MAMO designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site
In tandem with Felice Varini’s “À ciel ouvert” open-air installations opening at MAMO (until 2nd October), Le Corbusier’s architectural work was classified a UNESCO World Heritage site at the World Heritage Committee’s 40th session on July 17th in Istanbul. 17 sites spanning 7 countries have set themselves apart as “human creative genius.” “Selected from Le Corbusier’s body of work, they are testament to the invention of a new architectural expression that make a break with the past,” stipulates UNESCO.
The Unité d’habitation (housing development), known as “La Cité Radieuse” (the first stone of which was laid in October 1947 and then inaugurated in October 1952) in Marseille, and therefore MAMO, this art centre created by Ora Ito on the roof of La Cité in the former gymnasium, is one of the 10 French sites to be classified. Indeed a momentous occasion for this French designer who has invited internationally renowned artists to interact with the building over the last four years: Daniel Buren, Xavier Veilhan, Dan Graham and now Felice Varini have all taken over the roof and the city’s former gymnasium to create a dialogue or a unity, in each case highlighting and magnifying Le Corbusier’s architecture.
Marseille Modulor, Mamo, is “a tribute to the Modulor, an ideal unit of measurement, based on the golden ratio and human measurements, used by Le Corbusier in this building to replace the metric system,” Ora Ito explains.
For the designer, who is as fond of the south as he is of the French-Swiss architect now recognized by UNESCO just like the Great Pyramid of Giza and Mont Saint-Michel, “MAMO is a meeting place, bringing together the finest contemporary creation and the city of Marseille. It is a showcase for artists, as well as being a tribute to Le Corbusier whose architecture is a work of art in itself. Above all it is a place to be enjoyed.”
MAMO
Centre d’art de la Cité Radieuse
Currently “A Ciel Ouvert” Felice Varini until 2nd October
280 Boulevard Michelet
13008 Marseille, France
+33 1 42 46 00 09