lh...l.rrb. ol lh...olonlll or Cullurol CoDllol ol lu?oD.loi l99t p.ovld.d ut wlth th. opponunllY lopropo.e o molor progromm. wlrh o budg.l ot lw.nty llv. mllllon US dollort. Ih. p.ogtomms brln93

together lh. lmpo.to.t long-l€rm prols<lt ond lorgc-icol€ Intorvenllon. whl€h lhe Mlnist.y tor iheEnvkonmont PhFlcol Ptonnins ond Public Wotk hot been p.omoting in Thcrso lon iki tor lh€ loslrifteenyeofs. My purpose In this loreword is to occentuote two elementi,lwo criierio, which permeole oll tiv€ otlhelhemotic modules of ou. progromme for lh€ssoloniki. Those modulet ore: exPonsion of themel.opoliion spoce olihe ci|y; li|e gotewoys lo the city; moior urbon remodelling proiecfs; o.centuolion oflhe cily's o.chitecturol herltoge; ond, enhon.emenl ofthe buildings which moke up ils culturol

The lirst oflh€ lwo cril€.io, which.ould olto be ioid to conslilul€ tho moin body ot our Polict for oll the

clties in G.e€c€, is fholofthe re-estoblishmenl otfhe public spoce ol lhe cily. Th€ streels ond squores otthecily,lhe oreos immediol€ly surrounding its monumenls, ils publlc pork ond ils public buildings oro th€ploce. where the sy|nbols ol memory ond th. public institutions oreto befound. Al the some time, theyorethe ploces of collective memory ond populor erptestion,lhe e,gression por 6rcellence ol the utbon

development, histo.y ond identity otlhe cily Thonk! lo ils weollh of urbon ond soclol symbolism, public

ipoce becomes o molrirwhi€h generofes the clty's collective memory lor lhe p.esentond the fulure.

Th€ second.rite.ion which lies olthe heoriot outoftenfion is reirievol ol olllhe P.emoiurely ogeingbuildlng stock which ihe erglosion ol reconslruclion in the pod-wo. perlod hos bequeothed lo lhe altiet otGrc6ce ond the.est of [urope.long-term rehobilltotion inlervenlionr, meosurcs ond proiects ronginE from improvemenl ol lheoppoo.once ofelevolions ond lhe.estorolion ot individuol building3to lhe rodicoldesign otlhe lownplonning otwhol€ di3lricts of lhe cit: thol ir our pGllive onswer io on ocute problem whlch is notonlyGreek bul conslituter lhe l€oding edge otorchilecturol reseorch olloverthe world.Thir lwin pollcyof rolnlogroting lhe neglected porls of lhe urbon tobric of fhe cit ond ofstrppo.ting Publi.spoce in lhe cily is o iown plonning Policywhich lies wilhin the fromewotk ot re-e.toblishmenl ottheurbonily oflhe €ity ond otlh€ reorgonizotion ot its soclol tobric.Thete orethe onswets which wewish to

ossociole wllh tho subiects ol lhe lhree Inle.notionolarchitecturolComPosilions which ihe Otgonizotionfor the CulturolCopilolol lurop€ - Thosso lon iki 1997 hos onnounced. Thethemes ot the lhree comp€litionsore lhe ecologicol re-ertoblishmenl o nd urbon reintegrolion ofthe n€glecled suburbs ofthe cily llhecompetilion orgonized loinlly wilh Europon totlhe Green Arc in lhe westetn tuburbsl, o.cenluotlon of the

.ily'r long s€c front, ond lfie symbolic oxi3 of Arislotelous Squo.e ond Stre€f.

I would lite to toke the oppriunily ol tho nking oll the otchitects who ore olreody working creollvcly on lhecruciol questions roisGd by ihe compelitionsMystill more heo.ttelt lhont5to lhe eight orchilects who3e p.oiec|s on ihe progromme PROVOI(NG URBAN

tplSOOtS ON IHE COAST {in the e*ibition ond publicolion nomed SETWEEN S:AANO CITY - EIGHT Pl€RS

fOR IHISSALONIKII ore.spliesfo on€ ofthe problems tocing Thessoloniki.

Io <onclud€, mycordlolthonts ond congrolulollon3 lo the N€lherlondt Archileclure Insllluto, who inp.oducing this erhibition willbe publicislng tho creotive ptoiecE ofth.6ighl Europeon ot.hiteclurolprocti€es ond enhonclng ourthinking ond proposob oboullhe rode.igning ot the EuroPeon clty. Then if willb6 up to uslo pul lhose propo3ol inlo procfice.

