The Shade of the Old Port, the Mirror by Norman Foster, 2013

Old Port, 13001 Marseille
17823
The Shade of the Old Port, the Mirror by Norman Foster, 2013
Category: Culture & Arts / Sculptures, Plaques & Urban Works
Borough : 1er
Website : www.fosterandpartners.com
When it was installed in 2013, it raised some questions, even mockery, then in the end it gradually became established as one of the symbols of the city and the Old Port…meeting place, souvenir photos in torticollis mode, urban shows, protests, shelter when it's hot (its primary function). Signed by the Briton Norman Foster and the Marseille agency Tangram, the shadehouse is a huge mirror ceiling 22 meters by 48 meters reflecting the Quai des Belges and the life of Marseille residents and passing tourists passing below.

The Shade of the Old Port of Marseille, the Mirror by Norman FosterIt was in 2010 that the project management group made up of Michel Desvigne (landscape designer), Foster & Partners, Tangram Architectes, Ingérop (design office) and Yann Kersalé (light visual artist) won the competition for the redevelopment and the semi-pedestrianization of the Old Port. Designed by Norman Foster, like the bungalows (the clubhouses of nautical associations), it was built by the Marseille architects of Tangram. Between art and architecture, it comes to mark with a vast surface, placed 6 meters above the ground, the arrival of the Canebière facing the sea as well as the entrance to the metro station "Vieux-Port/Hôtel of City”. Echoing the mineral treatment and ground plan, the shimmering cover, 22 meters by 48 meters, is made up of perfectly joined panels of rigid foam between two polished stainless steel skins. By the reflections of the sea or the ground, it places the onlookers in a unique in-between. Carried by 8 posts 27 centimeters in diameter and 2,5 centimeters thick, the invisible metal structure is an assembly of PRS (welded reconstituted profile) in galvanized steel with integrated gutter.

Beyond the necessary protection it brings to the queues of the maritime shuttle service for the Frioul, Pointe Rouge and Estaque it is also according to its creators: an isthmus (a strip of land tightened between two seas or two gulfs and joining two lands), between pause and movement, whose peaceful aura seems to soothe the whole space around.

The Shade of the Old Port of Marseille, the Mirror by Norman FosterBritish architect Norman Foster is nBorn June 1, 1935 in Manchester. Emulator of Buckminster Fuller, Foster is one of the main representatives of high-tech architecture, alongside Richard Rogers, among others. Norman Foster enjoys worldwide renown and has won more than 300 awards and prizes of excellence around the world, and more than 60 victories in national and international competitions. For example, he received the gold medal from the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) in 1983, the gold medal from the French Academy of Architecture in 1991 and the gold medal from the Institut American architects in 1994. Finally, in 1999, the Pritzker Prize, which rewards the greatest creators, was awarded to him.

Read the full bio.

SOURCES Magazine & Wikipedia Norman Foster
PHOTOS Dominique Milherou tourism-marseille.com
PLEASE NOTE This site is a personal blog, this information is given as an indication and is updated as often as possible. Do not hesitate to contact me for any correction or contribution

 

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