
The project will pay particular attention to integration into the landscape and urban identity of the Principality, as well as to the environment: respect for the marine environment, sites and landscapes, eco-design, environmental certifications HQE Aménagement, BREEAM, Biodivercity label, Port Propre label.
Valode & Pistre is in charge of the overall plan of the project, the architectural design of the infrastructures and public facilities, the architectural design of the central district called "Jardins d'Eau" as well as the district of La Colline which houses the exhibition halls in extension of the Grimaldi Forum. This project is carried out in partnership with Renzo Piano, in charge of the Port district, Michel Desvigne in charge of the landscape, and the Monegasque architect Alexandre Giraldi.
The site of Monaco is exceptional: a natural deep-water port protected by the "Rock" and surrounded by mountains plunging into the sea. The Hercules port recalls the mythological dimension of this Mediterranean site. Monaco is also a modern city, layered along contour lines, dense and bristling with increasingly tall buildings. An urban complex linked to a very limited territory in terms of surface area, which can only find its development towards the sky or in the sea.
The challenges of a project such as the offshore extension to the right of Anse du Portier are considerable. These are the questions raised by the insertion into the physical and urban context, in the greater landscape and in the Portier district, in the coastal system and in the maritime site, which guided each of the solutions developed.
Creating an extension at sea is an artificial action. The design of the project seeks, on the contrary, to accredit the idea that this new territory gained from the sea is natural. It applies itself to creating two ecosystems, one terrestrial, on the extension, the other marine, at the right of the extension.
To respect this specific Mediterranean and Monegasque context, the construction technique for the offshore extension consists of building a large dam made of reinforced concrete caissons manufactured elsewhere and transported by sea. Once the sanctuary is thus created, the backfilling operations – the backfill also comes from elsewhere and is transported by sea – can be carried out without altering the nearby seabed.
This new bank follows the -30 meter isobath curve restoring a natural shape and facilitates the flow of currents that oxygenate the underwater flora and fauna. The posidonia massifs of Larvotto and the drop-off of the coralliferous Spélugues are respected and completed by the installation of structures suitable for hosting a development of fauna and flora.
The platform thus created, of approximately 6 ha, is raised in its center by the creation of a hill. This relief justifies the new curve of the coast around which it winds. This new landscape is abundantly planted with large umbrella pines. Under this canopy, a scrubland typical of the region is transplanted and acclimatized.
The neighborhood that is established on this extension is both varied and mixed. The north-eastern part is organized around the hill. Villas are anchored on the seaside like the first urbanizations of the Riviera, then gradually these villas rise to constitute the upper part of buildings facing the sea.
Under the hill, a set of exhibition halls completes the neighboring Grimaldi Forum. The southern part borders a small marina, a new place of entertainment for the Principality, around which restaurants and shops are distributed. A large residential building located between the port and the sea, on stilts, constitutes the most maritime part of the project. It was designed by the architect Renzo Piano.
The architecture of the various buildings combines the greatest contemporaneity with Mediterranean tradition. The balconies, terraces, hanging gardens, pergolas, shutters and pools are the manifestation of this. The extension into the sea at the right of the Portier affirms its dual belonging to the Monegasque universe and to the current urban renewal.
Key figures
- Location: Monte-Carlo, Monaco
- Program: 6ha extension on the sea, housing, shops, entertainment port, public spaces, extension of the Grimaldi Forum
- Certifications: HQE Aménagement, BREEAM, BiodiverCity Label, Clean Port Label, Espace Vert Écologique (ecological management of green spaces)
- Delivery: November 2024
- Project owner: SAM ANSE DU PORTIER
- Speakers: Tractebel (Structures), MDP (Landscaper), A&C (Acoustician), SOMIBAT (Fluids), JBSNEF (Electricity), OASIIS (Environment)
- Living area :
- Current area of the Principality of Monaco: 202ha
- Sea extension: 60.000m2 on 6ha
- 3% increase in the territory of Monaco
- Activities
- Accommodation: 14 villas – 56 collective accommodations
- Shops, restaurants, facilities and public spaces, entertainment port
- 50% increase in the capacity of the Grimaldi Forum
- 2km of coastal promenade
- 1 ha of green park
- Environment
- 40% of the energy needs of the new district will be met by solar panels.
- 600 m2 of rainwater recovery storage is planned.
- 80% of heating and cooling is covered by renewable energy.
- No use of chemical phytosanitary products for the maintenance of parks and gardens.
- Respect for biodiversity in construction projects.
- Reduction of the environmental impact of the port.
- Project in seismic zone
- 18 caissons, 30m high, will form the protective belt of the new district
- Weight of each box = 10.000 Tons
- Manufacture of boxes: Fos-sur-Mer