Inter-lacing: weaving of a path

INTER-LACING: WEAVING OF A PATH

Two compounds and two strategies in parallel with Calais' evolving identity

Š 2018 Student _ Claudia Diana Academic Promotor _ Tomas Ooms Academic Year 2017-2018 Publication 18.06.2018 International Master of Science in Architecture KU Leuven, Faculty of Architecture Campus Sint-Lucas Gent

ABSTRACT Claudia Diana, Inter-lacing: weaving of a path This publication explores through a careful research sensitive topics in the city of Calais.

It offers an insight on the analysis and design process by showing how my train of thoughts developed through the artefacts produced. The drawings accompany the entire process and drove me to find a concept design.

On the base of these strategy the research focuses on the changing identity of Calais: from Lace industry to ‘Ville fantĂ´me’ and from strategic point for international conflict to strategic passage for asylum seekers.

Vacant lace factories and bunkers are a clear icon of the history of the city: the study explores the potential offered by these elements and their importance, as they mutated simultaneously with Calais.

The design proposal aims to link the present of calais to these 2 elements of the past, and design for the future of the city, following the ongoing cycle.

A brown field, former ensemble of lace factories with a glorious standing facade, was chosen to host an industry of jobs: a centre for learning and co-working that responds strongly to the unemployment in the city and the low numbers of young workers that migrate to cities that can offer advantages missing in Calais. The centre will provide a base for new companies to grow and move when they need bigger production or selling spaces to occupy vacant factories in the district, and attract residents to live in the re-activated area.

An evocative compound formed by a XlX cent. fort and a XX cent bunker offered the perfect location for designing a suggestive memorial dedicated not only to the past but also to the present wars. A place of observation and contemplation: to sensitise people to the reality of the migration topic.

The wall, linked to the approach of the municipality towards squatters is an important element in both proposals, as a permeable tool to cross the spaces in the building in one and as a proper hurdle as a reference to the migration borders in the other.

The path of the design process was developed in parallel and the exploration of the two ensembles enriched one an other conducing to the final output.

1

Introduction A bicameral entanglement: An evolving identity: Urban fragmentation: Modern archaeology:

2 3 4

Khora & Turan/Unknown cities introductuon Unfolfing history A first discovered entanglement

13 18 23 26

Evolving identity of an Economical Ensemble Ville fantome: It takes 3 generations: On the trail of lace:

Evolving identity Concrete ruins: The Atlantic wall: On the trail of War:

Urban condition Atlas of lace factories The compound

of a

38 40 50

Military Ensemble Urban condition Atlas of bunkers The compound

60

Brief Strategy

82

Architectural porposal

92

62 72

Through the wall Economical ensemble: A spark for the economy: Between walls:

90

5

Across the wall Military ensemble: Contemporary memorial: Through a Journey:

Brief Strategy Architectural porposal

112 120 122

6

Conclusions Structure Mesh: Unintentional reference:

Bibliography Interview with Victor Machart

Plot twist Plot twist

134 136

141 145

1 Introduction

10

1

A Bicameral Entanglement

2

An evolving Identity

3

Urban fragmentation

4

Modern Archaeology

Timeline

11

The node Node of a fishing net, taken during a walk at the Calais shore, 18 November 2017

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A Bicameral Entanglement Khora and Turan / Unknown cities

This master dissertation is based on the exploration of unknown cities in the framework of Architecture as a Cognitive Craft.

‘This proposal finds its origin in a curiosity and an eagerness to explore something unknown to me. A curiosity into a divers unknown: of a city (Charleroi), a concept (Khôra) and a drawing somewhere in-between’. -Tomas OomsThe investigation started with a travel in an unknown city with a book, and with the idea of coming back with an object as a first exploration phase.

The possibility of choosing which city to work in, discover it and respond to the needs yet to be discovered, opens the door to an infinite number of choices.

Exploring an unknown city puts us face to face with the prejudices that we

“The story of humanity is essentially

might have grown, and overcome the prejudice as the city is discovered.

the story of human movement. In

Calais represents a great example of a city that offers a lot more to discover

the near future , people will move

than the mere informations that the mass media makes us familiar with.

even more, particularly if, as some

The reading on the New Odyssey during the first phase was inspiring,

predict, climate change sparks mass

and together with a short period of volunteering at the warehouse of help

migration on an unprecedented

refugees, it gave me new perspectives on the relationship with the city and

scale. The sooner we recognise the

the informal refugee camp.

inevitability of this movement, the sooner we can try to manage it.”

A link with the concept of Khôra and the various connotation that can be given to it contributed to the research of the coupled sites.

Patrick Kingsley, The New Odyssey: The Story of Europe’s Refugee Crisis

13

The Set An A0 set formed by different formats (A1 to A8) was used as a tool to produce a variety of artifacts in different scale.

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The aim of this master dissertation is explore, find the qualities, limits and possibilities that lay in the entangled sites, and develop a project that can contribute to the enhancement of the urban condition.

The process of creation was based on craft production, using drawings as the driver of the project. They are used as exploring tools throughout the research phase. ‘They are the cause of a project not the result.’ The master dissertation developed through the production of the documents, as an essential part of the process evolution.

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The open gate

On my first visit in the city the gate typology caught my attention. I mapped the openings in the linear facades and started finding out informations about the

reconstruction

and

urban

differences between the Calais nord,

more

afflicted

by

the

bombings, and Calais south, that preserves buildings from the XlX cent.

Pathway to encounter a recurrent typology in the reconstructed Calais

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An evolving Identity Introduction

The City of Calais, centre of journalistic attention for migration is often called a magnet, a stage city seen as the gate to reach the promise land. As it is the best connected European city to the UK it has always been part of a migration network, and in the last 20 years, with the increasing numbers in migration movements, Became host for up to 7000 people trying to reach England in the refugee camp called the Jungle. 1 The Jungle became a unique part of Calais, becoming a character of its distinctiveness : “the extent to which a person can recognise or recall a place as being distinct from other places” . Lynch (1981) The name of the refugee camp is associated to the city of Calais, and the name Calais recalls the Jungle.

Although the refugee camp has been dismantled it remains a symbol and part of the city’s identity. The city is been so influenced by the Jungle in the years that it became a symbol Calais is known for. The Identity of the city has changed completely in the last 50 years.

My visit and the observation of the urban fabric, architectures and landscape Magnetic field Calais-Dover, C.D.

allowed me to discover and research about the history of Calais.

The image of the city is scattered with walled houses, beautiful vacant

1

M. Vancoillie and P. Garnousset, Jungle

industries from the XIX cent. and vast brown fields. What today makes Calais

Kitchen: Faire du Calais un territoire

look like a ghost town was just until 50 years ago the pulsing heart of the city.

d’hospitalitè, Octobre 2016, pp. 12-15.

Available from: Issuu Library, (accessed 13 April 2018).

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Stages of the urban appearance The sequence of drawings shows my interpretation of the 3 stages the city is going through.

a) streets swarming with workers and residents, living in an active environment

b) ghost town, made of empty buildings, with walled windows and doors, that turns away all people.

c) new proposals for the city that ignore the urban condition of the city centre.

Notebook drawings

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2

Nouvelle plage, historic postcard

Calais used to be a major producer and exporting industry of lace, the

Alderman, L., (2017) 'Once a lace

inhabitants witnessed the fast decay not only of the economy but also of the

capital, now riven by French politics',

city. The connection to the city’s past is still strong, lace remains part of the

The New York Times, 29 April [Online].

history of the city, and impressed in the memories of most citizens, that had

Available at: https://www.nytimes.

one or more family members working in the field.2

com/2017/04/29/business/france-elec-

Tainted by reports on the infamous “jungle”, and as a response to

tion-globalization-lepen-macron-lace.

unemployment, emigration of citizen, decreasing levels of tourism, the city of

html (Accessed: 8 May 2018)

Calais wants to rebuild its image, wants to win back tourists.

