PROGRAM

Château d’If, a Contemporary Graft: Temporary Architecture, Art and Landscape in the Mediterranean. The competition invites students and young architects to imagine a contemporary graft on the site of Château d’If, an iconic monument of the Mediterranean.

The objective is to create a temporary, lightweight, reversible, and heritage-conscious intervention capable of revealing the monument from a new perspective. The project should establish a dialogue between architecture, the maritime landscape, artistic creation, and the memory of the site.

The Three Dimensions of the Contemporary Graft

1. Temporary Architecture Within the Island’s Enclosure

Imagine a temporary structure installed within or around the castle, capable of hosting a cultural and artistic programme.

This architecture may include:

a perfoming arts venue;

an exhibition venue;

meeting and gathering spaces.

Indicative surface area: flexible, depending on the proposed concept..

The structure must be independent, dismantlable, and designed as a temporary presence in dialogue with the existing architecture.

2. A Contemporary Extension Towards the Sea

The sea becomes a natural continuation of Château d’If.

Projects may imagine a floating extension or maritime architecture including:

a floating stage;

a cultural platform on the water;

a performance or exhibition space;

technical and reception areas.

Indicative surface area: open, depending on the proposed concept.

This extension should create a new relationship between the castle, the island, the sea, and the city of Marseille.

The stage may host performances, concerts, artistic interventions, or nighttime events.

3. An Immersive Artistic Intervention

The project must incorporate an artistic dimension capable of temporarily transforming the perception of the monument.

Inspired by major temporary interventions in public space, such as the monumental works of Christo or other contemporary artists, this intervention may take the form of:

a monumental veil or envelope; a textile installation; a light-based artwork; a video projection; a sound creation; an intervention visible from the sea or from Marseille.

This temporary “second skin” should reveal the identity of Château d’If through a sensitive and memorable experience.

Indicative surface area or footprint: open, depending on the proposed concept.

The project should imagine a new contemporary layer for Château d’If: a temporary presence between architecture, art, and the Mediterranean landscape, while preserving the natural environment of the Calanques National Park.

A graft capable of transforming the way this historic monument is perceived and, for a moment, inscribing a new story into the landscape of the Mediterranean.