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The Vieux Port Pavilion in Marseille Architects: Foster + Partners, London Team: Norman Foster, Spencer de Grey, Grant Brooker, Andy Bow, Roger Ridsdill Smith, Jurgen Kuppers, Max Neal, Merino Ranallo, Adeline Morin, Caroline Tarling, Andy Coward Structural engineers: Foster + Partners, London Ingerop Mediterannee, Marseille Others involved in the project: see page 104
The old port, in an elongated bay, is the historic heart of Marseille and was for centuries an important centre of trade. Today countless yachts and excursion boats are anchored in the Vieux Port, surrounded by the apartment buildings and restaurants of the historic centre that were long separated from the port basin by a multi-lane street. One of the most prominent public works projects featured within the framework of the European Capital of Culture 2013 involved making the district better accessible to the public and redesigning the esplanade for pedestrians. The design is the work of Foster + Partners and the landscape architect Michel Desvigne; they have created a
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generously scaled esplanade which is now also the site of performances and events. To keep the quay walls free of technical installations, the team situated them in platforms in the water. The flow of traffic was also reworked: the multi-lane street was reduced to two lanes. The unobtrusive and subtly differentiated new space in the port zone covers an area of 100,0000 m2; it has quickly become a beloved, vibrant piazza. The lightweight roof, situated on the eastern edge of the port basin, seems to float above the ground plane. The 46 ≈ 22 m pavilion shields visitors from the sun and rain. But the structure is also a fascinating architectural folly. Clad in stainless steel with a su-
per-mirror polish, the underside reflects the activity beneath it and intensifies the everchanging quality of light. The steel structure must withstand the north-esterly wind known as the Mistral Eight. Despite that fact, its dimensions are exceedingly slender: hollow steel-section columns support a framework of primary beams; set within that framework are secondary beams reminiscent of the frames used in boat construction. The bases of the columns – which, with a diameter of only 27 cm at a height of 6 metres, are truly of slight build – are restrained and their tops are welded to the roof frame in a flexurally rigid connection columns. To increase their stability they were filled – with the exception