A landscape abstraction in the heart of the seaside town.
Working within such a coherent heritage leads us to revisit a branch of the prolific history of 20th-century architecture.
Continuing with this botanical metaphor, the aim is to sow seeds and take cuttings from the branches of 1970s brutalist architecture, namely the proliferating architectural systems of La Grande Motte, using a more contemporary approach that reflects the expertise and techniques of our era. Jean Balladur’s architecture is based on a landscape approach that can be summarized as follows:
In the horizontality of the maritime landscape of the Petite Camargue, erect artificial inhabited hills that create a contrasting relief and allow distant views towards the horizon and the sea. The development of mass tourism and access to the sea for all thus finds a systemic and landscape architectural response.
Today, 70% of the city is covered by vegetation. Through this landscape cover, the hills of buildings emerge, creating an artificial relief.
Our proposal for this city center project is to create a massing that perfectly reflects this landscape system.
The ambitious program of this complex allows us to create an active base, facing the street, a public space that will meet all the necessary requirements. Generous ceiling height for the ground-floor shops, with a generous height on the first floor allowing for public services or offices.
Aligned with the perimeter of the plot, this base is carved out in front of the cultural center to create a public space, a destination.
On top of this base, we are designing an artificial valley, constructed in the style of a natural landscape, with two rises and a saddle. The first, to the south, overlooks the base by four levels. The second, to the northwest, rises nine levels above the base and serves as a landmark in the landscape.
The proportions of these two building volumes are adapted to the roads that border them. On the pedestrian mall, only four levels rise above the base. This low scale is designed to accommodate pedestrians and the gentle urban character of the place. On Avenue de Melgueil, the nine-story elevation does not cast a shadow on any buildings due to the width of the road. It faces the wider landscape and will rise above the surrounding canopy.
The founding principles of the city continue on this block, creating a complementary valley in the artificial relief of La Grande Motte.