To correct its image, ten million euros has been invested by the municipality

3

Projets a venir, Calais Ville. http://www. calais.fr/fr/Ville-de-Calais/la-mairie/vieeconomique/projets/projets-a-venir

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in the re-qualification of the water-front. And 20 million euros to support a unique project by François Delarozière is intended to forge a new identity for the City of Calais, fairy, magical, grandiose, monumental image, in the style of the artist’s creations, giving the city a unique character. 3

On top of waves made of lace patterns I chose to rapresents some of the elements of the city that can be easily associated to Calais.

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Le Dragon de Calais sur le front de mer

The maintenance cost is around 610,000 euros per year, But the projection

et à Risban, François Delarozière, www.

of the economic benefits of the project should be able to absorbe the cost.

Calais.fr

The city hopes that seaside resorts, the sandy beach and an amusement park will be a vehicle for promoting and spreading the influence of Calais, in favour to the development of tourism, economy and commerce.4 The idea of a new identity for calais can not deviate from factors relevant to its character as place and culture. Identity is interrelated and comprised of factors including the social, historical, built and natural environments, different populations, tourist attractions, sports, industries and so on.

4

Un Dragon Gèant à Calais, Heroic

Calais’ future should try to re-create harmony between its present and its past,

land, Front de Mer

the identity based on something unique: on the history of the place

Projects,

Ville

de

Calais,[website],

http://www.calais.fr/fr/Ville-de-Calais/ la-mairie/vie-economique/projets, (accessed 15 May 2018).

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The urban fragmentation Unfolding history

Calais’s urban condition is very peculiar, the city was completely destroyed during world war 2, which lead to a fast reconstruction in concrete during the fifties, that gives it the aspect that it has today.

The ancient Calais had a clear division of areas, it had a fortified polis, physically separated from an extended Khora in the surrounding. In the current Calais this division isn’t always clear.

The city centre became the poor part of the city during the XX century, when St Pierre, an industrial city in the south of Calais, grew thanks to the exportation of lace and tulles and overcame the wealth of the city. It became eventually part of Calais. Nowadays a parallel situation is happening with Calais and Frethun, the city, that hosts the Eurotunnel and the shopping centre CitĂŠ Europe. Leaving The city of Calais in a state of abandonment.

New developments of the city happening recently are expanding on the axes east and west of the city. They gave space to the new university campus, the hospital, shopping centres, the stadium, sport fields and pavilions and social housing blocks. The outskirts of the city are densified, while the city centre is seeing a de-densification process, with demolitions un-followed by new constructions.

Siege de Calais, http://calais-avant-hier. eklablog.com

The post-war reconstruction brought with it a recurrent typology: the open gate, which functions as a form of protection for the city by setting some restricted entrances rather than open streets.

These elements caught my attention on the first visit to the city, While a practical reason could be due to the wind in the city, the reason could be also

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be associated to a form of protection: looking back at the history of the city the linear construction might be a clear reference to the fortified city.

Crossing south to north the city the sudden alteration in the urban aspect highlights the urban fragmentation in the city.

The concept of Khora applies in two ways to today’s Calais.

The first refers directly to the informal refugee camp, a city outside of a city.

An invisible place from the ‘asti’ of Calais.

The second relates to the invisibility of places, and to the desire to ignore.

Lace factories remind of a gone glory, and bunkers remind of a hurtful past.

These are sensitive parts of the city that its inhabitants often choose to ignore, or rather see demolished.

They also represent invisible spaces in the city, Khoras in the asti..

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-Movement of people equals nodes in the city-

Fortified citadel: Asti & Khora Urban sprawl: indistinct limit

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Modern Archaeology A first discovered entanglement

Surprising at the eyes of an architect are the majestic lace factories, (spread and well integrated in the city), and the Bunkers, part of the complex of the Atlantic wall, standing mighty on the coast like monuments of world war 2.

The 2 elements caught my attention immediately, not only because of their architectural beauty, but also because of their historical richness. Both are able to narrate the history of the city with their image, and represent a duality between past and present.

Glorious and inglorious is the past of lace factories and bunkers, and the present of both is a state of abandonment. To the eyes of some interviewed residents there is a level of shame related to both matters, that results in the desire to see both being demolished: The lace factories bring to the memory a sense of emptiness caused by the state of abandonment of the mentioned, and demolition seems like the only way to erase the awareness of the the decline in which the city has fallen. The Bunkers on the other hand revive the memory of a hurtful past, and remaining as a symbol of the Nazi occupation. The colossal constructions are expensive to demolish, and difficult to transform to any other use.

Standing there in a state of abandonment both of the complexes could provide and became easily a shelter for homeless’, which lead to dispute between squatters the police resulting often in the demolition of the buildings, the walling of the windows, or fencing.

The actual state displays in the middle of the historical part of the city buildings with wide windows so impenetrable that they recall the special military projection of bunkers.

26

The similarities between the elements that i refer to lead me to research and bring further this duality between the two sites and between past and present.

Abandoned factory in rue Martyn

Batterie Oldenburg, located adjacent to the former Jungle

Wasteland correspondent to the site of the former Coubertin hospital. The demolition of those buildings occured without any clear project for the future of the site. Photo by Claudia

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Shelved architectures While the city projects itself into a future made of fantastic sceneries, the architectural elements, foundation of the city’s history, get left behind. Left to become just a memory.

Collage by Claudia

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2 Evolving Identity of an Economical Ensemble

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1

Ville fantome

2

It takes 3 generations

3

On the trail of lace

Timeline

31

Vacancy urban section From the plan of vacancies I moved more in detail selecting few roads crossing some of the industries and analysing the facade status.

I used a bar module that repeats itself in height for buildings higher than one floor and increases thickness for wider buildings, so that the visual importance reflects on the scheme. Bigger spacing correspond to the crossing with another road.

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33

Vacancy urban section By isolating all the vacant buildings together I noticed that more empty houses and shops surround the abandoned industries.

A reflection started on how the urban condition has changed.

Residential Visibly abandoned Residential Active commerce Abandoned commerce Active lace factory Abandoned factory Renovated factory - different use Other infrastructure Museum School Garage Parking Cemetery Vacant Plot

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b

a

d

e c

f

h g

35

Vacancy Plan vacant lace factory new funcion lace factory vacant industry development plot canal city park urban sections

36

b a

d e f c

g

h

37

Ville fantome Urban condition

The experience of the pedestrian in the urban space is based on the atmosphere of the place: the facades, the plinth of the buildings, the street with the sidewalks, all spaces of interactions, commerce etc.. because all are part of the perceived public space.

The current appearance and impression that the city can express is conditioned by the high amount of vacancies.

A clear consequence came up from the urban section (pages 31-33). I analysed areas of concentration, observing that closer to the abandoned lace factories the concentration of vacant houses and commerce also increases, determining areas of lower density that are often situated in important historical parts of the city.

The reasons are due I assume both to the absence of employment in the area, and to the general urban condition: the vacant buildings because of their state of abandonment are constantly at risk to be illegally occupied. But urban areas with walled windows and vast brown fields as a remain of demolished buildings can only decrease the sense of unattractiveness of the urban site as a potential living space.

The pyramid chart of Pas-de-Calais report lower numbers in the population between 20 and 35 years old.

One young Calaisian out of three moves from the city to attend good universities and build a career.

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One third of young people remaining inPas-de-Calais are neither in studies nor in employment.

In the de-industrialised city the un-employment passed from 9% in 1982 to 15.6% in 2015.

This problem of unemployment in youth can be associated to the lower levels of education compared to other French regions. 38.1% of non-students over 15 do not have a degree (vs.32.7% in France) and only 18.8% are graduates of higher education (resp. 26.8%).5 The decentralisation of employment within the urban area has been pervasive in Calais, due to both the collapse of the main industry and the birth of the Eurotunnel, most of the income for the city and the possibility to employment

2017 TRAFFIC VOLUME ON THE ROUTE CALAIS-DOVER TUNNEL 1637280 lorries 21.3 million equivalent in tonnes of freight carried 2,595,247 cars 51,229 coaches 10.4 million passengers TRAIN 10,300,622 high speed train passengers HARBOUR 9 million

comes from the outskirts. The maritime economy in the area represents the

passengers on the ferry (30 ferries every day)

7.2% of jobs. The Eurotunnel and the harbour represented a high chance of

Traffic figures. Traffic volumes for the past

an income because of the multitude of people passing by the surroundings

10 years Eurotunnel GETLINK

of Calais every day. Calais is the perfect location for a fast distribution of

https://www.getlinkgroup.com/uk/group/

products, but the producers industries are located on the outskirts because of

operations/traffic-figures/

production of waste, pollution but mainly transportation reasons.

