MSA Stage 5 School of Architecture
Jiayi Eunice Xu
Reimagining Resilience: Adaptive Reuse and Community-Centric Urban Regeneration in Les Crottes, Marseille
What happens when a district falls behind of the evolving technological and developmental dynamics of the city, where the buildings, industries, urban systems and community have became obsolete? They either faces ongoing neglect and decline or complete obliteration and replaced with modern alternatives that matches the current trends.
This research project aims to address the multifaceted challenges faced by post-industrial districts such as Les Crottes in Marseille, grappling with declining populations, high poverty rates, and the impending threat of losing their historical identity to large-scale regeneration projects driven by external interests of the city. The district is currently undergoing a high profile urban regeneration project led by Euromed, resulting in the demolition of existing industrial buildings that once defined the urban landscape. The regeneration, just like many other Euromed projects, seems disconnected from the needs and aspiration of the people of Les Crottes. In stead, focusing more on Marseille’s image as a global technologically advanced city.
In response to the prevailing social, economic and political issues of Les Crottes, this research project proposes an approach to building urban resilience through the adaptive reuse of existing built heritage and community-centric urban regeneration. In the attempt to future-proof the district to unpredictability and changes while preserving it’s historic identity. The program of the proposal focus on education, innovation, production and creativity in the form of a co-woking and co-production educational workshop building in the converted Le Tulip Soap factory, along with a Community Park on the same site that focuses on facilitating community driven initiatives, sociality and outdoor spaces.
The adaptive reuse of existing buildings approach allows for responsiveness to change and ensures that decisions are contextually grounded, considering the needs of the people. The core value of the project can be applied to other post-industrial districts of the west as an attempt at sustainable urban regeneration that goes beyond physical revitalization, while addressing the importance of inclusivity, cultural preservation and resilient urban planning.