THE SITE, THE PROJECT AND ITS CHALLENGES

The project is developed on a site known as the “Pointe de Floride”, whose position in the urban area gives it strategic importance not only for the city, but also for the metropolis and the river Seine axis.
The project focuses on two major challenges:

• On the one hand, the creation of a modern, secure and functional infrastructure that offers cruise ship passengers optimal conditions, through the refurbishment of two cruise terminals and the construction of a third.

• On the other hand, the “Pointe de Floride” site will be opened up to the people of Le Havre with the creation of vast public spaces on the large terrace roofs of the new Terminal T1. It will constitute an invitation to stroll, meet and discover new views of both the UNESCO World Heritage city center and the port landscape.

URBAN AND VOLUMETRIC APPROACHES

Crossing the site from the east to the esplanade de la Pointe and the sea, the “Grande Valleuse” park was conceived as a structuring urban axis for the overall project, onto which the cruise terminals are literally grafted. It is a veritable backbone, where buildings and plants enter into synergy.
The presence of the terminals gives rhythm, meaning and scale to the in-between landscaping.

The overall volumetric and architectural composition of the two buildings is based on three common principles:

• A unified treatment of the ground floor levels to integrate the various functions;

• A more specific treatment of the first-floor volumes to express the identity of the buildings and assert their signal function. These projecting volumes showcase the activity of the terminals, and are therefore largely glazed. They offer multiple views of the park, the docks, the sea, the city center and the port;

• An architectural grammar common to both buildings that integrates existing and rehabilitated structures. This translates into an identical materiality that unifies the facility.
For instance, the metal cladding, that is deployed on all three terminal facades, accentuates the volumes, while the irregular ribs create a play of light by reflecting the undulations of the sea, the passage of clouds, or lightning. Let’s also mention the use of details such as curtain walls, brise-soleils, awnings, cantilevers and railings to punctuate facades and characterize functions.