VILLA MÉDITERRANÉE
A link between the sky and the sea, the Villa Méditerranée (formerly the Centre Régional de la Méditerranée) in Marseille is an astonishing piece of architecture. Designed by Milanese architect Stephano Boeri, the structure is both an aesthetic challenge and a technological one. The spectacular 40-metre metal cantilever, anchored to the ground by four plates, weighs a total of 4,000 tonnes. The lower part of the building houses a 410-seat amphitheatre located 15 metres below sea level. The amphitheatre is immersed in a 60-metre pool lined with a metal skin specially treated against corrosion.
A TECHNICAL CHALLENGE
This project represents a technical challenge that the Group's companies have chosen to meet together, in response to the request of the client, the Agence Régionale d'Équipement et d'Aménagement de la Région PACA.
Led by Castel & Fromaget, leader of the consortium, this complex, large-scale project brings together a total of 6 Group companies working in 5 different areas: special foundations (Sefi-Intrafor), concrete (Bec Construction Provence), metal framework and structures (Castel & Fromaget, Joseph-Paris), glass façades (Castel Alu), as well as the glass entrance, the glass floors and the monumental 6.30-metre staircase (Viry).
AROUND 6,000 LORRIES
Launched in January 2010, the project required some 6,000 lorries to dig up and remove the earth for the general earthworks, which will make way for a 410-seat amphitheatre and seminar rooms on level -2, some 15 metres below sea level. On level -1, a pool measuring 60 metres on each side and 16 metres deep, lined with a metal skin specially treated against corrosion, will add to the aesthetic appeal of the building.
