A little more info following yesterday’s post on this weekend’s festival of light in Marseille, Vieux Port Entre Flammes et Flots…. I was wondering how they were going to construct a link between the two sides to enable people to walk round the harbour and now, thanks to La Provence, I know!
Round the corner near MUCEM, they have been building a mighty big footbridge. It’ll be 160m long, 10-15m wide and capable of carrying 4000 people or 60 tonnes. I don’t know if they are expecting the locals to be heavier than normal but they are only allowing 2000 people to cross at a time. Prudent I think.
The concept is by Marseille designers Karwan but built by a Nantes-based company who are using materials stocked in their depot in Martigues. In the coming hours, the structure will be towed into position.
The whole 2 day festival is costing 800,000€ with the budget coming from various pots including town, département and MP2013. It does seem an awful lot of money for something so ephemeral but maybe it will be so dazzling and extraordinary that it will live on in people’s minds, especially children.
The famous Ombriere, finally ‘open’, is proving controversial. Lots of people have commented on the lack of benches or greenery in the area, both of which would be welcome, but maybe would clutter the purist/zen/architectural approach of the designer. I did read one comment enquiring where all the rainwater goes from the Ombriere. Apparently a downpour would produce hundreds of litres of water on the roof. But I’m sure, with the whole project costing 3,000,000€, someone has thought of that?
aixcentric 
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