Studio Associato Bernardo Secchi Paola Viganò

Architecture | Urbanism | Landscape

studio

Saint-Nazaire, completely destroyed during the world war II, was re-constructed in a rational, but rather trivial, way . The project has the ambition to propose a strong image based on the reappropriation of 'mythical' places from the past, when Saint-Nazaire was the departure port of steamships to America. The project became a reflection on the three identities of the city. The identity of port city, which means the city in the past that was destroyed due to the presence of a Nazi submarine base; the identity of a specific place, the rock 'du Petit Maroc', heart of the city; the identity of relations, the Nantes - Saint-Nazaire metropolis, which is defining a new dimension of the city and the territory and their mutual relations. We propose a scenario of renovatio urbis for these reasons, which means a series of punctual operations that has the force to modify the wat the city 'works' as a whole and the role of a single part of the city apart from the whole city. The presence of the city cultural center in the old station, of the open air museum on the roof of the submarine base, of the new commercial center in the block of “Maison du people”; of the contemporary art center in Petit Maroc with the
development of a new part of city on the port platform...They all add to the existing urban structure with complex places that strenghten its simple structure. The network of public spaces animated by these operations define a new vision of the city of Saint-Nazaire.