Dietmar Feichtinger’s latest project is a promenade five meters above sea level below the historic fortress of Bastia.
In the northern Corsican port city of Bastia, the Austrian-French architect Dietmar Feichtinger, together with the French firm Buzzo Spinelli, has now created a gently curving and technically sophisticated promenade right on the waterfront in contrast to the cliffs by the sea and the massive fortress.
The Austrian architect Dietmar Feichtinger, who lives in France, has made a name for himself with bridges, footbridges and crossings. His latest project, which opened at the end of December 2020, was also planned by the Styrian-born architect with his usual constructive simplicity and precision: a promenade five meters above sea level below the historic fortress of Bastia. The coastal path is called “Aldilonda”, which means “above the sea” in Corsican. “Floating between sea and sky” is how the architectural firm Dietmar Feichtinger Architetctes (DFA) itself describes the project.
The concrete promenade, which is around three meters wide, meanders in front of the rocks. The rusty red of the railing made of vertical posts in solid Corten steel harmonizes with the colour of the ferrous rock. It ensures safety and at the same time offers maximum transparency. The exposed nature of the entire path turns the walk into an experience, according to the office’s description: “The sea can be experienced through the area covered with a grating. The balcony is exposed to the surf; when the waves are high, the water penetrates the stainless steel grating on the rock and thus reduces the massive force of the water.”
The rock forms the massive natural foundation of the mighty enclosing wall of the Bastia fortress, which gave the city its name. Previously, the rocky coast below the fortress wall was only partially accessible. Now you can walk or jog between the surf and the rocks. Dietmar Feichtinger and Buzzo Spinelli realized the intervention after winning a competition in 2017, at a cost of 9.7 million euros.
Video of the construction of the 450-metre-long promenade
The promenade, which was anchored in the rock with 25-metre-long tension rods, follows the topography in a varied way. Dietmar Feichtinger and Buzzo Spinelli designed the path along various spatial experiences around the fortification walls. At one point, the five-kilometer path breaks through the bastion. Then again, the softly curving path – in contrast to the massive fortress – nestles against the rock, leans against it, widens out, offers places to linger and gives strollers direct access to the water.
The coastal path opens up the area between the citadel and the sea. And provides direct access to the fortress via an internal staircase. “Aldilonda” has also created a pedestrian link along the water between the port and the south of the city. Tourists can thus shorten their waiting time for the ferry.
At the point where the fortress wall protrudes furthest into the sea, the path at the southern tip pierces the rock with a tunnel. Daylight enters through a vertical light shaft. The side walls and ceiling are made of fair-faced concrete with wood grain. A staircase leads from here to the elevated viewing plateau of the fortress.
Dietmar Feichtinger once again realized the technically demanding project together with the Paris-based engineering firm schlaich bergermann partner (sbp France). Hydraulic tests in a basin in La Seyne sur Mer were necessary to determine the force of the wave impact – 14 tons per square metre. Anchoring the structure to the rock could only be achieved with acrobatic efforts by the workers, who hung from the platform of the fortress on a trapeze. The Lyon-based landscape architects IN SITU paysage et urbanisme were also involved as partners.
The multi-award-winning architect, who was born in Bruck/Mur and grew up in Graz, does not describe himself as a bridge specialist, but has built well over ten bridges in Europe. He became famous with the Passarelle Simone de Beauvoir over the Seine and his serpentine footbridge in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel in the Wadden Sea of Normandy. The access structure has been open to pedestrians and shuttle services since 2014. The mountain and its bay have had UNESCO World Heritage status since 1979. Dietmar Feichtinger is currently working on a research project to reform the structure of the Paris conurbation at the Centre de recherche CEA Paris-Saclay.
