Aldilonda – Maritime Walkway
Bastia |
France –
2020
Client
City of Bastia
Start of construction
02 | 2019
Size
450 m
Construction budget
9.75 M€
Competition winner
2017
Completion
12 | 2020
American Concret Insititut, Prize Flat work 2021
In Bastia, Corsica’s second largest city on the north-east coast, the promenade Aldilonda, which means “Above the Sea” has been achieved in 2020.
Anchored in the rock, Aldilonda follows the rocky coastline five meters above sea level. The rock forms the massive natural foundation of the mighty enclosing wall of Bastia’s fortress, which gave the city its name. Until now, the rocky coast beneath the fortress wall was only partially accessible.
More than a path, a destination with new perspectives on the open sea, suspended between sea and sky, Aldilonda becomes a spectacular event. A softly curved path contrasts the massive fortress and the rock on which the bastion is founded. The path nestles against the rock, leans against it, breaks through it, widens out and offers places to linger. Sensitively, the construction blends into the rock, the rich natural space of the coast is carefully traversed. At the same time, the red band of the railing made of Corten steel offers a high sense of security above the surf. The bars offer maximum transparency, the iron-bearing rock harmonizes with the rusty red of the railing.
The sea can be experienced through the area covered with a transparent grid. The balcony is exposed to the surf; when the waves are high, the water passes through the stainless-steel grating on the rock, reducing the massive force of the water. Hydraulic tests in a basin in La Seyne-sur-Mer were necessary to determine the force of the wave impact at 14 tons per square meter.
The acrobatic use of workers, suspended from the platform of the fort on the trapeze, made it possible to anchor the structure in the rock. Drilling jigs had to be designed to anchor the 25-metre-long tension cables. All participating companies have been working under difficult conditions according to every day weather and the strength of the sea.
Lead Architect: Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes, mandate
Local Architect: Buzzo Spinelli Architecture
Engineers: Sbp
Landscape Architecture: Insitu
In Bastia, Corsica’s second largest city on the north-east coast, the promenade Aldilonda, which means “Above the Sea” has been achieved in 2020.
Anchored in the rock, Aldilonda follows the rocky coastline five meters above sea level. The rock forms the massive natural foundation of the mighty enclosing wall of Bastia’s fortress, which gave the city its name. Until now, the rocky coast beneath the fortress wall was only partially accessible.
More than a path, a destination with new perspectives on the open sea, suspended between sea and sky, Aldilonda becomes a spectacular event. A softly curved path contrasts the massive fortress and the rock on which the bastion is founded. The path nestles against the rock, leans against it, breaks through it, widens out and offers places to linger. Sensitively, the construction blends into the rock, the rich natural space of the coast is carefully traversed. At the same time, the red band of the railing made of Corten steel offers a high sense of security above the surf. The bars offer maximum transparency, the iron-bearing rock harmonizes with the rusty red of the railing.
The sea can be experienced through the area covered with a transparent grid. The balcony is exposed to the surf; when the waves are high, the water passes through the stainless-steel grating on the rock, reducing the massive force of the water. Hydraulic tests in a basin in La Seyne-sur-Mer were necessary to determine the force of the wave impact at 14 tons per square meter.
The acrobatic use of workers, suspended from the platform of the fort on the trapeze, made it possible to anchor the structure in the rock. Drilling jigs had to be designed to anchor the 25-metre-long tension cables. All participating companies have been working under difficult conditions according to every day weather and the strength of the sea.
Lead Architect: Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes, mandate
Local Architect: Buzzo Spinelli Architecture
Engineers: Sbp
Landscape Architecture: Insitu