Konstontinos Loliotiswlini3le. fo. lh6 €nvironment,Ph]rsicol Plonning ond Public Works

Ar.hll.dur.l. nolonly a valla t..alla. io. th. ptodu.llon ot.on.lTucllon worlr.ll lr obova all a

PO€llC .nd.ovour, (..olnro th. .trvkodtr,.trl ltr whl.h w. llv., o Pfo(tl<. whkh .hoP.r bolh rh.cullu.! ot o tloc. !nd lh. .o!l,onn,.nl hr whl.h o to<l.tY llv.t, ou. (ultu16l hobllol W. hov.

trlod lo.ntur.lhoi b.hlnd lh. ot<hll.cturol P.oporlllont, b.hlnd lh. blu.Prlnr! ond th. mod.ltld.or ore cloorly dlrcornlbl. conc.rnlng rh. reorgonlzotlon of ou.llv63 wlrhln our.ontkuct.d

In the drowing3 ol the eight orchltects on show in the fine o(hibitlon whlch ihe Neth€rlond3

ar(hit€clure In.titule hos prepored for Th6.otonikl, we con discetn ProPosols foro newfocetto

our llvet ond with il o new dimension lo our doilY movement : woler_borne urbon fronsporl os

on ottroclive proposition whose odoPtion is dictoled by ecologlcol $nsilivilY, n€w colfurol

demonds ond o touch ol romonflc noslolgiotoch iett with the liftle recreolion Povillon locoted ol fhe end of itwill be on opportunity for

expe.lence ond conlemplolion byfhe side offhe seo; itwillbeihe woil - ond lhe €,.pecfdtion -

in ihe misl of lhe Th€.moic Gult tor lfi€ iourney in th€ blue boof ot Thodoros Angelopoulos

UtYssEs'S GAzEi itwlll be lhe momenlwhen we look bock ove. ihe doyos it endt in o tod sunset

Itwill b€ fhe clorifi.oiion of the dillicult relolionship between lhe cily ond ils ve.y selt

whofever the foshionoble mythologiss moy soy, the orchiredu.ol lrod itlon of Thesiolonill do€s

not begin ond end in iis omnlPtesent gFoniine potlo. in th.vicitsllude3 otthe urbon lobiicolnomeless nin€te€nlh-coniuty buildingsto be found in the upper cily. Nor is it exhoutled in tha

rolionolirm otthe new lown plon, o. in the neo_closaicol eclecllc or ort deco orchilocturol

etPressions which since lhe eotly lwenilelh GenturY hove orgonized the londscope of.ulturollhessoloniki.fhe locol peopl€. corelulscholot! ond even hoslYvi3ilors con recognisq In lhe mo.e recsnt

developmeni of the cilY, some of lhe motl importoni mom€nls in inlet-woTond Posl_worEuropeon mode.nism: fine buildings by Mitsokit by Pikionot by Korontinot by Doxiodit, bY

folouros ond bv K.olos.These eight plers \rith Povillons ore precirelythewoy in which lhe eighl conlemporory turop€an

orchitects - Aldo and Honnievon Evck Finn GeiPel llob F AC). ttlotio Botlo, alvoto Sizo, Coop

Himm€lbll)ou, En.ic Mi1011€3, Rem Xoolhoos IOMA) ond Gioncodo OeCorlo _ hove choren to poy

tributeto the orchilecturol l.od ition of the cify ond to enhonce ll3 cooslol londtcoPewith their

thinking In reloiion to tfie mosl up-to-the-minot€ orchitecturol debote.

Perhops lhe mosl inl.resiing osPect ol this p.ogtomme orronged by lhe Orgonizoiion tor rhe

Culturol Copiio | - lhesio lonikl 1997 is the toci thot, In erploining in the most€onvincing monnei

the ditticult relolionrhip between l||e locolond th€ univeBol il endows with confentfhit tertll.Europeon in3liirrlion, plocing orchitectsrot ond lown plonning Problemi tPecitic lo Theisolonikl.

which ore obo the problems ol ony Europ€on cily, ditectly within the sighl3 ol Europe's oll€nlion.

our common Europeon home i3 being built thonkr lo the contribulions mod€ by creoliv6 orlisl!from differlng troditionr, who sewe ditletlng oesthelic ideologies ond who live in differenlEuropeon counl.ies. Thessolon iki, lhe collurot CoPitol of tutoPe l99Z vdll be encoutoglng ond

w€lcoming oll ruch conlribulions.

