arrondissement: Marseille 8th

Projet moderniste labellisé Patrimoine du XXe, le Parc du Roy d’Espagne est une vaste opération d’urbanisation du Sud de Marseille partant à l’assaut des contreforts boisés du massif de Marseilleveyre qui sépare le centre-ville des Calanques. Le site naturel aura contribué à orienter le projet des architectes vers le modèle des cités-jardins.

 

Envisagée dès 1959, la construction sera achevée en 1974. L’ensemble comporte un dégradé de 10 tours portant des noms de régions espagnoles, ainsi que 60 villas individuelles noyées dans la végétation de la forêt, dans un cadre offrant confort, intimité, et détente. L’implantation, attentive à l’exposition solaire et respectueuse du paysage, dessine un plan de masse aéré et discontinu.

 

S’intégrant dans une vaste pinède, le programme crée une ville haute dans les collines. L’ensemble, qui possède ses propres équipements, allie services publics et privés, activités tertiaires et logements. Ainsi, commerces, écoles, club de loisirs, équipements sportifs en plein air, et accès direct au départ des sentiers des Calanques sont à disposition des habitants.

Guillaume Gillet & Louis Olmeta

Né en 1912 et mort en 1987, Guillaume Gillet est un architecte français, Premier Grand Prix de Rome. Connu pour son architecture moderne, il est à la tête de l’une des principales agences françaises. Il participe à de nombreux concours, réalise d’importants aménagements urbains et programmes immobiliers. Parmi ses œuvres les plus célèbres, on compte l’église Notre-Dame de Royan, le pavillon de la France à l’Exposition universelle de Bruxelles de 1958, l’École nationale de la magistrature à Bordeaux, ou encore la tour le Grand Pavois à Marseille. Une collaboration étroite avec de grands ingénieurs l’amène à travailler sur des structures innovantes, mariant habilement l’art et la technique.

 

Né en 1906, Louis Olmeta est un architecte marseillais. Ses réalisations se concentrent dans les années 1950 et 1960, au moment où la population augmente fortement dans la cité phocéenne. C’est avec l’arrivée de Gaston Defferre que vont se développer ses projets. En effet, le maire de Marseille lance un programme associant de gros travaux d’aménagement urbain et la construction de grands ensembles immobiliers. Louis Olmeta participe également à de nombreuses réalisations privées, souvent en association avec d’autres architectes. Louis Olmeta associe dans ses réalisations les critères du confort moderne et de l’esthétique traditionnelle par le choix des matériaux de façade et de leur dessin.

Montredon

Close to nature, Montredon is ideally located between the sea and the garrigue at the end of the 8th district of Marseille.

Authentic and charming, the Montredon district is nestled at the southern end of the Cité Phocéenne, between the Pointe Rouge and the calanques. Crossed by the avenue de la Madrague de Montredon and its local shops, this residential area bordered by beaches and creeks has kept its character of a former fishing village.

The Parc Pastré, at the foot of the Calanques National Park, is a green space much appreciated by the inhabitants of Marseilles for its vast lawns, its horse riding centre and its double panorama of sea and hills. During their strolls, walkers can admire the Château Pastré, an architectural beauty completed in 1862 according to the plans of the architect Jean-Charles Danjoy. This Provençal bastide of stone and pink brick with rounded facades, which once belonged to a family of Marseilles notables, is the cornerstone of the local heritage.

Away from the town centre, the Montredon district was also an important industrial centre during the 19th century. Today, its old glassworks, marble factories and other factories are gradually being rehabilitated. A figure of the revival of Marseille’s culture, the Friche de l’Escalette has been home to an art centre for a few years now, including a sculpture and architecture park, and regularly offers exhibitions and tours.

Sainte-Anne

Sainte-Anne is a typical residential area of the ``city of 111 villages``.

Still structured around the old village core, with its charming main square and church, it is a good place to live. The food shops on Avenue de Mazargues and the large market on Boulevard Michelet on Thursday mornings make this a family-friendly neighbourhood.

A rugby match at O’Brady’s pub is a must, as well as the Set Squash. Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse is the architectural landmark of the area, with a panoramic roof terrace that is not to be missed.

Périer – Delibes

An extension of the very chic Carré d'Or, Périer is one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in Marseille, offering both a family life and a city life with its schools, shops and transportation nearby.

Central, between Castellane and the Prado traffic circle, and very well served with two metro stops, there are many colleges and high schools, including the Lycée Périer, which makes it a young and lively neighborhood.

Place Delibes is the heart of the neighborhood, with its characteristic newsstand and flower shop. The buildings are mostly Haussmannian, and the life is urban. Despite its urbanization, the neighborhood remains quite green, the perfect balance for a tree-lined city life between city and sea.

Not to be missed: the daily market on the Prado, the largest and most well-stocked in the city.

Carré d’Or

This middle-class neighborhood in Saint-Giniez is popular with the upper classes and is ideally located between the Prado and Rue Paradis, where you can find quality food shops.

Quiet and pleasant, this residential area is essentially composed of private mansions and charming villas.

In its center unfolds the superb Villa Bagatelle, inspired by the English picturesque style of the XVIIIth century and its park. Today this villa houses the town hall of the 6ème and 8ème arrondissements, but it also hosts exhibitions and events: art, history, science and open-air concerts in the middle of the greenery. The garden and its large flowered alleys are popular places for families and walkers.

In the middle of the eclectic mansions stands the Villa Lotus designed by the architect Bentz in 1913, this villa with its cubic volume stands out in this bourgeois landscape.