• 
• 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

Let's take a stroll through the Euroméditerranée district, the largest urban redevelopment in Southern Europe, which, over the last decade and a half, has been transforming former port brownfields into a true 21st-century Mediterranean city. The objectives are to reconnect the port to the city, extend the downtown core northwards, and create an interface with the surrounding neighbourhoods - and the metropolis beyond. A showcase for Marseille, this area is a major site of experimentation encompassing regional and international architectural trends.

Variations on a Facade

A reference to 1920s New York architecture, this building now stands at the entrance of Marseille from the coastline highway. Looking closer, the quality of the detailing reveals the project's mastery, The hospitality aspect is asserted, displaying a continuity that eschews mimicry. "We had to deal with the fact that the 200 rooms were absolutely identical. (…) So, we set out to create the illusion of movement" explains Stéphane Fernandez. To circumvent rigid uniformity, kinetics were invoked. The windows remain rigorously aligned, but the varying prefabricated frames blur the repetitiveness of the facade: "we sought out to express a diversity that did not exist." Light was given special attention: "we purposely put in larger opening on the lower floors". The texture of the sand-grey coated concrete cladding is also of note: "we wanted to preserve the site's identity (…) We're not dealing with the notion of simplicity. We're dealing with urban production. By choosing this specific colour, we wanted to avoid negating a past that was almost entirely demolished. The building, first and foremost, expresses the idea of industry and repetition". The Résidence's general aspect thus echoes the appearance of the port's buildings, and of the Silo, just a few metres away.

Architect:
Atelier Fernandez Serres

Year : 2013

Type : housing

Address :
118 rue de Ruffi, 13002 Marseille

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