Sea Passenger Statistics 2017: Short Sea

The creation of the tunnel lead to the opening of many commercial activities,

Routes (Provisional) Statistical Release 21

with an easy access to diffusion of their products throughout the European

February 2018

territory included the UK. The area adjoining the channel tunnel hosts one of

Department for transport

the largest shopping centre in France, with cinema, bowling and restaurants,

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.

receiving French and foreign clients all year round: The touristic flow towards

uk/government/uploads/system/

the city is certainly deviated by this 360° source of entertainment.

uploads/attachment_data/file/682688/ sea-passengers-short-sea-routesprovisional-2017.pdf (accessed on april 30)

5

J. Jamme and P. Le Scouëzec, ‘Un portrait du Pas-de-Calais: Un quart de la population des Hauts-deFrance’, INSEE ANALYSES HAUTS-DEFRANCE, N° 35, December 2016

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It takes three generations Atlas of Lace factories

Lace as produced in Calais originated in England at the end of the 18th century.

In the early nineteenth century, tulle makers from the Nottingham region emigrated to the continent and settled in Saint-Pierre, an old town on the surroundings of Calais, the region was already important for fraud looms and cotton spun. Thanks to the technological evolutions Saint-Pierre became a prosperous cosmopolitan city and outnumbered Calais, so much so that the two cities officially merged in 1885. Calais will transform in less than a century in capital of mechanical lace.

Historic photos, http://calais-avant-hier. eklablog.com

‘Here, it is customary to say that it takes three generations in a business life: the first creates the company, the second comfort, and the third runs. To study a certain number of examples, that is what emerges from the genealogies of companies. The first generations are mainly from the working class. Often it is a mechanic or a designer, creative source of the company. The second generation follows the path traced by the father, and consolidates the foundation of the company. The workshop becomes bigger, the number of machines increases with the capital. The third generation is a hinge in the history of the company. ‌‌Being a business boss is transmitted from father to son following a pattern. The company, mostly founded by the grandfather at the end of the 19th century, is passed on to the father. In this generation, the father consolidates the company which can count a dozen trades. When the son settles, the father buys some trades in a nearby workshop and leaves the new company thus founded in the hands of his son. It is a kind of initiatory

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journey, or rather a trial period: the son must prove himself without putting the father’s business at risk.’

The transmission pattern explains clearly how the number of Lace factories in the city multiplied so fast. From this particular phenomenon the urban aspect of the city was conceived: calais is studded with ‘usines de dentelle’ that we can still recognise for the architectural typology and from the proud names engraved in the portals.

The peculiarity of this type of industry is the fact that using mechanical machines they didn’t produce much pollution and could be integrated in urban areas, besides, instead of being a few big industries, there are many small ones, well integrated also with their dimension in the urban fabric.

The structures are strong with wide walls, to carry the weight of the heavy mechanical frames, and the windows are wide to allow in the natural light needed for the meticulous work.

The typology, on the contrary of most industries, allows these buildings to be suitable to accommodate different functions: housing, school, museum, offices, working places.

Noel Jouenne. Et la dentelle ! Histoire d’une ville: Calais : Force et fragilité de l’industrie dentellière. Marval, 34 p., 2002.

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New use factories

1 Usine Boulart la Cité Internationale de la Dentelle et de la Mode 2 Usine Gaillardle collège “Les Dentelliers” 3 Tulles & Dentelles J. Leroy private housing (48 rue Newton) 4 Tulles & Dentelles S. Wasselin private housing (23 rue Messena) 5 Fabrique de Dentelles Alfred Coste residential building (rue des Poilus) 6

Tulles & Dentelles Valenciennes E Fourre garages (Rue de quatre coins)

7 Dentelles Darquer residential building, ongoing construction (rue Quatre coins) (Photo: CALAIS, VILLE FANTÔME, https://passeursdhospitalites.wordpress. com/2014/03/09/calais-ville-fantome/, accessed march 3)

8 Ongoing construction, (51 rue Newton)

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Vacant factories

1 2

79 Rue Pearson 29 Rue de la VendĂŠe (photo: Credit Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times, https://www.nytimes. com/2017/04/29/business/franceelection-globalization-lepen-macron-lace. html, accessed March 3)

3

110 Rue du Bout des Digues

4

189 Rue des Quatre Coins

5

117 Rue Martyn

6

46 Rue Gaillard

7

93 Rue Aristide Briand

8

29 Rue du 29 Juillet

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Diverse block: coexistence of residential and industry

A new a na l y sis c o m e s f ro m t he

M i ni a ture

d r a wi n g

of

t he surround i n g a re a o f t wo bl oc k s:

In rue Qua tre Co i n s , a n e nse mb l e of f a c t o r i e s l a y s i n a bl oc k w i t h res i d e n t i a l h o u s es, sc hool s an d o t h e r i n f r ast ruc tures, t he e m p t y f i e l d cl ose to suc h a d e n s e u r b a n area st i l l has t h e re m a i n s o f a f a c a d e, a nd d o o r s t e p s , t o su g g est t he p a s t o c c u p a t i o n o f t he area , subs e q u e n t l y d emol i shed .

T he area i s ed ge d b y t h e l i n e o f t he ra i l roa d , t h a t l e a d s t o t he nearb y stat i o n .

Fa r i n d i sta nc e l a c e f a c t o r i e s and resi d ent i al h o u s e s c o m e tog et her i n ha r m o n y t o c re ate t he b ac k gro u n d t o t h e ci ty.

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I n rue Ma rtyn, a n ot her block is composed by f a ctory building a nd resident ia l units. t he ensemble is ga t hered a round a n interna l courtya rd, w hich beca me a ga ra ge toda y.

The a rea hosts ma ny f a ctories, some of w hich f ound a new f unct ion, a nd ot her of w hich w ere demol ished, such a s t he w ide f a ctory repre sented in t he bot tom, f ul ly demol ished in April 2018.

Aga in in d ista nce la ce f a cto ries a nd resident ia l houses a re not d iff erent ia ted. t hey a re w el l integra ted in t he genera l urba n d ispla y.

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In red I mapped the former lace factories in Calais.

Locator on Rue Quatre coins

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48

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On the trail of lace The compound

A linear trail crossing the city centre connects some of the oldest and most important lace factories in Calais. It represents a temporal line that includes still working factories, symbol of the past, abandoned industries, that represent the current situation of most cases, and the lace museum, symbol of what threatens to remain of lace in Calais’ future: just a memory.

This trail together with the quarter Saint-Pierre used to be centres for life and work, areas with mixed land use that could provide a qualitative living urban districts.

An evolution to urban zoning happened with the gradual emptying of the lace factories: as previously mentioned all production moved to the outskirts of the city, and Calais assumed the current aspect.

Rue quatre coins still displays some of the oldest lace factories of the area and one of the biggest brown fields remaining from the factory demolition.

My attention focused on rue Quatre Coins because of a peculiarity that distinguishes it, the Machart factory and the former Noyon factory stand one in front of the other representing two different destinies that the lace faced.

Both the buildings were scattered and evacuated multiple times and walled. but after the 9000m2 were acquired by the public property establishment in November 2011 the entire land once occupied entirely by factories was demolished, leaving standing only the facade of the Noyon lace factory and the Pagniez carpentry.

The ownership of the land played an important role in the destiny of the plots, Victor Machart, heir of the founder of the homonymous factory is the 50

only reason the factory is standing today. He described the Noyon factory as a beautiful building on the ground floor, with a paved courtyard and a canopy over.

The ensemble resists in an unstable balance.

There is no project for the brown field currently it is only crossed by residents as a shortcut to reach the train station Calais Ville. The built area was demolished prior a project for the future of the site. Will the brown field be the site for a new development? will the area attract a possible investor?

The state of the Machart factory is always at risk: the structural damages brought to the collapse of part of the façade in which the name of the factory was engraved: an essential trait that used to characterised the history of the building. Now the municipality requests Victor Machart to start costly structural restoration works without which the building can not be declared accessible.