Evongelos Venizelost$inister fo. Cullur€

li...c lt toi lh...dlonlll, o e.oerophl.ol, ht.tortrot o^d p.ychotogt..t d.t.f,nlnont, o vftot ondItrtovoroblo port ot lho (lty i vo.y.rhl.n.o Coovol *lrh rh! !oo, w||h tho .t..otor hortroh, ond w|th ,ltounlOlympur, lho soot ol tho Godr goording lho mouth o h. 9utt, rhotrotonlki ho! lor moro thon rwentv-threecenlurles €xistod, lived ond grown noxt to the rco.Every timo its relotionship wllh the ieo olter€d, o new peBp€crive opened up in the litc of rhis coostot city.inouguroting o new phose in its civilization: the ponoromi. view ot rhe seo from ihe pre-hisforicsetilements ofToumbo ond Korobournoki, the coo otcopitolol Mocedonio under Cossonder, ihewoterlront poloce of ihe Romon tmperor Goleriut the ioint copitot of Byzontium, within its circuiiof wo s;the demolition of ihose wolls on the side tocing the seo. in 1967, which opened up the.ity os port otthepro.ess of'Ollomon modernisotion'; the settlemenlof tfie eostseo front ond fhe prosperity otthecosmopoliton Greek cityot thessdlonikios o.rossroods for the peoples ol the Botkon. in the eo.tyfweniieth century; the shoping ollhe new long.eo lront in the yeo6 ol posr-wor groMh.Thessoloniki, o citywhich thonksto the innovotive urbon reconstruction pton prepored by H6brord ond histeom eorly in lhis €enfury occupies o speciol position in the history ol Europeon orchitecture ond urbonrenewol ond enioys los Pierre Lovedon remorted in l93t) on odvontoge shored by tew other cifies in thewo.ld: direcl occess tothe seo trom the treet which, in occordonc€ with its pton, run ot right onglesto the

Thonk to its hisioryond ii! octive citizenry ond ihonks otso to its geogrophy ond ih precious, tostingrelolionrhip with the seo, fhe cily ir now once more ploying o signifi.ont role in the lotlons. The gotes of itshorbour ore open lo the Medil€rroneon ond the Slock Seo, connocting three contin6nls, mony notions ondhopes beyond number.Thi.lertile relotionship between the ciiy ond th6 Thermoic at,tf is the focus of the progromme entiledPROVOKING URBAN IPISODES O IH€ COAST lplblicotion ond exhibirion SSTWETN sEA ANO CtTyl. ror theirpodicipotion lextend my heorlteli thonks io the or€hitects, Atdo ond Honnievon EycL tinn Geirel (fobt AC), Morio Bono, Alvoro Sizo, Coop Hlmmelbll)ou, tnric Mi.ottet Rem Koolhooi loltlAl ond Gioncorto DeCorlo. We olso thonkthe Nolherlonds Architecture Instituie for its immedioie ond enihusiostic rcsoonre to

As Moyor of lhessoloniki ond Pre.ident of the Orgonizotion for the CutturolCopifolof turope - Thessotonikil99Z I wish ihe city ot Rotl€rdom good luck in iis compoign to odd ih nome, in the neor future, to ihe setectliii otlhe cities which hov6 served os CulturolCoplfotot Europe.

Konstonlinos KosmopoulosMoyor ot Thesso lon iki ond President of the Orgonizoiion for th6Collurol Capilolol turope - Thes.oloniki 1997

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'l'ltcssalortil<i's s(,ir li()nt istt.r'llrirrlyspcttattrl:rr',irltlrorrglrlil t lc hils bccn trrrtlertaken in thc past to r:nhlnce lllc beitutyof the given location - no notable architecture savc thc WhitcTower, no properly designed coastal road adjusted to theneeds ofthe city's pedestrian population.

Nonetheless, the place designated for the boat terminalcould still become emblematic vis-i-vis the city's sea-frontlocation ifit acquires the urban quality it deserves, in otherwords is made to feel accessible by tying the rather isolatediocation of the terminal to the quay named Nikes, thusrendering its approach fluent. To achieve this, the abruptright-angle turn at the last moment - with drifting refuse inthe sea - is unacceptable. Hence the truncated corner and aplatform with seats over the sea, sixty centimetres belowquay{evel, from which to enj oy the view.

