Project details

The Corniche Kennedy bench in Marseille is 3 km long, between the Fausse-Monnaie bridge and the Sofitel Palm Beach hotel, making it the longest bench in the world. Made of prefabricated concrete, it offers Marseilles residents a balcony over the Mediterranean and enabled the city to enter the record books in 1965.

A project to renovate the bench was carried out between 2019 and 2022, winning first place in the “Repair and Restoration” category by the American Concrete Institute (ACI).

Beyond its breathtaking panorama, 70 meters of the bench have been decorated with mosaic, created by artist Paola Cervoni in 2016. One sixth of the bench will be covered with mosaic by the 2024 Olympic Games.

CHRYSO expertise

 

For maximum efficiency, an ultra-high performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHPC) was selected to overcome erosion problems and increase the durability of the structure. This UHPC was admixed with the superplasticizer CHRYSO®Optima 145 to formulate a low-viscosity concrete with high rheological maintenance and the admixture CHRYSO®AB 42 to reduce bubbling and the amount of air in the concrete. This solution made it possible to color the structure in the mass without covering it with a protective product on the outside.

The color of the bench was carefully studied by our coloring laboratory to blend with the color of the existing bench. The responsiveness and expertise of our teams gave birth to the Ochre Kennedy shade.

Project technical challenges

 

The restoration of the Corniche Kennedy bench consisted of replacing certain parts of the bench, reinforcing the consoles and bringing the parapet up to standard along the entire length, parts that had gradually deteriorated due to sea air and sea spray. In total, 6,000 pieces of prefabricated concrete were made between the benches and the parapets for the rehabilitation of this architectural element.


Project Participants:

Project owner: Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis

Contractor: GTM SUD/Vinci Construction in partnership with Eiffage Construction

Project Manager: SETEC and DIADES


 

Other references