MARSEILLE | 2013 European Capital of Culture

MuCEM - MuCEM (Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations)

In Marseille, the new sea front will link the port, which welcomes an increasing number of cruise ships, to the city centre.
Spanning 1.5 km, the sea front will welcome the MuCEM (Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations), the Villa Méditerranée, the FRAC (regional contemporary art fund), the Musée Regards de Provence, the J1, the Théâtre de la Minoterie and the Silo. These cultural facilities will forge links between the port, its activities and residents.


Let's start with the MUCEM:


The MuCEM, the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, will open its doors in 2013. Strategically located between the historic Vieux Port and the new Joliette urban district, the MuCEM links the Fort Saint Jean’s historic towers and gardens to a new building designed by Rudy Ricciotti, currently under construction. 26,000 m2 of exhibition space will be dedicated to Euro-Mediterranean civilisations: history, current ties and today’s vibrant cultures.
Architect: Rudy Ricciotti












Photos were taken a few months ago.

La Villa Méditerranée

CEREM: La Villa Méditerranée


The Villa Méditerranée is another architectural and cultural feat, supported by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Conseil Régional. With space dedicated to cultural and artistic exchanges between Mediterranean countries, the centre will host exhibitions, concerts, projections and meetings. Stefano Boeri’s spectacular and symmetrical C-shaped building provides as much space above the dock as underneath it. It will even feature an underwater gallery.
Architect: Stefano Boeri


















Photos were taken a few months/weeks ago

Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Regional Contemporary Art Fund (FRAC)

The new building housing the Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain (Regional Contemporary Art Fund or FRAC) will be located midway between Marseille’s historic Panier district and the Joliette sea front. Designed by Kengo Kuma and the Toury Vallet agency, the building’s glass façade plays on light from the port. The architecture will create a transition between urban spaces and cultural areas, encouraging residents and visitors to discover the vibrant contemporary culture scene. From 2013 on, the FRAC will display pieces from its extensive contemporary art collection. It will host exhibitions, as well as artist, writer and philosopher-in-residence programmes. Located at 10 Boulevard de Dunkerque in the EuroMediterranean district, the FRAC building will also be home to a 250-seat auditorium.
Architect: Kengo Kuma











Photos taken a few weeks ago:

Le Silo: concert Hall

Thank you for your comments.

Once all projects will be listed, I'll post updates.
Let's continue with the SILO concert hall.

The Silo d’Arenc was built in 1926 and became a listed heritage building in 2004. Initially the building was used to store and process wheat. Today, it has become a symbol of Marseille’s industrial past. The Mairie de Marseille has chosen to transform this building into a new space for living, working and enjoying cultural events. The spectacular 2000-seat concert hall, with three balconies overlooking the sea, will host events throughout the year. Around a third of the surface area will be transformed into offices for technology companies and cultural organisations.

Architects: Eric Castaldi and Roland Carta

France has been doing a few Cutting edge Projects around the Country from The new Symphony house , Louis vuitton Center in PARIS ,Muse de Confluence in Lyon and now this in Marseille , I don't know how many more there are ...(?) but those are really impressive , I love , envy , and wish they would be in the City where I live anytime , not that there aren't but they are not as ultra Modern as these

The Regards de Provence Museum

Thanks.


The Regards de Provence Museum is one of the most important infrastructural projects to be completed in Marseille as part of Marseille-Provence 2013, European Capital of Culture. It involves renovating the old Station Sanitaire, which was built by the architects Champollion, Fernand Pouillon and René Egger in 1948. This historic building will be completely redesigned from a scientific and cultural point of view, making it a suitable home for the Regards de Provence Foundation’s collection, temporary exhibitions and historical documents and photos. Overlooking Marseille’s port area, the museum will form part of a new cultural zone stretching from the Cité de la Méditerranée and the Cathédrale de la Major to the MuCEM and the Regional Centre for the Mediterranean. With a total surface area of 2300m2, 1215m2 of which will be set aside for exhibitions, the Regards de Provence Museum will play an active role in improving Marseille’s waterfront and cultural activities.
Architects: Guy Daher of Cabinet Atelier 9, winner of the Grand Prix de Rome, assisted by Thierry Durousseau







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U/C

The J1 - Marseille

With its highly symbolic location, the J1 will be a key venue in 2013, where port activities meet culture and creativity. This huge warehouse, overlooking the sea, will welcome cruise ships and passengers from all over the Mediterranean. Spanning 8,000 m2, the J1’s top floor will host major exhibitions produced by Marseille-Provence 2013, information centres for artists and the public, and the Atélier du Large, displaying works produced as part of participative projects. It will the hub of activities organised as part of the Capital of Culture year.

Architect : Catherine Bonte (MP2013)

FRICHE DE LA BELLE DE MAI - MEDIA PARK (Part 1) - RESERVE DU MUCEM

Belle de Mai: 120,000 m2 devoted to creative spirits



In the working-class district of the Belle de Mai, located near to all the main transport infrastructures (TGV station, airport and motorways...), Marseille has redeveloped a disused industrial area owned by the National Public Tobacco Company, devoting it entirely to the audiovisual, multimedia and digital industries.