What will happen to the Machart factory in a hypothetic future after the death of Victor Machart? will it become public domain? will it be demolishes? will it find an investor, and in that case will the building be preserved from demolition?

Mr. Machart fears Based on the intentions of the municipality, if Calais starts to invest on tourism the big area close to the city centre could become a zone for touristic residences, hotels and attractions.

The area covers 9000m2, reachable from the 2 opposite sides: rue Quatre Coins and rue Garibaldi, and for 6 years no project was developed for the wide site.

As a matter of fact in the close future there is a low possibility that any investor will finance a project for the area.

It seems like the plot that once was an active stimulating work environment won’t be seeing those roads so lively for a long time.

V. Machart fears that the history of the factory can be forgotten, and that after 51

Site model

In a sc al e 1: 500 I re c o n s t r u c ted t he d emol i s h e d b u i l d i n g s i n t he a rea, w h i c h h e l p e d m y to und ersta nd t h e re l a t i o n sh i p b etw een t h e b u i l d i n g s , t he p assag es, t h e ro o f t y p o l o gy etc .

M y assum p t i on i s t h a t wi t h t he f a st i nc rea s e o f t h e d e n sity i n C al ai s i n t h e X l X c e n t . t he ty p ol og y o f t h e f a c t o ry, v a ri ed f rom a n e x t e n d e d ground f l oor t o m o re c o m pa c t b ui l d i ng s o f 2 -3 f l o o r s .

T he l i g ht i nsi d e o f t h e b u i l di ng c ha ng es: t h e o l d e r b u i l d i ng s w ere p rovi d e d wi t h i n d i re c t l i g ht f rom n o r t h , wh i l e t he sec ond ty po l o g y l i g h t e n s i ts w al l s w i t h wi d e o p e n i n g s , t ha t l et sun- rays i n a n d a l l o w a d i rec t v i ew o n t h e o u t s i d e .

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him no one will be concerned with maintaining it. His nephews have not grown up in Calais, and they have no connection. ‘I would like the factory to survive me. It would be nice for it to become something intelligent. When business is bad, people fight’.

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3 Evolving Identity of a Military Ensemble

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1

Concrete ruins

2

The Atlantic wall

3

On the trail of war

Timeline

57

Permeable topography

By analysing the topography i produced a model formed by a series of sections of the dune.

From a frontal perspective the sections are almost imperceptible, and the view is continuous to the other side.

Although the dune reaches 20 meters of height, it doesn’t represent a border. the dune is the integration between the natural site and the urban, and its height represent a visual separation of the two sited but the natural lower slopes create walkable paths and the integration of a stair make the crossing of the dune accessible to many.

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Concrete ruins Urban condition

The littoral of Calais, continental Europe and Scandinavia exhibit massive bunkers, great examples of modern age fortifications.

Calais represented a strategic point in history, a major port and an economical centre for trade between the UK and the rest of Europe, furthermore it had a military importance. After the Siege of Calais (1940), the occupation from the German forces, Calais became part of an extensive system of coastal defence from the Allied invasion: the Atlantic wall Nowadays the bunkers are unused sculptural landmarks, due to their heavy structures in reinforced concrete they haven’t been destroyed until now, and became monolithic bodies in the coastal landscape. The remaining bunkers are generally, for what concerns Calais farther from the more urban city, in naturalistic sites where together with the natural dunes they generate surprise and fascination in the observer.

A few bunkers, closer to the city are integrated in the landscape and used as a protection or a support platform for some of the cabins.

Apart from these cases, partly because of the distance from the city the wooden cabins reduce and stop where the bunkers begin, and that made me wonder if an other plausible reason would be a sort of respect distance to the dunes and the naturalistic site or as security distance taken from the mysterious bunkers.

The walls of the bunkers and the walled facades of vacant buildings in the city, are often covered with graffiti with messages of hope, political messages.

This is always a reminder of where we are, and the current state of the city.

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Considering the isolated position, the big openings and the structure material bunkers don’t represent such as an attractive option as a long term shelter.

But because the interior is not visible, and there are often residues of trash these magnificent fortifications are mainly there to be observed from far and not visited from the inside, as the lack of light transmits a sense of discomfort.

Most of these bunkers are taken over and tampered by nature: the ruined structure revealed the irons, corroded to the high humidity.

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The Atlantic Wall Atlas of Bunkers

The structure of the bunker was created to withstand aerial attacks, or this purpose walls and roof can reach a thickness of 1m.

The lack of natural light and the fact that they are entirely constructed in reinforced concrete hinders the possibility to adapt them to a new function.

These fortresses were built in record time and they didn’t have profound foundations: a platform of concrete was poured as a base for the bunker. For this reason the ones located on the dune area have sunk over time.

For these reasons in most cases the bunkers are left to be taken over by nature and the coastline became a destination very attractive for photographers such as Marc Wilson for post-apocalyptic extraordinary pictures.

The bunkers are catalogued according to groups and numbers Two main zones of the Calais coastline are scattered with bunkers: in the Sangatte area, they are part of the dune landscape, Batterie Fort Lapin. in the area of the former Jungle we find the Battery Oldenburg; others batteries of bunkers continue along the coastline. In both Areas the bunkers are left as part of the natural environment.

The project for the naturalisation of the former jungle would have been an opportunity to include two of the largest German buildings in a new unique project. But the project area does not include them if not partially, The design reduced the potential of the structure to an observation platform: it is possible to reach and access the top of one of the bunkers by ramp.

The site of the bunkers of Widerstandsnest Fanny in Calais is now transformed 62

Plan for a bunker 001. 110 Notes, 2012/12/02 , http://archiveofaffinities.tumblr. com/post/37096651553/plan-for-a-bunker-001

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in a park and the War Memorial that commemorates the victims who died in the First and Second World War. A big change of function comes usually with bunkers situated in urban areas, which are often transformed in war museums or memorial sites: The Calais World War II museum is situated in the middle of the city centre, at Parc St Pierre, it’s a 200 meters long navy bunker, that survived the heavy bombing because of its camouflage position. Another War museum in the area is the Atlantic Wall Museum, in a bunker of the Battery Todt, as well as the Coupole d’Helfaut-Wizernes. The Function change required a profound restoration but the structure remained untouched.

A very interesting example of a different approach to the bunker is the one of the studio RAAAF + Atelier Lyon, which, by criticising the heritage policy of UNESCO transformed an abandoned bunker in a national monument.

Bunker 599 modified the perception of how an architect can relate to the bunker typology and opened a door to different possibilities.

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Atlantic wall atlas

1,2 Widerstandsnest 79 Otter - 612 Schartenstand 3

Stützpunkt Maus - Vf2a: Gruppenunterstand

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Widerstandsnest Fanny - French Bunker 1, photo by Anneke Moerenhout

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Stützpunkt 80 Pinguin - M176 Geschütschartenstand

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Stützpunkt 80 Pinguin - SK Unterstand

7,8 Stützpunkt 18 MKB Oldenburg SK 240mm Geschütz

Traces of war, https://www.tracesofwar. com/sights/66468/Stützpunkt-Maus--Vf2a-Gruppenunterstand.htm

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Juxtaposed landscape: coexistence of urban and nature

T he A rea of Sa n g a t t e c o a s t al tow n al on g t h e B l ĂŠ r io t - Pl a g e, hap p e n s t o b e i n l i ne w i t h t he E u ro t u n n e l a n d area of a f i rst re f u g e e c a m p (d i sm a nt l ed i n 2 0 0 2 ). T h e area i s d est i na t i o n f o r s u m mer and f or t h i s re a s o n t h e urb an c onf i g ur a t i o n f o l l o ws a l i near p a t h, a l l o wi n g a h i g h numb er of res i d e n c e s n e a r t he b eac h.

T he med i ev a l m i n i a t u re s ana l y se t he c oa s t l i n e l a y e r s : T he d unal c o rd s e p a r a t e s phy si c al l y a nd v i s u a l l y t h e u rba n si te f rom t h e m o re n a t u ral one.