To achieve the above we propose a screen offree-standingcolumns to follow the quay-side pavement around thetruncated corner in a curye and finally pass right throughthe centre of the terminal.

SCREEN OF FREE-STANDING COTUMNS

The screen of columns will accompany the pedestrian to andfrom the boat as a tangible intermediary between the distanthorizon and the quay-side nearby. The idea is to interiorize,as it were, the final stretch ofthe sea front linking theterminal to the city. For a short distance you are clearly onthe city-side with the sea on the other side, until you pass

through the screen onto the semicircular pier under thelarge terminal roofwhich rests on sixteen columns arrangedin a square at eight or nine-metre intervals.

The semicircular pier projecting into the sea could be ofstone or wood. We have drawn the latter so as not to alter theoriginal quay-line, having already truncated the harsh corner.

In principle the screen offree-standing columns leading toand from - and under and across - the open terminal roofconstitutes, together with the latter, a two-part proposal.

As to the columns, they should be ofnatural (Iocal?) stoneor glazed ceramics, the pieces stacked around a galvanizedsteel tube eight or ten centimetres in diameter, supported bya reinforced concrete foundation. The pieces could either becircular or semicircular, with a diameter of 25 centinetresand 25-40 centimetres in height. The space between the tallcolumns is approximately 2S-30 centimetres. They could befaceted to articulate their rotundity. Their repetitive andcontinuous verticality will contrast markedly with thedistant horizon, whilst sun and moonlight shining throughthem will cast long oblique shadows across the coastal road.

Apropos the column screen: between the tall 2S-centimetre-diameter columns there are lower ones (twentycentimetres in diameter) placed in-between, the lowest ofwhich is approximatety eighty centimetres high.

Ideally these low columns could be continued furtheralong the quay as an effective balustrade, whilst the tall onescould be repeated at important places with, possibly, entriesto more platforms with seats (and kiosks), sixty centimetresbelow street-level. Special street lights, trees and bencheswould thus enhance the entire quay-side from the terminalall the way to White Tower, making it really attractive: acomprehensible and unified urban entity from whichthousands would benefit (see final p.S.).

N.B.

These composife columns could be conslrucled In such o woy thollhey con be dismonlled one by one in their entirety during thebuilding period of lhe sublerroneon roodwoy - should lhls evercome oboul - ond reinstolled ofterwords.Beside lhe required enclosed woiling room ond kiosks (food,

lournols, Informotlon, tog.th.r opproxlmotely elghly rquoromelres) we propose tollets 03 o necessory public omenlfy for oploce of this imporlqnce. There is omple spoce within fhesemlcirculor screen for exhibifion purposes (Thessoloniki's

Cullurol Yeorl or individuol morkel slolls selling flowerc, lourisicuriot loys, etc.

Beyond the obove, lwo stoircoses leod up lo o portly covered

roof-terroce. Anylhing from locol orlisl-shows, folk ond populormusic os well os doncing is possible here: o covered ploce forimprovised public use ot on ottroctive strotegic point

ll would be desiroble, lhough not obsolulely necessory if lheexisting buildings immediolely odioining the ferminql sile could bedemolished. We propose to continue lhe frees - olreody there on

the city-side of Nlkes - olong lhe quoy-slde porking oreo so os lolie lhe locolion of lhe terminol to lhe city yel ogoin, ond form opleosont verdurous bockground os one opprooches olong the quoy

from ofor,

PS.

Depending on Thessoloniki's onnuol finonciol budgel, X melres ofcolumn bolustrode could be odded olong lhe quoy eoch yeor

storting ol the terminol, to commemorqfe the lt97 Cullurol Yeor. By

the end of the millennium it mighi, wiih luck, hove reoched os foros the While Tower! (better lo begin from bofh endsll

Liquid columns. A nice exlro could be qchieve4 if here ond thereolong the screen of columns o film ol woter would run down thesurfoce of some - or preferobly oll! - of lhem from the fop. Thotwould demoleriolize them in o shimmering woy. These could occur

iusl here ond lhere, but perhaps io begin with, on eilher side of theentry to the existing triongulor pier,

Wilh worm seo-wind possing befween lhese'liquid' columns ilwould be unexpectedly cool on the hot city-side ol lhe columnscreen - louch such o column ond woler will pour over your hond.

