Pages

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

CMA CGM Headquarters by Zaha Hadid

Marseille, France 2005–2010
Construction Photography © Hélène Binet

PROGRAM: Head offices and parking
CLIENT     : CMA CGM
SIZE          : Gross Floor Area: 64000 m²
Height       : 33 Floors / 147 m

CONCEPT:
The new Headquarter tower for CMA CGM in Marseille, France rises in a metallic curving arc that slowly lifts from the ground and accelerates skywards into the dramatic vertical geometry of its revolutionary forms. The disparate volumes of the tower are generated from a number of gradual centripetal vectors that emerge from within the solid ground surface, gently converge towards each other, and then bend apart, towards its ultimate co-ordinate 142.8 metres above the ground. The tower’s structural columns define, and are enclosed within, a double façade system that reflect these centripetal vectors, generating a dynamic symbiosis between a fixed structural core of this Head Office and its peripheral array of columns.

Marseille, one of the largest cities in France, is an historic Provencal city centred around the centuries-old harbour, with a rich past of several cultural interventions from Phoenician, to Greek, to the Romans. This fortified city has grown into a cosmopolitan metropolis due to its development into one of the most important international ports in Europe. With the city’s distinguished naval history, and the unique sighting of the CMA CGM tower beside both the harbour and the major motorway interchange, there is an opportunity to provide a highly visible landmark building to act as a gateway to the city from both land and sea. This new tower would be an iconic vertical element that interacts with the other significant landmarks of Marseille: La Major; the Basilica Notre Dame de la Garde; the Fort St. Jean; and the Chateau d’If.

The key challenge for the design of the CMA CGM Headquarter tower is the integration of the building environment and the creation of a totally unique, iconic edifice. The current CMA CGM headquarters distinguishes itself with a prominent position within immediate vicinity of the Mirabeau site. Flowing past the site on both sides is an elevated motorway viaduct that bifurcates at the western edge of the new tower’s location. At ground level, a major new transport interchange will allow pedestrians to access the new public transport facilities for the this district of Marseille. Whilst the quai and its waterways are also adjacent to site of the new tower. Directly at the confluence of this dynamic urban movement, the new Tower would accentuate its verticality and create a signature feature that would set a commanding new presence.

CONSTRUCTION PHOTOGRAPHS, FEB 2009:

Construction Photography © Hélène Binet
Construction Photography © Hélène Binet
Construction Photography © Hélène Binet
 
Construction Photography © Hélène Binet

CONSTRUCTION PHOTOGRAPHS, JUNE 2008:

Construction Photography © Werner Huthmaher
Construction Photography © Werner Huthmaher
 
Construction Photography © Werner Huthmaher
Construction Photography © Werner Huthmaher

CONSTRUCTION PHOTOGRAPHS, MARCH 2008:

Construction Photography © Luke Hayes
Construction Photography © Luke Hayes
Construction Photography © Luke Hayes
Construction Photography © Luke Hayes

COMPUTER RENDERS:

Render © Zaha Hadid Architects
Render © Zaha Hadid Architects

ARCHITECT                  : ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS
PROJECT DIRECTOR  : Jim Heverin
PROJECT ARCHITECT: Stephane Vallotton
PROJECT TEAM           :
Karim Muallem, Simone Contasta, Leonie Heinrich, Alvin Triestanto, Muriel Boselli, Eugene Leung, Bhushan Mantri, Jerome Michel, Nerea Feliz, Prashanth Sridharan,Birgit Eistert, Evelyn Gono, Marian Ripoll

COMPETITION TEAM: Jim Heverin, Simon Kim, Michele Pasca Di Magliano, Viviana Muscettola

CONSULTANTS:
PARTNER ARCHITECTS   : SRA (Paris) – RTA (Marseille)
STRUCTURAL/SERVICES: Ove Arup & Partners (London)
FAÇADE                              : Ove Arup & Partners (London),
Robert-Jan Van Santen Associates (Lille)
 
COST: R2M (Marseille)

No comments:

Post a Comment