The ancient Siceliot historian Timaeus recounts that when the Greeks arrived on the banks of the future Marseille, they would shout the word Massé (μασσαι in Aeolic Greek), i.e. “tie it” while throwing the mooring rope to a native. It is also true that the Arabic word for port is Marsa. Therefore, it is safe to say that Marseille was a port before becoming a city. A place of arrivals and departures, shelter and exchanges. A place open to goods, people, cultures, and all things different. A delightful place, as Baudelaire wrote, where to contemplate those who still have the strength to will, the desire to travel... In the light of all this, the restoration of the Docks, one of the largest and most important buildings of the port, acquires special symbolic value, which goes well beyond the relationship between the present and the past. Alfonso Femia and Gianluca Peluffo, the founders of the 5+1AA architectural firm, are the minds behind this complex and successful project. As they told us, each major city has buildings that can be defined as heroic for their size and visual impact, for having been built at the heart of distant times or places, for having been many things – machines, devices, limits, places – and, more importantly, for still being here. “We wanted to search for a dialogue with the body and soul of the Marseille Docks. We approached the Docks in the same way as you approach a discovery. A mystery that has always been there revealed by a new identity according to other natures, relations, and intimacy.” The project was developed following an international contest and is the result of the architects’ in-depth reflection on the nature, role, and meaning of this historical building. In particular, they investigated its ongoing and potential relationship with the city, operating to renew not only the arrangement of the masonry works, but also social relations and activities to give the building back to the community. This way, it can go from being an austere monolithic complex to a public place to experience, which can create a sense of identity. The goal was achieved through the pursuit of permeability between the urban front and the front facing the sea, along the entire perimeter of the Docks, thereby transforming what was an impenetrable curtain into a place to enjoy and cross both physically and visually. Nevertheless, the four courtyards enclosed in the building, which measures a whopping 365 metres in length, were completely reinvented and transformed into extraordinary and unexpected places. The Corte Barcellone, Corte Rome, Corte Village, and Corte Marchè have become functional and emotional polarisation elements that qualify the longitudinal path defining new relations and spatial, dynamic, and vital hierarchies. In this context, light, colour, and material play a special role in enriching space with an awe-inspiring kaleidoscopic dimension that stirs emotions and a sense of intimacy. A space-time dimension that changes as the hours go by and the daylight changes.


Places where the surprising formats, combinations, and installation techniques of polychrome and embracing ceramic tiles are outstanding. The same elements of different nature are used in different ways, and all this does not go unnoticed. Ceramics everywhere as a live material that tells the story of the extraordinary inventions of the present and the melting pot that generated the Catalan Modernism, Arabic azulejos, and art nouveau; that tells about the colours of spices, overseas stones, and the serene smile of a dock, boosting the perceptive, sensory, and emotional dimensions of all those who come across the Docks.


Docks, corte A Docks, courtyard A


Docks, corte B Docks, courtyard B


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