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THE ABSENS€ Of IRANSITION

At lr illiorr St;rl iott is lltt'lro.tlrlittg l)litll()l ll) lirl lltt' t ily t t'tr lt t'

ol lltt'ss:rlonihi. lltt';tttcit'ttltilycxtt'tttls ltrrttl lhcsltttrt'rtlI h(' Gr.l1f ol Iheln)llkos to thc liol'cst of Sci( h Sott itr t hc lorttlol an anrphitheatre. The urban fabric ofthe city ceDtre is

lirrmcd by an orthogonal grid parallel to the se:r. Thus the sea

:rlways rem:rins present in the succession of perspective views

through the streets that'finish in the water"Achillion is located at thejunction ofa major transverse

axis, Aya Sophia avenue, with the seaside promenade, Palia

Paralia. Tire passage between the urban density and the gulfis as immediate as it is imperceptible: only an ordinary road

sL'parates the mass ofbuildings from the calm surface ofthewater. The gulfand the city interpenetrate and confront each

other in a sharp yet alnost absent transition. AchillionStation will try to reveal this close relationship.

FRAMES

The pier forrns a perimeter to the sea view It is a gap in the

landscape framing the sea's horizon as one descends the

avenue.'v\/1ten entering the platform the pedestrian is

exposed to the sea. \4lhile inside he is confionted with onlyisolated views: the sea on one side and the city on the other.

uMtTS

The access plane is horizontal at its centre, on the same level

as the quay and the boat's doors. The two lateral portions ofthe floor are deformed, increasing successively as one gets

closer to the water. The horizontal roofdoesn't cover the

boarding zone. Its perfect horizontality and the floor'svariating topography are continuous. This final extension of

the sea's horizon as a shifting terrestrial shifting of similarshape creates a suspended place: a transition befween

interior and exterior, horizon and topography, separationand union.

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hy:r sr.lpl)olt illg lllrrrc attrl lltct's inside , pluvtlking a tlialttgttcl)ctweerI iutet iot atrcl cxtcfior.

VOID AS SCENE Of AqTION

Achillion connccts with a vely public promeuade in the c itycentrc. Its ploxinrity to places ofleasrtlc:rnd cltltttt'c t-cnders

ir.rsignif ican t any similar-offer. Therefbrc, the pl:rtfblntproposes a voicl space open to tlllcxpected sitr.lations alldacciclcn tal c've'nts.

lnside it is l thresholcl, an interurediate space oPell toother spaccs - into the gathcring or towarcls clissipation, intothe sccnery of thc c i ty or confi'olt t ing the sea - becituse :t

colnnlon place is not only one of rer.tuiort, brtt also ofcxpcctatlon.

l-ocated tensiott, hesitation and delibelatioll :lccomPany

the passage fi'om one sccne to anothcr: a knot betwccnepisod e s.

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A CUEE ON THE OCEAN

The intensity ofthe confrontation between the sea andThessaloniki renders the city somehow startling. Its urbancompactness and dense fabric are impressive. The tightly knitnetwork ofregular structures that have developed beyondthe historic centre create an image of uniform, compactconstruction standing in stark contrast to the harmoniouslines of mountains behind and the expanse ofwaterstretching into the distance in front. The ocean is differentfrom the city. The long, wavy coastline delineates where onehalf stops and the other begins: one with its constructed,geometric, compact urban web; the other an infinite halfthat lends expression to a condition ofnature that isintractable and a potential threat to human hegemony.

Thessaloniki has the prerogative of making a cleardistinction between the two elements - city and ocean. Theocean presents itselfas powerful and hard, with the ceaselesspounding ofthe waves along the extensive coastline, and thecity steels itselffor the conffontation as a stiff, compact andgeometric force. The idea ofa connection via the water alongthe city limits, from the port to the airport, blurs this age-oldseparation between the land and the water. This attempt tocreate an alternative route has given rise to a newrelationship between the two parts, besides its function ofalleviating traffic in the urban web. The scaffolding has giventhe city the possibility to extend new tentacles into the sea,thus undermining its impregnability. From this perspective Iinterpreted the jetty and station in Faliro as the need for acompact, geometric 'signal', a 'primary' sign whoseconfiguration is such that it stands as a simple figure whichcan be seen from a distance as a designed avant-corps ofthecity behind.

