This implementation in a bad reputation district of Marseille is the result of a long participative process between the inhabitants, the social landlords, Marseille Rénovation Urbaine, Marseille City Council and the 2 Europan runner-up teams. The project started with the creation of a number of public spaces in anticipation of the transformation of the neighbourhood. The shape of these spaces is not determined by one function only. Playground and sport area are intertwined. These are no longer sports grounds imposing themselves on the city, but parts of the city sometimes used for sport. A walkway runs like a thread through all the areas of the project.

The office Concorde had very clear ideas about accommodation in the zone known as the “Carrñe Sud” which had long been agreed on as an area for housing development. Their idea was bases on a new way of using the land to make housing accessible and to depart from the traditional model of tenand and social landlord. Europan12 Marseille Completed public spaces5 Europan12 Marseille Completed public spaces3

In 2020, the team won the contract to develop the 2.1 hectares site with a team including a developer -a local start-up company interested in giving a more human face to large-scale developments and another architectural office co-opted for his knowledge of low-carbon construction.

In a sector that will eventually include about 130 housing units, the group is to create social housing units, two thirds of which will enjoy a joint land lease arrangement (BRS). A solidarity land office (imagined by the office Concorde) will remain ownership of the land to reduce purchase cost.

This project for a Mediterranean habitat that is both dense and low-rise is currently in progress.