FROM THE MOUNTAIN TO THE SEA

The main idea of that project was to reveal the dirty secret of refugees crossing the sea to find a better life and who are «invisible» to others. I choose my site in the city of Marseille, in an old lead factory, which is particular because it has a creeping chimney inside the mountain to cool the fumes of the factory. This area is extremely polluted. I made my project using the chimney, more precisely on the condensation chamber of the chimney mixing the stone of the chimney and new materials. It aims to be a museum of immigration with small modules as «houses» would be implemented on the condensation chamber, the visitors would live a journey from one house to another going through the tunnels of the chamber. The access is quite complicated because it is in the mountain, it needs 30 minutes hiking from the road, so I decided to install a cable cabin to permit better access. The project will finally reveal two dirty secrets on this edge: the poor conditions of living for refugees (through the museum) and the pollution of the area and the sea (through the site). This project focus on reusing/re-purposing and re-building on the stone vault structure, mixed with new components so the historical part and the environment are preserved, and the carbon footprint will be reduced. It aims to be a local project, working with artisans and concerned people.