Architettura tra analogia e archeologia

The essay focuses on two different issues of Fernand Pouillon’s work, in particular related to the project of the Vieux Port of Marseille. The first one consists in using urban and architectural references, in line with the analogical procedure that Pouillon learns from his master, Eugène Beaudouin. This procedure is mostly developed in the projects of urban open spaces. Pouillon teaches the lesson of references also to his students at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, which make surveys of the ancient architecture of Aix-en-Provence. Therefore, the Provençal type becomes the main reference for the Vieux Port buildings, while the whole settlement represents a new monumental waterfront on the Mediterranean Sea. The second theme is the archeological conception of architecture, which arises from a fascination towards the Middle Age and the antiquity. It finds expression in the interest for building techniques and the use of traditional materials, employed with modern technologies.