Marseille commuters can now double their exposure to the work of Ora Ïto. Not only has the locally born designer reshaped the layout of Place Castellane, one of the city's crucial intersections, he has also overseen the design of its new metro trains.
Ora Ïto in front of the new metro train for Marseille
Place Castellane, which remains an interchange for the city's two metro lines below ground, was once also a busy traffic roundabout. Now it accommodates a tramline and a long limestone bench that follows the re-laid tram tracks, curving around the grand fountain sculpted by André-Joseph Allar between 1911-1913.
As well as reshaping what he calls the ‘city's nerve centre' with engineering group Egis and urban planners STOA, Ïto has worked with rail system manufacturer Alstom to bring the metro rolling stock up to date as it moves towards a driver-free system.
‘I had complete creative freedom,' says Ïto. ‘I was absolutely a huge fan of the old Marseille metro, designed by Philippe Neerman in the 1970s, so I was quite stressed about having to redesign something I already loved.'
There are hints of the era's bold French public design. Says Ïto, ‘We imagined it as a moving lounge, with warm tones, light materials, fluid, minimal seats, and circular handrails that are both functional and playful.'
Interior detail of Ora Ïto's new metro trains
This sector of transportation design can be complex and legislation-heavy but Ïto was already familiar with it following his work on the Nice tramway, also with Alstom. ‘An automatic metro is an extremely complex machine,' he says. ‘There are technological, structural and engineering constraints, as well as very strict safety regulations.'
Place Castellane includes a new 102m-long limestone bench, La Paupière
From above, Place Castellane resembles an unblinking eye, opening up the city while also providing a discrete, pedestrian-focused public space. The updated metro appears similarly transformed, concealing the complexities of safety, resilience and automation with what Ïto describes as ‘a soft and recognisable face with a very distinctive light signature'.
Ora Ïto's new metro train for Marseille
‘It's been a great source of pride to have been able to bring these projects to Marseille, the city of my heart, where I spent much of my childhood,' he concludes.