Massilia Triad

The MASSILIA TRIAD Project was born in 2014. After shooting the CMA CGM Tower in February 2014, it came to me the idea of shooting a series that would stage the three towers of Marseille (CMA CGM Tower the ALLIANZ tower, Le Grand Pavois). These three towers are emblematic of the transformation of old industrial areas […]

The MASSILIA TRIAD Project was born in 2014. After shooting the CMA CGM Tower in February 2014, it came to me the idea of shooting a series that would stage the three towers of Marseille (CMA CGM Tower the ALLIANZ tower, Le Grand Pavois). These three towers are emblematic of the transformation of old industrial areas of the city.

 

The ALLIANZ Tower

The Mediterranean tower is the third highest building of marseille behind the Grand Pavois and CMA CGM Tower. The building is located in the first business district of Marseille. Before the 70’s Marseille has no business district, or office tower. In 1970, when the work of what was initially the AGF Tour is launched, the SINVIM commissioned the building of the highest offices in the city. Just as the CMA-CGM tower, construction of the Mediterranean tower is part of the development of a former industrial area of the city, located between Place Castellane and Prado train station in the 6th arrondissement.



Needy Little Bees

Needy Little Bees


Behind the curtain

Behind the Curtain

The architectural feature of this building is its facade consisting of prefabricated white concrete blocks assembled to reproduce the honeycomb. Thus, like bees in a hive, Allianz Tower’s workers are busy in the honeycomb structure.


 

The CMA CGM Tower

CMA-CGM tower is the tallest tower in the city of Marseille (147m). Designed by architect Zaha Hadid, it is in the business district Euroméditerranée where other facilities. The construction of the tower CMA-CGM is one of the results of Euroméditerranée program which is to restructure completely several neighborhoods adjacent to the port of Marseille. It is the first major work on the site of Euroméditerranée.

The tower’s disparate volumes (generated from gradual centripetal vectors) gently converge towards each other and then bend apart to create an elegant “metallic curving arc that slowly lifts and accelerates skywards into a dramatic vertical geometry.

The unique design strategy of the new CMA CGM Headquarters divides the overall volume into smaller fragments and reassembles them in a way that maintains the integral uniformity of the tower.

Seen from above the building reminds me of a Diamond, symbol of the femininity of Zaha Hadid’s architecture. It’s also the Jewel of the city.

This picture is part of a series of shots I called “The Massilia Triad” representing the 3 towers of Marseille (CMA CGM, Allianz, and Grand Pavois), all build to develop a former industrial area of the city.

Black Diamond

Black Diamond