Marseille – lead ´n beach
Marseille is no accident. It is a city deliberately founded at a hinge of sea and stone. Set like an amphitheater on limestone slopes that face the water, the port became an engine of exchange, and the city learned to live with wind, salt, and sudden light.
South of the Vieux-Port, the coastline narrows to a thin strip where road, workshops, and small ports press against the cliffs. In the nineteenth century these coves hosted furnaces, chemical works, and yards that turned imported ores into goods. At Montredon the remains of factories meet the threshold of the Calanques. Contaminated ground, informal parking, and seasonal pressure break continuity, even with neighborhoods, beaches, and trails close at hand.
Our goal is to heal this edge and reconnect city and sea. The studio will work with what is already there through careful preservation, adaptation, extension, and measured densification. Remediation becomes program, not only constraint. New public rooms on the shore, light structures, and clear paths will make safe access possible. Proposals must respect climate and logistics, account for mistral, spray, and crowds, and explore hybrid typologies for extensions along the coastal strip.
First Meeting: Tuesday, 14.10.2025, 16:00, Room A204B