Definition:Terminus

In ancient Rome, maps were not a common use: instead territories were delimited by boundary stones. Terminus – Roman God of Limits and Boundaries – hence sits on these stones, looking in both directions, channelling the separation between the two sides, whilst embodying a connection between them. His presence acts as a valve, regulating the passages and journeys through the edge.

Marseille embodies a Terminus in itself: it comprises of the line where the land and the sea meet. Within this fluctuating and dynamic city, specific symbols define the condition of terminus, separating and defining it from the outside.

My study identifies the termini in Marseille in the realms of the sea, the port  and the land. In particular, it analyses where the terminus is breached, broken and bridged, where it is physically manifested and where it may fade.

Identifying Marseille’s Termini

As the city branches out to the sea, it thins outwards from the land: at each extreme point, there is a lighthouse. Scattered between the city and the sea, these devices regulate the flow, always signifying something which is beyond for anyone arriving at or departing from Marseille.

At the very line between the sea and land, a dense fluctuating edge oscillates between the sea and the land becoming an intrinsic part of both environments: the port. This permeable propels dynamic flows in both directions, constantly extending Marseille towards North Africa and drawing the Mediterrenean into the city.

Lastly, the Grands Ensambles built in Marseille’s banlieu create a solid inhabited wall at the high edges of the city’s land. From here, access to the inner city is constantly interrupted by walls, intense traffic, missing connections, and the obstacle of topography.

Anatomy of a Transport Node

Following the studies of terminus, the proposal is to celebrate Marseille’s connections and flows.  The city’s identity as a gateaway opening Europe to the Mediterrenean inspires the proposed building to expose and enable fluxes of movement. This building becomes a central node where the public transport systems of buses, trams, cable cars, subways, bikes and ferries merge into one station. Moreover, it acts as a propellor that sends and receives flows between the edges of the city and its core.

Ultimately, the objective is to connect the edges together, providing more equal access to the city and reminding its inhabitants of their contribution in building Marseille’s identity.

The site selected in the Joliette is a crucial node of transport where buses, trams, cruises and the metro pass through. The new Terminus completes the connections by adding cable cars (télépherique) and ferry buses (navettes), overcoming the missing links. This way, people living in the edges of the city can access the Port – a vital organ of Marseille, gathering 43.000 workers each day.

Proposal: Terminus RTM HQ

The program comprises of RTM (Marseille’s public transport system) Offices and HQ (transport control rooms, offices, services), transport connections and stations, and a variety of services which may accommodate people travelling across the city. These services include activities directly related to travelling (waiting, eating, reading…) and also different needs that may be useful when passing through a transport node (a créche, to drop off and pick up kids on the way to work, a laundry room, and showers…). An auditorium allows for exchanges to occur between the public and the RTM, to democratically make decisions in regards of Marseille’s accessibility.