Capbreton Renaturation of the Allées Marines

The project of Capbreton consisted in building a journey "from sea to land" along the river and the banks of the harbour. It also aimed at highlighting the alleys which served as hooks between the river and the shopping street, further inside the town.

The edges of the Boudigau, the river which crosses the city, were occupied by parking lots, channelled by concrete, without any access to water for the inhabitants and tourists. The first action of the project was to free the banks from cars and make it walkable for pedestrians. A submersible wooden pontoon follows the river, which goes up and down according to the tides, and a riparian vegetation is left to conquer the revealed lands.

On the street side, a low wall serves as a seat and put at the distance cars. The crossroads are pacified, and the “fronton” (local sport infrastructure) is rehabilitated, where new players occupy the premises.

To showcase these planning intentions, the visual artist, Sophie Balas, designed a color system displayed on colored poles, stools and ceramic tiles in the ground associated with the choice of house edge plantings. From the shopping street, each lane begins with a large colored pole and ends with a cabin facing it, via a belvedere.

According to the chromatic circle, the color system makes it possible both to sequence the route along the river and to distinguish each side lane by a particular signature.

It illustrates the strength of a singular plastic intervention to highlight the great moments of the landscape, to find one's bearings in space by building a colorful and poetic progression.