger Pouillon - Map architecture
Year : 1948 - 2013
Type : cultural space
Address :
Rue Vaudoyer, 13002 Marseille
Géolocalisation google