Pathway to encounter a recurrent typology in the reconstructed Calais

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From t he dunes 2 perspec t ives open up. one tow a rds t he city, giving visibil ity to t he city ha l l tow er, t he l ight house, a nd t he w a ter tow ers.

The ot her tow a rds t he sea : w hen t he sky is clea r it is possible to ca tch a gl impse of t he w hite cl iff s of D over.

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The plan rapresents in red the bunkers in the area

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On the trail of War Military ensemble

Military trail: the Atlantic wall The coastline represents temporal line in the military trail, where forts from the XIX century meet the bunkers of the XX century, this encounter occurs face to face in the case of fort Lapin.

The explored area is located within the protected natural site: “dunes du Fort Mahon� located west of the urban area of Calais The fort is situated in proximity of relatively dense housing areas, destination of seaside vacations. the area, with its walk in nature attracts joggers, locals going for a walk often with a dog, hikers exploring the dunes. the discovery of the Fort Mahon dunes site is in the linear way for the walker who hikes on the dune cord.

The dune is perceived as a physical boundary between the shore and the urban area, representing a block of the continuous view. The natural reserve and urban area on one side and the beach on the other: being a naturalistic site crossing the dunes is not accessible for everyone, but other main accesses to the beach are easy to find along the coast. From the top of the dunes, up to 20 meters, the duality of sight makes it a quality observation point: the fort was built in that location to benefit from natural protection against observation and enemy fire.

The fort was a defensive fortified site part of a fortification system of fort Nieulay. Initially constructed in the XVII century as shown in historical maps 72

but the name Fort Lapin was assumed after modification works in the plans designed after military batteries designed under Louis Philippein 1860 The original design typology used to have 3 has three levels, but it is difficult to fully reconstruct the original plans of the defensive site as there is significant siltation.

In 1941 during the erection of the Atlantic wall the fort was used as a support base for other bunkers, it was implementation by the German army with various shelters and an infirmary behind the dune, a major artillery, various casemates sheltering.

If during World War 2 the 2 buildings used to work as an ensemble, nowadays the perception of heritage resulted in the loss of this association.

Both buildings were left in a state of abandonment: the roof of the fort had collapsed and the bunker was used as a shelter by homeless. In 2011 Atelier B612 was commissioned the structural support and renovation of the ruin.

The restoration ended in 2014: the project has enhanced the natural site and the dunes, also making them more accessible thanks to a staircase bringing together the shore and the urban side.

An other goal for the atelier was protect the strong from vandalism and unwanted access, to achieve this the entrances of the fort were fenced, which allows a visual transparency limiting the entrance.

The bunker, for the same reason was submerged by sand in order to cover completely the entrances.

This choice may be preferred to a work of masonry to cover the doors, in fact it appears happened in a natural course.

Although knowing that it was a man-made burial shows the difference in care towards two elements symbols one of the wars of the IXX century, and the secondW of the war of the twentieth century.

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Site model

In a sc al e 1: 500 I re c o n s t r u c ted t he d emol i s h e d b u i l d i n g s i n t he a rea, w h i c h h e l p e d m y to und ersta nd t h e re l a t i o n sh i p b etw een t h e b u i l d i n g s , t he p assag es, t h e ro o f t y p o l o gy etc .

M y assum p t i on i s t h a t wi t h t he f a st i nc rea s e o f t h e d e n sity i n C al ai s i n t h e X l X c e n t . t he ty p ol og y o f t h e f a c t o ry, v a ri ed f rom a n e x t e n d e d ground f l oor t o m o re c o m pa c t b ui l d i ng s o f 2 -3 f l o o r s .

T he l i g ht i nsi d e o f t h e b u i l di ng c ha ng es: t h e o l d e r b u i l d i ng s w ere p rovi d e d wi t h i n d i re c t l i g ht f rom n o r t h , wh i l e t he sec ond ty po l o g y l i g h t e n s i ts w al l s w i t h wi d e o p e n i n g s , t ha t l et sun- rays i n a n d a l l o w a d i rec t v i ew o n t h e o u t s i d e .

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4 Through the wall

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1

Economical ensemble

2

A spark for the economy

3

Between walls

Timeline

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A visual link

an elderly man, a tourist, a businessman, and a young boy. these the people I imagined would feel lost walking around the site. And I tried to empathize with each figure to understand what every individual desires or needs.

Looking not only towards the site, but its surrownding i found answers to some of the individual’s needs.

Some new

projects for the city: a youth centre, a skate park and a sports hall, are where the young man can find entrateinment.

The biggest city park is 300 meters away, where the elderly man can find a place to rest in tranquility and shadow.

The tourist, continuing walking in the road of the museum of lace is intrigued by the facades of the old monumental factories.

The entrepreneur looking for an investment is not attracted by the area, because even if there are plots available and vacant building to be renewed, the city is not vibrant and a risk investing on.

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# E E -

ECONOMICAL EN CA

Deadline

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2 0 1 8

NSEMBLE OPEN ALL

e June 21

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Economical ensemble Brief

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The definition of work is changing thanks to the rising of the creative class: creative individuals are identified as those who guide towards a prosperous sustainable economy. The working environment is also changing, working in a community introduces positive rivalry given by the proximity of several companies. Starting a company today requires an active and lively working environment in which the coexistence of different companies working in different sectors helps everyone to grow avoiding a negative rivalry in which one company step on the others.

Calais, former lace capital, gains its title from the 1800 economical power: it used to be the main producer and exporter of lace. After the entrance in the market of Chinese investors, the lace production in the city arrived to the end of its course, leaving Calais scattered with empty industrial buildings and wide brown fields in the city centre, left from the demolition if industrial areas.

The typology of the lace factory, is one to easily allow a transformation of function: Strong structures that used to hold the weight of heavy machineries lighted up by wide windows that would facilitate the meticulous detailed work of lace making. The interior of these building is in most cases very flexible, it is an open spaces with columns following a grid of three meters by three according to the dimensions of the mechanical loom.

After the collapse of lace industry Calais doesn’t represent a prosperous place for the future of its citizens. As a matter of fact high numbers Calais’ youth moves from the city for study and work.

The city is now focusing their attention on investing on the youth together with tourism, in favour of education and jobs.

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The project will take place in a limited area part of a brown field of 9000 m2, previously occupied by active economical forces in the city, scattered and demolished in 2011. The site is located perpendicular to Boulevard Jacquard, close to the city hall, the train station, museums, a park, and infrastructures such as schools of every level of education.

The participants are invited to set the general ground rules for the development of the area and propose a prototype block that will lead the future construction of the area. The future development will brace its past by becoming a lively environment that offers living and working.

The open call requests the design of a learning and co-working centre, It was launched in order to invest in the creative class and provide for young workers an inspiring working environment within Calais.

By activating the economy hub the aim is that companies, when reached a certain level of growth, will move from the co-working hub to occupy the vacant factories surrounding. And by offering new jobs in the area the urban environment will be repopulated.

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How to reactivate the economy in the site of a deceased industrial site? How to provide a facility that integrates learning and working environment and attracts to start a company in Calais? How to reactivate the urban context and bring people to occupy vacant buildings?

With this question architects are invited to rethink the working environment and analyse their proposal on different scales, having a learning and working hub designed to have a butterfly effect in the City.

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Preliminary drawing

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Volumes

I started the design with a section model.

Knowing that the new block would follow its context I decided to proceed with the section that is the most representative in the area: all buildings develop on the axes north south, and that section repeats itself inside the cluster.

The quality of space is generated by the opening towards the inside, the different interior scales, the light, the different layers.

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Preliminary model

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A spark for the economy Strategy STRATEGY The architectural proposal integrates the needs of a quality co-working and learning space with the the opening of the block.

Become a member

The proposed design is open to the outside, a permeable space in opposition to the closure phenomenon, a common reaction to squatting in Calais. The Consult

closure towards the street has a very negative impact in the urban surrounding as seen in the analysis, but a new relationship between the plots and the street can reactivate the urban plinth.

To reinforce the concept of permeability I use the wall as the main structure of

Learn

the design, a close rectangle formed by a double wall that is walkable through to link the different areas in the compound.