The 120,000 m2 site, centred around three buildings - the Heritage Centre, Media Park and La Friche - the ideal incubator for developing creative relationships. Every day artists, dancers, musicians and producers rub shoulders with leading designers, producers, publishers and content distribution houses, not to mention consultants, technical service providers, marketing and promotion companies…

An approach unlike any other in Europe, dedicated towards developing all the creative.

http://www.belledemai.com/
http://www.primi.pro/




MUCEM - reserve collection
Architect: Corinne VEZZONI

1st Update : MUcem and la VILLA

Photos by forumer JML13


La VILLA:










MUCEM

Douly said:

Belle de Mai: 120,000 m2 devoted to creative spirits

In the working-class district of the Belle de Mai, located near to all the main transport infrastructures (TGV station, airport and motorways...), Marseille has redeveloped a disused industrial area owned by the National Public Tobacco Company, devoting it entirely to the audiovisual, multimedia and digital industries.

Click to expand...

Yeah, sure, an airport near la Belle de Mai... :bash:

Anyway thanks for the cool pictures of the Reserve building

FRICHE DE LA BELLE DE MAI - MEDIA PARK (Part 2) - TOUR PANORAMA

Thanks for your comment.
Let's go on with PART 2 of the Friche Belle de Mai.

As a reminder, Part 1 was about the MUCEM reserves:




Let's focus on the TOUR PANORAMA (CONTEMPORARY ART HUB) currently under construction and just a few blocks far from the Mucem reserves.

Architect: ARM ARCHITECTURE /POITEVIN REYNAUD


The Friche de La Belle de Mai is a key visual art hub, but a visit to this former factory can be unsettling. There’s not always an exhibition, hardly any signage and one can easily get lost in the endless spray-painted corridors. All this may well change with the extension of the space scheduled for 2013, which includes the Tour-Panorama, a new space to be shared by several art organizations. The difficulties are not over though; at the time of writing, no agreement had been made on the Tour-Panorama’s running costs post-2013.

The Belle de Mai also plays host to Marseille’s unusual annual art fair, Art-O-Rama , which takes place in September. While fairs are usually prohibitively expensive — pushing exhibitors to play safe — the subsidized Art-O-Rama is able to invite galleries to participate for free. The result is a hybrid, half-fair, half-exhibition.
“We offer galleries the possibility to take risks in Marseille,” said Gaïd Beaulieu-Lambert, the fair’s co-director. “The idea is to show that gallerists can also be curators.” Marseille galleries are not represented on site but Art-O-Rama’s team organizes tours of local art spaces for visiting collectors. “We try to take advantage of their presence to benefit the local area,” added Ms. Beaulieu-Lambert.


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U/C updates:

Extension and renovation of Marseille's Fine Arts Museum - Palais Longchamp

This historic building, inaugurated in 1869, commemorates the arrival of the water of the canal between the river Durance and Marseille. On the same site, it brought together the Museum of Fine Arts, which before was in the former Bernadines chapel, the Museum Natural History, a botanic park and a zoo. The rich decoration of the building evokes the abundance and fertility brought by the water of the canal. Here sculpture has a dominating role, and this work was entrusted to the greatest artists of that period. The famous animal sculptor Antoine Louis Barye created the lions and the tigers of the entrance, and the monumental fountain in the centre of the row of columns is the work of Jules Cavelier. It represents the river Durance surrounded by figures symbolizing the vines and wheat on a cart pulled by the bulls of Camargue.
The interior decoration of the museums is also remarkable. The main stairs of the Fine Arts Museum are adorned by two large painting by Puvis de Cavannes, commissioned in 1867: Marseille, the Greek colony and Marseille, Gateway to the Orient. In the Provence room, painted by Raphaël Ponson, the museum has preserved a fine example of historical museography. The Fine arts Museum, installed in the left wing of the building. In the right wing of the building the Museum of Natural History has been instaled since 1869.

The Palais longchamp has been under renovation for the past 18 months and the museum of Fine Arts is being extended. In 2013, it will host a world class exhibition: "Le grand atelier du Midi : de Van Gogh à Bonnard, de Cézanne à Matisse" in conjunction with musée Granet in Aix en Provence.

Conservatoire de Musique: Aix-en-Provence

Originally created in 1849, the Conservatoire d’Aix is France’s oldest academy of dance and music. In 1972, it was named after the famous composer, Darius Milhaud, also from Aix-en-Provence. The current building is too small for students and teachers. The architect Kengo Kuma was asked to design a new building that will form part of Aix-en-Provence’s Forum Culturel from 2013.
Architect: Kengo Kuma

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photos by forumer petrus13

M PAVILION - marseille

This temporary structure will be at the heart of events in 2013 and a gateway to the region. Open to the public from 10am to 7pm from 12 January 2013, it will ensure residents and visitors alike are able to get up-to-date information on the European Capital of Culture programme free of charge.

The Ville de Marseille wanted to have a specific venue to welcome visitors in 2013. It therefore decided to build the “M” Pavilion, based on the France Pavilion at the Shanghai World Fair, to showcase Marseille’s industries and vitality.

Spread across more than 2,200m², the pavilion is located between the Rue de la Prison, Rue de la Guirlande, the Quai du Port and the Grand Rue. It will have three main areas:

A ticket office where the general public can get information on the 2013 programme and buy tickets for regional events. This space will be run by the Marseille tourist office and Marseille-Provence 2013.
An indoor/outdoor reception area made available by the Ville de Marseille to host events and premieres.
An exhibition area with a permanent exhibition on Marseille and temporary exhibitions presenting institutions and partners: the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, the Département des Bouches-du-Rhône, Marseille Provence Métropole, the Marseille Provence Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Euroméditerranée, etc.

This unique information office will also be the setting for meetings and encounters. Trained staff will help residents and visitors alike organise their weekends, trips and reservations. There will also be electronic reservation and information terminals.

The exhibition will be interactive and constantly evolving, featuring museum displays, video projections, performances, 3D films and sensory experiences. Events will also be hosted by local authorities, project partners and the MP2013 association.