42,

Furthermore, the'priurary' ligure is clipped in difli.rcntfunctional configurations required for a sinrplc trlnrllharbour, and a distinction is made between the dillbrentareas - waiting and service rooms, arrival and dep$rturc trolr .

by ordering the spaces in a composition on a donrert lc rt'lh,The long jetty is intended as a'bridge', an elcmcnt

intended to disengage the two new realities and dlrtlrrgulrlrbetween them rather than unite them.

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A.COASTAL PAVILLON IN FALIRO THESSALONIKIMARIO BOTTA ARCHITECT LUGATO SWITZEALAND

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plinciple. The l'otltcs lbl'departttt'e aud:rrrival are seParated'

yet together they form a single platform, trapezoidal in plan'

one-hu ndred-and-twenry metres long, fwenry metres wide on

the land-side and thirty metres wide on the ocean-side' Thc

form is defined by two long roofs covering the departurc ludarrival routes.

The paths for arrival and departure are along the westcl'tl

and eastern sides respectively. The western side oftheplatform and its roofare slightly curved. This roofconst it tllcs

a ramp whose height increases from three metres on thc

ocean-side to eight metres on the land-side' The eastern r'(x)l

slopes in the opposite direction. At both ends the roofs

extend at right angles to form two six-metre-high porticos'

On the ocean-side the roofextends at right-angles to form att

intermediate platform three metres high' Two overlapping

stairs, one in each portico, give access to two levels and also

complete the pathway between the two ramPs'

The required programme elements (bar, waiting room'

toilets) partially occupy the two levels ofthe portico on the

ocean-side. The ticket area is situated on the coastal avenuc'

detached and in front ofthe entry portico' The entire

structure will be executed in concrete with white cement an(l

exposed metal formwork. For those travelling by land or on

sea, the structure will acquire the appearance of 'an object

that moves slowly', anchored to the coastal avenue's

retaining wall like a shiP.

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SECTION SIRIP SCALE I :?00

SECTION POOL SCALE I : 200

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Firstly, I'd like to outline some circumstances surroundingthe project that focused my attention, as I believe that oncethey are known, the logic underlying my design will becomeclearer.

I was intrigued by the .programme', or I should sav the

'idea'; the programme became light because it *", ,uppo.t"dby a strong idea. The idea.was to create a sea link between theport and airport ofThessaloniki - a shuttle between the rwopoints and an indirect service making intermediate stops atkey points of the ciry along the way. This will mean that the .

highly congested road system will be avoided, and theattention ofcitizens redirected towards the coastline, thus re_establishing a highly evocative view ofthe city and maktng itpart ofeveryday experience, as it previously used to be.

^Iwas interested by the proposal to contain the covered part

ofthe coastal pavilion within an area ofjust eighty squaremetres - more area would have amounted to swimmingagainst the current in this era ofthoughtl"r, 14/"rtu. A.rd

"lrobecause the contrast between the great significance ofthetheme - arrival and departure are intense moments of humanexperience - and the compact space within which it is to beexpressed was inducive to staking the whole design on theessential and elegant.

I was also pleased to find that each pavilion had beenassigned to a different architect, as this will offer the cityimages ofthe present state ofEuropean architecture _ver notobtrusive as they will be diverse and scattered, thus not toohazardous.

I was also delighted to hear that at the opposite end ofthejourney - at the port - there will be a pavilion designed by Aldovan Eyck, an old friend of mine and a very refined architect. Itmakes me joyous to think that travellers Ieaving from the citycentre to catch their planes will embark on the shuttle from

his pavilion and disembark at mine - and those arriving willdo the sarne in the opposite order.

And then I felt a deep interest in the ciry which I alreadyknew but had never visited with the mental and visualopenness that one acquires when comrnitted to design.Finally, the location itselfinterested me. I visited it, arrivingbyboth land and sea, I crossed it in all directions, studying it,photographing it, drawing it on the paper handkerchiefs Iusually carry round with me for that purpose. It is a solitaryplace situated between the immense airport buildings andthe empty site ofthe School ofAgriculture, at the mouth ofawatercourse which in spring becomes a torrent and carriessilt down to the sea. In fact it is dredged regularly, and thiscan be seen by the sand which has been heaped along itsedges to form a series ofdunes.

The dunes are the first peculiar feature that one noticctwhen arriving by sea or along the road skirting the river. Thcyhave the soft organic shapes that sand naturally acquireswhen dropped from excavators; and their arrangement,random and variable, forms a sequence ofspaces facing ontothe beach, the road and the river.