Create

In order to involve a big part of the unemployed population in the rehabilitation project, the design includes 3 areas, dedicated to different activities: an aspect that i wanted to include was the public function, that

Sell

brings everybody in the compound. The space is characterised by double heights, a free plan and direct access from the street through big cuts in the wall. An area open for anyone to work and study is provided in order to bring

Grow

students closer already to the compound.

Once interested in the activities proposed in the productive part of the compound, the individuals and the companies are accompanied by a team of experts that guide in all the phases of the process in order to help them

Move

achieve a successful experiment.

Because of this it was important to include ateliers for learning in the

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PARTICIPATING

LEARNING

WORKING

ensemble that offer practical and theoretical courses. The area dedicated to co-working provides everything that a new company needs.

Lectures Events Aspects related to architectural psychology lead the design to provide a variety

Fab lab

of working spaces, inside with care towards light quality and color, using colors that stimulate creativity and productivity, and also providing working spaces outside.

Auditorium The working spaces dimension are limited to 12m2 Support and 24 m2 so that

Makers lab

growing companies that need bigger spaces will have to move to available spaces, that will be offered in the vacant buildings in the district.

Lounge

Conference

Media lab

Bar

Shipping

Low rental offices

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Between walls Architectural proposal

PARTICIPATING

LEARNING

WORKING

Events

Lectures

Fab lab

Auditorium

Support

Makers lab

Lounge

Conference

Media lab

Bar

Shipping

Low rental offices

Open to everyone

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dedicated to to members

Accesses and connections through the wall

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Facing worlds

The volume takes inspiration in the permeability of the blocks next to it, the divisions separate the areas inside of the block in one direction, while many connections let the block be crossed from side to side, in a succession of different interstitial spaces.

The re-appropriation of economy in the vacant factories could allow in the future the opening of the blocks making accessible the interstitial spaces

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View on the intervention

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5 Across the wall

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1

Military ensemble

2

Contemporary memorial

3

Through a journey

Timeline

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A visual link

The personation procedure concerning the dune site didn’t lead me to a functional conclusion, the site doesn’t have issues linked to its use or a necessity. it attracts residents and non-residents as a natural site where people can go by and enjoy a walk through. even in sunny winter days I saw people hiking and exploring on the dune cord.

The site offers the freedom to work on a conceptual design rather than a functional one.

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# M E -

MILITARY E OPEN

Deadline

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2 0 1 8

ENSEMBLE N CALL

e June 18

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Military ensemble Brief

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Every architecture is able to communicate and imprint a certain feeling in the observer, the place is connected to its history and it is irremediably a trace of his memory.

The sense of belonging linked to the past can get lost in time and sometimes evolve its identity into something else.

On the natural dunes of Sangatte BlĂŠriot-Plage stands fort Lapin.

Thanks to its privileged position, from above the dunes the fort looks on one side to the natural chain and on the other one to the urban panorama.

Due to its geological configuration the discovery of the Fort, incorporated in the topography, comes unexpected and yet in the way for people walking along the dune cord.

The environment is suggestive and its history evocative. Part of the network of fortifications built around Calais in the XIX cent. , fort Lapin was erected to protect the hinterland from human and natural invasions. It became in 1941 a shelter used by the nazis alongside the Atlantic wall structures.

The peculiarity of the site is that a Bunker of the same size and shape of the fort stands next to it, evoking the mutual similarities and contrasts.

In light of this found symbolism a competition was launched aiming to give life to a sensitive design, in relation with the nature of the place and the emotions of the observers, to make it’s experience in the place unique.

The project aims at creating in Calais the first tale of three conflicts.

A suggestive memorial dedicated not only to the past but also to the present wars. A place of observation and contemplation: to sensitise people to the reality of the migration topic.

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How to reactivate the economy in the site of a deceased industrial site? How to provide a facility that integrates learning and working environment and attracts to start a company in Calais? How to reactivate the urban context and bring people to occupy vacant buildings?

With this question architects are pushed to rethink the working environment and analyse their proposal on different scales, having a learning and working hub designed to have a butterfly effect in the City.

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Preliminary drawing

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A double view

I don’t consider the dune as I mentioned before as a boundary, but rather a line where two sides meet.

The representation of it comes in this image.

Only from an elevation, in clear days, Calais offer a view on the cliffs of Dover, promise land for the migrants.

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Contemporary memorial Strategy

The element of XXl century war that I selected is an intangible one.

I chose to offer an experience through architecture that links in a subtle way to the migration to Calais.

Icon

The topography of the dunes is modified by the emerging of a light tower, a golden landmark that pushes the curiosity of people to get closer and walk over the bunker to reach it.

Hurdle

A new passage is created that gives the access to an area at first hidden by the bunker, through which the tower can be reached. The passage is composed by accessible but uncomfortable openings in the wall, in order to make the

Deadlock

person passing feel a sense of uncertainty by passing this border.

The zone behind the wall does not let immediate access to the stairs, it is a a buffer zone that has to be crossed in order to arrive to the tower, in a way like Calais in the passage to England. This area is open air but shaded by big self

Climb

standing buttresses that reflect the inside of the fort like an extension of them in a different key. Their color and shape gives a sense of oppression as they close up on top of the space .

Disillusion

Finally stairs lead up to the tower: inside, a view opens up to both sides: a direct one on the urban landscape and an indirect one towards the sea.

As an element of disillusion the tower shows only through a mirror system the view towards Dover, there is no possibility of climbing up the tower to have the direct view, to verify if the image seen in the periscope is a projection of a real view.

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On the other hand the urban landscape view is clear and directly brings back to the reality of the place.

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Through a journey Architectural proposal

View on the intervention

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Intervention in context

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Layering sections 127

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Maquette 1:200 129

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6 Conclusion

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Structure mesh

2

Unintentional Reference

Timeline

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Structure Mesh Plot twist

Working in the brown field gave me a lot of freedom in the design of volumes.

The Building although is part of a bigger image that will take shape with the development of the entire brown field, so it could not be designed as a self standing monument, but a series of element needed to be considered.

The history of the place and the specular relation with the Machart factory pushed me to take in a count the original grid of the plot, dictated by the dimension and rhythm of the looms in the building.

What would have been this project like if the designed area wasn’t an empty plot? what would the design look like if I chose from the beginning the factory Machart instead of the brown field? would the design concept be as rich?

Would it be possible to mesh the design of the wall structure together with the existing?

When working on a renovation project often the design focuses on its relation with the existing building rather than being based on a strong concept.: it remains tied to it and cannot be considered by itself.

By designing in an empty plot and only after letting the basic design meet with the existing is a different strategy to confront with architectural renovation.

With the mesh of the two structures the renovation design becomes richer.

By meshing together the new design for the empty plot and the existing vacant Machart factory I want to make a critique to the choice of the Calais’ municipality to keep developing new areas on the outskirts of the city without 134

putting the historical city centre first in its need for a change. Universities, hospitals, new developments decentralise even more the city, and as the numbers of vacant building increase so does the possibility for them to be occupied illegally, this means that the possibility for them to be demolished and leave an additional brown field in the urban fabric increases as well.

Furthermore it increases the conflicts between squatters and police. When eviction is not followed by the development of a new project in order to give a new function to the vacant building it will be squatted again.

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Unintentional reference Plot twist

The first link to the XXl century war I intended to create was to the tent element, to the provisory shelters in the jungle. But I decided to avoid using one physical element to be able to transmit instead a sensation related to a journey, the migration Journey.

Out of the represented phases the one of the deadlock links to Calais the most. it reflects the feeling of desiring to reach one site but arriving finally in a different one.

By recreating the deadlock space, closed on 4 sides by high walls and covered by self standing oppressing buttresses I involuntarily related it to a different element in the city. The fort Galloo.

The fort Galloo is the element that best represents how Calais lives the XXl century war.W , the endless conflict between Asylum seekers and police, and the barricade of the occupied building as a defence element just like the forts and the bunkers were.

Fort Galloo is part of a complex of industries located in Impasse des Salines, just 300 meters far from the brown field in rue Quatre Coins This unintentional reference reinforces the link between the proposal as a representation of the migration journey and Calais as a part of the Journey.

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I would like to thank my promotor Tomas Ooms for his enthusiasm, that guided me during my research and design process, for pushing me to think out of the box and reach a level where I can say I’m proud of what I accomplished .

