1° Prize - Category Facades
5+1AA Alfonso Femia, Gianluca Peluffo - Agenzia di Architettura S.r.l.
Docks Marseille, (Francia)
The architectural and technological quality, paired with the scale
and importance of the works presented by the 5+1AA studio, are
testament to the depth of the collaboration launched by the designers
and company to devise and develop innovative solutions packed
with content. This journey of research and experimentation starts
from the consolidated relationship between the quantity and quality
of industrialised ceramic production, introducing creative, innovative
morphological elements and laying techniques, which help to activate
a process which substantially elevates the objectives of the project and
the product.
The panel would like to place particular emphasis on the sophisticated
reclamation and functional renovation project of the Marseille Docks,
a large port storage complex that straddles the boundary between
architectural work and art installation, where ceramics occupy a
starring role via two differing applications. The ceramics are fragmented
and expertly recomposed according to a precise layout, while we also
see the juxtaposition of made-to-measure ceramic elements which
are then fixed to a metal substructure. An expression of “technological
symbiosis”, the cladding covers the facades of the internal courtyards
without destroying them, creating a high-impact visual effect while
keeping the original structure intact.