In the space behind the slenderest ofthe dunes, lyingparallel with the sea and the mouth of the river - the lattcrdivided in two by an islet continually changing shape andposition - I found the remains ofa chair. I put it together arbest I could and then dragged it to the top ofthe dune, fronrwhere I could sit and gaze at the whole circle ofthe horizon,as iffrom the highest city rooftop. It then appeared clearlythat this sequence ofspaces formed by the dunes shoulcl rrotbe altered, that the future pavilion would have to enter intothe depths ofthis landscape and not be superimposed ou itsmagical configuration.The first design choice was thus to construct the cover€d part

ol l hc p;lvili()n 'itrsi<lt" orrt'ol lht,tlrrnes - wit hin I Irt, onc I

havc'dcsclibcd as lying par.allcl with thc sel, wl.rich is alsoperpendicular to the axis of the rectangular outline withinwhich the pier has to be set

I shall say at once that the dune will not be excavated butdismantled and then put back when the space to be encloseclhas been built. And this seems to me part of a naturalprocess, as it is the destiny ofdunes to be constantly formedand erased by the sea, the wind and, in our case, excavators.And it's also the destiny ofdunes to incorporate within themfossil trunks, bones ofanimals, smooth pebbles, desert rosesand sea-shells ofall kinds. In our case it will incorporate,together with all the other minute bits and pieces, the large,smooth shell which forms the roofed-in part of the pavilion.

The visible parts ofthis shell will be the transparent wallsof the two entrances which emerge on the long sicles of thedune and five metal skylights - two large and three slencler _

which will project skyward. Thus the only signs of itspresence will be those open to the exterior. But to understandits architectural nature it will be necessary to enter theinternal space, which will be as precious as the inside ofanysea-shell. This preciousness is expressed not so much in thelnaterials as in the complexity ofits geouretrical structure. Adescription of the pavilion geometry will be incluclecl at theend of this text.

So at this point it seems enough to say that, starting fromthe i nterpenetration of two segnents ofa sphere, the shellcame to consist ofan elliptical 'kernel' enveloped by a ,shielcl'

which is created by the intertwining of two polycentricspirals. The 'kernel' corresponds to the functional space anclthe 'shield' is the housing which enfolds it, coincicline withits bonndaries in the upper part and diverging from themlower down to fornl a series ofcavities. The relationshio

botwccl) 'l<ct trt'l'rrrrtl 'slr it,ltl' is I lr trs v;rlirrlrlt': tlrt.r'r.rsconsollrnc(] bctwccn tll('l itt I lrc l()p:rrrtl ;r v; i;rlrlr.dissonance towalds the lx)int whel'c thc sht'll r'(.\t\ tl tlt|,ground.And this is jnstwhat happclts with:r st.rr slrr.ll, wlrl lr

looks as ifits figure is constant but actu:llly it is lrot. lr'r , trl'it has to meet the twofold need of containing I lrt. rrrollrrrrand resting safely on the sea bed.

I hope that the complex form and arl iculllt. 1l(.onr,tt V rlthis sea-shell, like the imperceptible vibrat io rr s o | .r r r

amorphous body made of sand, will affect :r nrl r.xr rtltravellers passing through the dune, the opt,n s1r,rl' tow,rr rlrthe mainland and the sea (a diapason tinglit)g to .lharmonious presence). The pier of the pavi I iorr w | | |,t ll I

acquire the same complexity bybeing impcft t'pt t lrlV I t vrrr I

At the far end towards the sea, where the rlt.r'k n.l t rwrthere is a podium that projects over the sea. l k,n. tr,rvr,lh,nwaiting to embark, or those who have just l:rrrtlt.rl. r ,ur Lrl|out on a panorama which makes a broad swc('ll | | | ||lt t ll t,

airport to the fortress ofthe old town.On disembarking from the ferry - and pcr'llitl)\ ,tltr,l

climbing up to the 'top' to admire the panol rrr,r tr,rvr'llr,r rwill cross the landing stage towards the dunc, ;rrrrl t l|..rrpenetrate its interior by entering the shell, wltt.r'r. I lrr.y wtllfind a waiting room, cafe and ticket-office; t hr.n tlrly wtll grr

on down outside to find themselves in a spat t. lrorr r rrlr.r l lrythe dunes and oDen to the river.

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