year | 2024
place | Le Havre [F]
category | Utiliteit
BVH
Maison de la Mémoire
International Design Competition Brise-Vent Le Havre
Le Havre's location by the sea has shaped the history of the city and its inhabitants. The 'Brise-Vent' has been a symbol of 'protection' and is part of the city's memory. The original function of the Brise-Vent, protection from the wind, is no longer valid.
The architectural task is not only a programmatic one, but also a quest to preserve the symbolic meaning and to reinforce the spatial, imposing structure.
By [partially] copying and mirroring the structure of the Brise-Vent, the structure is strengthened and gains more significance.
Maison de la Mémoire: the citizen as curator
The Brise-Vent structure and its immediate surroundings will be transformed into a 'Maison de la Mémoire', a place by and for the citizens of Le Havre curated by the citizens. They will display objects belonging to the everyday memory [past and present] of the city and its inhabitants. It will be a repository of the city's memory that will evolve as a living, growing cabinet.
The Maison de la Mémoire is refers to the 18th century cabinets of collections, rooms of art and curiosities.
Mur de Mémoire: a new façade structure, situated on the north side of the Brise-Vent, with a length of 240 metres, presents itself to the city and on approach via the water as a large display case of 2,160 m2. The façade houses the small-scale elements of everyday memory.
Galerie de Mémoire: the imposing spatial structure of the Brise-Vent will be stripped of additions. It is conceived as an open market hall, suitable for the display of large-scale [art] objects and various activities such as meeting, trading, studying and working.
The interventions are in steel, referring to port and ship architecture.
Labyrinthe de Mémoire: a park on the south side of the Brise-Vent is a scenography of walls, surfaces and openings that form an open-air labyrinth. The 8,930 m2 labyrinth is a route de mémoire along a collection of large-scale objects and photographs of the city including those from before the destruction by the disastrous 1944 bombing.
The walls oriented in north-south direction are fruit walls: heat is absorbed during the day and released at night, generating a condition for fruit to develop naturally.
Carré de Mémoire, stade de l’eau: an event plaza for large-scale occasions on the east side with an outdoor theatre stand and an auditorium in the new building structure. The adjacent water square acts as a stage.
The south side of the new structure houses shipping and maintenance facilities.
Bâtiment de réception: the reception building on the east side houses the information facilities, a restaurant, multipurpose room, workstations and studios. The east façade mask the site from the industrial area and houses the power turbines that generate the basic energy for the complex.
The Brise-Vent building as Maison de Mémorie preserves its initial purpose of ‘protect’: it will protect the day-to-day memory of the city of Le Havre, a collection of hidden treasures from everyday life past and present.
Design - realization: 2024, International Design Competition Brise-Vent Havre, finalist
Address: Le Havre [F]
Client: TerraViva Competitions
Project team: Jo Janssen, Maud van Oerle, Ilana van den Broek, Bram Bemelmans
International Design Competition Brise-Vent Le Havre
Le Havre's location by the sea has shaped the history of the city and its inhabitants. The 'Brise-Vent' has been a symbol of 'protection' and is part of the city's memory. The original function of the Brise-Vent, protection from the wind, is no longer valid.
The architectural task is not only a programmatic one, but also a quest to preserve the symbolic meaning and to reinforce the spatial, imposing structure.
By [partially] copying and mirroring the structure of the Brise-Vent, the structure is strengthened and gains more significance.
Maison de la Mémoire: the citizen as curator
The Brise-Vent structure and its immediate surroundings will be transformed into a 'Maison de la Mémoire', a place by and for the citizens of Le Havre curated by the citizens. They will display objects belonging to the everyday memory [past and present] of the city and its inhabitants. It will be a repository of the city's memory that will evolve as a living, growing cabinet.
The Maison de la Mémoire is refers to the 18th century cabinets of collections, rooms of art and curiosities.
Mur de Mémoire: a new façade structure, situated on the north side of the Brise-Vent, with a length of 240 metres, presents itself to the city and on approach via the water as a large display case of 2,160 m2. The façade houses the small-scale elements of everyday memory.
Galerie de Mémoire: the imposing spatial structure of the Brise-Vent will be stripped of additions. It is conceived as an open market hall, suitable for the display of large-scale [art] objects and various activities such as meeting, trading, studying and working.
The interventions are in steel, referring to port and ship architecture.
Labyrinthe de Mémoire: a park on the south side of the Brise-Vent is a scenography of walls, surfaces and openings that form an open-air labyrinth. The 8,930 m2 labyrinth is a route de mémoire along a collection of large-scale objects and photographs of the city including those from before the destruction by the disastrous 1944 bombing.
The walls oriented in north-south direction are fruit walls: heat is absorbed during the day and released at night, generating a condition for fruit to develop naturally.
Carré de Mémoire, stade de l’eau: an event plaza for large-scale occasions on the east side with an outdoor theatre stand and an auditorium in the new building structure. The adjacent water square acts as a stage.
The south side of the new structure houses shipping and maintenance facilities.
Bâtiment de réception: the reception building on the east side houses the information facilities, a restaurant, multipurpose room, workstations and studios. The east façade mask the site from the industrial area and houses the power turbines that generate the basic energy for the complex.
The Brise-Vent building as Maison de Mémorie preserves its initial purpose of ‘protect’: it will protect the day-to-day memory of the city of Le Havre, a collection of hidden treasures from everyday life past and present.
Design - realization: 2024, International Design Competition Brise-Vent Havre, finalist
Address: Le Havre [F]
Client: TerraViva Competitions
Project team: Jo Janssen, Maud van Oerle, Ilana van den Broek, Bram Bemelmans
