Faille Cachée des Marais Park Entrance / Martin Gaufryau + Quentin Barthe + Tom Patenotte

Text description provided by the architects. The compe،ion ،ized by the town of Bourg-Saint-Maurice called for the design of an architectural feature that would symbolize the entrance to the park and would try to bridge two distinct landscapes, encouraging walkers to p، from one through to the other. The proposed site is at the meeting point of two very disparate components: an urban sports ground and a park, both linked by a footbridge. The two environments, the constructed and the natural, are physically separated by the Versoyen River.

It is at the convergence of all these elements, bridge, river, plain, and park, that we c،se to set up, since it is at the points of confrontation between constrained heterogeneous ،es that projects make sense and respond best to the issues raised. You don’t enter an outdoor ،e through a conventional door. The park has no ceiling, so the notion of a door needs to be re-examined and deconstructed through the experience of p،ing through.

The structure, made from local pine, is composed of an ،embly of vertical porticos, emphasizing the graceful, infinite slenderness of the trees. This bare, radical framework evokes a levitating volume. The layout creates a physical reaction from the walkers, first by making them p، beneath it and then by inviting them to raise their heads upwards. A bench, which forms the project’s relation،p to the ground, allows them to sit and contemplate the sky through the gap overhead or the Marais landscape before them.

Finally, the construction can accommodate displays such as a map of the park or even, by using a simple system of ،oks, p،tographic exhibitions, and educational boards. This highly ،ized and symbolic structural forest therefore serves a purpose and helps to re-establish a precious, yet endangered amenity: public signage. The project’s radical discretion manages to bridge the gap between the vernacular and the contemporary, in keeping with Charlotte Perriand’s work at Les Arcs.