Z5 in Aix-en-Provence, France by Christophe Gulizzi Architecte

Article source: Christophe Gulizzi Architecte

The programme specifically concerns 5-A-Side Football, played on 7 pitches (4 outdoor and 3 indoor)
It is managed from a building covering 3000.00 m2 net floor space comprising:
Ground floor: reception, Adidas boutique, restaurant area and a social area
Basement: changing rooms,
1^st floor: 1,000 m2 for fitness suites and seawater spa with 2 pools, Turkish bath and sauna.
2^nd floor: management suite and sports doctor.

Image Courtesy Philippe Ruault

• Architects: Christophe Gulizzi Architecte
• Project: Z5
• Location:Aix-en-Provence, France
• Commissioned by: SCI 5ZS_Zinedine Zidane
• Cost: 7,000,000.00 € (excl. VAT)
• Duration of construction work: 10 months.
• Project Manager: Christophe Gulizzi – Architect

Image Courtesy Lisa Ricciotti

LOCATION

The site is an asparagus field between the Luynes Prison and the American Cemetery on the edge of the industrial estates of Milles, near Aix en Provence. We are in an area with protected status (Château de Lenfant XVIII s) subject to recommendations by the ABF (Architectes des Bâtiments de France) with mandatory conditions on alignment and size. The plot of land marks the urban boundary of the town.

Image Courtesy Lisa Ricciotti

To enter into the Z5 universe is to embrace a dream. It’s about rubbing shoulders with one’s idol.
It is a symbolic project.
It is about the unconscious, based on strong emotional values and expressions of identity.
A showcase initiative with a collective sense and meaning.

We are entering into iconology, into an emotional state.
A metaphysical question.
Is ZZ an architectural model?

Image Courtesy Philippe Ruault

The project carries a dual responsibility. That of rooting itself in the local area and an architectural style which embodies the aura of ZZ.  You do not enter into the Z5 universe like you would that of Mickey Mouse.  The project takes root following a very specific staging. Its approach, its discovery is an initiation exercise, a precondition to sharing emotions. Starkly blatant, this spatial process makes no concessions to aesthetics and from the axis of the access road, enables one to gradually discover the main building. In black concrete, it is the centre of gravity; it occupies the plot as a number 10 occupies the pitch. Each child who comes here must have eyes that light up and fall asleep at night with the feeling of having met his/her idol.

Image Courtesy Luc Boegly

It is a dark and charismatic building  Linked to a specific contextual and political location. Radical, not post modern, neither affected nor pretentious.  It assumes its status. No camouflage, no wall of greenery. The main material is light.  Following a traditional layout from the Mediterranean house to the patio, we are in permanent relationship of coming out of the shadows and emerging into the light.  Far from neo-modern trappings and poverty as a political ambition.

Image Courtesy Philippe Ruault

Image Courtesy Lisa Ricciotti

Image Courtesy Luc Boegly

Image Courtesy Christian Michel

Image Courtesy Christian Michel

Tags: Aix-en-Provence, France

Category: Stadium

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