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.