I would like to thank the people at my second home, that shared with me all the moments: hurdles and achievements that led us to this moment.

I would also like to thank my family who always believed in me, Taiwo for the love and support, and all my friends for always being there for me through the years.

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Bibliography

BOOKS: Jungle Kitchen, Faire du Calais un territoire d’hospitalitè Manon Vancoillie & Paola Garnousset, Octobre 2016 Salgado, S., Migrations:Humanity in Transition, Aperture, 2000 Virilio, P., Bunker Archaeology, Princeton Architectural Press, 2009 Wilson, M., The last stand: Northern Europe, Triplekite Publishing, 2014 PUBBLICATIONS: Collectif Sans Plus Attendre, (2016) ‘Atlas Architectures de la Jungle’, Association Perou, April [Online]. Available at: http:// www.urbanisme-puca.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Architectures_de_la_jungle_bd.pdf (Accessed: 25 March 2018) Vancoillie, M., Garnousset ,P., Jungle Kitchen: Faire du Calais un territoire d’hospitalitè, Octobre 2016, pp. 12-15. Available from: Issuu Library, (accessed 13 April 2018).

ARTICLES: Alderman, L., (2017) ‘Once a lace capital, now riven by French politics’, The New York Times, 29 April [Online]. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/29/business/france-election-globalization-lepen-macron-lace.html (Accessed: 15 April 2018) Calais Mag edition spéciale avril 2016, Reinventer Calais, http://www.perou-paris.org/pdf/Actions/AutreJournalCalais_PEROU_HD.pdf Chen, C., Hall, P., (2011) ‘The Wider Spatial-Economic Impacts of High-Speed Trains: A Comparative Case Study of the Lille and Manchester Sub-Regions’, Journal of Transport Geography, January [Online]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/228720646_The_Wider_Spatial-Economic_Impacts_of_High-Speed_Trains_A_Comparative_Case_Study_ of_the_Lille_and_Manchester_Sub-Regions (Accessed: 8 May 2018) Getlink, Channel Tunnel Traffic https://www.getlinkgroup.com/uk/group/operations/traffic-figures/ 141

Jansen, D., Cuthill, M., Hafner, D., (2012) ‘Defining identity in the face of rapid urban growth: Changing times in a regional Australian city’, Urban Policy and Research, 30 2: 161-174. doi:10.1080/08111146.2012.664895 Jamme, J., Le Scouëzec, P., (2016) ‘Un portrait du Pas-de-Calais’, Insee Hauts-de-France, n.35 [Online]. Available at: https:// www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2537441#consulter (Accessed: 31 May 2018) Jouenne, N., (2002) Et la dentelle! Histoire d’une ville: Calais. Force et fragilité de l’industrie dentellière. Marval, 34 p., 2002.

Latinopoulou, M., Tsagkaratou, K. S., ‘Co-working spaces and transparency: dissolving the frontiers’, [Online]. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/24281201/Co- (Accessed: 31 May 2018) Passeurs d’hospitalities, (2014) ‘Calais, ville fantôme’, Passeurs d’hospitalities, 9 March [Online]. Available at: https://passeursdhospitalites.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/calais-ville-fantome/ (Accessed: 20 November 2017) Rus, A., Orel, M., (2015) Coworking: a community of work, Teorija in Praksa let. 52, 6/2015, p.1017-1244 Vancoillie, M., Garnousset, P., (2017) ‘Jungle Kitchen: faire du Calaisis un territoire d’hospitalité’, 16 April [Online]. Available at: https://issuu.com/manonvancoilliepaolagarnousset/docs/junglekitchen (Accessed: 25 March 2018) Wright, N., (2018) ‘Sea Passenger Statistics 2017: Short Sea Routes (Provisional) ‘, National Statistics UK, 21 February [Online]. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/ file/682688/sea-passengers-short-sea-routes-provisional-2017.pdf (Accessed: 15 April 2018) Tableau de bord de la conjoncture, 14/06/2018 https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2107840 Maison de l’Architecture et de la ville. Exposition Dentelles d’Architecture, 6 Oct-19 Dec 2009 http://www.ac-grenoble.fr/action.culturelle/blogWP/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/DPDentellesdArchitecture.pdf Alderman, L., (2017) ‘Once a lace capital, now riven by French politics’, The New York Times, 29 April [Online]. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/29/business/france-election-globalization-lepen-macron-lace.html (Accessed: 8 May 2018) Cooper, Y., Moseley, C., Akkad, H., Kingsley, P., (2016) ‘What does the closure of the Calais camp mean for the refugees? Our panel discuss’, The Guardian, 24 October [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/24/ panel-calais-camp-france-demolition-refugees-migration (Accessed: 8 February 2018) Guillard, A., (2016) ‘Chroniques calaisiennes: Calais vibre pour Long Ma’, Le Monde, 6 July [Online]. Available at: https:// www.lemonde.fr/chroniques-calaisiennes/visuel/2016/07/06/calais-vibre-pour-le-cheval-dragon-long-ma-et-l-araigneegeante-kumo_4964850_4896852.html (Accessed: 19 March 2018) La Voix du Nord, (2014) ‘Calais: l’etonnante transformation d’une usine de dentelle en atelier d’artistes’, La Voix du Nord, 17 October [Online]. Available at: http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/archive/recup/region/calais-l-etonnante-transformation-d-uneusine-de-ia33b48581n2441008 (Accessed: 19 March 2018) Lambert, L., (2016) ‘Police, fences and containers: a photographic reportage from Calais’ “jungle”’, The Funambulist, 4 142

February [Online]. Available at: https://thefunambulist.net/architectural-projects/police-fences-and-containers-a-photographic-report-from-calais-jungle (Accessed: 24 May 2018) Lambert, S., (2017) ‘La compagnie La Machine s’installera à Calais’, Ouest France, 1 July [Online]. Available at: https://www. ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/la-compagnie-la-machine-s-installera-calais-5106251 (Accessed: 15 March 2018) Nord Littoral, (2014) ‘L’usine Machart est leur terrain de jeu’, Nord Littoral, 18 October [Online]. Available at: http://www. nordlittoral.fr/archive/recup/accueil/l-usine-machart-est-leur-terrain-de-jeu-ia0b0n147802 (Accessed: 13 April 2018) Odièvre, E., (2017) ‘Ça va bouger du côté de la friche de la rue des Quatre-Coins’, Nord Littoral, 7 February [Online]. Available at: http://www.nordlittoral.fr/18394/article/2017-02-07/ca-va-bouger-du-cote-de-la-friche-de-la-rue-des-quatre-coins (Accessed: 13 April 2018) Rippingale, J., (2015) ‘Calais, behind the lens’, New Internationalist, 9 September 2015 [Online]. Available at: https://newint. org/features/web-exclusive/2015/09/09/refugee-crisis-calais (Accessed: 15 June 2018) Tazzioli, M., (2017) ‘Calais after the jungle: migrant dispersal and the expulsion of humanitarianism’, openDemocracy, 20 July [Online]. Available at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/beyondslavery/martina-tazzioli/calais-after-jungle-migrant-dispersal-and-expulsion-of-humanitarianis (Accessed: 13 April 2018) WEBSITES: Calais avant-hier, http://calais-avant-hier.eklablog.com Calais projets, http://www.calais.fr/fr/Ville-de-Calais/la-mairie/vie-economique/projets/projets-a-venir Cote-dopale, (2017) ‘François Delaroziere & Compagnie La Machine arrive à Calais’, Cote-dopale, September [Online]. Available at: http://www.cote-dopale.com/agenda-cote-d-opale/compagnie-la-machine-calais (Accessed: 15 February 2018) Reflets.info, (2016) ‘Sous le sable de la jungle de Calais, le béton de “Heroic Land”’, Reflets.info, 24 October [Online]. Available at: https://reflets.info/articles/sous-le-sable-de-la-jungle-de-calais-le-beton-de-heroic-land (Accessed: 17 March 2018) Reinventer Calais, projet, https://reinventercalais.org/ https://www.tracesofwar.com/sights/66468/Stützpunkt-Maus---Vf2a-Gruppenunterstand.htm INTERVIEWS: Victor Francois Machart, interviewed by Claudia Diana and Emily Westlake, 2018

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Interview with Victor Machart Thursday 4th May 2018

Interview with Victor Machart in the former Machart Lace Factory, now partly occupied with ateliers.

