Poolside Politics

The theme Radical Collective closely interrogate the collective, as a form of socio-political and cultural practice and in the speculation of new architectural typologies. We examined the origins of contemporary collective action, questioned its practices today and speculated new forms of radical collectivism. The investigation was brought to the urban and rural contexts of Southeast France. Here students carried out their own research, wrote their briefs and chose their own sites critically informed by their socio-political, political and environmental contexts.

Across the South of France access to water is becoming increasingly political. Public spending is controversially channelled into extravagant waterfront monuments whilst many of Marseille’s civic swimming pools now stand as abandoned relics of a golden era of municipal building. These forgotten spaces symbolize a greater sense of societal inequality felt by many communities, reflected in the city's deteriorating public infrastructure. In response, a collective of these marginalised citizens is gathering at the water’s edge of Piscine Luminy, a former oasis where the city meets the forests of the Calanques. Guided by an ideology of Radical Municipalism their aim is to restore and redefine this poolside, introducing a series of unfamiliar typologies to the site that aids the revival of the pools civic purpose. Their plan shall be realised through a sequential, construction based activism informed by a process of re-purposing, which makes use of a rich palette of materials from the site or locally sourced from abandoned industrial buildings in Marseille and nearby natural resources including a limestone quarry. The cutting of existing monolithic concrete elements, steel framing, metal sheeting, reclaimed timber are inventively reconfigured in the transformation of the existing buildings and outdoor areas in the creation of the new soap factory, dining hall, auditorium, housing and areas for cultivation. This collection of reclaimed assemblies will not only provide social benefit but also ensure the continued use of the site following its grand reopening to the public. Following the project's completion, the collective hopes to inspire similar regeneration projects across Marseille’s other controversially abandoned civic spaces.