In Marseilles, located at the corner between Avenue de la Barquière and Avenue de la Soude in a green oasis in the 9th arrondissement, La Barquière is the complex redesigned by Pietri Architects, who won the third prize in the Façade Cladding category at the 11th edition of the Grand Prix.
La Barquière includes 62 housing units, served by two staircases and distributed in a six-storey building comprising two levels of penthouses and two additional levels of underground parking for a total of 77 parking spaces; on the northern side, there is a 991 sq.m municipal sports facility with a football pitch and skateboard ramps.
Thanks to the Ondina collection by Casalgrande Padana, the façades are clad with porcelain stoneware tiles that recreate a three-dimensional wave, which seems to emerge from the sea: these bright white tiles hint at the white houses of the Mediterranean and reflect the sunlight, making the cladding of the northern side of the building iridescent.
In addition, the façades of the building feature both wavy and straight lines: continuous balconies sway along the white south-western façade, but on the northeastern side, the lines become straight and sharp, and the façade is clad with a faceted white mosaic.
The lush vegetation gives the complex an urban feel and, on the upper floors of the building, you can enjoy the view of the bright blue colour of the Mediterranean Sea.
Finally, the candid white colour, a constant in the architectural composition, enhances the shapes of La Barquière, which alternate from sinuous like the waves of the sea to straight, sharp and vertical.