His grandparents were the founders of the Machart Lace Factory at the beginning of the 20th century.

About the factory My grandparents were not particularly destined to work in the lace industry and came to this type of work due to acquaintances who were in it. During the 1930s-40s lace production reached a peak.

They started with lace in 1900. They were renting buildings all along the rue des Quatre Coins. They bought the land here and started the construction of the building through the years 1914 – 1920. The factory was occupied until 1971.

Working conditions were hard but the pay was good, even very good at the time since shifts could last up to 14 hours!

My parents took over the factory until its final closure in 1971. The demand for lace was not so high anymore and labor was cheaper elsewhere than in Calais. I used to work as a mechanic, I looked after car companies but then the company I worked in moved to Poland. In 1987, when my father passed away, me and my sister became the joint owner of the building. My sister lives in Béziers (south of France) and has little interest in the history and the building of our grandparents’ lace factory.

I don’t share affinities with the municipality of Calais since the time of the communists’ mandate. The origin of the feud dates back from when, according to mr. Machart, there was an imbalance between the request of favours and their returns. That is one of the reasons why the municipality has very few (filmed) documents and plans about the factory. Another reason is because they fairly recently realised that the factory might be of some value. Furthermore, the maintenance of the building which kept the archives was in a piteous state. The municipality only has the building permit given by the engineer of the municipality and a copy of the plans drawn by the architect of the building. I consider myself lucky, in relative terms, since the Noyon family who owned a few factory buildings next door had to sell them to the municipality for financial reasons.

In the past there was a prejudice about Calais St Pierre. It was thought as the area of the plebs, of the less educated. The prejudice turned around when people started to realize that the locals of Calais St Pierre were making a lot of money thanks to the lace factories.

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Calais was one of the richest cities of France! The migrants are the scapegoats of the city. The whole economy of the city is based on one industry, so if this one fails then everything fails! It’s pitiful, because no employment means no money!

The factory today: My grandparents lived in a nice house near the park. In 1975, my parents sold the house. My father didn’t want the factory to become anything, so it was kept empty until his death. He threw away a lot of photos because he was fed up with lace and anything that had to do with it.

When I became full owner, I tried to generate a small revenue to pay taxes. The idea would be that everyone pays a bit, according to their means.

Today I rent out the space to local craftsmen and artists who exhibite here. Sacha was the first to come and work here. He used to work in his garage, but he didn’t have enough space, so he moved to the building. Now it’s around 10 years he’s been here.

More recently a young woman named Louise Druelle, also known as Loup Blaster, joined the atelier. She is quite known in Calais. Her paintings were originally much bigger, but she decided to downsize them. She didn’t ask the municipality for permission to go and photograph the jungle, because they would have never allowed her.

Former workshops of the A.M.G.D also used to meet here (they sign is still hanging on the door). It got its name from the metal works that used to be performed here. There was a small department where they worked on lace.

In Calais there is a cultural association, called “Plan B”, which is kind of ‘pro-migrant’. Although they don’t get any subsidies from the municipality, they organize concerts here and pimp the place with disco lights and music. Around three hundred usually participate to these events. That’s why we put a lot of sofas in this place.

In the bigger room there are wall panels to avoid dust and dirt from going on to the lace machines. In another area there are also guys producing bitcoins, that’s the noise you can hear. The upper floors are destined to become artists’ studios, but there is hardly any demand for them.

The building: The building is divided into two floors. It has a symmetric configuration with two courtyards flanking the two sides. On one side there was the workers entrance while on the other side was the entrance for clients and businessmen. Originally, the first floor was for male workers and the second for women. It was indisputable that they could not work in the presence of each other.

Original structure (the columns) A lace machine was 15 tons. On 1st floor there were 16 machines. Today, we could take away one on two columns and it would still be structurally resistant.

Some factories were sometimes long as a whole street, but they were divided into several different businesses. They were communal factories: everyone had their small business and if the business went well they could have their own building. That’s the reason why the lace industry grew so fast and so many factories spread around the city.

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The row of houses at the end of the park were the directors’ houses: the Noyon family and my parents. Employees were well paid, and their houses had usually 3 steps to the entrance door and a pretty rounded window. No proper ‘workers’ city’ with all the same houses In the beginning, the factories were in Calais Nord, but they were a nuisance since they made a lot of noise and pollution. They tried to avoid the noise by using wooden floor, because machines made so many vibrations.

The older factories are built in yellow bricks, like the factory next door was an embroidery factory, a sub branch of lace (inside of the Machart complex).

The architect of this factory, Mr. Dosseil, built a lot of factories at that time. It was not uncommon for him to be asked to design facades like the one of Mr. “X”.

Relationship between the factories: There was, of course, some competition between the factories, but we still in a friendly environment! There were people who bought several small lace factories. Towards the end, the business was really bad. There was a lot of spying between factories.

The Americans copied the lace. You can have a drawing in lace, but you just need to fiddle around with a small part of the design and it is a ‘new’ design.

Marriage was a way to keep business and friendship at bay! The money that the employers made were enormous sums of money! Comparable to money made by Facebook today My grandparents were very normal people, but they managed to make so much profit that everything was paid in one year (the building, the machines…).

It often occurs me to meet people who worked in this factory. After my father died, and I met some of them they would tell me ‘I worked here from then to then’. I don’t really care if people lie about how long they worked here. There were up to 300 employees working here (not all at the same time). My father received a lot of American buyers hence a lot of lace was exported to the US: in the years after WWII, they exported 80% of what they produced.

About the projects for the future of the city: Calais has always been an industrial city, it is not a city for tourists. It was bombarded during the war and then badly reconstructed. The only advantage we have is that we are close to England, but there is no real attachment with them.

The municipality doesn’t have great ideas for the city. For example, once they tried to settle a Theme Park but it rains three days out of four, so who would ever come to a theme park in Calais with rainy weather? Luckily, these kinds of projects are never realized, they would seriously indebt the city even more.

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Eight years ago, when the communists run the city, it wasn’t much better than today but at least they organized a lot of football activities for which there was clientele. Also, Calais didn’t attract people as a city to live in because of communism. The government didn’t like factories because they saw it as a symbol of capitalism, nevertheless they didn’t decide to raise taxes. Every fire accident in the factories or when a factory shut down, it was perceived as a victory of the working-class over capitalism.

Usine Noyon: The opposite building that was bulldozed belonged to Mr. Noyon. He had to sell a lot of things to the municipality. It was on the ground floor, a paved courtyard, a canopy over and they only kept a wall.

Mr. Noyon was too optimistic, he didn’t stop the lace business when it was evidently going badly and so at the end he went bankrupt. The Noyon family are no longer owners of their factory buildings. No archives are left on their side either because there was a fire and a lot of things got lost.

Mr. Noyon used to be also the president of the association TRAME. For a while, Mr. Noyon was renting space in this building on the 1st and 2nd floor to stock his lace panels in the 90s and early 00s.

Furthermore, Mr. Noyon’s factory got bombed during WWII and the blast of the explosion made the glass shatter in this building.

I have the original copies in a locked place.

I don’t know where Mr. Noyon is today.

Future of the Machart factory: A few years ago, I was very ill and maybe I should put some order in my stuff. I wanted to collect information on this building and the memories that my parents handed down to me. One of my regrets is that I didn’t ask more questions to my parents about the factory when they were still alive. My parents were not very talkative with their children, we never talked politics, religion or business… so there are lots of things I wish I had asked them.

I tried to get in touch with a historian, Mr. Morliion, in order to get a book written but unfortunately, he died before anything got really started.

I’ve always lived I Calais. I was very young when the factory was still in function.

We used to do go-karting on the first floor.

My sister’s children have no interest in mechanics or lace, they have never lived in Calais.

My father got in a with his brother over their respective shares. It took me 20 years to be total owner of the factory. With normal job but not a lot of money.

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‘I would like the factory to survive me. It would be nice for it to become something useful. When business is bad, people fight.

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