Private Skies #2

ARCHITECTURE
LORD NORMAN
FOSTER’S
Club de
Yacht
BY MÉLANIE
BALSANE
Monaco
YACHT CLUB DE MONACO, SIGNÉ LORD NORMAN FOSTER
years. That’s how much time has passed since
word of the new building was first uttered and its
completed version unveiled. Six years of design, an
equal number of construction. There was no bidding
war; it was a private order on the part of the Sovereign
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Prince himself. Between Albert II of Monaco and
Norman Foster, a shared vision and dialogue the
architect would describe as fruitful. While the Foster +
Partners firm remains the project initiator, that team worked
with Monegasque architect Alexandre Giraldi, supervised by the
Department of Public Works.
An HQE liner
In the middle of Port Hercule, opening onto the Mediterranean
and on the very edge of downtown, this gigantic ship, stretching
204 meters in length, seems to perch on the water. Yachting has
become a state of mind in the Principality, a philosophy, a way of
life. Forget not that the first regatta took place here in 1862. In
the 21st century, technology is now the willing servant of the
imagination. For Lord Norman Foster, after months of research
and computer simulations, the image of a colossal liner was a
supremely logical choice. This vision took shape, with 4,000
square meters of terraces resembling the decks of a vessel and
a landscaped roof that impeccably integrates with the existing
structures. As would a sailor, the British architect composed
with the elements of nature, sun, wind. He played with shadow
and light, tracing strong horizontal lines, blending Monaco’s
traditional spirit with a timeless, international, contemporary
flair. The building offers a clever mix of “in & out,” public areas,
and more intimate spaces. It rubs shoulders with excess without
ever entirely embracing it. True, the spiral staircase suspended
from the ceiling is monumental and, yes, the pool with the
retractable bottom is spectacular, as is the champagne bar
designed by Nelson Wilmotte. Utterly distinctive in the landscape,
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