Lucy Moss

vieux port : (re)articulated threshold

Marseilles’ Vieux Port has become a compromised interface between traffic and buildings … land and sea … past and present … tourists and locals … traditional industry and leisure pursuits. The eastern quayside is reserved for the city’s traditional fish market and the ferries serving the Frioul Archipelago. Currently, these elements form a chaotic hub of interaction grounded only by the briefest glimpse of the sea’s horizon.

A municipal scheme to release the water’s edge to pedestrians and re-route traffic is underway. This project to (re)articulate the Vieux Port threshold elaborates that ambition, accommodating public space and facilities under the umbrella/parasol of a Port Collective. The ferry company’s boats and booking kiosks, the local fishing syndicates’ workshops and market facilities, the supervision of port traffic, moorings and licenses, and the water based emergency services are under one roof.

Creating a new field for the choreography of this dynamic interplay of functions and characters involves the creation of an architectural gap between the land and the sea. The Mediterranean is held back by a dam wall to form a generous courtyard below the datum of the water. Here the daily catch of fish can be offloaded early in the morning into the courtyard as fish market, using ice dispensed from machines in the landside service wall. Later it will be hosed down to provide public space to relax and watch the repairs carried inside and outside the boat workshops. At the upper levels, fresh oysters can be enjoyed at bars overlooking the port and the horizon … ferry tickets can be bought, touristic agendas confirmed … and the working of the port facilities glimpsed. Wide stairs and room size lifts aligned in the service wall contribute to the idea of the building as a portal and threshold between land and sea.